God's View of Believers as Saints and Children
God's View of Believers as Saints and Children
The Bible describes believers as both saints and children of God, emphasizing their unique relationship with Him. In the New Testament, believers are referred to as "saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1) and "children of God" (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-16) [1].
The term "saints" signifies those set apart for God's purposes, consecrated to Him, and made holy through faith in Jesus Christ. This designation is not limited to exceptional individuals but is applied to all believers, indicating their collective identity as a holy people [3].
The concept of believers being "children of God" is rooted in the idea of adoption. Through faith in Christ, believers are adopted into God's family, becoming His children and heirs (Romans 8:15-17; Galatians 4:4-7) [4]. This adoption is not based on natural descent but on God's gracious act of regeneration, making believers part of His family.
Different Christian traditions interpret the implications of being saints and children of God in various ways. For instance, the Reformed tradition emphasizes the believer's union with Christ as the basis for their adoption and sanctification (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion) [6]. In contrast, the Eastern Orthodox tradition highlights the honor due to saints as friends of Christ and heirs of God, emphasizing their role in the life of the Church (John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith) [7].
The Catholic Church teaches that baptism is instrumental in making believers children of God and incorporating them into the Church, emphasizing the sacrament's role in regeneration and adoption (Catechism of the Catholic Church) [8]. Lutheran and Anglican traditions also affirm the significance of baptism in this regard, highlighting its connection to regeneration and the believer's status as a child of God (Luther's Small Catechism, Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion) [9, 10].
The biblical basis for understanding believers as saints and children of God is found in various passages, including Ephesians 1:5, which speaks of God's predestination of believers to adoption as His children, and 1 John 3:1, which marvels at the love of God that enables believers to be called children of God [2, 5].
The understanding of believers as saints and children of God underscores their identity in Christ and their relationship with the Father. This identity is not merely a legal status but a living, relational reality that shapes the believer's life and informs their understanding of themselves within the community of faith.
Sources
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Titles and Names of Saints — Believers -- Ac 5:14; 1Ti 4:12. Beloved of God -- Ro 1:7. Beloved brethren -- 1Co 15:58; Jas 2:5. Blessed of the Lord -- Ge 24:31; 26:29. Blessed of the Father -- Mt 25:34. Brethren -- Mt 23:8; Ac 12:17. Brethren of Christ -- Lu 8:21; Joh 20:17. Called of Jesus Christ -- Ro 1:6. Children of the Lord -- De 14:1. Children of God -- Joh 11:52; 1Jo 3:10. Children of the Living God -- Ro 9:26. Children of the Father -- Mt 5:45. Children of the Highest -- Lu 6:35. Children of Abraham -- Ga 3:7. Children of Jacob -- Ps 105:6. Children of promise”
- Ephesians “Ephesians 5:1 (Geneva1599) — Bee yee therefore followers of God, as deare children,”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Pilgrims and Strangers — Described -- Joh 17:16. Saints are called to be -- Ge 12:1; Ac 7:3; Lu 14:26,27,33. All saints are -- Ps 39:12; 1Pe 1:1. Saints confess themselves -- 1Ch 29:15; Ps 39:12; 119:19; Heb 11:13. As saints they Have the example of Christ. -- Lu 9:58. Are strengthened by God. -- De 33:25; Ps 84:6,7. Are actuated by faith. -- Heb 11:9. Have their faces toward Zion. -- Jer 50:5. Keep the promised in view. -- Heb 11:13. Forsake all for Christ. -- Mt 19:27. Look for a heavenly country. -- Heb 11:16. Look for a heavenly city. -- Heb 11:10. Pass their soj”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Adoption — Explained -- 2Co 6:18. Is according to promise -- Ro 9:8; Ga 3:29. Is by faith -- Ga 3:7,26. Is of God's grace -- Eze 16:3-6; Ro 4:16,17; Eph 1:5,6,11. Is through Christ -- Joh 1:12; Ga 4:4,5; Eph 1:5; Heb 2:10,13. Saints predestinated to -- Ro 8:29; Eph 1:5,11. Of Gentiles, predicted -- Ho 2:23; Ro 9:24-26; Eph 3:6. The Adopted are gathered together in one by Christ -- Joh 11:52. New birth connected with -- Joh 1:12,13. The Holy Spirit is a Witness of -- Ro 8:16. Being led by the Spirit is an evidence of -- Ro 8:14. Saints receive the Spirit of -- Ro 8:15”
- 1 John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love,.... See, take notice, consider, look by faith, with wonder and astonishment, and observe how great a favour, what an instance of matchless love, what a wonderful blessing of grace, the Father hath bestowed upon us: the Father of Christ, and the Father of us in Christ, who hath adopted us into his family, and regenerated us by his grace, and hath freely given us the new name: that we should be called the sons of God. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version, add, "and we are", or "be"; and the Ethiopic version,”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 98: Christ; and, secondly, that the embracing of Christ was the true badge of adoption, in which infants are joined in common with adults, and that temporary abstinence from the Supper does not prevent them from belonging to the body of the Church. The thief on the cross, when converted, became the brother of believers, though he never partook of the Lord’s Supper. Servetus afterwards adds, that no man becomes our brother unless by the Spirit of adoption, who is only conferred by the hearing of faith. I answer, that he always falls bac”
- CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 91: Chapter XV .— Concerning the honour due to the Saints and their remains. To the saints honour must be paid as friends of Christ, as sons and heirs of God: in the words of John the theologian and evangelist, As many as received Him, to them gave He power to became sons of God 2466 2466 St. John i. 12 . . So that they are no longer servants, but sons: and if sons, also heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ 2467 2467 Gal. iv. 7; Rom. viii. 17 . : and the Lord in the holy Gospels says to His apostles, Ye are My frie”
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic) “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 1 (part 3): unity of the Church.18 They would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe.19 61 The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honoured as saints in all the Church's liturgical traditions. God forms his people Israel 62 After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by freeing them from slavery in Egypt. He established with them the covenant of Mount Sinai and, through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognize him and serve him as the ”
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 269: Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God. The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be reta”
- Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran) “Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran, 1529), The Son of God, true God and man.: The Son of God, true God and man.”