THE LOST CHILDREN OF GOD

Introduction

Before I begin this devotion, I want to make a special point of giving God the glory for it (and for the others as well). In writing these devotions—this one in particular—I have really felt guided by God. He used a television program to drop several Bible verses in my lap that I probably wouldn't have considered on my own. And He has given me some new insights—not new to everyone, but certainly new to me. Over and over again this week I have repeatedly run across many of the same Bible verses that I had already begun to work into this week's devotion. Having already completed a draft of the devotion by Saturday evening (June 26th), I then ran across some of the same “new insights” in a book I purchased on Sunday (June 27th). Though I must take credit for any errors, the point of all of this is simply to let you know that any good you receive from this devotion is not from me, but rather from God. “To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

ccc Last week, we focused on our heavenly Father. This week I want to focus on His children. Generally speaking, there are two ways to become someone's child. You can be a child by birth or you can become a child through the process of adoption. This week I want to talk about the first of these two possibilities (being a child by birth) in order to set us up to talk about the second possibility (adoption) next week.

ccc Let me begin by reminding you of the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were brothers—they were twins in fact. Esau was born first with his brother Jacob clinging to his heel (Genesis 25:26). Genesis 25:29-34 tells us the following story: “Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' ...Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.”

Children by Birth

A birthright is something we are entitled to by birth. (For example, when a baby is born in the U.S.A., they are citizens by birth.) Adam and Eve were not “born” in the same way that you and I were. They didn't have any earthly parents. Instead, God Himself was their father. Because God was their father, their birthright consisted of the things given to them by God—both their present gifts and their inheritance. By birth (creation), they were children of God. Their status as God's children was a part of their birthright. In addition, God gave them authority over the earth (Genesis 1:28-30) and the right to eat from the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:16). But, in the same way that earthly parents set boundaries in order to keep their children safe, so also God sets boundaries for us. God's boundary for Adam and Eve came in the form of a command and a warning (Genesis 2:17): “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

ccc Many people would criticize God for putting this dangerous tree in the Garden of Eden, but I believe it was necessary. You see, God wanted us to have free will. He didn't want us to be robots, programmed to do His will, but rather people with the freedom to chose. Because of the presence of the tree and God's command not to eat of it, Adam and Eve had the option of disobeying God. Without options, we have no choices to make and there is no free will. Without options, we are slaves by virtue of the fact that our circumstances are fixed and we do not have it in our power to change them.

ccc Anyone who relates to other people should understand this concept of choice. When you love someone, you want to be with them and you want them to love you back. But you don't want them to be with you because they have no other choice. Nor would you want to force them to be with you. But what if you could give them a love potion to make them love you? No, even that would take away the sweetness of love. Love does not enslave people, it sets them free—free to make their own choices. In the same way, God loved us so much that—in spite of the mistakes He knew we would make—He gave us the freedom to choose for ourselves whether or not to give our love to Him in return. In many cases, God's story is a story of unrequited love. It's a story of how He so loved the world (John 3:16), but how the people of that world have rejected Him time and time again.

The Land of the Lost [Children]

There is an analogy to be made between what happened in the Garden of Eden and what happened between Jacob and Esau. Just as Jacob tricked his older brother Esau into selling him his birthright (Genesis 25:29-33), so also the devil tricked Adam and Eve into disobeying God. They essentially did what Paul describes in the following verse: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). The created thing that they served was first of all themselves. Satan's false promise to Adam and Eve was “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). By eating of the tree, Adam and Eve sought to serve themselves by elevating their position. But Satan's “promise” was far from the truth. Humanity was much more like God before the fall. The second created thing that Adam and Eve served was the serpent—Satan. They believed his lie and acted upon it, just as we Christians are to believe the truth of God's gospel and act upon that (James 2:17, Titus 1:16). In acting upon the lie, Adam and Eve made themselves obedient to Satan. Essentially, in that one act, Adam and Eve—like Esau—sold their birthright to Satan for a meal (Genesis 3:6).

ccc By rebelling against God, Adam and Eve inadvertently gave up their God-given rights. They lost their status as children of God and, through their sin of disobedience, they gave Satan a new foothold over humanity (Ephesians 4:27). On that day, they also lost their right to eternal life (Genesis 3:22). In one day, humanity's great inheritance was lost. Therefore, although God created all people, we are no longer His children by birth. Adam and Eve's birthright came from God, but our birthright comes from Adam and Eve. Through them, we are born into slavery. But, unlike the Israelites' physical slavery in Egypt, ours is a slavery to sin. Through Adam and Eve we have inherited a world of sin and a life plagued by the power and influence of the devil.

ccc In spite of the rotten inheritance that Adam and Eve left for us, we still have a choice. Because of Adam and Eve's sin—and the authority that Satan gained over the world through that sin—perfection is no longer attainable (1 John 1:8). However, we can still chose who we want to obey (see Romans 1:5, 6:16). The Bible makes it clear that there are two options: obedience to God or obedience to the devil (Romans 6:16, James 4:7). There are two fathers: the Father of truth (Psalm 31:5, John 14:6, 16:13, 17:17) and the father of lies (John 8:44). There are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:12-13)... Truth or lies, light or darkness, sons or slaves, life or death...

