What does it mean to be a child of God?
Well, first off, it means that you made the decision to receive Jesus. You made the decision to become born-again. You made the decision that YOU could not make it on your own; you could not do it! You made the decision that you NEEDED Jesus to give you LIFE! You recognized the deadness of your old self/spirit, and you knew you needed the LIFE that only God can give. That's the first thing.
Then you begin to grow in your knowledge of God; the Holy Spirit teaching you through His word. You find out about all of the promises that are for a child of God (you), in covenant with God. You learn about the nature of God, (He is love) through the example of Jesus' life. Jesus is the express image of the Father. You begin to see changes, little by little, in your demeanor, your actions, your language. Jesus transforms you from the inside out.
It means you now have a heavenly Father who is always with you to listen to and answer your prayers. You are not alone in this world. The Word says that "as He is, so are we in this world." You have been adopted as a son (daughter). It means that nothing can ever separate you from the love of God. It means that God has removed all of your sin-and the best part is that He remembers it no more! It means that Jesus is interceding for you in heaven. It means that you have angels to watch over you in all that you do.
In your old life, you were a slave to your father, the devil. You were not able to change, be good, or quit doing the things that you hated. But now, you have a new nature; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new! (ref. 2 Cor. 5:17)
John 1:12New King James Version (NKJV)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
