Here’s a quick question for you to ponder:
What is the main point of the entire New Testament?
If you could recap all 27 books in one sentence, what would it be?
Here’s how J.I. Packer does it:
“You sum up the whole of New Testament teaching in a single phrase, if you speak of it as a revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator.”
He continues:
“In the same way, you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God . . . Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption.”
The above quotes are from Packer’s book, Knowing God. Chapter 19, entitled “Sons of God,” is devoted to a wonderfully thorough explanation of the meaning of the Father’s adoption of the believer into the family of God through the work of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Yes, the New Testament is filled with verses that tell us what it means to be a child of God. Here are a few of my favorites. Let the truth of these words take your breath away!
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are . . . Beloved, we are God’s children now” (1 John 3:1-2).
“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Galatians 3:26).
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
Back to Packer:
“To those who are Christ’s, the holy God is a loving Father; they belong to His family; they may approach Him without fear, and always be sure of His fatherly concern and care. This is the heart of the New Testament message.”
These quotes are but the tip of the iceberg. I highly recommend the rest of Chapter 19 to you. Knowing God is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback here:
https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-God-IVP-Signature-Collection-ebook/dp/B08TH65W3C/
For several excellent free articles by and about J.I. Packer, visit
https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-knowing-god-involves/
The above link on Crossway.org will give you access to these articles:
What Knowing God Involves
J.I. Packer on the Hub of the Christian Life
10 Things You Should Know about J.I. Packer
Podcast: The Life and Legacy of J.I. Packer
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