Two Fathers—Two Kingdoms

When Jesus was being tempted, the devil “led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to [Jesus], 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to'” (Luke 4:5-6). In this passage, the devil is claiming authority over the earth. Jesus Himself confirms this reality by referring to Satan as “the prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) and by making reference to Satan's kingdom (Matthew 12:26, Luke 11:18). Within this kingdom Satan has power over all those who have been made subject to him. As 1 John 5:19 says, “We know that... the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” And in Ephesians 2:2 we read that “the ways of this world” are governed by “the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient [to God].” So we see that Satan's kingdom is a worldly kingdom—a kingdom that has power over those who are disobedient to God.

ccc After Jesus was arrested, He was interviewed by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. John 18:33-37 reveals a conversation that took place between them regarding Jesus' kingdom: “Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'Is that your own idea,' Jesus asked, 'or did others talk to you about me?' 'Am I a Jew?' Pilate replied. 'It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?' Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'” So we see that Jesus' kingdom—also referred to as the “kingdom of God” (e.g., Mark 1:14-15)—is “not of this world.” Instead, it is—at present—a heavenly kingdom (e.g., Matthew 4:17, 6:9-10). And yet this kingdom is coming to earth right now through those who live in obedience to God's will (Matthew 6:10). We also see that Jesus' kingdom stands for truth. In contrast, the enemy's kingdom is based upon lies. This is what Jesus is talking about in John 8:43-47:

“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

These may seem like harsh words, but Jesus is simply expressing the true nature of things. “Why is my language not clear to you? ...If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?” Jesus poses these questions in order to explain to the people the truth of their reality. And this is the truth: Because of our fallen state (Romans 3:23), we belonged to the devil and were, therefore, unable to accept the truth on our own. We have been deluded by Satan's lies. As 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Captives of the kingdom of darkness

In 2 Timothy 2:26, Paul indicates that Satan's kingdom is like a trap. Those belonging to this kingdom have been taken captive to do Satan's will and are therefore enslaved by him. This is what Jesus means in John 8:34-36 when He says, “...everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Paul adds an extra dimension to this concept in Romans 6:16: “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” What does Paul mean in saying that you “are slaves to the one whom you obey?” Whom do we obey when we sin? Satan. Whom do we obey when we do what is right? God! We are slaves to the one whom we obey.

ccc There is, I believe, a basic principle in this passage. Sin is submission to Satan and disobedience towards God. When we sin, we make ourselves subject to Satan's will. In other words, by our sinful actions, we show ourselves to be subjects of the “prince of this world” (e.g., John 12:31) and slaves of his “dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). This is why sin is so damaging to the Christian life. Through sin, we are showing Satan—rather than Jesus—to be our true master because, as the Scripture says, we are slaves to the one whom we obey. Although we (as Christians) claim Christ as our Lord, Master, and King, when we sin, we are essentially handing the reins of our life over to Satan and giving him the authority to once again reign over our lives! Our sins give Satan renewed influence over us. This is why in Ephesians 4:27 Paul warns the believers: “...do not give the devil a foothold.” What is a foothold? It is something for Satan to stand on as he accuses us (Zechariah 3:1, Revelation 12:10). Our sins give Satan a foothold! The title of this section is “captives of the kingdom of darkness.” This is what we would be without God's intervention.

Final Thoughts

Let me be clear. What I have said in this devotion is only part of the story. My purpose in writing it is (1) to help you understand why we are no longer God's children by birth and (2) to set the stage for next week's devotion. It is also important to recognize that the loss of our status as God's children was not because of anything God did, but rather, it was the result of our own rebellion against Him. As I have tried to show in this devotion, sin is not only rebellion against God but also submission to the devil. As such, our rebellion against God has given Satan the authority to rule over our lives. Make no mistake! There are two kingdoms, and we all belong to one or the other. We either submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7) or we submit to the devil and resist God. One of these kingdoms is ruled by a King of love, life, truth, and peace (Jesus). The other kingdom is ruled by a tyrant who represents hate, death, lies, and torment (Satan). Understanding the helplessness of our situation gives us an appreciation for what God has done for us. And this is what He has done (Colossians 1:12-13): (1) He “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” and (2) He “has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” This is what we will talk about in next week's devotion.