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Children of God, Sons of God

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Children of God, Sons of God Children of God, Sons of God very genuine believer in Christ agrees that it is a mat- and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may Eter of most extreme seriousness to tamper with the become sons of your Father who is in the heavens.” Word of God—to add to it, to take away from it, to TNIV says, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for change it, or to dilute it. It is surely deplorable to alter those who persecute you, that you may be children of the meaning of the Word for the sake of popular accept- your Father in heaven.” ance. Nevertheless, this is precisely what the translators of Today’s New International Version (TNIV) have done Luke 6:35 says, “But love your enemies, and do good and in obliterating the God-revealed distinction between the lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be believers in Christ as children of God and as sons of great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is God. Since the goal of God’s eternal economy is to pro- kind to the unthankful and evil.” TNIV says, “But love duce, through regeneration and transformation, many your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them with- matured sons for His corporate expression—in the Body out expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will of Christ and ultimately in the New Jerusalem—to fail be great, and you will be children of the Most High, to translate accurately the Greek words for children and because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” sons, and thus to obscure the difference between them, is to hinder the uninformed reader of the New Luke 20:36 says, “For neither can they die anymore, for Testament from understanding the crucial element of they are equal to angels, and they are sons of God, being sonship in God’s purpose. Regarding the children of God sons of the resurrection.” TNIV renders the last of the and the sons of God, the TNIV translators have been verse this way: “They are God’s children, since they are unfaithful both to God and to God’s people. Was the children of the resurrection.” erasure of the distinction between children of God and sons of God, possibly displaying the influence of the John 12:36 says, “While you have the light, believe into Zeitgeist upon Christian theological thought, motivated the light, so that you may become sons of light.” TNIV by a desire for so-called gender equality and political cor- says, “Put your trust in the light while you have the light, rectness? The answer to this question is fully known only so that you may become children of the light.” by God and thus will not be considered here. What will be considered is the divinely intended distinction Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of between children of God and sons of God and the desire God, these are sons of God.” TNIV says, “For those who of God to produce sons, not children, for the fulfillment are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” of His heart’s desire to express Himself in a corporate organic entity composed of millions of glorified sons. Romans 8:19 says, “For the anxious watching of the cre- ation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God.” First, it must be clearly and emphatically demonstrated TNIV says, “The creation waits in eager expectation for that TNIV has virtually abolished the distinction, ground- the children of God to be revealed.” ed in the Greek text, between children of God and sons of God. Numerous examples will now be presented. In Romans 9:26 says, “There shall they be called sons of the one instance after another, an accurate translation of a living God.” TNIV says, “They will be called ‘children of verse will be quoted and then contrasted with the inac- the living God.’” curate rendering found in TNIV. Galatians 3:7 says, “Know then that they who are of faith, Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they these are sons of Abraham.” TNIV says, “Understand, shall be called the sons of God.” TNIV says, “Blessed are then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” TNIV says, “So in Christ Jesus you Matthew 5:44-45 says, “But I say to you, Love your enemies, are all children of God through faith.” 110 Affirmation & Critique Galatians 4:6-7 says, “And because you are sons, God has will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, be my children.” Abba, Father! So then you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, an heir also through God.” TNIV translates From all these examples we see that TNIV persistently verse 7 like this: “So you are no longer slaves, but God’s changes sons to children. In so doing, TNIV obliterates children; and since you are his children, he has made you the distinction between children of God and sons—a dis- also heirs.” Significantly, in verse 6 TNIV adopts the ren- tinction made by God Himself as He inspired the writing dering sons, but in verse 7 it translates the same word as of the holy Scriptures. children, indicating thereby that, for the TNIV translators, children and sons are indistinguishable and interchangeable. Children of God Becoming Sons of God That God thinks differently from the TNIV translators is proved by the fact that, as the divine Author, whose breath The New Testament speaks of both children of God and is the source and essence of the Word (2 Tim. 3:16), He sons of God and makes a distinction between them. directed the writers to speak of both children and sons. Those who receive Christ, the incarnate Word and the light of life, are born of God to become children of God: First Thessalonians 5:5 says, “For you are all sons of light “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the and sons of the day.” TNIV says, “You are all children of authority to become children of God, to those who the light and children of the day.” believe into His name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Hebrews 2:10 says, “For it was fitting for Him, for whom God” (John 1:12-13). Through the divine birth—regen- are all things and through whom are all things, in leading eration—we become children of God possessing the life many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation and nature of God. This marvelous birth, by which we perfect through sufferings.” Keeping sons and inserting receive the life of God and begin to partake of the nature daughters, TNIV says, “In bringing many sons and daugh- of God, is the beginning of our deification—the organic ters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and process of God’s salvation in Christ in which we become through whom everything exists, should make the author the same as God in life and in nature but neither in the of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.” Godhead nor as an object of worship. Our becoming chil- dren of God manifests the love of God: “Behold what Hebrews 12:5-8 says, manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are….Beloved, now we And you have completely forgotten the exhortation which are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested reasons with you as with sons. “My son, do not regard what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when reproved will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is” by Him; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He (1 John 3:1-2). We have the inner witness of the Spirit to scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline the fact that we are God’s children: “The Spirit Himself that you endure; God deals with you as with sons. For witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God” what son is there whom the father does not discipline? But (Rom. 8:16). “The Spirit witnesses to our most basic and if you are without discipline, of which all sons have elementary relationship with God, namely, that we are become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. His children; it does not witness that we are His sons or His heirs” (Recovery Version, note 3). TNIV says, f we, the children of God, would become sons of God And have you completely forgotten this word of encour- Iqualified to be heirs of God, we need to grow in the agement that addresses you as children? It says, “My son, divine life unto maturity. Whereas all those who have the do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, / and do not witness of the Spirit are children of God, only those who lose heart when he rebukes you, / because the Lord dis- are led by the Spirit are sons of God (v.
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