Children of God and the Sovereign Grace That Makes Them New
Scripture does not present humanity as spiritually neutral. No person stands in the middle, untouched by sin and merely weighing religious options. The biblical picture is far more serious: there are those who belong to God and those who remain under the blindness of this present age. The difference is not created by human willpower, religious performance, or public ritual. It is created by God’s sovereign mercy.
That is the heart of this teaching from Jude and the wider witness of Scripture. The distinction between the children of God and the children of the devil is not a matter of personality, tradition, or denominational label. It is a matter of birth, calling, election, sanctification, and the blood of Jesus Christ applied by the Spirit.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God… Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” — 1 John 3:1-2
To be a child of God is not merely to adopt Christian vocabulary. It is to be loved by the Father, chosen in Christ, sanctified by the Spirit, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and conformed to the image of the Son.
Salvation Begins with God’s Eternal Purpose
Romans 8:28–30 stands as one of the clearest summaries of salvation in all of Scripture. It does not begin with man choosing God. It begins with God knowing, predestinating, calling, justifying, and glorifying His people.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son… Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” — Romans 8:28-30
This passage is not describing a fragile salvation dependent on human decision. It is describing a completed chain of divine action. Those whom God foreknew, He predestinated. Those whom He predestinated, He called. Those whom He called, He justified. Those whom He justified, He glorified.
The goal is also clearly stated: conformity to Christ. God’s purpose is not merely to rescue sinners from punishment, but to shape them into the likeness of His Son. Salvation is not only pardon; it is transformation.
This same truth appears in Ephesians, where election is placed before the foundation of the world.
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world… Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” — Ephesians 1:4-11
The phrase “according to the good pleasure of his will” matters. Election is not grounded in foreseen merit, foreseen religious activity, or foreseen human wisdom. It is rooted in God’s will, God’s grace, and God’s eternal purpose in Christ.
Romans 9 presses this truth even further through Jacob and Esau.
“For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil… Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” — Romans 9:11-13
This is humbling doctrine. It removes boasting. It silences pride. It teaches that salvation belongs to the Lord from beginning to end.
The Spirit Sanctifies and Applies the Blood of Christ
Election is not an abstract idea floating in eternity. God’s choice bears fruit in time through the work of the Holy Spirit. Peter describes the people of God as elect according to the Father’s foreknowledge, sanctified by the Spirit, and sprinkled with Christ’s blood.
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:1-2
Notice the order. Election comes first. Then sanctification by the Spirit. Then obedience and the sprinkling of Christ’s blood. The Spirit does not merely improve religious behavior. The Spirit sets apart God’s people, brings them into obedience, and applies the cleansing power of Christ’s sacrifice.
Hebrews 9 provides the background. Under the old covenant, blood was central to worship, purification, and atonement. Yet those sacrifices pointed beyond themselves to Christ, whose blood cleanses not merely the flesh but the conscience.
“For if the blood of bulls and of goats… sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” — Hebrews 9:1-22
This is the deeper reality behind the language of sprinkling. Christ offered Himself. The Spirit applies that sacrifice to the soul. The result is a purged conscience and a life freed from dead works.
Dead works may look religious. They may include ceremonies, traditions, or outward displays of devotion. But if they are treated as the basis of acceptance with God, they cannot cleanse. Only Christ’s blood can cleanse the conscience. Only the Spirit can apply that cleansing with saving power.
Hebrews also teaches that the old covenant patterns were shadows pointing to Christ.
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things…” — Hebrews 10:1
The sacrifices, sprinklings, and priestly rituals were never the final hope. They were signs pointing to the true Lamb, the true sacrifice, and the true cleansing found in Jesus Christ.
Faith Is the Fruit of God’s Calling, Not the Cause of It
Romans 10 is often quoted as though salvation begins with an autonomous human decision. But Romans 10 must be read after Romans 8 and Romans 9. The God who calls sinners to confess Christ is the same God who predestines, calls, justifies, and has mercy according to His will.
“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” — Romans 10:4
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart… That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” — Romans 10:8-9
Faith is necessary. Confession is necessary. But faith is not a work by which sinners earn salvation. Faith is the God-given means by which sinners receive Christ. The righteousness of God is revealed and received by faith, not achieved by human striving.
“The just shall live by faith.” — Romans 1:17
This is why the gospel destroys boasting. The sinner does not climb into grace by moral effort. The sinner is called by grace, awakened by the Spirit, given faith, and brought to confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
Human nature, apart from the Spirit, cannot receive spiritual truth