Pope Francis on we are all children of God yet the bible says only those who believe in Christ are

  • Thread starter Thread starter Veronica2017
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
V

Veronica2017

Guest
So I’m just wanting some clarification after reading the letter of John. The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god. In 1 John 5 1 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ is a child of god. To some extent yes we are all creatures of god but I think to be an adopted child/born of god it explicitly says in several passages we have to believe in Christ so that we imply we are in fact not All children of god ?!?!
 
Last edited:
I guess we’re all children of God in the sense that we are all created by God and therefore he fathered us all as the author of life… though it is through baptism that we actually become adopted children of the Father.

…I’m also tempted to possibly include the peacemakers in that, too 😉 because of the beatitudes. I can’t say I’m 100% sure how it all works though tbh.
 
Last edited:
Veronica2017 said:
So I’m just wanting some clarification after reading the letter of John. The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god. In 1 John 5 1 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ is a child of god. To some extent yes we are all creatures of god but I think to be an adopted child/born of god it explicitly says in several passages we have to believe in Christ so that we imply we are in fact not All children of god ?!?!
Click to expand...
Curious if you are you not a Christian? … For, God is spelled God… and not “god”?

Since Jesus and His Father God - can exist in one’s heart… / Conscience .
When one - such as the non-Jewish Samaritan - is Obeying God’s Command (Shema),
one is in Essence - Obeying/Accepting Jesus - and is an adopted Son of GOD.

Jews who are not yet fully acceptant of Rabbi Yeshua’s Teachings - shall indeed return to Him in larger numbers. This is Prophecy

Shalom!

)_
 
Scripture and the Church have traditionally used both expressions, both in the supernatural and natural sense.

We become His children in the sense of His heirs through Baptism. But as St. Paul said in Acts 17:28, the pagans got it right when they said: “For we are indeed his offspring.”

In his encyclical on the unity of the human family (with a common origin in God and called to a common destiny in Him), Summi Pontificatus, Pope Pius XII elaborated on this point. One example (my bolding):
In fact, the first page of the Scripture, with magnificent simplicity, tells us how God, as a culmination to His creative work, made man to His Own image and likeness (cf. Genesis i. 26, 27); and the same Scripture tells us that He enriched man with supernatural gifts and privileges, and destined him to an eternal and ineffable happiness. It shows us besides how other men took their origin from the first couple, and then goes on, in unsurpassed vividness of language, to recount their division into different groups and their dispersion to various parts of the world. Even when they abandoned their Creator, God did not cease to regard them as His children, who, according to His merciful plan, should one day be reunited once more in His friendship (cf. Genesis xii. 3).

The Apostle of the Gentiles later on makes himself the herald of this truth which associates men as brothers in one great family, when he proclaims to the Greek world that God “hath made of one, all mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, determining appointed times, and the limits of their habitation, that they should seek God” (Acts xvii. 26, 27).

A marvelous vision, which makes us see the human race in the unity of one common origin in God "one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in us all" (Ephesians iv. 6)…
Click to expand...
http://www.vatican.va/content/pius-...hf_p-xii_enc_20101939_summi-pontificatus.html
 
Last edited:
Veronica2017 said:
So I’m just wanting some clarification after reading the letter of John. The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god. In 1 John 5 1 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ is a child of god. To some extent yes we are all creatures of god but I think to be an adopted child/born of god it explicitly says in several passages we have to believe in Christ so that we imply we are in fact not All children of god ?!?!
Click to expand...
Revealed unto babes – babes in manner, and also before any corruption.

Matthew 19
14 but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Click to expand...
Matthew 11
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; 26 yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Veronica2017 said:
So I’m just wanting some clarification after reading the letter of John. The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god. In 1 John 5 1 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ is a child of god. To some extent yes we are all creatures of god but I think to be an adopted child/born of god it explicitly says in several passages we have to believe in Christ so that we imply we are in fact not All children of god ?!?!
Click to expand...
If you want to be properly identified as a child of God, you might want to start showing proper respect by capitalizing his name.

Yes, we are children only of God in a strict sense only by our baptism. It is through baptism that we receive the spirit of adoption, transforming us from mere creatures to heirs of the divine. That requires the action of the Holy Spirit.

However, since man, baptized or unbaptized, is a rational creature, his creation in God’s image and likeness does make all people children of God is a broader sense. After all, the Gospel according to Luke does identify Adam, the son of God. So by virtue of his creation from the dirt, Adam, who represents the entire human race, is a child of God.

That brings the entire race, baptized and unbaptized into a universal brotherhood of humanity.
 
Veronica2017 said:
The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god.
Click to expand...
I would suggest you are misreading that passage. It does NOT say that those who do not believe in Christ are not children of God. It says that all who do believe in Christ are children of God. It is written to encourage those who accept Christ, not to beat down those who do not. Christianity is (or at least should be) a religion of inclusion, not exclusion.

Pope Francis’ statements (and those of his predecessors) that we are all Children of God are certainly consistent with Scripture and with the Church’s teaching, if that is your concern.
 
Please capitalise God unless you are talking about Pagan gods.
 
