Gerald E. Weston

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Divine Healing vs. Faith Healers

There’s great emotion in the air. The organist is playing a sentimental hymn, people are looking upward, waving their arms with tears streaming down their cheeks. A blind man is escorted onto the stage by an attendant.

The popular evangelist asks him how long he has been blind, and does he believe Jesus will heal him? He answers, “From birth and yes, I believe!”

The evangelist then hits the poor man on the forehead while loudly commanding, “Be Healed!” The man falls backward in some kind of trance into the arms of an attendant, and when he awakes, he blinks a few times and shouts “Thank you Jesus—I can see.” And the crowd erupts in cries of “Praise the Lord.”

Thinking people wonder: Was this real? Or was it a show contrived by well-rehearsed actors?

This is an important question as there is reason to believe these supposed healings are, more often than not, deceptions played out on ignorant people.

However, the Bible proclaims that God does supernaturally heal, and we read of Jesus healing all manner of sickness and infirmities. Were these real, or was Jesus the first to exploit gullible people seeking relief from desperate physical circumstances?

I’ll address the subject of divine healing.

• Is it for real? Can you experience it?
• Are there requirements to obtain it and if so, what are they?
• And what does it mean if I go to God and I’m NOT divinely healed?

There are good reasons for asking these questions. Frankly, dear friends, so-called faith healers, have a checkered reputation and many have been exposed as frauds.

I first heard of this subject at an early age from a Sunday School teacher who spoke of one of the most famous faith healers of the last century. He reportedly healed the blind, the deaf, the crippled. There were even reports of raising the dead.

And as a young teenager, this was comforting. If some terrible sickness came upon me, I would go to one of his tent meetings and all would be okay. But at some point, he forsook his charismatic past to go more mainstream, and he claimed that God spoke to him to build a research center to find a cure for cancer.

I remember wondering at the time, if he could heal by simply laying hands on people, why would he turn to painful radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery? But by that time, I was older, and wiser, and knew the answer.

The 20th century saw more than its share of traveling faith healers. They would come into town, set up a tent, hand out flyers and post on billboards. Desperate people would flock to hear the preacher and get in line to be made whole. But somehow, the truly needy locals never made it to the front of the line.

Now does this mean that there is no God and that He does not intervene for those who know Him and sincerely trust in Him?

Dear friends, God does exist and you can prove it for yourself. Scientists have learned over the last 75 years that laws govern the universe and also just how complex life truly is. Biologists know that it is mathematically impossible for life to spontaneously occur but many refuse to accept God as the cause for life. The Apostle Paul called out skeptics, such as these, who should know better.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:18–20).

Long before Paul, an ancient king proclaimed:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1).

That has never been truer than it is today for anyone who honestly looks into the marvels of life. Therefore, if God created life, does He not have the power to fix what is broken?

God’s Power and Authority Given to His True Servants

And if the Bible is the word of God, and Jesus is our Savior—as many of us believe—then we must accept that God does intervene in the lives of people and heals them supernaturally. For, as we read (in Matthew 4:23):

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

But did divine healing end with Jesus’ ministry? You may be thinking, “That was then and that was Jesus. What about today and what about me?”

Part of Jesus’ ministry was that of healing the sick—but it did not stop with our Savior. He sent out twelve disciples on their own with authority to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Notice it in Luke 9.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases…. So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere (Luke 9:1, 6).

Many are aware of this, but do you realize that Jesus gave this power and authority to seventy others? We read of that in Luke 10:1.

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go…. And [to] heal the sick there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:1, 9).

So what about now? What about you? Does Christ give that authority to His servants today? Can you therefore be healed?

Here’s the great commission given by Christ to all who genuinely believe in His name.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:15, 17–18).

A clarification is needed on this passage as some think it means something entirely different from what was meant. Jesus was not promoting the misguided practice of snake handling or drinking poison. We read in 2 Kings 4:38–41:

[Now Elisha] said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were…. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

We also read of the Apostle Paul shipwrecked on the Island of Malta. The natives of the island started a large fire to warm their wet and weary visitors. Paul helped gather some fuel for the fire and was bitten by a poisonous snake. Notice Acts 28:3–5.

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

Any objective reader realizes that in both cases, these were not examples of showing off one’s faith in a religious service, but accidents for which God intervened.

