Children of the Living God

by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Jesus Christ taught his disciples to call God 'Our Father' , and to live as members of his family. Although simple enough for every Christian to understand this is also so profound that its implications take a lifetime and more to explore fully.

Yet, despite Christ's words and example, Christians have frequently ignored or forgotten his teaching. In these pages, Sinclair B.Ferguson reminds us of its importance.

Children of the Living God takes as its starting point the wise and thought-provoking question of an old 'If the love of a father will not make a child delight in him, what will?'. It underlines that we were created for joyful fellowship with God, and explains how we enter his family by new birth and adoption. Its chapters show how the Spirit of sonship, Christian freedom, divine discipline, prayer and the sacraments all contribute to our experience of the love the Father has for his children.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christianity, Christian Living, Faith, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1987

About the author

Sinclair B. Ferguson is Associate Preacher at St Peter's Free Church in Dundee and also Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina and prior to that, he was minister of St. George's-Tron Church in Glasgow.

Reviews

[Aneurin Britton]

The first Christian book that I owned. It was gifted to me by my first camp officer.
It was a brilliant short summary on living as a child of God.
Really helpful. I would highly recommend.

[Amy]

Recommended by my Grandma

[Douglas Wilson]

Very fine book. I appreciated his mix of tight scriptural reasoning and pastoral wisdom.

[Christine]

I think everyone on Young Life staff received this book 20 years ago and we read it together then. As I prepare for the next chapter in my life, I have been thinking a lot about identity and motivation. This was a good little reminder of some of things like this:

“knowing in the very depths of my being who I am has a tremendously powerful effect. It sets me free from the world’s anxious quest to be somebody.”

[Garrett]

An insightful and enriching meditation on our real identity in Messiah, which we must reflect on daily. Ferguson helpfully emphasizes through many Scriptural references that those who belong to Jesus have been graciously adopted into a family, now free to play out our role in God's story by the work of His Spirit.

Overall, this little book is well worth reading for any follower of Jesus. We all need reminded that our true identity is not of slavery but of sonship (Gal. 4:7).

[Jeff Wiesner]

I read this in preparation for my sermons in Galatians 4. An excellent primer on the privileges of being counted as a child of God, in Christ. In typical Ferguson fashion, Reformed thinkers throughout the centuries—from Calvin to Owen to Packer—are helpfully invoked. Quite honestly, I find Ferguson's teaching to be more biblical and useful than Jack the sonship theology taught by Jack Miller and others.

[Robert Murphy]

A fine devotional book. He is almost academic enough to satisfy me. There are a few minor errors, but none so bad as he falling into the same trap as Calvin and completely misstating the differences between the Ancient and the Post-Christ Epochs. It is a short book, but even given that I found his treatment on Christian Liberty too brief, given how broadly this is abused in Presbyterian and Reformed circles. Nevertheless, I would recommend the book.

[Robin Larson]

In Packer's classic Knowing God, he laments the dearth of books dedicated to the doctrine of adoption. After rereading Packer, I determined to find resources written recently that address adoption. While this little book does not delve into the scriptural riches of the teaching, it does address the implications of it. I found the chapter on fatherly discipline to be particularly instructive. For a more in-depth exploration of the doctrine of adoption, I recommend Garner's Sons in the Son.

[John Yelverton]

A very uplifting and encouraging book that puts Christian sonship in its proper perspective. It's definitely worth a read if you are not feeling as close to God as you would like to be.

[Darby Stouffer]

Favorite book of the semester. Immensely good and helpful.

[Julian Seibel]

Kinder Gottes sind in die Familie Gottes adoptiert. Das ist ein wunderbares Vorrecht, über das Christen so wenig nachdenken. Christen sind nicht nur gerechtfertigt, ihnen ist nicht nur vergeben, sondern sie sind hineingenommen in die Familie Gottes. Warum? Allein wegen seiner Gnade. Darüber nachzudenken führt zur Anbetung. Das Buch gliedert sich in mehrere Kapitel, die über das Thema der Adoption zum Nachdenken anregen. Ich finde es ist sehr gut ausgearbeitet. Es gibt einen guten Überblick über dieses Thema und beleuchtet die verschiedene Facetten der Adoption. Über die Adoption nachzudenken, verändert die Beziehung zu Gott. Er ist nicht nur der Schöpfer, sondern zugleich Vater, aufgrund der Adoption. Das Buch führt in eine tiefere Gemeinschaft mit Gott, weswegen ich es empfehle, zu lesen.

