“Jesus, tell me some more about the Father,” she requested.

“Well,” He replied, “the Father himself loves you.”

Behold what manner of love, she thought, that we should be called the sons of God.

~jmc 2015

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” ~ 1 John 3:1a (KJV)

Author’s note:

Most modern translations render “sons of God” in this verse as “children of God.” This is, of course, completely accurate, as the rest of the New Testament clearly indicates that men and women have equal invitation to and membership in God’s amazing new family.

What this rendering cannot capture, however — in fact, what we do not have adequately simple language to capture in modern English — is the depth of significance that “sons of God” conveys. Many languages use male nouns and pronouns for groups that include both sexes (“man” = “mankind” = all humans). In New Testament usage, this word takes us even deeper than that.

According to ancient custom, the male heirs were the ones that received the inheritance. This did not rule out, of course, fathers who intentionally made their daughters part of their will; but those fathers were the exception, not the rule. In the New Testament usage of “sons” — especially in passages such as the one quoted above — we see that God goes one step farther than those intentional fathers who included their daughters. God calls all of his children “sons.” All of his children are his heirs. He does not see his male children as automatic heirs while making an effort to make sure his female children are named in the parts of the will that belong to them. No. He sees us all as equally inheriting the breadth and depth of his riches. All his children are full legal SONS, with the full access and influence before Him that the title automatically implies.

And if we are honest about our modern cultures, this cuts across the grain for us all. In spite of the changes in male-female equality that have taken place over the centuries in many parts of the world, we see many many signs that this inequity is not gone, just taking different forms as each generation wrestles with the unique strengths, weaknesses, similarities, and differences that each half of humanity brings to the table.

Even in our best moments, our best falls short of God the Father who says “you’re all my sons, coheirs with my firstborn!” That’s a love worth taking a good, long look at for sure!

*author’s note informed by studies provided through Dr. David Eckman’s Becoming Who God Intended ministries. For more information and further reading, check out his books and courses here: 

https://www.whatgodintended.org

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