Jesus’ command in Mark 16, to heal the sick, was obviously for His servants down through the ages, so the question remains: “If God heals today, will He heal me?”

Bible Reference on Healing: What to Do When You’re Sick

Do you realize that the Bible gives clear instructions of what to do when you are sick? Write down this passage and look it up for yourself in your own Bible: James 5:14–15.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Follow the Instructions in James 5:14–15

So our first key to understand God’s healing is to:

1. Obey the instructions given in James 5:14–15.

Now this is not the whole story. It is important to know where God is working, as He is not working in everyone who claims to be one of His servants. This is a large subject in itself, but I encourage you to read and meditate on 2 Corinthians 11. There is much contained in the instructions given by James in the fifth chapter, and this is why we hope you will avail yourself of our free resource, Does God Heal Today? But for now, key number one is obey the instructions given in James 5:14–15.

Healing Requires Faith | Hebrews 11:6

Two blind men came to Jesus requesting to receive their sight and Jesus put this straightforward question before them (Matthew 9:28–30).

And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened.

Therefore, key number 2 is:

2. The importance of faith.

It may come as a surprise, but even Jesus was limited in what He could do where there was no faith. We learn this when He visited His hometown of Nazareth.

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching (Mark 6:5-6).

The author of Hebrews, whom we believe based on the evidence, was Paul, had this to say about the importance of faith. You can read it in chapter 11, verse 6.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Healing and Obedience to God | Acts 5:32

And this brings me to our third key:

3. The importance of obedience.

It is difficult for us to imagine but not everyone was happy when people were healed. God worked remarkable miracles through the early apostles, as we read in Acts 5, beginning in verse 16.

Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison (Acts 5:16–18).

This was not the end of the story. God sent an angel to supernaturally release them and commanded them to go right back to the temple complex in the morning and teach the words of life. This landed them once again in the hot seat before the council. And when the high priest strongly rebuked them for preaching in the name of Jesus, the apostles boldly responded.

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men…. And we are His witnesses to these things [the healing of a crippled man], and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:29, 32).

All of us experience injury and sickness, causing discomfort, pain, and suffering. A trip to a doctor often involves jabbing, cutting, and administering chemicals that add more pain. This Tomorrow’s World program is about divine healing, and the question on many minds is, “Does God heal today, and if so, can I be healed?”

Forgiveness of Sins and God’s Healing | Isaiah 53:5

Now nothing that I say on this program should be taken as advice NOT to go to a doctor. Most doctors are well-meaning and knowledgeable about the human body. And they can certainly be helpful, but they mostly deal with the effects rather than the causes of our afflictions.

And that brings me to another key regarding God’s healing:

4. Divine healing involves forgiveness of sin.

Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed, and in doing so He instituted symbols of a New Covenant. Those symbols—unleavened bread and wine—were part of the traditional Passover, but He gave them new meaning.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28).

The wine symbolized His shed blood. We’ve all sinned and the penalty for breaking God’s law—which is the definition of sin—is death. The life is in the blood, and Jesus’ blood was shed to pay for our lives. But what is the purpose of the broken bread?

The prophet Isaiah reveals this significant truth.

Surely He has borne our griefs (Isaiah 53:4).

Now the original in Hebrew is literally “sicknesses.”

And carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4).

And again, the literal is “pains.”

Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4–5).

The pain and suffering Jesus went through was for our healing, both spiritually and physically. He paid the consequences of our sins—not only the death penalty, but sin’s physical penalty, which is pain and suffering.

The Connection Between Sin and Sickness

There is a direct connection between sin and disease. Why is this not understood? Sexual promiscuity brings many afflictions: HPV, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and AIDS, just to name a few. Gluttony and overindulgence in food and drink take a toll on our bodies. Smoking, vaping, and the use of recreational drugs lead to many known afflictions. Envy, uncontrolled anger, and other harmful thought patterns negatively affect the mind and the body. This is why James added this comment when calling for an elder to pray for our healing.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed (James 5:15-16).

Jesus upset the scribes of His day when He connected healing of a paralyzed man with His authority to forgive sin. Let’s notice Matthew 9, beginning in verse 2 and what it says there.

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?” (Matthew 9:2–5).

The connection between sin and sickness was so strong that the Pharisees assumed that any sick person or his parents must have sinned, but Jesus showed that this was not the case. Notice John 9:3.

