In Genesis 4:26 God states that there was a time that His people began to call themselves by the name of the Lord. This was the Old Testament version of calling themselves Christians. Christian did not exist as a word in the Old Testament because the Christ had not yet come. Yet in the OT there was a phrase that was used and that was “Son(s) of God”. Apparently this started in Genesis 4:26. Adam was clearly the most direct human descendent of God and God refers to Adam as a son of God in Luke 3:38.
Another place where the term “son(s) of God” was used was in Genesis 6:2. “That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” There are many thoughts about what this text means but in its simplest understanding this verse simply replays a concept that God has instructed His people about all through the Bible. That is do not become unequally yoked with a non-believer. II Corinthians 6:14. If one becomes unequally yoked with a non-believer the almost inevitable result will be that they non-believer will usually turn the Christian to sin and against God.
Now every body will immediately come up with the exception to the rule of believers getting turned away from God by non-believers. Notice that in the Bible, Jesus never says, that believers should go out and marry non-believers to help them become Christians. So the principle stated in a positive manner does not occur. God always speaks the principle in the negative form – do not marry unbelievers for they will turn away your heart from God. Deuteronomy 17:17.
But back to the Son of God portion of the story. God wants His people to perceive themselves as sons of God. To perceive oneself as a son, or a daughter of God, would indicate that you have become part of God’s family. That implies that He has interest in us and wants us to be a part of His family. God seems to like the idea of our being His sons and His daughters. He is not ashamed to call us His brethren nor is He ashamed to be called the God of humanity. Hebrews 2:11; 11:16 He wants to be known as the Father of mankind for that is the truth of the matter. We are His children, we are His sons and His daughters.
In John 1:12 God says “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” This text clearly states that when we receive God, He gives those people who receive Him the power to become God’s sons and daughters. Those who believe on the name of God and believe on His character have chosen to enter into a special relationship with Him. They have been born again into His family and are no longer His enemies. They believe on Him and have faith in His character. These people believe that the infinite God has a personal interest in them. That very belief changes all of the dynamics and allows them to enter into His personal family and will be called sons and daughters of God.
I John 3:1-3 also describes this process. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Again the issue is that because God has bestowed His love upon us He grants us power to change from carnal heathens into God loving children. He says that when this happens to us the world will no longer know us but God will. The world rejects anything of God and pretends that God does not exist. But God says that when we have this loving relationship God identifies us because we are like Him. Our characters, and His character, will get along, no matter how long we are together, it will be good. God also says that as a result of this relationship that purification will occur and sin will have to go. God and sin do not exist in the same place at the same time, one of them has to go. God wants sin to depart from us that we may stay united in God as one.
With the above in mind, Noah was a son of God. He believed in God, he surrendered to God, and he obeyed God. God recognized Noah as one of his special children. But we to can have these same experiences. If we believe, if we cooperate with God, and if we allow Him to be reproduced inside of ourselves, we too will become sons of God.
We know that Enoch depended upon God for everything. Enoch walked so well with God that one day God took him to heaven with Him. What a wonderful testimony that must have been for all of the Earth to know that God loved Enoch and took him to heaven with out seeing death. Praise God that He has left us with stories of translation so that we to can ask for this gift in our hearts. It is our opportunity to ask God to make us sons and daughters of God so that we may have happiness to the fullest. I pray that we might learn the lessons needed to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. I pray that you will allow God to do wonderful things in your and for you, that you may become a son or a daughter of God, just like Noah did.
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