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Can you explain the difference between the children of God, the servant of God and the friend of God?
This is a very good question! Let’s take a brief look at each of these.
- The CHILDREN OF GOD are those who are born into God’s family. John 1:12-13 states, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (NKJV). This verse is quite clear, in order to become a child of God, you must receive Christ by believing in His name, which means you must believe that Jesus, which means “Savior,” is your own personal Savior from sin. The very moment you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior you are “born…of God.” This is what the Lord Jesus was referring to in John 3:3 when He told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It is a “spiritual birth” in contrast to our “natural birth.” Our “first birth” resulted in us becoming part of our parents’ family; being “born again” results in us becoming part of God’s family.
- The SERVANT OF GOD is one who is in God’s service. Let’s read Romans 6:22, “But now being made free from sin, and become SERVANTS OF GOD, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (KJV). The apostle Paul is reminding believers at Rome that when they believed the gospel they were made free from sin. He stated that earlier in verses 17-18, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (the “gospel of Jesus Christ”) which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Before one is born again, he is a “servant of sin,” but the gospel sets the believer free to become a “servant of righteousness.” I believe every child of God will freely admit that they “served sin” faithfully; now we have changed Masters and we are free to “serve righteousness.” The word righteousness simply means “doing what is right.” As we live righteous lives we will indeed have “fruit unto holiness” and we will bring glory to the One Who saved us. This is the ultimate desire of every servant of God.Later, in Romans 12:1, we read, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your REASONABLE SERVICE.” God has blessed us in so many ways and this verse teaches us what our response should be to His mercies. We should yield our bodies to Him and allow Him to use us in any way He sees fit. If we were to read on in this chapter we would see that God has given us spiritual gifts to help us in our service to others and He has also given us a sincere love for other believers. So, being a SERVANT OF GOD means more than living a righteous life; it includes serving others and manifesting our love for the children of God!
- The FRIEND OF GOD goes beyond being a servant. The Lord Jesus spoke of this in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you FRIENDS, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (NKJV). One has said, “Servants are simply expected to do the work marked out for them, but friends are taken into one’s confidence. To the friend we reveal our plans for the future. Confidential information is shared with him.” This, dear fellow-believer, is what the Lord has made us to be! We are so close to Him (as a friend should be!), that He has opened up His heart and the future to us. He had held nothing back, but He has revealed the Father’s plans for us, which will reach their climax when the Lord Jesus comes for us and takes us to the Father’s house (see John 14:1-3). So, the FRIEND OF GOD speaks of intimate communion. (242.9) (DO)