Sons of God?
Are All Human Beings Children of God?
As of 2024, the world population exceeds eight billion people. The United States, in 2024, accounted for over 345 million. India and China were over one billion each, with India topping the chart with thirty million more people than China. That is a lot of folks.
My question and topic of this blog is, are all 8-billon + people children of God? How do we know that we belong in the family of God? Our DNA is decisively human. Our habits and personalities are less than holy, like that of the Almighty. We are riddled with disease, evil thoughts, and aggressive ambitions. How can we claim family rights with the Almighty when we are nothing like him?
Some religions teach that we are in-fact the children of God because he created man in the beginning. They say because we are the descendants of Adam, the first man, it makes us all brothers and sisters and qualifies us as children of the creator who made man in his own image and likeness.
I can see the logic behind this viewpoint, but there is no theological premise for it. Yes, Genesis does say that God created Adam and Eve in his image and likeness, but it does not say that his descendants possessed the same image. In fact, it says the opposite. Here is what the Bible says:
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
The sin of one man, Adam, brought death to all of humanity. That includes us, you, and me. The next question should be, “What sin did Adam do that would cause such a horrible fate? Let us go back to Genesis.
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17.
Adam was 930 years old when he died (Genesis 5:5), and his children and grandchildren shared similarly long life spans. Not counting Enoch, who was taken up into heaven by God, the ten patriarchs who were born before the Great Flood of Noah’s time lived an average of 900 years.
Adam’s son Seth lived to be 912 years (Genesis 5:9). Lamech, Noah’s father, died the youngest at age 777 (Genesis 5:31); and Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, lived the longest. He died at age 969 (Genesis 5)
In the days of Moses, who was considered very old when he died at 120, the average person lived only to age 70 or 80: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty” (Psalm 90:10, ESV).excerpts from gotquesttions.com.
There is a theory about a longer lifespan before the flood. Some believe that back then, the earth was encircled with ice rings like Saturn. When the flood came, the violent shaking of the earth caused the ice rings to fall upon the earth and the earth to tilt on its axes. It was believed that the ice rings blocked the harmful rays of the sun and gave a longer lifespan to man.
But, God said, in the day that you disobey me, you will surely die. Was God mistaken? Did he change his mind? I don’t think so. Here is what happened.
Adam did die but not physically. The “Breath of Life” that God breathed into him at his creation was taken away. He no longer had the ability to breathe divine air. It was the “Breathe of Life” that made Adam a living soul. Without it, he was dead. Read the following scriptures and commentary by gotquestions.com:
“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
The supreme Creator of heaven and earth did two things in creating man. First, He formed him from the very dust of the ground, and, second; He breathed his own breath into the nostrils of Adam. This distinguished man from all of God’s other creatures.
This one passage contains three significant facts about man’s creation.
The first is that God and God alone created man. Man did not evolve under the influence of blind, meaningless forces. Accidental physics and chemistry did not form man. The Lord God formed man.
Second, God breathed his own breath of life into man. Man is more than “dust” or physical substance. Man has a spirit. We can picture it this way: Adam’s body had just been formed by God from the dust of the earth—a lifeless human body lying on the ground. Then God leaned over and “breathed his own “breath of life” into the man’s nostrils; God is the Source of life, and he directly placed life within man.
Third, Genesis 2:7 tells us that man became a living soul (KJV). The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being.” Man did not become a living soul until God breathed life into him. As a physical, animate, rational, and spiritual being, man is unique among all living things on the earth.
So, what is the breath of life? It is the life and power of God, given to man to animate him. The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach, which means “wind, breath, air, spirit.” The life of God is supposed to live on in man eternally.
However, this source of life was taken away from Adam and he was immediately cut off from the life of God. His spirit was dead, but his body still lived until it died due to the actions of his own sin. He was a walking dead man.
John 10:10 records Jesus saying, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
This verse sets up a contrast between “the thief,” which is the destroyer; and Jesus, who is the life-giver. His mission was to restore humanity to its original state. He came with the “Breathe of Life” for man so he could have life and have it more abundantly.
Luke 19:10 tells us, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Was not the “Breathe of Life lost to humanity? Did not Jesus also say, as recorded in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life?”
The “Breath of Life” is everlasting and is the source of life that was lost when Adam sinned. Jesus came to give it back to all who believe in him as the only begotten Son of God and Savior of the world.
The true children of God are those who have been “Born Again”. They are those that have repented of their sins, put their trust in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Their names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
We must be “Born Again” to be a child of God. Jesus said so. He even told Nicodemus, a religious leader of that day, that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 To be “Born Again” means to believe in Jesus as John 3:16 states.
This is not head knowledge. It is life-changing faith that fills you with the “Breath of Life”, which is the very life of God that Jesus came to give everyone that believes in him. It also brings life to your dead/dormant soul. It further causes old things to pass away and new things to grow by the Spirit of God. It is a rebirth that brings forth a new creature in you.
Jesus was born of a virgin, and our new birth is also a virgin birth. Both were accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary and us when we repent and receive Jesus as our Savior. The “Breathe of Life” is restored and our divine link to God flows with God’s image and likeness. This is the “New Creature” spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”.
Why not get “Born Again” right now? Having the “Breath of life” in you and being able to see the kingdom of God is a wonderful thing.
Click on this link and you can download my eBook, “Being Born Again” It is free and explains the “Born Again” experience. It will discuss why, how and a lot more. Do this right away. It is important. (www.marinellichristianbooks.com/free-ebook)
Until next time.
John Marinelli, Author & Poet