Who Are We? (Part 1 of 3)

“Who are we?” is certainly one of the most important and widely discussed religious and philosophical questions known to mankind. Yet, when all the arguments have been laid on the table, there is still no consensus among the various parties.

The wise philosophers (in their own eyes) depend on their innate reasoning powers to reach their conclusions. Yet, those conclusions vary widely. There are as many opinions as there are philosophers.

The great religions of the world—Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.—do not fair any better. They cannot even agree on a single God, let alone the answer to this important question. Sadly, Christianity, with its multitude of factions, is not united on the issue, either.

Nevertheless, being of the Christian faith, I must ask: Who does the Bible say we are?

“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.” (Acts 17:27-29).

Paul first quotes the Roman poets, with whom they were undoubtedly familiar, then affirms them by saying, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God . . .”.

The Hebrew word for offspring means kin, taken from a root meaning to cause to be or to become. (James Strong, Dictionary of the New Testament, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon Press, 1973).

Of course, we already know we came from God, having been created in his image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26-27). But are we truly offspring of God or merely kin? Either would be awesome, would it not?

Prefacing a series of commands from the Lord, Moses said this to the children of Israel:

“Ye are the children of the Lord your God . . .” (Deuteronomy 14:1).

Is this to be taken this literally or is it to be taken spiritually? I believe it can be taken either way. However, in this instance, it was meant to be taken literally. The usage of children in this verse is the same as it is applied to mean children in other applications involving earthly parents or even as the children of Israel. (ibid.) Thus, the children of Israel, and we by implication, are literally the children of the Lord our God.

God himself added this endorsement:

“Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (Hosea 1:9-10).

By implication, “Ye are also the daughters of the living God.” That’s pretty clear, but it gets even better.

“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalms 82:6).

Lest you think this is merely an opinion of man (i.e., Asaph, the writer of the psalm), remember: Jesus lent credence to this verse by quoting it to the Jews:

“Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10:32-34).

Now, we can make of this what we will, and some will spiritualize it away, but either the Bible means what it says or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, then what else does the Bible say and not mean? Where does it stop?

I don’t believe this verse means we are Gods (big G), but that we are gods (little g) in the sense that we came from God and are, in fact, of him. Therefore, if we are sons and daughters of God as the scriptures tell us, then we are of the race of God!

Do you find this offensive or blasphemous? Remember, we were created by him; we are of him; we are like him. It is true that in our current condition we are less than perfect, but remember also that through the Holy Spirit we may grow “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

Thus we may become even as Jesus Christ. And as such, we have been promised the opportunity to be joint-heirs with Christ:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16-17).

There’s a catch, as you can see: “if so be that we suffer with him”.

The Rapture is a popular notion today among many Christians. It is supposed to save Christians from having to suffer with Christ in the tumultuous end-times. Yet, according to these verses, if we don’t suffer with Christ, we have no promise of the heirship of God and joint-heirship with Jesus Christ. This being the case, we should not attempt to sidestep the suffering that is to come. Should we?

For those of us who would suffer with Christ, we might ask: What does it mean to be a joint-heir with Christ?

Joint-heirship is the equal sharing of a bequeathing. This does not mean the willed property, as it were, is divided equally among the heirs so that each possesses a small portion of the whole. It means that each heir of a joint-heirship is entitled to share in the whole of the estate. One does not possess more or less than the other. They share equally in its entirety and enjoy the rights of the whole.

In the case of being a joint-heir with Christ, it means we share equally with Christ—even all he receives from the Father. And what is that?

“All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16:15).

The Greek word for shew (i.e., show) is to announce. The Revised edition translates it as declares. (ibid.)

Thus, all things the Father has are Christ’s. Nothing is held back. And if we suffer with Christ, then according to the promise, all things the Father has will be ours! Can there be any greater promise than this?

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Whatever we may think of these ideas, the scriptures are clear enough: We are literally “the children of the most high,” and “the sons [and daughters] of the living God.”

The question is or should be: Do we really believe this or do we just give it lip service? Do we believe these great promises are literal or do we spiritualize them away?

The answer to these questions may be more important than we realize.