As Dear Children

Ephesians 5:1-2 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.

Are You A Disciple Or A Dabbler?

A Religious Landscape Study conducted by the Pew Research Center (February 26, 2025) notes that only 62% of Americans identify as “Christian”, which is a sharp drop from 2007, when 78% identified as Christians. However, only one third of U.S. adults attend services in person at least once a month. Some of that number – up to 16% – only participate in Church online or through the television. What about involvement in Church activities? Lifeway Research (an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention) notes:

When asked if they have served as volunteers (church or other organizations) in the past year, about 30% of churchgoers said yes, while 66% said they had not.

That is very strange, as the Great Commission our Lord Jesus gave us explicitly states:

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES {mathēteuō} of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age. Amen.

Word Study: Jesus did not say “Go out and save people from hell by preaching the Gospel I died for”. Jesus said, “Go and MAKE DISCIPLES”. The word mathēteuō means “to instruct others the teachings and precepts of the Master, to teach others to live according to the directives of Jesus”. It is certain that Jesus came into this world to “bring SINNERS to REPENTANCE” (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). Jesus loved us so much that His foremost ministry was to reach sinners – people like us. But Jesus did not come to save sinners, and then leave sinners in their sins. As the blind man healed by Jesus told the Pharisees:

John 9:31 (NKJV) Now WE KNOWS THAT GOD DOES NOT HEAR SINNERS; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, HE HEARS HIM.

That’s a well established principle in the Scripture:

Proverbs 15:29 (ESV) The Lord is FAR FROM THE WICKED, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Micah 3:4 (ESV) they will cry to the Lord, but HE WILL NOT ANSWER THEM; He will hide His face from them at that time, because THEY HAVE MADE THEIR DEEDS EVIL.

Proverbs 1:28-29 (ESV) THEY WILL CALL UPON ME, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because THEY HATED KNOWLEDGE and DID NOT CHOOSE THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Salvation comes by faith in Christ Jesus. It is a free gift from God. But once you are saved, your status changes. You become a “DISCIPLE”, a student of the Kingdom of God. But more than this, you become something even greater.

You are not a “Child of God” because you are part of a group. Only those saved by faith in Christ, born again of the power of the Holy Spirit, are Children of God under the New Covenant of Christ.

I have heard leaders in the Church make outrageous statements that are not Scriptural. For instance, several years ago Pope Francis (the 266^th Pope of the Catholic Church) said “There is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God”.

United Methodist Bishop Gregory V. Palmer said, “Is there any more important message that the church has to commend to the world than every human being is a child of God?”

Anglican Bishop Jeremy Greaves wrote “We are ‘all children of God’”.

Those who say such things are defying Jesus. Jesus distinguished between those who received and did His Word, and those who did not. Jesus told the Pharisees who often attacked Him and His ministry:

John 8:42-47 (LSB) Jesus said to them, IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER, YOU WOULD LOVE ME, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of Myself, but HE SENT ME. 43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? [It is] because YOU CANNOT HEAR MY WORD. 44 “YOU ARE OF YOUR FATHER, THE DEVIL, and YOU WANT TO DO THE DESIRES OF YOUR FATHER. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [nature], for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 HE WHO IS OF GOD HEARS THE WORDS OF GOD; for this reason you do not hear [them], because YOU ARE NOT OF GOD.”

That is very specific and to the point. The characteristic of the Child of God is that they

(1) love Jesus Christ,
(2) understand that Jesus alone came from the Father as Messiah,
(3) hear what Jesus says, and seeks to do it
(4) desires the things of God, not of Satan
(5) lives to share LIFE with others, not murder
(6) speaks the Word of God in truth, not deceptively
(7) believes Jesus is sinless
(8) hears and appreciates the Word of God, the Bible

Being A “Child Of God” Is Uniquely New Testament

Ephesians 5:1-2 Be ye therefore followers of God, AS DEAR CHILDREN;

As I studied this passage, the first thing God led me to do is research and see where the phrase “Child (or Children) of God” is found. This phrase is unique to the New Testament. The Lord showed me that …

no individual Israelite under the Old Covenant
was ever called a Child of God

When Israel was referred to, God called the NATION. Israel was often called “Children of Israel” (see Genesis 32:32; 36:31; Exodus 1:1, 7). The phrase “Children of Israel” is used 644 times in 600 verses. Under the Old Covenant you were either “Children of Israel” or Gentiles. But Israelites were NOT individually called “children of God”.

