Becoming Children of God: A Divine Transformation

 

Summary

In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 12 and 13, we find a profound truth about our identity as Christians. The passage reveals that those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given the power to become children of God. This transformation is not a result of human effort, lineage, or will, but is entirely an act of God. The Apostle John emphasizes that this new birth is a fundamental change in our nature and relationship with God, moving beyond mere forgiveness of sins to a complete transformation into His likeness.

The essence of the Christian life is not just about being forgiven or sanctified; it is about becoming a new creation, a child of God. This new identity is not something we can achieve through our own efforts or heritage. It is a divine act, a rebirth that is initiated and completed by God Himself. John contrasts this with the common misconception of the universal Fatherhood of God, clarifying that only those who receive Christ are given the right to become God's children.

This transformation is not merely a change in status but a change in nature. As children of God, we partake in the divine nature, reflecting God's character in our lives. This is evidenced by our love for others, our obedience to God's commandments, and our growing likeness to Christ. The new birth is a profound mystery, accomplished by the Spirit and the Word, bringing us into a living relationship with God.

Key Takeaways:

- Assurance and Identity: Assurance in our Christian identity is crucial for living a life of holiness and boldness. Understanding that we are children of God gives us the strength and confidence to live out our faith effectively. This assurance is not based on our feelings or achievements but on the truth of God's Word. [01:57]

- Faith of Reliance: True faith in Christ is not just intellectual assent but a deep reliance on Him. It involves trusting Him with our entire being and recognizing our need for His saving grace. This faith transforms us and aligns us with God's purposes. [03:40]

- Transformation into Children of God: Becoming a child of God is a profound transformation that changes our nature and relationship with God. It is not just a change in status but a real change in our being, making us partakers of the divine nature. [07:05]

- Rebirth and New Creation: The new birth is a divine act that brings us into a new life in Christ. It is not achieved through human effort or lineage but is a work of God, making us new creations in Him. This rebirth is essential for becoming a child of God. [41:00]

- Living as Children of God: As children of God, we are called to reflect His character in our lives. This involves loving others, obeying His commandments, and growing in our likeness to Christ. Our new identity in Christ empowers us to live out these truths. [32:23]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:10] - Introduction to John 1:12-13
- [00:35] - Assurance in Christian Life
- [01:57] - The Need for Assurance
- [02:29] - Realization of Our Need for Christ
- [03:21] - Faith of Reliance
- [04:20] - Becoming Children of God
- [05:19] - Beyond Forgiveness and Justification
- [06:31] - Transformation and New Identity
- [07:59] - The Theme of John's Gospel
- [09:15] - Sons vs. Children of God
- [12:09] - Relationship with God Through Christ
- [14:39] - Misconceptions of Universal Fatherhood
- [19:35] - The Power to Become Children of God
- [24:38] - The Meaning of Becoming
- [28:06] - Children of God: Transformation and Likeness
- [36:48] - The Mechanics of Becoming Children of God
- [41:00] - The Doctrine of Rebirth
- [46:25] - The Divine Act of New Creation

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- John 1:12-13

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Observation Questions:

1. What does John 1:12-13 say about the criteria for becoming a child of God? How does this differ from the concept of universal Fatherhood? [14:39]

2. According to the sermon, what is the significance of the term "children of God" as used by John, and how does it differ from "sons of God"? [09:36]

3. How does the sermon describe the process of becoming a child of God? What are the three things it is not based on, according to John 1:13? [41:46]

4. What role does the "faith of reliance" play in the transformation into a child of God, as discussed in the sermon? [03:21]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the assurance of being a child of God empower believers to live a life of holiness and boldness, according to the sermon? [01:57]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that the new birth is a divine act rather than a result of human effort or lineage? [41:00]

3. How does the sermon explain the relationship between receiving Christ and the transformation into a child of God? What does this imply about the nature of faith? [04:37]

4. What does the sermon suggest about the implications of being a "new creation" in Christ? How does this affect a believer's identity and actions? [06:31]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own life: Do you feel assured in your identity as a child of God? How does this assurance (or lack thereof) affect your daily life and decisions? [01:57]

2. The sermon emphasizes a "faith of reliance" on Christ. In what areas of your life do you find it challenging to fully rely on Him, and how can you work on deepening that reliance? [03:21]

3. Consider the transformation into a child of God as a change in nature. How can you actively reflect God's character in your interactions with others this week? [29:25]

4. The sermon discusses the misconception of the universal Fatherhood of God. How can you engage in conversations with others to clarify this concept in a loving and understanding way? [14:39]

5. Identify one specific commandment of God that you struggle to obey. What steps can you take this week to align your actions with God's will, reflecting your new identity in Christ? [32:11]

6. The sermon highlights the importance of love as evidence of being a child of God. Who in your life needs to experience God's love through you, and what practical steps can you take to show them love this week? [31:59]

7. How can you cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of your identity as a child of God, and how might this change your perspective on challenges you face? [48:47]

Devotional

Day 1: Assurance in Our Identity as God's Children
Understanding that we are children of God is foundational to living a life of holiness and boldness. This assurance is not based on our feelings or achievements but on the truth of God's Word. When we grasp this identity, it empowers us to live out our faith effectively, knowing that our status as God's children is secure. This assurance gives us the strength and confidence to face challenges, knowing that we are loved and accepted by God. [01:57]

1 John 3:1-2 (ESV): "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you struggle to believe that you are truly a child of God? How can you remind yourself of this truth today?


