Sons and Daughters of God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="001d6c00ddvuru.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0066FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Walmer Baptist Church</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT> |     <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walmer Baptist Church"><U><U><IMG SRC="01a581f0.gif" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></U></A></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> Sons and Daughters of God</div> <div> By Revd Sean Michael Carter<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> © Copyright Revd Sean Michael Carter. This article may not be reproduced without written permission. </div> <bR> <div> Posted on 24th May 2006</div> <bR> <div> The following article is based on a sermon recently preached by the Revd Carter but has been adapted by the Revd Carter to be posted here. The complete sermon is available on audio CD priced £2.50.</div> <bR> <div> Galatians 3:26 'You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (The rest of the reading is Galatians 3:27-4:7)</div> <bR> <div> God is an eternally relational being, He is a Trinity. In this passage we see the relationship a Christian has with God, we are all sons and daughters of the living God. By a sheer act of God's grace, this is a position we have as well as an identity that defines us.</div> <bR> <div> Every human being intrinsically has a spark of divinity within them, because all were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) We were created physically from the dust (composition) of the earth and God breathed a soul into us so that we became living souls, not that we have a soul, we are living souls. We are a duality, yet a unity.</div> <bR> <div> Human beings are unique beings in that they are created in the image of God, had a unique relationship to God with a unique role in creation. Western civilization began with this Christian revelation, not with the theory of evolution. There has been a wholesale assault and destruction of the whole edifice of ethics, law, culture, human relationships and behaviour constructed on the Christian revelation that we are created in the image of God and ultimately responsible to a higher power. The absolute moral and civil chaos we see in our nation today is because the underlying assumption about our humanity now is that we are merely biological marvels who must follow our own basic instincts in order to lead a fulfilling life. The political, ethical and social implications that emerge from our understanding of human nature are serious indeed. I am not going to discuss the creationist verses evolutionary debate here although I could give a reasonable and logical case for creationism but space does not permit that. Suffice to say for now that I believe the scientific and archeological evidence exists to show we are created beings. </div> <bR> <div> The image of God within people is still there, although now marred by the fall of humanity. The role we have in creation has now become an abusive one where as a race (the human race collectively)  we are destroying that which God gave us to care for (The animal kingdom and the environment etc.) The relationship we had with God was also broken. Through the Incarnation of Christ, his birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection the possibility of a restored relationship to God was made real. The Galatians were people who heard this message and believed and received it by faith and so Paul declares (The original Greek word is very forceful) to them that they are sons of God. As a result the Spirit of God was within them and they were now the heirs of God.</div> <bR> <div> The inheritance they and we have, is that one day we shall be like Christ. This is an incredible promise not fully described in scripture as to exactly what it means. The Apostle John wrote that it has not yet been revealed exactly what it will be. (Read 1 John 3:1-3) The inheritance is we shall also reign with Christ and have an eternal home with him, that we can explore and enjoy eternity and untold worlds and universes as we continue to develop in our intellect and ability to be human and becoming more the image of our creator. There are many other hints in scripture that give us a glimpse into glory. Let me sum it up. As a Christian believer, you are an heir to the most incredible, awesome, lavish inheritance anyone can ever dream of receiving. The Apostle Paul wrote that our finite minds cannot quite comprehend it. ( 1 Cor 2:9) But, we know it by two things.</div> <bR> <div> 1. The experience of the Holy Spirit.</div> <div>  We have a connection to the spiritual. We exist in time and have a link to eternity and the eternal God.</div> <bR> <div> 2. By faith.</div> <bR> <div> What is faith? It is not merely a device for believing the unbelievable, neither is it deriving false comfort from imaginary or false promises because we prefer delusion to the state of the world we live in. Faith is one of the few things defined in scripture. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)</div> <bR> <div> As people, even as Christians, we have to accept the impenetrability of the cloud of unknowing that lies between us in time and eternity. We are connected to the eternal trinity by God  the Holy Spirit so we have the experience and taste of eternity and we believe the gospel by faith. This does not mean we have solved all mysteries and know everything about God. if we feel we are masters on the knowledge of God, it is not the God of the Bible we are worshipping but merely a god we have created in our own minds. Faith is a special kind of knowledge that gives us insight into our earthly existence. It is the knowledge that our earthly existence of three score years plus ten or however long or short it will be, is linked in a mysterious way to a more comprehensive and lasting existence elsewhere and we are in a covenant relationship with God whom we can now call Father. In his Pensees Pascal makes a famous wager challenging people to bet on either eternal survival or eternal extinction. If you back eternal survival you gain everything he writes, but even if you lose the bet you wont ever know you have lost the bet so what's to lose? </div> <bR> <div> A minister is not merely a conveyor of theological truths or a vendor of words, and neither are you the lay-Christian. We are a people who seek to live authentic lives that reflect these truths. That is why Paul goes on to write about the social implications of being the sons of God. He identifies the three most common areas of discrimination</div> <bR> <div> 1. Racial  (No Jew, no Greek)</div> <bR> <div> 2. Economic (Slaves, free men and women)</div> <bR> <div> 3. Sexual (Male- Female)</div> <bR> <div> He is not saying these distinctions no longer exist or are not real in our lives and experience, but he is saying that in Christ they no longer define us. Before the Holy Trinity we are all equal. In time these things define us, but in Christ we have the same position, the same identity, the same inheritance, the same Holy Spirit and the same Father to whom we call out too. He writes to them 'you are all one in Christ Jesus.'</div> <bR> <div> Who could believe such incredible statements? Well, those who have believed it. Some of the greatest artists, mystics, saints, nation builders, architects, scientific minds of the past and present have believed it. Christians of all sorts and conditions, races and nationalities, past and present have believed it. People like you and I, whose lives have been irradiated and given meaning and direction through the great drama of the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and our faith in this gospel and this hope. Amen, and amen. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Inspirational and Spirituality Section"><U><IMG SRC="019581f0.gif" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>