[Sam Dyer]

(4.4) Genuinely lovely book to read over Christmas. A great reminder that as Christians, we are children of God. That as assuring and heartwarming implications for how we see God and how we see ourselves.

Although repetitive in places, there was such a rich and warm use of Scripture here, especially Romans 8 and Hebrews.

[Erin Smith]

Excellent, accessible, helpful, and encouraging! What a great book for those who follow Jesus, are considering following Jesus, and for those who want to understand the practical theology behind the biblical themes and reality of God as Father.

From the preface:
“You cannot open the pages of the New Testament without realising that one of the things that makes it so ‘new,’ in every way, is that here men and women call God ‘Father.’ …
Of all biblical pictures of what it means to be a Christian, this one is as crucial for our times as it is central to the Christian gospel.”

[Chad Grindstaff]

I’ve read a good bit of Ferguson, and the way this book ends I may have to put this on the top of my list. He does a wonderful job working through what it means to be an adopted son of God and how that should affect our lives daily. The last chapter is worth the book. Get it and enjoy.

[Greg Bailey]

An admirably succinct yet rich introduction to the biblical doctrine of adoption. Ferguson brings out jewel after jewel.

[Shannon]

An absolutely wonderful book full of encouragement & Scripture-based truths!
I highly recommend buying this book and using it as a devotional reading a chapter a day.

[Rhonnie Cough]

I nearly underlined this whole book!

[Mark Evans]

Solid gospel truth about our identity in Christ

[Andrew Micah]

Nothing has helped me engage with the hunger to know God as Father and fight the battle to own and walk out my identity as a child of God quite like this book. Loaded with precious insights.

[Andrew Hadley]

Excellent short read on the theme of Children of God. Doctrinally rich, pastorally warm, typically Ferguson.

Why so few books in this rich theme?

[JT Goodart]

A quick but good read on what it means for us to be children of God and how that should move us.

[Jacob London]

This little book packs a punch. Almost Puritan-esq in it's brevity, simplicity, and power. What a privilege it is "that we should be called Children of God".

[Eric]

A wonderful, focused reflection on being children of God and all that means. May feel repetitive at times, but on the whole, an encouraging read.

[Bert Dreifuss]

This is a most encouraging little book. I aim to re-read annually.

[Meggie]

A more academic and theological treatment of Sonship, less devotional. Full of great scripture and truth to encourage the believer as a child of God.

[Molly Sawyer]

I love everything Sinclair Ferguson. He explains things simply and gently… and light bulbs go on for me.

[Regina]

Sinclair Ferguson is difficult to read, not because his writing is complicated, but maybe because it is so smooth. It just flows into my head and right back ought again with nothing of which to grasp hold. However, Chapter 8 on "Fatherly Discipline" was a great chapter to which I would give 4 stars. It illuminated some of the rhyme and reason behind the Father's discipline of us and even featured a passage from Isaiah 28:24-29 that I would never have thought to apply. But the passage reveals that the Lord disciplines each of us in different ways according to our own needs - a thought I already had guessed, but is nice to have confirmed in Scripture.

[Chita]

Buku ini bikin tertarik, karena dia bilang manusia terkadang penuh dengan pemikiran akan "Ordo Keselamatan" yang membuat kita berpikir apakah masih ada yang kurang dalam kehidupan kekristenan kita. Padahal kekristenan harus diawali dengan kesadaran bahwa kita adalah anak-anak Allah.
Tapiii terjemahannya susah banget hiks, jadinya kalimatnya "indonesia" banget, ampe2 susah ngertinya.
mungkin ini kelemahan generasi gue, dimana bahasa indonesia menjadi bahasa yg kalau dituliskan sulit untuk dimengerti :(

[Greg Baughman]

I really enjoyed this book when I read it last year. Not coming from a Reformed context, this was an exciting read. It's a dense book, despite its brevity, but it is worth the effort. The chapter on fatherly discipline is worth the price of the book. For a fuller interaction with the impact this book made, see here.

[E]

Rare that I read two 5-star books in one weekend, but this book is deserving. From the title you might think it's merely on the theological concept of adoption, but it is broader than that. It is almost a primer on the Christian faith at large, touching on most of the topics foundational to our walk as believers. I think this is possible because to be saved is to become a child of God. I would consider using this book with new believers seeking to learn how to grow in the faith.