#88 The Children of God

From Meditations on the Epistles of John, by Samuel Froehlich

Although few on earth are children of God, yet almost no one doubts being one; at least not one of those who are not doubts it, and therefore most men are deceived about their actual standing with God because the devil blinds them. Now, since no one by nature has the right or claim to sonship of God, who then are these that receive this power? They are those who receive Christ the Son. (John 1:12-13)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

But this acceptance takes place by faith in the preached Word, which then is affirmed and sealed by the Spirit of Christ as a power of life unto eternal life. Like the Son, none of the children of God are begotten and born of flesh and blood but of God. It was for this very reason that the Son of God became a Son of man, that He might make the children of Adam (lost sinners), children of God in Himself and give them this fulness of power in His name. He has taken on and upon Himself that which was ours, so as to redeem us from sin and out of Satan’s power and to give us, instead, that which is His—His glory—which we lack.

Thus the real children of God are indeed to be recognized and even counted in this world of darkness, for they are light, begotten of light, so that they, in the name of Jesus, may be a light in this dark world. As many as are sons of God have been called, singled out, and elected thereto of God for His own, and are then also singled out and rejected by the world and their name is put down and rejected as an evil, injurious one, that all might shun them like a communicable contagion among men, because the world considers its own wrong, its evil way the right one, and the one true way to God and eternal life, Christ, the wrong one.

There are indeed some, too, who begin to doubt their sonship of God by natural birth when they believe the Word of Truth and without this struggle of doubt and unbelief, no one comes to the true faith and life of the Son of God or to the full power to become a child of God. But this period of doubting is transitory and forms the passageway from darkness to light, from Satan’s power to God. Thus the children of God are well known and recognized: "The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

Even the devil and the world know these who no longer are of them but of God, for the light punishes and condemns the darkness and its evil works by its mere presence. The darkness cannot suffer that. It defends itself against the reproving testimony of the light and hates and condemns it in return. But if we, as children of God and of light, are persecuted and reviled by the world, we should rejoice exceedingly and exult triumphantly. What we must suffer with Christ for the sake of truth and righteousness will be richly rewarded to us with eternal rest in heaven. Unbelievers have afflictions in the world too, which they cause themselves by their unrighteousness, in that none will suffer for another, but there follows no rest for them hereafter but eternal unrest.

The way to life, which few find, is a rough one for the flesh only. If the world still recognizes us as its own, we are not of God, and if we are children of God in Christ, the friendship of the world has come to an end, because the world does not know Him. We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in wickedness. Now what still remains if the whole world is on one side? There would of course be few on the other.