Focus: Anyone who has the Spirit of Jesus is a child of God. Live that way!
Function: To encourage the GEMS and all present to cherish their identity as children of God.
Texts: I John 3:1-3; Romans 8:9-17
“Who am I?” is a question that never goes away. When I
was born, my parents gave me a name: They said, “You are Isaak.” However, that
was the name they gave me when I was baptized. In every day life, they called
me “Sjaak.” When I was 21, I emigrated and I gave myself the name “Jack”
because lots of English speaking people had trouble calling me “Sjaak.” So, my
name is now “Jack.” “Who am I?” however, is a question that never goes away.
At one time I was a baby, then a toddler, then a boy, then an adolescent, then a teenager, then a young adult, then a middle aged man, and now I am a senior.
At one time, I was just a kid, then I became a student, then I became a produce manager and truck driver. Then I became an emigrant. Then I became a machine operator; then I went back to school and became a student again. I also drove a bus part-time. Then, finally, I became a pastor. “Who am I?” is a question that never goes away.
At one time or another they used to call me a “kid,” a “child,” a “boy,” a ”snot nose” and a “whippersnapper.” (and these were the more positive or complimentary names); Then finally, when I was grown up, they called me “young man,” and “sir;” now they call me “Pastor,” “Reverend” and “Doctor.” Sometimes, it boggles my mind as to who I am.
But I really like it
when I hear my grown-up kids say, “Dad!” or when I hear my wife say, “Honey!”
That’s like music in my ears.
But the best answer to the question “Who am I?” is the one that says, “You are a child of God!” Listen to the text: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that’s what we are!” You know, folks, the question “Who am I?” may never go away. And the answers may change from time to time. But let this be clear: anyone who has the Spirit of Jesus Christ is a child of God. And that answer never changes.
You see, whenever a person comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that person receives a new identity. You become a new creation. You become the project of God’s Spirit; he claims you as his own; he cleanses you; he re-forms or shapes you, and he works with you to be, and to become more so, a child of God.
It does not matter whether you are 8 days old, or 8 years old, or 18 years old, or 80 years old: when God’s Spirit saves you in Christ Jesus, then you are a child of God. That’s why the apostle John says in the text: “Dear friends, now we are children of God.” Right now, in this present day and age, in this age when we are all waiting for Jesus’ to come again and make all things new, Spirit-filled believers are children of God.
You, GEMS, have learned much about this Bible verse found in I John 3. I hope and pray that you will always answer the question “Who are you?” by saying, “I am a child of God!”
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Now let me emphasize from Scripture a few important items. First of all, our identity as a child of God is God’s gift to us. Listen again: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us.” Next week Sunday is Mother’s Day. Perhaps you are planning on giving your Mom a gift. That gift is a symbol of your love for your mother. So it is with God. God the Father has given us a gift of love: he calls us “his children.”
And you know what?
For those of you who are baptized that gift of love is sealed on your
forehead, for in baptism God adopts us in the name of God the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. And anyone who is baptized in that name is part of the family of
God called the “church.” So, remember: it’s God’s gift of love to us that we
may be called “children of God.”
Secondly,
our identity as children of God is the work of God’s Holy Spirit. In
Romans 8:14 and 15 we learn that the Spirit of God adopts us into God’s family.
He claims us; he counsels us, and shapes in us the mind or attitude or spirit
of Jesus. Listen: “…you received
the Spirit of sonship (or adoption, says the apostle Paul). And by him we cry,
‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s
children.”
Now Paul refers to the Spirit of sonship or adoption as “the Spirit of life (vs. 2), as the “Spirit” (vs. 4), as the “Spirit of God” (vs.9a), as the “Spirit of Christ” (vs. 9b), and as “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” (vs. 11). Clearly, it is the divine, Holy Spirit who shapes our identity as children of God.
And that leads me to emphasize, thirdly, that you and I, as children of God, who believe in the Son of God and who belong to the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—also live by the Spirit of God. That means that we are under his control, his management or direction. The Spirit of God lives in us, and he wants his way with us. He wants to produce all kinds of fruit: patience, kindness, and love, for example. He seeks to work in us goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So, my identity as a child of God requires from me that I live as such. And that means we must live by God’s Spirit.
Clearly, our identity as children of God is a gift of God; it’s the work of God’s Spirit in us; and our identity as a son or daughter of God calls us to live by the Spirit of God. But that raises a fundamental question: Are you a child of God? Does the Spirit of God testify with your spirit that you belong to him?
How can you be certain that you are a child of God? It’s simple: turn to Jesus Christ; trust in him for your salvation; make a u-turn and leave behind anything that is sinful or contrary to God’s Word. The Bible says: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” So, turn to Jesus, embrace him and his work of love, and do his bidding. In that way, you will know that you are a child of God.
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I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s hard to really know yourself. Often, other people will try to tell you what you are: Some are very positive, and they encourage you; others can be downright nasty and say things like: you are stupid, or dumb, or ugly, or…well, you name it. Sometimes, you feel good about yourself, and sometimes you can be really in the dumps.
That’s why I want to give you three pointers:
1. Always claim your identity as a Christian. You are a child of God. Get up in the morning, brush your teeth, look into the mirror and say to yourself: “I am a child of God.”
When your peers tell you at school that you are dumb or
ugly, and when other people make you feel bad, tell yourself: “I belong to
Jesus. The Spirit of God lives in me; therefore, I am a child of God.”
When you are having a bad day and you wonder who you really are, go back to the Scriptures. Read I John 3 and claim your identity: “I am a child of God.” Always claim your identity as a Christian.
2. Always live as a child of God. That means that you act upon whom you are. A carpenter does carpentry work. Why? Because he is a carpenter. A teacher teaches. Why? Because she is a teacher. A child of God lives—not as a beggar, or rebel, or unbeliever, or as a person who has no faith. No, a child of God shows by her actions that she loves God and that she belongs to him. We show our identity by serving and loving God and by being controlled by the Spirit of God. Always live as a child of God.
3. Always affirm or encourage each other as children of God. When I look back and reflect upon my role as a father raising our children, I think that at times I could have done a much better job of encouraging or affirming our children. Why is it that criticism comes so much easier than encouragement?
I’m a grown-up now. But I realize that I need just as much encouragement and affirmation in who I am and in what I do as teenagers or young people do. In fact, we all thrive when we receive encouragement and affirmation from others, especially from those in our own household.
The same is true for God’s children in the household or church of God. Young and old alike—we need to encourage and affirm each other as children of God.
Sometimes, us grown-ups want our children and youth to grow up quickly and become like us—mature, and wise, and “having it all together.” And in our desire to see that happen, we sometimes forget that the same Spirit of God who lives in us, grown-ups, also lives in our youth and children. Our children have the same Spirit of God as you and I who are 30, 50, or 80 years old.
Some of us need to remember that when we don’t like something that our children do: like singing certain kind of songs in worship, or making use of musical instruments other than the organ. We need to remember that the same Spirit who nurtures our faith as grown-up is the same Spirit who is at work in our sons and daughters. What they need is NOT criticism, but affirmation; what they need is NOT your stay-at-home protest vote when there is a youth-driven worship service, but your encouragement. What they need from us, grown-ups, is love, affirmation, words of encouragement, wisdom, and sometimes words of admonishment and exhortation.
And what we, grown-ups need, at times is becoming like little children, for to such is the kingdom of God. Affirm; encourage each other, therefore, for each believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is a child of God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.