God called the circumcised NATION of Israel “My Son”. Under the Old Covenant only the NATION was the son of God, the children of God.

When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, He said:

Exodus 4:22-23 (ESV) … you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, ISRAEL IS MY FIRSTBORN SON, 23 and I say to you, “LET MY SON GO THAT HE MAY SERVE ME” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I WILL KILL YOUR FIRSTBORN SON.'”

The designation “My Son” emphasized that God called the nation into a covenant relationship with Him (Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:6; Isaiah 1:2; 63:16). Israel was collectively God’s SON, as long as the men of the nation were under the mark of CIRCUMCISION (Genesis 17:10-11; Leviticus 20:26; Deuteronomy 10:16). God told His national Son:

Genesis 17:14 (AP) Any UNCIRCUMCISED MALE… SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM HIS PEOPLE; he has broken My covenant.

You will not find the phrase “Child of God” anywhere in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant for a singular Israelite. Children or sons of God refers to the nation of Israel as God’s corporate covenant people.

The first Jew to be called a “Child” of God and a “Son” of God Individually is the Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ!

When God prophesied the coming of Jesus as Messiah, He said:

Psalm 2:7 (ESV) I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU …

That this is a prophecy of Christ Jesus is clearly seen when we read how the New Testament refers to this Psalm, saying:

Hebrews 5:5 (ESV) So also CHRIST DID NOT EXALT HIMSELF to be made a high priest, but was APPOINTED BY HIM WHO SAID TO HIM, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU” (see also Acts 13:33)

In the Old Testament God said of Israel, “This is My son Israel, My firstborn”. But in the New Testament the Father said, “THIS is MY BELOVED SON, in Whom I am WELL PLEASED” (Matthew 3:17). When God spoke to King David, He told him that he would have a Son, a special Son:

2 Samuel 7:13-14 (ESV) HE SHALL BUILD A HOUSE FOR MY NAME, and I WILL ESTABLISH THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER. 14 I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son. …

This was not a reference to Solomon, who, like all of us mortals, would have a throne that would end when he died. This was a reference to the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Angel Gabriel told Mary:

Luke 1:31-33 (ESV) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and BEAR A SON, AND YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME JESUS. He will be great and WILL BE CALLED THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH. And the LORD GOD WILL GIVE TO HIM THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID, and HE WILL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Jesus is THE Son of God prophesied in the Scripture! He is THE Child of God by supernatural birth.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV) For to us A CHILD IS BORN, to us A SON IS GIVEN; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Jesus is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, the only Son of God to be born into humanity. The Son became a Child, a Perfect Child.

This was NOT speaking about Israel, but about the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus was born as a Child, a perfect and sinless Man born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV) Therefore THE LORD HIMSELF WILL GIVE YOU A SIGN. Behold, the VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, and shall call his name IMMANUEL.

The SON OF GOD would be given to us. The SON OF GOD would come from glory, and be born from a virgin. Some have tried to twist this Messianic Prophecy, saying that the word “VIRGIN” should just be “YOUNG WOMAN”. What kind of “sign” would that be, o’ foolish unbeliever? The Angel of God quoted this very verse to Joseph, applying it to Jesus, saying:

Matthew 1:20-23 (NKJV) Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for THAT WHICH IS CONCEIVED IN HER IS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 21 And SHE WILL BRING FORTH A SON, and you shall call His name JESUS, for HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS. 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: {here quoting Isaiah 7:14} 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Israel as a nation was the son of God. No individual Jew was a son of God before the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ, the Eternal Son of God, left immortality, left Heaven and the adoration of Angels, to come to this earth. The immortal became mortal. The sinless came to this earth to walk among sinners.

Jesus Christ Brought In A New Covenant, And A New Way. Believing in Him Brings New Birth!

The perfect and pure Son of God lowered Himself to be with us, to save us, to make us individually the Children of God.

