Are We All Children of God? Or Just Christians?

We often hear people say lovingly and inclusively, “We’re all God’s children.”  However, that is not a true statement. While it is true that everyone, and everything, belongs to God (Psa 24:1), not everyone is in God’s family. 

Now don’t hear me wrong.  God loves everyone with a love that is beyond our comprehension (Read A-Z Proof of Love that Never Fades). But just because God’s love is freely and lavishly given to all people, it does not make all people His children.

In earthly relationships, being a child of a father indicates a standing in the father’s family.  Therefore, being a part of God’s family indicates a special position, a significant standing in a relationship with God. This is only received in salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus.  The apostle John tells us that only those who believe in Jesus can be sons of God.

If one has not been saved by Jesus, one does not belong to God’s family and is not a child of God.  God is very clear about how one becomes part of His family.

“Born Again” into the Family of God

Just as a child becomes a part of an earthly family at birth, repentant sinners become a part of a spiritual family when they are born again. Jesus used these words when speaking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus:

John 3:3  …Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

All people are born spiritually dead, sinful, in the image of Adam.  Only those who repent and trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross for the payment of their sins, and come to Him in faith, are forgiven and born again (the soul regenerated, made alive).  

John 3:5-6  …Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Adopted into the Family of God

Having been washed clean by Jesus’ blood (Rev 1:5) and born of the Spirit (John 3:6), sinners are justified and adopted into the family of God.

Rom 8:14-16  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

Adoption into God’s family gives us both positional standing as a family members and also the riches of Christ.

Rom 8:17  and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

Children vs. Creation

There is no doubt that God loves His children.  It is evidenced by His words, His actions, and His promises.  But God also loves the lost (Read Does God Love the Lost?).  However, that does not make them God’s children.  They have not been born again. They have not received Christ. And therefore, they have no positional standing in God’s family. So the answer to the question, “Are We All God’s Children?” is NO! Because…

Gal 3:26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

However, we must remember that all people are part of God’s creation. And God loves His creation. He loved all people enough to send His Son to die for the whole world. Therefore, we should love all people enough to tell them about Jesus and His saving grace. Jesus is the only way to receive forgiveness of sins and be born again into the family of God.

Commissioned to Share the Gospel

On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus prayed for His disciples and He prayed for us.  [Read about the upper room discourse and Jesus’ prayer in A Room with a View of Eternity—The Last Will & Testament of Jesus Christ] He prayed for all who would become children of God and joint-heirs with Him.  In praying, He gave us His mission to carry out in His absence just as He gave it to His disciples and Paul.

Jesus Commissioned the Disciples

Mark 16:15-16  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Jesus Commissioned Paul

Acts 26:16-18  “But rise and stand on your feet; for I [Jesus] have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

Jesus Commissioned Us

Jesus’ commission to the disciples and Paul is the same for us.  Just as the twelve and Paul were Jesus’ disciples to preach His gospel, we too are His disciples, and we are to speak His truths boldly.

Mark 16:15  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Rom 10:13-15  For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Acts 20:20-21  And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Acts 20:21  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 6:19-20  …that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Joyful, Dutiful Mission

May it be our duty and joy to share Christ’s saving grace with people everywhere and help build the family of God.  May our hearts be burdened for those who do not know Jesus, and may we always be ready to tell them of the hope we have in Jesus.

2 Pet 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

1 Pet 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

Share His saving grace with everyone you meet.

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Misinterpreted, Misunderstood, or Misused Bible Verses and Passages

Has 2 Chronicles 7:14 Become a Twisted Scripture Verse?
If we do as 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, will God heal America?
Did Jesus Become Sin on the Cross?
Are We Called to be Watchmen?
Is Money the Root of All Evil? A Parable of the Poor Christian and the Tax Collector
Eph 4:15 - What Does “Speaking the Truth in Love” Really Mean? 
Heb 10:26 - How Should We Understand the Willful Sin of Hebrews 10:26?
Matt 5:48 - Did Jesus Really Mean "Be Perfect?"
Hebrews 6:4-6  Can Salvation Be Lost?
Hebrews 10:26 How Should We Understand Willful Sin?
Jer 17:9 - Is My Heart Deceitful Above All Things? (Jer 17:9) Don’t I Have a New Heart?
Matt 18:20 - Does There Need to be Two or Three Gathered Together for Jesus to be Present?
If You Were the Only Person Alive, Would Jesus Have Died For Only You?
Misconceptions About Christmas: the Journey to Bethlehem
A Contradiction in the Bible? Was King David the 7th or 8th Son of Jesse?
Heb 9:27 - Does the resurrection of Lazarus contradict Hebrews 9:27?  
Are We All God’s Children?
Jesus said, I never knew you. Why?
Should We Call God, "Father God?" 
Does Abba Really Mean "Daddy?" 
What is a Helpmeet?

Read About Your Purpose in Life and God's Will for Your Life

What Is My Purpose In Life?
101 Truths About Our Identity in Christ
What does it mean to be a child of God?
Are We All God’s Children?   
The Chief Purpose of Man
Are We Dichotomy or Trichotomy Beings?
Are we a soul? Or do we have a soul?
Saved by the Bell -- Who I Am In Christ
What is God's Will for You?
What is Your Purpose in Life? CS Lewis
The Chief Purpose of Man
What is the Identity Bell? video
Who Am I? — by Casting Crowns video
Who Am I? Am I Really Made in the Image of God?
Ways to Glorify God - Bookmark

Read more about love:

• A-Z Proof of Love that Never Fades
• What are the 10 Ways We Can Love Like Jesus?
• You Ask Why I Follow This Jesus? -- a short poem
• Because He First Loved Us - 1 John 4:19
• Faith, Hope, and Love — Why is Love the Greatest?
• Testify to Love (VIDEO)
• Does a Wedding Ceremony Have Prophetic Typology of the Rapture?
• Extravagant Love that Captures our Hearts
• Fun Facts about Love
• Kids Say the Darndest Things (video)
• “The Five Love Languages” by God
• Do You Really Love Him?
• What Do Kids Say About Love?
• What’s Love Got to Do With It?
• What is Love? 
• Is the Bible a love letter to me?
• Does God love the lost?
• Extravagant Love
• O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
• 24 Reasons “Why I Love America,” by John Wayne (video)
• The Legacy of Love — It’s Not Just For Fathers
• Mother’s Love
• Love Lifted Me
• True Love is Jesus (video)
• Won't You Be Mine (video)
• He Loves Me (video)
• Love One Another (video)
• True Love is Jesus (video)
• How Can I Understand the Love of God?  
• Do You Have a Heart for God?
• A Heart for God Revealed in St. Patrick’s Prayer 
• My Beloved is Mine and I am His
• Oh, To Love With a Pure Heart
• Love is. . .
• Is All Love Created Equal? CS Lewis Answers 
• What Can Love Do? (video)   
• What is Biblical Love?