When we receive God's saving grace, we become children of God
What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
Perhaps it was that childhood toy that you had eagerly anticipated for so long? Maybe it was that puppy you had been asking your parents about for years? Or was it the precious child you and your spouse had been praying about?
Naturally we all have something that quickly surfaces in our minds when we consider such a question. However, unmistakably there is one gift that supersedes all other gifts and we see this gift spelled out quite clearly in the first Chapter in the Book of John.
John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
It is within this beautiful passage that we see the wonderful gift of saving grace, which our Lord holds the exclusive rights to. By definition a gift is received by the recipient, which is precisely what we see here in the opening of verse 12. Not only is it received, but in keeping with the nature of a gift, it is also that which cannot be earned or merited. Thus, the saving grace God extends to an individual is due to His goodness and not because of anything the individual has to offer.
What is the result of God’s saving grace? This passage answers this question with clarity. Those who receive the saving grace of God have been given the privilege to be declared a child of God.
Through the forgiveness that is found in the blood of Jesus Christ alone, God graciously accomplishes what man could not accomplish by his own means.
What does it mean to be a child of God? Romans 8:17 tells us that if we are children of God, that means that we are His heirs, and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ.
You may think this sounds like a rather royal undertaking. That’s because it is. By being brought into the kingdom of God through the gift of God’s saving grace, we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life. In this inheritance we partake in all the joys of the kingdom, most importantly, eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 echoes this very truth, stating that it is by the grace of God, through faith, that we are saved. This world in which we live in can offer no such gift. Blessed by our great God who extends grace to His children in a way that displays the richness of His love and mercy. No other gift compares to the inexpressible joy that is found in the grace of God.
Sam Flynn is pastor at Little Flock Fellowship Church in Ashland.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: The gift of God surpasses all others