Genesis315 said:
We become His children in the sense of His heirs through Baptism. But as St. Paul said in Acts 17:28, the pagans got it right when they said: “For we are indeed his offspring.”
Click to expand...
Let us put that comment into its full context… so as to eliminate any potential ambiguity…

Paul was specifically speaking to Pagan Athenians - known to have a Legion of Pagan “gods”
which in turn became Worshipped, Idols…

And when Paul finished
some Pagans became Believers in God… .
and some did not
with some Mocking Paul

…
  1. Then Paul stood up before the Court of Areopagus Or: in the middle of Mars’ hill. and said: 'Men of Athens, I see that in everything that concerns religion you are uncommonly scrupulous. … For as I was going round looking at the objects of your worship, I noticed among other things an altar bearing the inscription “To an Unknown God”. What you worship but do not know—this is what I now proclaim.
  2. The God who created the world and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by men. … It is not because he lacks anything that he accepts service at men’s hands, for he is himself the universal giver of life and breath and all else. … He created every race of men of one stock, to inhabit the whole earth’s surface. He fixed the epochs of their history . They were to seek God, and, it might be, touch and find him; though indeed he is not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move, in him we exist; as some of your own poets Some witnesses read: some among you. have said, “We are also his offspring.” … As God’s offspring, then, we ought not to suppose that the deity is like an image in gold or silver or stone, shaped by human craftsmanship and design. … As for the times of ignorance, God has overlooked them; but now he commands mankind, all men everywhere, to repent,… because he has fixed the day on which he will have the world judged, and justly judged, by a man of his choosing; of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
  3. When they heard about the raising of the dead, some scoffed;
    and others said, 'We will hear you on this subject some other time.
    And so Paul left the assembly.
    However, some men joined him and became believers,
    including Dionysius, a member of the Court of Areopagus;
    also a woman named Damaris, and others besides.
POINT? … CLEARLY: … Not all who heard Paul Became "Children of God"

_
 
Last edited:
All men are called to belong to the new people of God. Wherefore this people, while remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and must exist in all ages, so that the decree of God’s will may be fulfilled. In the beginning God made human nature one and decreed that all His children, scattered as they were, would finally be gathered together as one. It was for this purpose that God sent His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, that be might be teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the new and universal people of the sons of God. For this too God sent the Spirit of His Son as Lord and Life-giver. He it is who brings together the whole Church and each and every one of those who believe, and who is the well-spring of their unity in the teaching of the apostles and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers.
Vatican II. Lumen Gentium 13
Click to expand...
We were created as one, to be one family gathered together.
 
Veronica2017 said:
So I’m just wanting some clarification after reading the letter of John. The bible says in various places that only those who believe in Christ are children of god. In 1 John 5 1 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ is a child of god. To some extent yes we are all creatures of god but I think to be an adopted child/born of god it explicitly says in several passages we have to believe in Christ so that we imply we are in fact not All children of god ?!?!
Click to expand...
The Bible speaks in both contexts. In places the Bible does speak of all peoples being children of God in the sense that God created them, and provides for them. Paul speaks in this way in his sermon on Mars Hill to the Athenians. However, from the standpoint of being heirs to eternal life, only those who believe in Christ are God’s children.

If Pope Francis states that we are all children of God in an evangelical letter to believers and unbelievers alike, that would not be incorrect. The issue there is making sure that the distinction is clearly maintained about what sense we are children of God. It would be wrong to say or give the impression that from the standpoint of salvation that we are all equally heirs of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Those who reject Christ will not inherit eternal life.
 
Last edited:
EndTimes said:
When one - such as the non-Jewish Samaritan - is Obeying God’s Command (Shema),
one is in Essence - Obeying/Accepting Jesus - and is an adopted Son of GOD.
Click to expand...
This is not true at all. This is a claim that you are justified by works. Romans 1-3 directly contradicts this understanding of salvation. And Romans 10 provides for us the sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel for the very reason that we are not saved by works but through faith.
 
Last edited:
We are all children of God. Period. The atheist, pagan, Jew and Muslim are all children of God, just like Christians. Whether any of them are saved is a question only God can answer, including as to the Christian.
 
TMC said:
We are all children of God. Period. The atheist, pagan, Jew and Muslim are all children of God, just like Christians. Whether any of them are saved is a question only God can answer, including as to the Christian.
Click to expand...
I think you completely missed the scriptural distinction made above.

“For all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

“But it is not as through the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children of Abraham because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: ‘Through Isaac your descendants will be named.’ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”

Notice how Paul makes a distinction between those who are children and heirs of God through faith, vs. those who are not sons, or heirs, or children through lack of faith. Paul frequently also makes distinctions between slaves and sons or heirs through faith.

You can’t just make a blanket statement we are all children of God without putting it into context. Because clearly the idea that we are children of God depends upon the usage or point that is being made.
 
Last edited:
All ARE children of God, whether by free will they decide to be followers of the Way, or not.

Luke’s telling of the prodigal son puts it into context. The prodigal son took his inheritance and left his family, but the father welcomed him back with open arms when he came to his senses.

God treats his children in the same way, always hoping for reconciliation, and always absolving and welcoming back the returning wayward child.

Rejoice!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top