We often hear Christians say that they are “Children of God”. What does this mean? How does one become a child of God? John 1:12-13 says “Yet to all who did receive him, 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.” From this verse, it is very clear that only those who believe in Jesus are considered children of God.

When we accept Jesus Christ we stop being Children of this world and we become part of God’s family. We have to become born again to become Children of God. John 3:16-17 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Whoever believes in Christ will not perish but they will become Children of God and it goes without saying that whoever does not believe in Christ is not part of the kingdom of God. So how do we know if we can be called Children of God? We will see it in our lives. It says in 1 John 3:9-10 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”  This is a sure way of knowing who are the Children of God,  you will see it in the way they live their lives. If one lives in sin and shows no love towards their brothers and sisters then you can be rest assured that they are not the Children of God.