************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 33 ************
Doctrine: The Apostles' Creed, second line; the difference between Jesus and us as God's Children
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on August 27, 2000
Q & A 33
John 1:1-18
"Children of God"
Introduction
God has two kinds of children, says the Catechism: natural and adopted. There is only one of the first kind: Jesus alone is the "eternal" and "natural" Son of God. There are many of the second kind: by grace, all who believe and are baptized are the adopted children of God.
The Bible goes further than the Catechism in using the phrase "children of God." In Athens, the Apostle Paul said that pagan poets are quite correct in stating that all of us are God's offspring, for "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). And, in the book of Job, three times angels are identified as "sons of God" (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).
As the Creator, God has parented the whole universe. In the broadest possible sense, God is the Father of all that is living. In Him is life, and from Him comes all that has life. He is the Fountain, Originator, Root, Beginning, and Well of existence. In this way the entire universe and everything in it is His child.
Since all mankind live and move and have their being only in God, we can say that every person is a child of God. However, all men have forfeited or lost the right to call God "Father" and themselves "children of God" because they have fallen into sin. They have become so estranged from their Father that the Bible calls them children of disobedience and objects of wrath (Eph 2:2,3). It is only when they are "born again" that they may again be properly called God's children.
I Jesus: The One and Only Son
A In the Apostles' Creed we confess faith in Jesus the "only Son" – or, as our Scripture reading puts it, "the one and only Son." Now, don't forget, we are talking about true faith, saving faith. True faith, saving faith, claims Jesus is the only Son of God.
Can there be any doubt that Jesus is the Son of God? We think of the words of the angel to the virgin Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk 1:35). Remember the time a very upset Mary and Joseph found the boy Jesus in the temple? "Why were you searching for me?" He asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49). And, at both His baptism and transfiguration, the voice of God the Father said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Mt 3:17; 17:5). During the time of His ministry on earth Jesus repeatedly referred to God as His Father. And, His last word before He died was, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Lk 23:46).
Satan knew and recognized Jesus as the Son of God. On the basis of that Sonship, Satan tempted a hungry Jesus, saying, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (Mt 4:3). And, when the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple, He again tempted Him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down ..." (Mt 4:6).
The evil spirits, too, knew and recognized Jesus as the Son of God. "Whenever the evil spirits saw him," says Scripture, "they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God"" (Mk 3:11).
After Jesus walked on water and stilled the storm, those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God" (Mt 14:33). And, Simon Peter could confess, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16).
The high priest and the religious leaders condemned Jesus to death because of His claim to be "the Christ, the Son of God" (Mt 26:63-66). The crowds before the cross mocked Jesus and challenged Him: "Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God" (Mt 27:40; cf Mt 27:41-44).
Remember the three signs when Jesus died? At the moment that Jesus' soul separated from His body the curtain of the temple was torn in two, the earth shook and the rocks split, and the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:50-54).
Over and over again, the testimony of angels and demons, Satan and God, the disciples and the Pharisees, the soldiers and the people, are all the same: Jesus is the Son of God!
B In the Creed we confess that Jesus is the "only Son" of God, the one and only Son. What does this phrase mean? In the original Greek the phrase is used for the widow of Nain's only son, who was being carried to his grave when the Lord stopped the funeral procession (Lk 7:11-17). The phrase indicates how precious the son is to his widowed mother. The phrase means "only," "beloved," "favorite." In the same way, this phrase says something about the unique love relationship of the Father and the Son. Jesus is the "only," the "beloved," the "favorite" Son of His Father.
The phrase "one and only Son" also says something of the unique birth relationship of the Father and the Son. It indicates that Jesus is of the same substance as the Father. As you know, a sow produces piglets, a cow produces calves, a horse produces colts, and a human produces children; a sow does not produce calves and a man does not produce colts. Each produces its own kind. This is a law that God has written into Creation. Just as every species reproduces offspring of the same kind or essence as itself and does not reproduce something essentially different from itself, so, in some mysterious way, God produces a Son of His own essence.
C We confess that Christ "is the eternal, natural Son of God." It is impossible for us to fully understand this. For us, there is a time when we are not yet fathers or mothers; then there comes that magical moment when we get a son or daughter. For instance, it is hard for me to imagine that 47 years ago my dad was not a father and that 19 years ago fatherhood was not part of my being. The state of fatherhood is not something we are but something we become. But of God the Father we confess that there never was a time when He was not Father; and of God the Son we say that there was never a time when He was not Son. In the being of God is an eternal Father-Son relationship.
This eternal Father-Son relationship helps us to define Who God is from eternity to eternity. It tells us that God is not stillness, aloneness, and aloofness. It tells us that God, from eternity, is a caring, loving, fellowshipping being. And we, being made in His image, are to be like Him: caring, loving, fellowshipping beings.
