Adam was directly created by God and was also called the son of God: "The son
Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me" (Exo. 4:22-23a). God is not the Father of the whole world. He only called out the Israelites and called them His sons; the people of the world are not included. The fatherhood of God mentioned by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets only refers to the Israelites. The people of the world are not allowed to participate in this sonship. Although Malachi said, "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?" (2:10), the word "we" does not refer to all the people in the world. This is made clear by looking at what follows: "Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?" God's covenanted people were the Israelites, not any other people. God made a covenant on Mount Sinai only with their forefathers, not with the forefathers of the people of the world. Therefore, besides the Israelites, no others are considered sons of God. Furthermore, the prophet said, "The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi" (1:1). Malachi's prophecy is directed only to the Israelites. When our Lord was on earth, two of the parables He gave were based on the fact that the chosen Israelites are the sons of God. "A man had two children. And he came to his first son and said, Child, go today and work in the vineyard....And he came to the other and said likewise" (Matt. 21:28, 30a). Does this parable prove that God is the Father of everyone in the world? No. This parable was spoken by our Lord to warn the priests and the elders because they did not receive the preaching of John and because they loathed and rejected Christ. The younger son here refers to the repentant tax collectors, sinners, and prostitutes; though they were unclean, they were willing to repent and obey the gracious call. Therefore, they were the obedient sons. The parable of the prodigal son has the same meaning. It was spoken to reproach the Pharisees and the scribes because they murmured against the Lord Jesus for receiving the sinners and eating with them. The older son refers to the Pharisees and the scribes, whereas the younger son refers to the repentant sinners. Since we are not Israelites in the flesh, the rights bestowed on the Israelites as the sons of God do not involve us. We cannot be the children of God in this regard. 4. Adam Adam was directly created by God and was also called the son of God: "The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God" (Luke 3:38). Besides Adam, nobody was directly created by God; hence, the people in the world
cannot be called the sons of God as Adam was. In the genealogy in Luke 3, there are seventy-five people including Adam (in verse 36 Cainan is not counted). These seventy-five people were all created by God, but only Adam was created directly. The other seventy-four people were called the sons of men; only Adam, God's direct creation, was called the son of God. So, this genealogy is sufficient to prove that the people in the world are not the sons of God simply because they were created. "...Adam, the son of God"; but "...Seth, the son [not of God] of Adam." Men are created by God and are also born of Adam. Even though the Bible does not call them the sons of God, they are nevertheless referred to as God's kind. When Paul was preaching in Athens, he said that God "made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling, that they might seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, even though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and are, as even some poets among you have said, For we are also His race. Being then the race of God, we ought not to suppose that what is divine is like gold or silver or stone, like an engraving of art and thought of man" (Acts 17:26-29). The original Greek word for "race" is yevos. This word is also translated in the Bible as kind, tribe, and nation. Only here is it translated "race." This word is very different from "son"; the only thing it has in common with "son" is that it is also a noun. Thus, this verse only refers to men as God's kind, not to men as the spiritual sons of God. When looking at the context, we further realize the point Paul was making is that man was created by God. Since God is so great and full of lovingkindness, man should not worship idols as God. This verse does not prove that all people are sons of God. Man should never claim God's creation to be the basis of sonship. If creation can prove sonship, then are cows, sheep, dogs, and horses, which were also created by God, the sons of God? Since the people of the world are neither (1) Jesus Christ, nor (2) angels, nor (3) Israelites, nor (4) Adam, they can never claim to be the sons of God as those in the four categories mentioned above. Since the people of the world cannot find a basis among these four kinds of sonship through which they can be called the sons of God, they should therefore seek a way outside of these four that they might become children of God. However, the Bible does not give us any other way to call a person a son of God except to believe in the Lord. Since the Bible
does not give any basis for the people of the world to be considered children of God, they are therefore not children of God. Among these four kinds of sonship, we find that only the Israelites are still existing on the earth. However, the Israelites have lost their rights according to the flesh since the New Testament age began (John 8). It is because "it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are accounted as the seed" (Rom. 9:8). If the Israelites, who were originally called children of God, have been deprived of their rights, then do the other people of the world who are not called children of God have the right to call themselves children of God? In this age God does not differentiate between Israelites and Gentiles; they are all the same to Him. The people of the world, whether Israelites or Gentiles, are not the sons of God.
