Much of the world believes in "the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of Man." And, in the sense that He created all people, He is their "Father." But ... Scripture also paints a different picture. Jesus told some Jews who had believed in Him (John 8:31), " You are of your father the devil" (John 8:44). Huh. So ... there is some distinction between "Creator as everyone's father" and those who are "of your father, the devil." In John's Gospel, he writes,
But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, 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)So ... clearly not everyone is included in the "children of God" category in this text. Only "all who did receive Him."
When we minimize these kinds of texts, we lose the impact of God's adoption of us. He "predestined us for adoption." He did it "according to the purpose of His will" and not because we're just so lovable. And that "purpose of His will" is "to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6). That's much bigger than some fictional "universal fatherhood of God."
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I've been thinking about this adoption concept of late. When people adopt children, do they do so because of something the child did? Or do they adopt the child out of a love for the child, and the act of being adopted creates a love of the child for the parents?
You wrote, When we minimize these kinds of texts, we lose the impact of God's adoption of us. And it is a huge impact, indeed--i.e. our going from enemies of God and slaves to sin, destined for eternal destruction, to favored offspring and heirs of the Lord of all, with free access to the Throne of Grace--all through the Father’s benevolent heart towards helpless sinners! As you say, much more stupendous than a generic “universal fatherhood of God.”
I well recall hearing a sermon based on Gal. 4:1-7, contrasting our former status as slaves with our new position as adopted sons [and daughters] of the Master and therefore heirs with Christ. Later, I learned more about that from John MacArthur’s book, Slave: The Hidden Truth about Your Identity in Christ, which devotes two full chapters on our transition “From Slaves to Sons.” The teachings on this doctrine were such a blessing to me (as was this post):
“Because of our position in Christ, God now views us and treats us as He does His own Son--with infinite love.”
“The doctrine of adoption establishes the reality that believers, once saved, are always saved….We did nothing to earn our adoption into God’s family, and we can do nothing to lose it either…. With our adoption complete, our security in God’s family is forever fixed.”
“The only begotten Son of God took on the form of a slave (Phil. 2:7), so that the slaves of sin might become both slaves of righteousness and sons [and daughters] of God!”
A personal reflection on the false belief that “we are all [spiritual] children of God”: Many years ago, I shared my written personal testimony of coming to faith in Christ at age 20 with my (Catholic) mother-in-law. In reply, she remarked, “It was nice to read about when you became a child of God. We all are, of course.” The contradictory nature of her words very much prove that biblical doctrine must inform our thinking or we’ll fall into much error. Indeed, believing in "the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of Man” essentially negates the “you must be born again” admonitions from the mouth of God’s own Son (John 3:3).
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