Day 2: Reliance on Christ for True Faith
True faith in Christ goes beyond intellectual agreement; it involves a deep reliance on Him. This faith requires trusting Him with our entire being and recognizing our need for His saving grace. Such reliance transforms us and aligns us with God's purposes, enabling us to live a life that reflects His love and truth. [03:40]

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV): "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find it difficult to fully rely on Christ? What steps can you take today to deepen your trust in Him?


Day 3: Transformation into God's Likeness
Becoming a child of God is a profound transformation that changes our nature and relationship with Him. It is not just a change in status but a real change in our being, making us partakers of the divine nature. This transformation is evidenced by our love for others, our obedience to God's commandments, and our growing likeness to Christ. [07:05]

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Reflection: How can you actively reflect God's character in your interactions with others today? What specific actions can you take to demonstrate His love and grace?


Day 4: The Divine Act of Rebirth
The new birth is a divine act that brings us into a new life in Christ. It is not achieved through human effort or lineage but is a work of God, making us new creations in Him. This rebirth is essential for becoming a child of God, as it signifies a complete transformation initiated and completed by God Himself. [41:00]

Titus 3:5-6 (ESV): "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."

Reflection: Reflect on your own spiritual rebirth. How has your life changed since you became a new creation in Christ? What areas still need transformation?


Day 5: Living Out Our New Identity
As children of God, we are called to reflect His character in our lives. This involves loving others, obeying His commandments, and growing in our likeness to Christ. Our new identity in Christ empowers us to live out these truths, demonstrating His love and grace to the world around us. [32:23]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: What is one practical way you can live out your identity as a child of God today? How can you intentionally reflect His love and character in your daily interactions?

Quotes

To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God. [00:19:39]

The ultimate need of all Christian people is assurance. That is the way to holiness; it's the way to true activity in the Christian Church. It is the key and the secret of everything. It was only after they were given that reassurance as the result of the baptism of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost that the Apostles, even the apostles, were able to preach with a holy boldness. [00:20:00]

Believing in his name does not mean giving a mere intellectual assent to a number of propositions concerning him. It is what we may call the faith of reliance, the whole element of trust, and the reliance of necessity comes in. It doesn't merely mean that we believe a number of doctrines that are quite right and quite true concerning him. [00:34:13]

Salvation does not merely and does not only mean that our sins are forgiven and that we are justified in the sight of God. It does mean that, of course. That's our first need. The first thing a guilty man in the dark needs is to be set free, and we all need, in the first instance, forgiveness before anything else. [00:52:36]

The glory of this Christian message is that he tells us that this further thing is true of us, that we become the children of God, sons of God. Now then, this is the thing that he puts here before us, and he puts it, I believe, in this prologue because it is one of the leading themes of this particular gospel. [01:15:27]

The Bible in its teaching about this relationship with God, our relationship as children with God, the Bible always deals with that and presents it to us in terms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It never teaches this directly apart from him. [01:23:19]

The good news of salvation is not to tell us that we are all always and already the children of God. The good news is that we can become the children of God. This is the good news; this is the proclamation. [01:55:10]

To those who believe on him, he makes such that they are reckoned worthy of becoming the children of God or placed in the position of honor in which they really are the children of God. This, he says, is something that happens to these people who know him and receive him and who believe on him. [02:12:11]

The position of the Christian is not that he remains what he was, somewhat better perhaps, but he's now called a child of God. No, no, he becomes a child of God. Something happens to him, and indeed John is very careful to tell us what it is. [02:41:08]

Children of God in the sense that a child is like his parents, that a child bears something in him of his parents. It means, therefore, that we have become transformed into the likeness of God, nothing less than that. Children in that sense that it is the relationship between a child born of parents who's got the nature of those parents in him. [02:56:55]

The doctrine of the rebirth, the second birth, the doctrine of regeneration, the doctrine of the new creation, call it what you will. But listen, notice the negative. What is the character of this birth that we undergo before we can become the children of God? You see, we've got to be born again before we become the children of God. [03:24:38]

You don't become a Christian because you're born and belong to a particular nation. You don't become a Christian because you're the child of certain parents. You don't become a Christian as the result of any human endeavor or activity at its best and in size. It's all impossible. It is all of God. [03:52:12]

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