1.     There is an important phrase found often in the Bible.  We see it here in John 3:18 – “the Son of God.”

2.     According to the Bible, people cannot get into heaven unless they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Certainly this is an important matter.   It is the difference between spending eternity in heaven or hell.

3.     The first time in the Bible we see the term “Son of God” is in the OT book of Daniel (cf. 3:25).  This is one of many pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

4.     Not only is the Lord Jesus Christ often referred to as the Son of God, His followers are also called the sons of God.  There is a popular notion that all people (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and so on) are children of God but this is contrary to the Bible.

5.     Jesus said you must be born again in order to become a child of God.  I will say more about this as we move along.

6.     Also, Luke 3:38 says that Adam “was the son of God.”  The words “the son” are in italics, meaning they were added by the King James translators.  Nevertheless they were correct in adding the words “the son” for clarity. 

I.      ADAM WAS THE SON OF GOD BY CREATION (LUKE 3:38).

1.     In Matthew 1 we have the genealogy of Christ from Abraham, emphasizing that Jesus is a Jew descended through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

2.     Matthew also stresses that Jesus is the king of the Jews, descended from King David.

3.     But Luke’s genealogy is different.  Luke does not just go back to Abraham, he goes all the way back to Adam, “the son of God” (3:38).

4.     It should also be noted that Luke gives us the genealogy of Jesus through His mother Mary, while Matthew gives us His genealogy through His stepfather Joseph.

5.     Both genealogies point out that Jesus came through the lineage of David.  In Mathew’s genealogy it is stated that Christ descended from David’s son Solomon.  In Luke 3:31 it says that on Mary’s side, Jesus came through David’s son Nathan.

6.     In Luke 3:38 we are told that Seth was the son of Adam, and Adam was the son of God.  Some people scoff at the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ and they ask, “How can a man be born without a father?” 

7.     Well, Adam had neither father nor mother.  God created Adam, and Luke 3:38 says, “…Adam, which was the son of God.”

8.     This doctrine of creation has been attacked even more than the doctrine of the virgin birth, because the ungodly do not want creationism taught in the public schools.

9.     Consider this: Every year around Christmas, the devil’s crowd starts in again attacking the virgin birth of Christ.  There will be obnoxious articles published in Time and Newsweek, claiming that the virgin birth is a myth.  They will quote some wicked seminary professors, who insist that it is no longer important for Christians to believe in the virgin birth.

10. But the virgin birth is very important.  If Jesus Christ was not the virgin-born Son of God then our sins were not forgiven and we are still lost, for only a sinless, virgin-born Son of God could die on the cross for our sins.

11. But whereas the virgin birth is routinely attacked every December, the doctrine of creation is attacked every single day – in the classrooms, in the courtrooms, and in the media.    

12. I was driving in my van the other day and a man on the radio was interviewing some worldly scientist who was ridiculing the teaching of “Intelligent Design.”

13. These evolutionists are worried that after a hundred years of evolutionary brainwashing, there are still millions of Americans that reject evolution.

14. The Lord Jesus Christ is our highest authority.  Our Lord said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6).

15. That’s the beginning – Adam and Eve, our first parents.  And we are all descended from them.  Evolution is a wicked lie, designed by the devil himself to lead men and women, and boys and girls away from God, and away from the Bible, and away from salvation. 

16. By the way, notice Jesus said, “God made them male and female” – not “male & male” or “female & female.”  This so-called gay movement is an abomination that is sure to bring down the wrath of God upon America.

17. Not only does our Lord refer to Adam as the first man, but so does the apostle Paul (cf. Rom. 5:12).  Romans 5:12 is one of the most important doctrinal verses in the Bible.

II.  CHRISTIANS ARE THE SONS OF GOD BY REGENERATION (JOHN 1:11-13).

1.     Jesus said you must be born again (John 3:3-8).  Once a sinner repents and believes in Christ he is born again.  He is born into God’s family.

2.     Once a person receives Christ he is born again by the Spirit of God and he is now a son of God (cf. Rom. 8:14-16).

3.     There are certain preachers and churches that teach we are all God’s children, but this is contrary to the Bible (cf. Gal. 3:26). 

4.     God has created us all.  Acts 17:28 says, “For we are also His offspring.”  But to be a child of God spiritually one has to be born again.

5.     Let me be plain – there is a clear difference between the children of God and the children of the devil (I John 3:1, 10). 

6.     Unfortunately some Christian get backslidden.  And unfortunately some Christians are carnal.  But a true child of God will show some evidence of the new birth (I John 5:1-5).  If there is no evidence they are probably not saved.

7.     Personally I think most backsliders were never genuinely saved in the first place.  My advice to the backslider is to examine himself because he may not be saved.

8.     A true child of God loves God and loves the children of God (I John 5:1, 2).

9.     A true child of God loves God’s commandments (I John 5:2b, 3).

10. A true child of God is not worldly (I John 5:4; 3:1; 2:15). 

III.           JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD FROM ETERNITY.

1.     It should be emphasized that the title “Son of God” has to do with the deity of Christ. Therefore there must be a clear distinction between Christ as the Son of God and Christians as the sons of God.

2.     When Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of God, He meant that God was His Father in a unique way.

3.     Jesus is “the only begotten Son of God.”  This term “only begotten” does not refer to the human generation of Christ.  It refers to the unique relationship in which God the Son is distinct from God the Father, and yet is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father (cf. Heb. 1:8).

4.     Our Lord’s disciples understand that the title “Son of God” conferred deity (John 1:49; 11:27).

5.     Furthermore, our Lord’s enemies understood this too, but they refused to believe in Him (John 5:18).

6.     I mentioned earlier that Jesus is first referred to as “the Son of God” in Daniel 3:25.  Jesus is also referred to as the Son of God in Psalm 2 and Proverbs 30:4.

7.     When the prophet Isaiah wrote 700 years before Christ, “Unto us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6), he was not referring to our Lord’s birth.  He was referring to our Lord’s birth when he said, “Unto us a child is born.”

8.     When Isaiah added, “Unto us a son is given,” he was referring to the pre-incarnate existence of Christ.  Christ has always been the eternal Son of God.

9.     When our Lord came into this world 2,000 years ago, there were many people who believed that He was the Son of God, but there were many who did not (cf. Matt. 22:42-46).

10.   I should point out that merely acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God is not enough to be saved, for even the devil referred to Jesus as the Son of God when He tempted Him (Matt. 4:3, 6).

11.   Furthermore, demons also acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God (Matt. 8:28, 29).

12.   However, a person cannot be saved if he does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf. John 3:18, 36; Acts 8:36, 37).

13.   Betty and John Stam were American missionaries to China.  They were brutally beheaded by the communists in 1934.  Mrs. Stam wrote this poem:

O Jesus Christ, Thou Son of God and Son of Man,

Thy love no angel understands, nor mortal can!

Thy strength of soul, Thy radiant purity,

Thine understanding heart of sympathy,

The vigor of Thy mind, Thy poetry,

Thy heavenly wisdom, Thy simplicity,

Such sweetness and such power in harmony!

Thy perfect oneness with Thy God above;

The agony endured to show Thy love!

Thou who didst rise triumphantly to prove

Thou art the Living God, before whom death

And hell itself much shake and move!

Thou Son of God –

Grant me Thy face to see,

Thy voice to hear, Thy glory share;

Never apart from Thee,

Ever Thine own to be,

Throughout eternity.

CONCLUSION:

Are you a child of God?  By this I mean have you been born again?