WHOSE SONS ARE THE MEN OF THE WORLD (ISRAELITES AND GENTILES)? We can read the Word of God again and consider at the present time whose sons the men of the world are. The Israelites said to Christ, "We have one Father, God" (John 8:41). Our Lord's answer to this was quite clear. "If God were your Father you would love Me....You are of your father the devil,...for he is a liar and the father of it" (vv. 42-44). Our Lord clearly referred to the Israelites as the sons of the devil because they followed the desires of the devil (v. 44). If the chosen Israelites are not sons of God but rather sons of the devil, then the rest of the world, even more, are sons of the devil. How solemn this is! Our Lord not only referred to the Israelites as the sons of the devil, He went even further. The Lord said that the devil is the father of liars. By saying this, He included all unregenerated people (Psa. 116:11; 12:1-2; 5:9) under the name and the sonship of the devil. Is not this kind of testimony clear? They are not the sons of God. When we come to the Epistles of John, the boundary is clearly enlarged to include all the people of the world. "He who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. ...Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest" (1 John 3:8-10). Dear friends, do not be deceived. Everyone in the world belongs to one of two fathers. They are children of either father. If one is not a child of God, then he is a child of the devil. There is
no neutral ground. The presumption that God is the Father of all men and that all men are His children cannot stand before these few verses in the Scripture. "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest" (v. 10). The children of the devil are not only those who are opposed to Christ. All those who are not manifested as the children of God are also included. These two families have their own natures and characteristics. By these characteristics they are manifested as to which family they belong. People who belong to the devil are dead in offenses and sins; people who belong to God are born of God and have eternal life. Generally speaking, it is not so difficult to differentiate between the dead and the living. Therefore, the children of God should be very careful to manifest themselves to be of God. When we read Matthew 13, again we see the differences between the children of God and the children of the devil. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom of the heavens, the children of God; the tares are the sons of the evil one, the children of the devil. The tares and the wheat look similar when they first start growing, but the difference is shown at harvest time. In these days, many people look quite good outwardly, but when the fruit is born, the difference will be seen. The children of God and the children of the devil are sure to be manifested. Paul told the Ephesian believers, "We... were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest" (Eph. 2:3). Here it makes a clear separation between the "we," those who now believe in the Lord Jesus and are the children of God, and "the rest," the children of wrath. Those who are not saved by grace are children of wrath and are of Satan's kind. Thus, the Bible, through its many references, reveals this important truth—God is not the Father of all men in the world. Not all the people in the world are children of God. Since Genesis 3, the Bible shows us that the people in the world are of two families, the seed of the woman (of Christ) and the seed of the serpent (of the devil). Since God has separated the people in the world, we who believe in Him should humbly accept this fact. NOT ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE CHILDREN OF GOD In the Bible, there are also many secondary proofs. Here we will take a brief look at a few of them. The presumption of a universal fatherhood is based on the Sermon on the Mount, in which the Lord Jesus addressed God as the Father. This presumption, therefore, says that God is the Father of all men in the world. However, we should take note who the Lord was talking to on the mount. If the Lord was talking to the general public, then the presumption is logical. If this is
not so, and if the Lord was talking to a special group of people, then the theory fails to prove itself. Matthew 5:1-2 says, "And when He saw the crowds, [the Lord Jesus did not teach these people, but] He went up to the mountain. And after He sat down, His disciples came to Him [His disciples also went into the mountain]. And opening His mouth, He taught them." Who? The disciples, not the multitudes. The Sermon on the Mount was addressed by our Lord Jesus to His disciples, that is, the Christians (Acts 11:26). It was not addressed to the multitudes. Therefore, sixteen times in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus referred to God as the Father of the disciples, not as the Father of the multitudes. All of the references to "your" and "our" were directed to the disciples. From this, we can see that the presumption of universal brotherhood does not have any basis. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus said that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). This is referring to how God treats all men equally. Yet our Lord was very careful. He did not confuse this point with God's fatherhood. He did not say that the good, the bad, the righteous, and the unrighteous people are all sons of God. He specifically differentiated the fatherhood. He said, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good" (vv. 44-45). It is clear that the evil as well as the good are being differentiated from the sons of God. Moreover, to be a son of God, one should have such a love. Such a word is not for the common people of the world. "And if you greet only your brothers, what better thing are you doing?...You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (vv. 47-48). "You" are sons of God, because God is "your Father who is in the heavens" (v. 45). Here again it is very clear that "you," the sons of God, are separated from the others. Is this not plain to see? Not all men are sons of God. This verse also has a further meaning: "There are people in this world who are not yet your brothers, and God is not their Father; God is 'your Father who is in the heavens'; although they are not the sons of God, God is perfect, and He gives the sun and the rain to them." This is more than clear. The children of God should love their enemies, those who are not the children of God, because the heavenly Father is such a loving One. The Lord Jesus in answering the Jews said, "If God were your Father you would love Me" (John 8:42). The children of God should be like God their Father in
nature in the same way that our physical body should bear the characteristics of our father in the flesh. Since God is well pleased with the Lord Jesus, the children of God should also love Him. God is not a Father to him who does not love the Lord Jesus. If this were not so, then would not 1 Corinthians 16:22 be a little too strong? The Bible purposely records this word to be our guide. The word of Christ totally excludes the unregenerated ones and does not recognize them as sons of God. This word "if" gets down to the very root of the question. If the "if" of Christ stands, then the presumption of a universal fatherhood is a total failure. "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother" (Matt. 12:50). Only those who do the will of God are the sons of God. The people in the world have not received salvation, they are not regenerated, they cannot know the will of God. Consequently, how can they do the will of God? This testimony of our Lord firmly rejects the theory that all men in the world are the sons of God. The word in 1 John 3:1 is also very firm. "Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are. Because of this the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." For men to become the sons of God is the special kindness of God. The world does not share a part in this. Here "we" and "the world" are clearly separated. "We should be called children of God; and we are." What about the world? The world does not know us. If all men in the world were children of God, then the Holy Spirit would not separate the believers from the world and would not say, "The world does not know us." If all men in the world are children of God, then what the Holy Spirit has said is meaningless! Please consider this. If everyone in the world is a child of God, should not the world know the children of God? What kind of talk is this? The theory that all men in the world are sons of God has no basis in the Bible. It is refuted by the Bible, and it is totally contrary to the clear teaching of the Bible. Peter called the believers "your brotherhood in the world" (1 Pet. 5:9). This does not mean that the people of the world are the brothers of the believers. It means that the brothers of the believers are in the world. The people of the world are not the believers7 brothers, although among them, there are some who are their brothers. This verse tells us how their brothers were afflicted with sufferings from the devil because they did not belong to the world. "The whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Naturally, there is no need for the devil to bother those who belong to the world. There is a big difference between the people of the