THE SONS OF GOD

The conventional teaching in Christianity is that once a person receives Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior, the believer then becomes a son or daughter of God. But a closer examination of Scriptures shows that this is not so. It is much more than that. If it were that simple, the bible should not be more than a few pages thick! In this blog, we will discuss who are the potential sons of God and how does a believer qualify as one.

It is God the Father who creates, designs and forms the spirit of man in every human being (Numbers 27:16).
Just as the spirit in man (1 Cor 2: 11-13) differentiates a human being from that of an animal, the Spirit of God indwelling in the mind of a convert differentiates him/her from that of a pre-believer. After repentance and water baptism, the believer will receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands of a spiritual leader. This connection of the Holy Spirit with the spirit in man is what makes a believer a child of God. At that point, the convert is begotten of God on his way to become a  son of God as the Holy Spirit works in cooperation with the human spirit in the mind of the convert (Romans 8:16). However, the convert is like a foetus in the womb of the mother (Gal 4:26), awaiting to be born. The 'mother' is the church who is responsible to feed the new believer the word of truth for the believer to grow into maturity as a son of God.

 A true Christian is one led by the Spirit of God, for they are the sons of God (Rom 8:14). To be led by God's Spirit is to be prompted and directed by the Holy Spirit in the disciple's daily life who is called to develop the spiritual character qualities of Christ-likeness (Rom 8:28-30). The disciple must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33), and righteousness is the character of Christ-likeness, for Christ will be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:6) when He returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth.

The potential sons of God have yet to be born again, which will happen at the first resurrection (Rev 20:5)just before Christ returns at the sound of the last trumpet to set up the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 11:15). Once born again, they will become immortal spiritual God beings to be members of the Divine Family (1 Cor 15:54). For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50) but only immortal spirit being can see, enter and inherit it. Just like the wind which can be felt but cannot be seen (John 3:8), the kingdom of God can only be seen and entered into by spirit beings, not human beings (John 3:3,5)! Potential sons of God are presently heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Christ being the firstborn from among the dead -Rom 8:29d) which after death, will be glorified - meaning, being resurrected from physical death (Rom 8:17). When the sons of God are perfected at resurrection, they will be like Christ (1 John 3:2), no longer able to sin (1 John 3:9).

Christ will bring the rewards of the individual sons of God with Him when He returns (Rev 22:12) - not daughters of God because there is no sex and mariage in the world of the spirit beings (Matthew 22:30). The rewards are given by God the Father who is in heaven, not that the rewards are presented in heaven.The rewards are determined by the Heavenly Father who is the Head of the Divine Family. Earthly marriage and family is a symbolism of God's plan for His own Divine Family. A type of rehearsal for the creation of His eternal Divine Family! Theologians, scientists and philosophers can search and research all their life but can never find the truth, unless the Spirit of God is working in them to reveal His marvellous divine plan for mankind.

 No wonder that 2 Timothy 3:7 states that men are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Apostle Paul warns that those who do not love the truth will fall into deception and perish (2 Thess 2:10). Christ on the night before He was betrayed, prayed for His disciples before God the Father, 'Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.' (John 17:17). Truth can never be compromised, for it is the universal spiritual law set by God which cannot be broken. Christ told the Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' (John 8:31-32). That is what the Scriptures meant by righteousness - understanding and obeying the truth as taught by Christ. Details of which can be found in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5 through 7. These teachings are for the sons of God to abide to overcome Satan, society and self. Once they overcome, they will qualify to be born again as sons of God to rule and reign with Christ, just as Christ overcame Satan in the wilderness and qualify to rule as King in His coming kingdom!

The Apostle Paul in his inspired writings from 1 Cor 15:45-49 states, 'The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam (Christ) became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust (flesh and blood), and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (composed of spirit after resurrection).'  Those who are called and chosen to become sons of God are those whom God is working in their lives. They are literally a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Sadly, these are a small minority who will understand and obey, such 'little flock' (Luke 12:32) will ultimately inherit all that God has destined for them  in the kingdom of God. Make no mistake, only those who enter and inherit the kingdom of God have obtained salvation and have eternal life! Even the patriarchs and prophets of old are still waiting for the first resurrection when Christ returns (Hebrews 11:13).

Potential sons of God are called to take on the divine nature of their Parent (2 Peter 1:4), holy and righteous in character. To accomplish this, disciples basically have to overcome the pride of life and the lust of the eyes that is dominant in this world's value system. Without this understanding and discipline, it is an uphill task like going against the forces of gravity. Christ's sermon on the mount in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is a series of teachings about the give way of life as compare to the get way of life that is practised by the people of this world. But there is hope. The Lord of Righteousness will return to change all that has gone out of sync with God's will for mankind. The Day of Lord will be time when God will supernaturally intervene in the affairs of mankind (Zachariah 14:1-5) to bring about permanent change for mankind and all the governments of this world!

The sons of God will see, enter and inherit the kingdom of God. But many wrongly assume that once they are 'saved, baptised and become a church member' they will so inherit it. In Mark 1:15, Christ preached, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.' Notice that at that point in time, the church has not even being formed. The church came about on the day of Pentecost which was fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven. It is a no brainer to know that Christ message about the kingdom of God cannot be referring to the church. What he was saying is that after overcoming Satan at the wilderness (Matthew 4:3-11), He is now qualified to be King of the coming kingdom of God - that is what He meant by 'the time is fulfilled'. Since the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God was being preached and everyone is pressing (striving) to enter it (Luke 16:16). The time to preach the kingdom of God and to qualify to enter it was then and still is now! Only born again resurrected spirit beings can see, enter (John 3:3-8) and inherit the kingdom of God with all the riches of God's inheritance and rewards for those who qualify!

One must accept God's terms to qualify for the kingdom. It is not automatic as many wrongly assume. Most churches failed to worship the Heavenly Father. One of Christ's main goals on His first advent was to reveal God the Father and His will for mankind. Sadly, most simply do not believe Him. The majority will wake up in the second resurrection to find that they have missed the most glorious time of history - the inauguration of Christ on the throne of His Millennial Reign, together with His resurrected saints as kings (Daniel 7:13, 14, 18), probably to different positions of key appointments in His kingdom. They will reign with Christ forever and ever into eternity!  The parable of the Minas in Luke 1912:27 clearly teaches the principle of rewards for those servants who will believe and obey what He teaches. For no one will be fit to rule and reign in the kingdom of God if they do not believe and obey in this lifetime. For those who are servants of God but refuse to submit to His governmental authority for the church, they will be severely punished ((Luke 19:26-27).

Every potential son of God will have his/her role in the church carve out by God (1 Cor 12: 18). They are not at liberty to do as they please. To do so would be like those rebellious servants in Christs' parables in Matthew 24 and Luke 19 who are 'doing their own things' and ultimately lose their rewards and be punished. They are not connected to the Head of the church, who is Christ. Only those who are found faithful and wise will ultimately made rulers over God's kingdom (Matthew 24:45). God's ultimate purpose for the resurrected spirit beings is to propagate His government over all His creation in the universe (Isaiah 9:7). Will you take step to believe and obey Him and be counted as a son of God? Your awesome potential is yet to be!