PURPOSE: To
preach to the hearers about the benefits of every Christian as a Children of
God.
INTRODUCTION:
Many people said that all of us
are children of God, because all of us were created in His Image. It is true
that all of us were created in the image of God, but it is not true that
everybody is the Children of God. God intends that all of us must be His children,
yet there is a specific way to become His Children.
From the Book of John 1:12,
Apostle John said that, “to those who believe and receive Christ has a right to
become a children of God.” From the letter of Apostle Paul to Galatians, Paul
said that, “If we are in Christ we are children of God.” Therefore, the
children of God are the true Christians who put in faith to Christ, those who
receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Yes! If you are a Christian you are
children of God. Now, let us study the benefits of being children of God.
TEXT: Galatians 3:23-29
“23Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody
under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24So
the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
25Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the guardian.
26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for
all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There
is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS
OF BEING CHILDREN OF GOD?
·
WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW (V23-26)
·
WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST (V26-28)
·
WE ARE HEIRS OF GOD (V29)
WE ARE NOT UNDER THE
LAW (V23-26)
Galatians 3:23-26 –“23Before
the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up
until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24So the law was
our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25Now
that this faith has come, we are no longer under the guardian. 26So
in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,”
Apostle Paul made a point and made it cleared that children
of God are not under the law.
So, what are the
purposes of the law?
The law was given to
expose the transgressions (V19)
Galatians 3:19 –
“Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions
until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law given through
angels, and entrusted to a mediator. ”
The law was given to expose the
transgressions until the “seed” (Christ) come to whom the promise referred.
Therefore, the law was given by God not to make man holy but to expose the
sinful nature of man, for there is no man can fulfill all the laws, except Lord
Jesus, although He is God, He become man in order to save the humanity from
slavery of sin.
The law was given to become our guardian (tutor) (V24)
Galatians 3:24 – “24So the law was our guardian until Christ
came that we might be justified by faith.”
The law was given to become our
guardian (tutor) until Christ came (V24). Many religions taught that to find
salvation and acceptance from God must submit to the law, because they believed
that fulfilling the law is obedience to God, since God gave the law to Moses
(first five books of OT and ten commandments ) to be followed by the Nation of
Israel. From the time of Lord Jesus, Pharisees and teachers of the law were
very strict to the religious rituals to obey the different laws. But the
problem of obeying the law is nobody can obey the whole law, because of this;
nobody can find righteousness by fulfilling the law, because failure to obey at
least one commandment is failure to obey the whole commandments. (James 2:10).
Paul’s conclusion is the children
of God are not under the law anymore.
WE ARE ALL ONE IN
CHRIST (V26-28)
Galatians 3:26-28 – “.
26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for
all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There
is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
As we put our faith to Lord Jesus
Christ, we become the children of God. (John 1:12-13, V26).
We clothed ourselves with Christ
when we baptized into Christ. Clothes symbolizes where we belong, like school
uniform, it identifies us where we studied. At the time of Apostle Paul, roman
soldiers wear their uniform to signify their rank and group they belong, from
ancient to the present age, clothes become an indicator of what social status
we belong. Uniform indicates also our affiliation to a certain institution, or
it shows where we employed.
We must be cautious on how we
conduct ourselves in front of unbeliever and while we are living in this world,
because we are not representing ourselves anymore, we are representing Christ
now! We are wearing Christ now!
As a children of God we must be united, there is neither
Jew, nor Gentile, neither slave nor
free, and there is no male nor female, we are all one in Christ.
At the time of Apostle Paul there were many division and
discrimination between;
o
Jews and Gentiles
o
Men and Women
o
Slaves and Free
But when Christ came, division
and discrimination has been abolished, and every Christians has equal
opportunities to receive salvation and Spiritual Gifts based from their desire
and calling from God, regardless of their social status, race, nationality,
educational attainment and gender. Because in the eyes of God, every Christian is
a son/daughter of God, and all Christians are identified in Christ not only in
their organization, or denomination they belong.
WE ARE HEIRS OF GOD (V29, Gen 12:2-3)
Galatians 3:29 – “ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise”.
Every Christian is Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to promise. Sometimes Christian has a doubt about his
position and worth to God, we thought that we are not worthy to God because
of our sins, problems, and trials we face, and sometimes, we thought that
we are more worthy to God as we follow his commandments and calling for us, but
both are not true, because we are not better than others, in the eyes of God
all Christian are his children and heirs. The Holy Scripture said that
Christians are the children of God and heirs according to the promise. This
promise is not a promise of a religion, or a promise of an organization, or a
promise of a prophet, or a promise of matured Christian, but a promise of God!
Genesis 12:2-3 – “2I will make you into a great nation, and
I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I
will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Many people said, “I will…”,
because they want to do their will, their self-will! But, God said, “I will…”,
because it is the will of God to bless Abraham and his descendants. All
Christians are true spiritual descendants of Abraham; therefore they are Children
of God and Heirs of God, destined to be blessed and to be a vessel of blessing
to others according to the promise of God!
How can we become a
Children of God?
·
By Lord’s
Redemptive Work
·
By
receiving God’s Adoption
Galatians 4:4-7 – “4But when the set time had fully come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem
those under the law, that we might
receive adoption to sonship. 6Because you are his sons, God sent the
Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7So
you are no longer a slave, but God’s child, and since you are his child, God
made you also an heir. ”
By Lord’s Redemptive
Work
In God’s perfect time, He sent
his Son, so that every person who believe and receive Christ will find
redemption through Him. (Romans 3:23-24). God is righteous and sins must be
punished, every sinner must face punishment, but by the grace of God, Lord
Jesus died in the cross to be punished instead of us. Because of Christ’s
redemptive work in the cross everyone who has faith in Christ are justified.
By receiving God’s
Adoption
Lord’s redemptive work in the
cross enables us to receive adoption to sonship (V5). By believing and
receiving Christ, every Christian receive the right to become children of God
(John 1:12). Also, the Holy Spirit we received brought us adoption to sonship.
(Romans 8:15).
The Spirit of Christ is in the
heart of every Christian, and it will allow us to call (Abba, Father) [Daddy!].
This is a great a privilege for all true Christians, because we have intimate
relationship to Our Father in Heaven, because we can call Him, “Daddy” (Abba,
Father), and we can approach Him freely.
CONCLUSION:
Galatians 4:7 - .” So
you are no longer a slave, but God’s child, and since you are his child, God
made you also an heir. ”
Did you receive Christ as your
Lord and Savior? If yes, you are a True Christian.
If you are a True Christian, you
are not a slave; you are a son of God. If you are a son of God you are also an
Heir according to God’s promise.
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