11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11

[MiserereMei25]

Is it too far-fetched to say that the Father says the same thing to each one of us at our baptism?

 

[edward_george1]

No, I say that in homilies all the time. Baptism is how we are grafted onto Christ and made sons and daughters of God by adoption.

-Fr ACEGC

 

[Beryllos]

I heard something like that in the Homily after that Gospel.

 

[joseie]

Yes.These special words were only meant for Jesus.Moreover baptism is only a process of admission/adoption into Christianity and there is no scope for any belief that God the father confers such a privilege to each at the time of baptism.

 

[phujosh]

No, I say that in homilies all the time. Baptism is how we are grafted onto Christ and made sons and daughters of God by adoption.

How come I always hear that we are only adopted sons and daughters of God? Aren’t we His real children that He created in his own image? I don’t believe that there are any other “creators” out there?

 

[DeniseNY]

My pastor said this in the homily last week.

 

[Hodos]

I think the Bible makes that very case.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

How come I always hear that we are only adopted sons and daughters of God? Aren’t we His real children that He created in his own image? I don’t believe that there are any other “creators” out there?

I think it’s because we are made in his image, but we are not “God from God” or “consubstantial” with God the way Jesus is.
We’re only human, after all

 

[Beryllos]

Regarding “adopted,” another way to look at it is that we were adopted by virtue of Jesus’ humanity. We are not God, nor are we gods, but we can be with God now, and someday live in his heavenly home, because of what Jesus did.

 

[Dovekin]

I tracked this down last year, after hearing Pope Francis saying it echoes at every baptism. I suspect there is an even longer history to the idea…

With Baptism we become children of God in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Rising from the waters of the Baptismal font, every Christian hears again the voice that was once heard on the banks of the Jordan River: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22). From this comes the understanding that one has been brought into association with the beloved Son, becoming a child of adoption (cf. Gal 4:4-7) and a brother or sister of Christ. In this way the eternal plan of the Father for each person is realized in history: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren” (Rom 8:29).
St John Paul II. Christifideles Laici 11

 

[Usagi]

We are all inherently God’s creations, but the baptized are adopted as His children in a special sense.

It’s almost Pinocchio-like: we go from being one of the many things He made (if one that is very special to Him) to being like Him — not literally co-equal gods, of course, but plenty of perfectly orthodox Christians have used very shocking language along those lines (the Eastern concept of theosis or divinization, or St. Athanasius’ statement that “God became man that man might become God”) to convey the reality of our adoption.

 

[phujosh]

we are not “God from God”

We are not God, nor are we gods

"With Baptism we become children of God in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ"

“God became man that man might become God”

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my question on why we are only “adopted sons and daughters of God”. The answers given by most of you that we are not “gods” generated more questions and more confusions at first. Things just didn’t add up so I reread Genesis when the Serpent seduced Eve into eating the apple.

Genesis 3:3-7
3 But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” 4 Then the snake said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! 5 God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.’ 6 The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.

Am I correct in my assessment by saying that this is the reason for the fall of Adam and Eve who were exiled from the paradise of the Garden of Eden into the world with the Serpent. And by our disobedience to God Our Father that we’ve become “adopted” sons and daughters of Satan because we’ve been initiated in his kingdom by death??? And so we need Jesus to rescue us and be baptised in his name to reclaim us to be with our true Father? If that is correct, then before the fall, had Adam and Eve ate the Tree of Life instead, would they’ve experienced the realization of the plan of God to be like the true Son of God like Jesus? In John 10:34 “Jesus answered: Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods?” I believe that we are truly sons and daughters of God. The usage of adoption is actually a reclamation or rescue from Satan. Am I correct? What do you guys think?

 

[Beryllos]

You are right, human beings were something special before the Fall. But sons and daughters of God, I don’t know. I’ll give it more thought, and I look forward to other answers.

 

[Dovekin]

I could get into this idea, about adoption and being a child of God, but I am not sure I could do justice to the topic.

Last year, I was looking into this while preparing to talk about prayer, in particular the prayer that Jesus taught us. So the question is, do you pray “foster father who art in heaven”? Or “Our father…”?

The voice of the Father at baptism is the basis for praying with the words Jesus taught us. And that prayer determines what life and knowledge mean for us.

 

[phujosh]

“foster father who art in heaven”? Or “Our father…”?

The One who created us in His image is TRULY OUR FATHER. We are truly His sons and daughters. And I am even more confident to say that we are “gods.” Why? Because no one else in the universe can create human beings, his masterpiece, in God’s image, other than us.