John 1:12-13

"Yet to all who received him [Jesus Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Child of the devil? -or- Child of God?

John 8:41-47

"...they protested, "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

These verses paint a very clear picture: a person is either a child of God or a child of the devil. That doesn't mean a person is a Satan worshipper, but under the influence of the devil and not a child of God.

• Before a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior they are a child of the devil.
• After a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior they BECOME a child of God.

Divine Relationships

John 14:20-21

"On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Just as there are specific relationships in your physical, human family there are also specific relationships in your new spiritual family that are important to understand.

• Jesus Christ is in the Father
• Jesus Christ is now in you
• You are in Jesus.

God’s Love Comes To You Because Of Your Love For Jesus

John 16:27

"...the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."

Jesus’ Resurrection

John 20:11-17

"...Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Because of Mary's faith in Jesus, He can refer to God as His Father AND Mary's Father too!

Being Part of God’s Family

Romans 8:15-17

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

Galatians 4:6-7

"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

It's important for you to see three things in these verses: 

• You received the Spirit of sonship (The Holy Spirit) when you received Jesus as your Savior. The Spirit of Christ actually came to live in your heart.
• You can cry out to God, “Daddy”, rather than just think of Him as "an impersonal influence or force out there somewhere".
• You are an heir of God and co-heir with Christ. There are wonderful things that God has in store for you as part of your divine inheritance!

Ephesians 1:17-21

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."

Paul’s prayer is that new believers in Jesus Christ will know the Father better and better. That their personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father will GROW! He also prays that their eyes may be opened to know the HOPE He has given them, the tremendous inheritance they have in Christ, and the great power of God working in them. 

All of these things are also God's desire for YOU to have. He wants your personal relationship with Him to grow. He wants your eyes to be opened to the hope He has given you, to your tremendous inheritence in Christ, and the great power of God working in you since you received Jesus as your Savior!

God Disciplines His Children

Hebrews 12:1-15
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart..."My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

There is no other way to interpret these verses. If we are really God's child then you can expect God to discipline you. You may have had a father who was arbitrary or severe in his discipline of you. Or you may have had a father that was lax and didn't discipline you at all. Either extreme hurt you. But these verses tell us that God isn't arbitrary or lax in his discipline. He disciplines His children from a heart of love and with the full understanding of what is best for us. 

You need to be very careful that you submit to God's discipline and not resist it because God's desire is to shape you into the kind of person He knows you can become. You see, God knows your true, full, potential. And He wants you to experience that full potential!

The Result Of Being Born Of God

I John 3:1-3

Again, there are four important things for you to learn from these verses: 

• You are a child of God because of God’s love!
• You will not be understood by those who don't know God.
• You will become more and more like Jesus.
• You need to purify yourself.

II John 9

"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."

You have entered an entirely new relationship by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. But as with any relationship you need to develop it. What you have received is NOT religion! It is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This verse makes a very important statement that you need to understand:

• If you do not continue in the teaching of Christ you do not have God.
• If you continue in the teachings of Christ you have both the Father and the Son.