Oh the glory of what Jesus did for us! “CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS, according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). “But GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS LOVE FOR US, in that, WHILE WE WERE SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US” (Romans 5:8). Oh Beloved, unto us a Son was given. Unto us, a Child was born. He came to build a bridge through our sins to bring us to God. The Scripture says “Christ Jesus satisfied God’s justice ON OUR BEHALF. He is the PROPITIATION, the SATISFACTORY PAYMENT FOR SIN, not for ours only but ALSO FOR THE WHOLE WORLD” (1 John 2:2). That Baby, nondescript and undervalued, born a manger in Bethlehem would grow up to be the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29, 36). How would He do this?

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. BY HIS WOUNDS you have been healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) For our sake THE FATHER MADE HIM, JESUS, WHO KNEW NO SIN, TO BE SIN FOR US, so that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.

God could not call individuals “son” in the Old Covenant, because from Adam until today we are all born into this world as sinners. We are enslaved to sin. We are defined by sin. The Bible describes the state of every person before he meets the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 2:1-6 (LSB) And YOU WERE DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom WE ALL FORMERLY CONDUCTED OURSELVES IN THE LUSTS OF OUR FLESH, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and WERE BY NATURE THE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST—BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED– 6 and RAISED US UP WITH HIM, and seated us with Him in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus,

Before Jesus came, Israel was the son of God. But after THE Son of God came and gave Himself for us, whosoever believes on Him individually becomes a child of God. We are “RAISED UP WITH HIM”, raised up by the Son of God to be a son of God – to the glory of God.

You are not born into this world a son of God, a child of God. You are born into this world separated from God. But once you receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, once you believe on THE Son of God, YOU become a son of God, a child of God. The Bible says:

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. And, LET EVERYONE THAT NAMETH THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY.

It is by faith in THE Son that you become A son. “But to all who did receive {Jesus}, who believed in His name, He gave the right to BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13, ESV).

Children Of God Follow Jesus

Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore FOLLOWERS OF GOD, as DEAR {agapētos, Beloved} CHILDREN…

If you are a child of God by faith in Christ, if you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then it should show by your behavior. The history of Israel throughout the Old Covenant is the history of a disobedient people. God designated the nation itself as His “son”, but under the Old Covenant the average Israelite was spiritually dead. There were some who believed on the Coming Messiah, and were saved by faith as we are. The one that comes to my mind is Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). What Abraham believed is that which we believe today. Abraham did not believe in himself. Abraham did not believe in Israel. Abraham believed in the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord (John 8:56-58).

If you are a genuine Christian, someone “born again” because you have received Christ, then God calls you to accountability. God calls you to follow HIM, not the world. We are “Beloved Children”. God did the most for us at the Cross of Calvary.

When I read this passage, I thought about children. What are the characteristics of children? Children want to make up the rules, but they don’t. Poor parents allow them to do so, but that’s a poor parent. Parents set the rules, and children obey them. Children want to modify the rules, but they shouldn’t. A proper parent will punish the child that rejects the rules. A poor parent, not loving the child, will look the other way. Children want to imitate the grown up world. Children watch the adults, then imitate what they see whether good or bad. Children often don’t understand the why of the rules. Yet they must obey the rules anyway.

I remember one year at my house buying a present for my kids, something I just KNEW they would love. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when my kids, on unwrapping the present, played with the box. Children often undervalue that which is most valuable. The most valuable thing you have as a Christian is not heaven. The most valuable thing you have is that you daily walk with God. And may I say this:

If you’re not walking with God NOW, you may not be walking with God THEN. Your salvation may be a sham. Make sure you’re not playing with the box.

Children love their parents, and want their parents to be proud of them. Do you know what makes God our Father proud of us?

Ephesians 5:1-2 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.

The Child of God is a follower of God. The Child of God loves Jesus, God’s Only Begotten Son. Are you a Child of God? If you are not, what a wonderful day it would be to give yourself to Jesus! To be a Child of God was not offered to Israel under the Old Covenant. But being a Child of God is offered to ALL who will receive Jesus today. The Scripture says:

Galatians 4:4-7 (NKJV) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION AS SONS 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Only a Child of God can have the Holy Spirit. If you are not a Child of God, you are a slave to sin and the Law. Oh how I pray that you would give yourself to Jesus this very day!