John 1:12 – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (ESV, biblegateway.com).
The opening chapter of John’s Gospel famously introduces Jesus as the Word. We see in verse 12 the promise of becoming children of God if we receive and believe the Word as Lord and Savior.
Chapter One is not the only place John discussed the idea of believers becoming children of God. He discussed the same idea three times in First John: 3:1, 3:10, and 5:2 (ESV). Paul was another New Testament writer who discussed believers as children of God. Romans 8:16-21, Romans 9:8, and Philippians 2:15 (ESV).
What is the importance of believers in Jesus as Lord and Savior, knowing they are children of God?
Towards the end of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus’ half-brother wrote about the Father’s gifts in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (ESV).
When we combine Jesus’ statement with what James wrote, we see children of God are the receivers of God-given gifts. All people share in God’s blessings of air, food, water, shelter, etc. But only the children of God receive His grace, the only gift that matters (Ephesians 2:8-10).
In addition to God’s grace, believers are indwelled with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). As vessels of the Holy Spirit, the children of God possess eternal life and the unlimited power of their Creator to overcome this evil world we are traveling through (1 John 5:19; 1 Peter 2:11).