Seehow greata lovethe Fatherhas bestowedon us, that we would be calledchildrenof God;and [such] we are. For thisreasonthe worlddoes not knowus, becauseit did not knowHim.
"And yetthiswas insignificantin Your eyes,O LordGOD,for You have spokenalsoof the houseof Your servantconcerning the distantfuture.And thisis the customof man,O LordGOD.
Howgreatis Your goodness,WhichYou have storedup for those who fearYou, Which You have wroughtfor those who takerefugein You, Beforethe sonsof men!
"Then I said,'HowI would setyou among My sonsAnd giveyou a pleasantland,The mostbeautifulinheritanceof the nations!'And I said,'You shall callMe, My Father,And not turnawayfrom followingMe.'
Yet the numberof the sonsof IsraelWill be like the sandof the sea,Whichcannotbe measuredor numbered;And in the placeWhereit is saidto them, "You are not My people,"It will be saidto them, "[You are] the sonsof the livingGod."
for they cannotevendieanymore,becausethey are like angels,and are sonsof God,beingsonsof the resurrection.
But as manyas receivedHim, to them He gavethe rightto becomechildrenof God,[even] to thosewho believein His name,
and not for the nationonly,but in orderthat He might alsogather togetherinto onethe childrenof Godwho are scattered abroad.
"But allthese thingsthey will doto you for My name'ssake,becausethey do not knowthe One who sentMe.
"These thingsthey will dobecausethey have not knownthe FatherorMe.
"O righteousFather,althoughthe worldhas not knownYou, yetI have knownYou; and thesehave knownthat You sentMe;
"For Godsolovedthe world,that He gaveHis only begottenSon,that whoeverbelievesin Him shall not perish,but haveeternallife.
But GoddemonstratesHis ownlovetowardus, in that while we were yetsinners,Christdiedfor us.
For the anxious longingof the creationwaits eagerlyfor the revealingof the sonsof God.
that the creationitselfalsowill be set freefrom its slaveryto corruptioninto the freedomof the gloryof the childrenof God.
He whodid not spareHis ownSon,but deliveredHim over for us all,howwill He not alsowith Him freely giveus all things?
"And I will be a fatherto you, And you shall be sonsand daughtersto Me," Saysthe LordAlmighty.
For you are allsonsof Godthroughfaithin ChristJesus.
And ifyou belong to Christ,thenyou are Abraham'sdescendants,heirsaccordingto promise.
"You are the sonsof the LORDyour God;you shall not cutyourselves norshaveyour foreheadfor the sake of the dead.
For you have diedand your lifeis hiddenwith Christin God.
By thisthe childrenof Godand the childrenof the devilare obvious:anyonewho does not practicerighteousnessis not of God,northe one who does not lovehis brother.
Beloved,nowwe are childrenof God,and it has not appearedas yetwhatwe will be. We knowthat whenHe appears,we will be likeHim, becausewe will seeHim justas He is.
By this,loveis perfectedwith us, so that we may haveconfidencein the dayof judgment;becauseas He is, so alsoare we in thisworld.
"He who overcomeswill inheritthese things,and I will be his Godand he will be My son.