II Believers: Adopted Children
A Jesus is God's one and only Son, but according to the Bible we also are God's children. That's one of the meanings of our baptism – that God has adopted us as His children.
There are two major differences, however, between us and Christ here. First, Christ's Sonship is eternal whereas ours is everlasting. Christ is the eternal son of God; from eternity to eternity Christ has been, is, and always will be the Son of God; His Sonship has neither beginning nor end. In contrast, we are but everlasting children of God; which means our status as God's children has a beginning point – the moment we are born again – but no end point.
Second, Christ is the natural Son of God whereas we are adopted children of God. Christ is of the same essence and being as the Father; He shares with Him the attributes of the divine Godhead. We, on the other hand, are adopted children of God – adopted by grace through Christ – and, of course, we are not of the same essence and being as the Father!
B Becoming a child of God is something that happens to us; it is not something we do. God does the adopting, and He does it "by grace through Christ."
Topic: Children
Subtopic: Adoption of
Index: 1654
Date: 1/1997.101
Title:
A new mother stayed with her parents for several days after the birth of her first child. One afternoon she remarked to her mother that it was surprising the baby had dark hair, since both her husband and she were fair. The grandmother said, "Well, your daddy has black hair." To which the daughter replied, "But, Mama, that doesn't matter, because I'm adopted." With an embarrassed smile, that mother said the most wonderful words her daughter had ever heard: "I always forget."
All Christians are adopted children of God who are accepted by God with the same unconditional love that this mother had for her daughter.
An old-fashioned word you do not hear much anymore is the word "foundling." A foundling is an infant of unknown parentage who has been found abandoned. There used to be a time in our Western world when the desperate would put their newborn children on the doorsteps of rich people's homes, hoping the children would be adopted. Such children would be sure of a future only if the rich took pity on them. Thank God that because of adoption agencies and International Aid Societies this generally does not happen anymore.
According to the teaching of Scripture, Christians are foundlings. Think of parents bringing their child to be baptized. In the sacrament, parents are really laying their baby on the doorstep of God's dwelling, trusting that He will take him or her in as an adopted child.
On our own, by our own efforts, we do not become children of God. We must be found of God and adopted by grace. It is a gift given to us, says John. It is Jesus Who gives us "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" (Jn 1:12b,13).
Topic: Grace
Subtopic: Of God
Index: 1445
Date: 8/1991.2
Title:
Someone has offered this penetrating comparison of the difference between revenge, justice, and grace. If someone brutally murders your son and you take things into your own hands, that's revenge. If you're content to allow the law and the courts to arrest and punish the offender, that's justice. But if you pardon the murderer, adopt him, and take him home to live with you as your son, that's grace!
That's what God has done for us. He has taken those who are responsible for the death of His Son – after all, it was our sins that sent Him to the cross – and has made them His children. What grace – amazing grace, beautiful grace, unsurpassing grace.
A preacher on an evangelistic tour was invited to spend the night with some members of a local congregation. The family consisted of a father, a mother, and a 12-year-old boy. As they all sat around the fire, the father began to tell of the circumstances surrounding the adoption of their only son, a youngster they had aided a few years before. "The child was just a poor orphan when we first saw him," said the man. "He was in rags and very dirty, but his shoes were the worst of all. The upper parts were in tatters, and the soles had huge holes in them. We immediately gave him new clothes, but decided to keep those battered shoes as a reminder of how bad off he really had been. I put them in a closet nearby and every once in a while we look at them to remind ourselves of the great difference adoption has made in his life.
It makes as big a difference in our life too. For now we can call God "Father" and ourselves "children of God." For now we have a place called "home", a place where we are secure. For now we can look forward to an inheritance. For now we know our prayers are always heard. For now we know we have a Father Who always cares for us.
C We do nothing to become God's adopted children. It is an act of grace. Yet, this does not mean that our will is neutral or that we can be passive and non-responsive. John says, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ..." (Jn 1:12). Being adopted into God's family is a gift of grace. Yet, we must receive Christ by believing in His name. A person must yield his or her life to Jesus Christ. One must completely trust the claims of Jesus. Think again of a child being presented for baptism. His parents, in baptism, lay him on the doorstep of God's dwelling, trusting that God will take him in as an adopted child. Now that child must not only be told he is adopted by our heavenly Father, he must also be told to receive Jesus by believing in His name.
THE brill, or pearl fish, is somewhat like a turbot, and is known by its pearly white spots. But pearly spots don't make pearls, although pearls may have spots.
A man may be spotted with many Christian characteristics, including baptism, and yet be as far from being a Christian as the brill is from a pearl. God's children may have spots, but the spots do not make them God's children.
To be a true child of God you need to believe in Jesus, trust in His name, and give Him your heart. Otherwise, you are wearing only the spots of being a Christian.
Conclusion
Jesus is God's one and only Son. By grace, however, we also are children of God.