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Text: Matthew 5:43-48
Parents pass on traits to their children. You might say about a baby that she has her dad’s eyes. Or he has his dad’s blonde hair.
Being a child of God means to partake of God’s nature (vss 44-45)
- …that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…
- Godliness, you get God’s DNA or better said, God’s Spirit
- Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
- Biologically I think you understand how the seed and the egg come together to form a new life. But how does God’s nature get into a sinner? How does God’s nature become part of you? How does the Spirit of God get into you? How do you get God’s DNA?
- Somebody says they spoke in tongues so they got the Holy Spirit. Somebody else says they got so excited so they got the Holy Spirit. Somebody else says they got the Holy Spirit because they prayed for it. Somebody says I got the Holy Spirit when they were baptized.
- Remember the seed and the egg? 1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
- 2 Peter 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
- James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
- Notice the idea of being children of God is an Old Testament truth
- John 3:3-10… born again… thou hearest the sound thereof… art thou a master and knowest not these things?
- Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Being a child of God means to share God’s Spirit of love
- What is the characteristic of God described in these verses? …love your enemies…
- Then the Lord explains what he means by love. He doesn’t leave it to anyone’s imagination to guess what he means by love.
- Bless them that curse you
- Do good to them that hate you
- Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you
- God’s loving work
- Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
- Colossians 1:21-22 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Being a child of God means being perfect like your Father is perfect
- Be ye therefore perfect…
- Being full of goodness and not needing others to be good to you to make you good.
- Becoming like God the Father by words of God
- Colossians 1:27-28 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
- Hope of glory, remember when Peter said Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
