My Millions of Sons?

We're going back to our last poker day and a chat we had about Jesus with "Gramps."

The man told us he considered Jesus the "Prince of Peace."  Then he said, "I think we're all sons of God."

Is that an accurate statement?  We can see how he might draw that conclusion, based on a few Bible verses:

The God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:26-27

So we're made in God's image. That means we look to some extent like God.  But does that really make us His children?

Lots of people are poker players.  But only a few are really considered, if we may, Poker Players.  You know - the skillful pros who compete for big money on circuits, winning cash games and tournaments.

God may have called His creation "sons of God" for awhile, giving them the benefit of the doubt. But....

....The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.  Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be 120 years." - Genesis 6:2-3

Bible scholars debate what the phrase "sons of God" means here -- perhaps people, perhaps fallen angels.  But Genesis 6 clearly shows God wasn't happy with what they were doing, so He decided to wipe them out (verses 6-7).  The phrase "sons of God" only appears a few times in the Old Testament after that, clearly referring to angels (see Job 1:6 and 2:1 in KJV).


But in the New Testament something changed -- when Someone special came to this earth:

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.... - John 1:12

To all who received whom?  The One John calls "the Word" (verse 1) - then One who "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (verse 14).  The One we know as Jesus Christ.


The Bible shows that title "children of God" is not as wide-open as you might think.  It's reserved for those who receive Jesus and believe in His name.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. - Romans 8:14 (KJV)

Does this really describe you?  Or does this seem too elitist and far-fetched to be believed?  Please leave a comment with your thoughts about it, and we'll come back to it in a future post.