Section Eight

Children of God in Romans

In Romans Chapters 8 and 9, Paul discusses what it means to belong to two different realms - a physical one (the ‘flesh’) and a spiritual one (the ‘Spirit’). He uses childhood and childbirth as a picture: • Belonging to the realm of the Spirit (those who have accepted Christ) means being part of a family. This includes becoming ‘children of God’ and being adopted into God’s family with the full rights of an heir (see also the page ‘Adopted into God’s family’) • Creation is a reflection of the tension between the present and the future. The future will reveal the children of God and creation is compared to going through childbirth. God’s completed work in his children is to being them into a complete state of adoption. • It is not by physical descent from Abraham that people are able to claim a part in the promise given to Israel in the Old Testament. Being one of God’s children means that anyone is able to live under God’s promises. • Paul quotes from Hosea to show that being one of God’s ‘people’ includes being called ‘children of the living God’.