“We’re all children of God.”

The world often says that we are all children of God, not matter what race, color or creed. That sounds virtuous, but it is not what the Bible teaches.

While we are all made in God’s image--with a moral compass that sets us apart from the animal kingdom, the Bible makes it clear that we are not His "children." Rather, we are called "children of wrath" (see Ephesians 2:3).

This is because we have a nature that is hostile to God (see Romans 8:7). Jesus told the religious leaders of His time that the devil was their father: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 4:44).

We are only children of God when we are born of His Spirit (see John 3:3), and it is then and only then that we can call God "Father" (see Romans 8:15). When that happens, the Holy Spirit will bear witness with us that we are the children of God (see Romans 8:16).