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

However, most afflictions are caused by our sins or that of others. The drunk driver that plows into you is guilty, not you.

Repentance and Healing

But more often than not, we are the cause of our afflictions. And this brings me to my fifth key:

5. The need for repentance.

Why would God heal you if you continue to do the things that brought painful penalties upon you in the first place?

Forgiveness doesn’t require perfection, but it does require an attitude of repentance—a sincere desire to change.

We may not always know specifically what we have done, or what has been done to us to cause sickness, but we need to repent of our sins, and true repentance begins with understanding what sin really is.

The world has many opinions, but the key is knowing what the Bible says, believing what Jesus Christ taught, and being willing to follow those instructions.

To understand the real meaning of sin—and why it matters so much to your life and to your future—we need to go to the true source of authority on sin and repentance, and that’s the word of God.

So watch this next video defining sin straight from the pages of the Bible.

For blessed are those who hear the word of God—and keep it (Luke 11:28).

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Why Did God Create Us?

We live on an amazing planet.

Consider its diversity of terrain—mountains, valleys, plains and deserts, mighty rivers and babbling brooks. We have rain, fog, mist, snow and ice falling on our homes and on our heads. Mornings and evenings paint beautiful mosaics as the sun shines through the clouds.

Consider the diversity of life, from earthworms to elephants. The waters hold an amazing variety of strange and beautiful creatures—each fulfilling a unique purpose. Some filter and clean the waters, others dazzle us with their beauty and strangeness, and some are simply food for other creatures.

Then there is the flora—magnificent trees, eye-pleasing flowering shrubs. There is the spectrum of greens—from dark to light. Flowers come in all colors of the rainbow and in mixed shades.

We live on a planet suited for man. Yes, there are challenges we face that strengthen us, but there are the joys of eating with family and friends from the limitless variety of foods of every texture and taste.

When was the last time you put down your smart phone or turned off the television and asked: Is there a purpose for life? And if so, what is it? Am I merely the product of blind evolutionary forces? If so, how can there be meaning? And how can there be life beyond the grave? Simply put, why are you here?

We take life on this planet for granted. After all, we’ve never known a time when we were not surrounded with life. But stop for a minute to consider. Scientists tell us that our universe had a beginning. The dirt beneath our feet, our moon, the sun, all the stars and all the planets did not always exist. They all had a beginning.

Now consider the size of the universe.

Our star that we refer to as the Sun is only one of at least 100 billion other stars that make up our Milky Way Galaxy.

The nearest star to Earth is 25 trillion miles away. And to put it another way, the light from Proxima Centauri takes 4.24 years to reach our planet. Think about that.

Now consider that our galaxy is only one star cluster, the number of which is impossible to know. LiveScience.com explains how difficult it is to give an exact number, but gives this range in numbers.

So somewhere between 2 trillion galaxies at the top edge and 100 billion at the lower edge is the number of galaxies in our observable universe (“How many galaxies are in the universe?”, August 3, 2024; LiveScience.com)

Now you might be asking why is he talking about our planet, our galaxy, and the universe in relation to the meaning of my life?

Dear friends, we need to know what it is that God has done and is doing. For if the universe had a beginning, as both science and the Bible declare, there had to be a cause for that beginning. Many scientists diligently search for an explanation other than God, but they fail in their attempts. Theories come and go.

Scientists and many sincere people believe that with all the stars, galaxies, and planets that must exist, life is inevitable in many corners of the universe. That is what Nobel Prize winner Harold C. Urey once believed. He declared in the December 18, 1950 Time magazine:

[My study of the universe] leaves little doubt that life has occurred on other planets. I doubt if the human race is the most intelligent form of life (“People: Notions In Motion,” December 18, 1950, Time magazine).

Two years later, he also declared:

Life is not a miracle. It is a natural phenomenon, and can be expected to appear whenever there is a planet whose conditions duplicate those of the earth (“Science: Life Begins,” November 24, 1952, Time magazine.

But less than a decade later, he had changed his mind with this startling admission.

All of us who study the origin of life find that the more we look into it, the more we feel it is too complex to have evolved anywhere. We all believe as an article of faith that life evolved from dead matter on this planet. It is just that life’s complexity is so great, it is hard for us to imagine that it did (January 4, 1962, Harold Urey Christian Science Monitor, p. 4).

The fact is that life is mathematically impossible, as even evolutionary scientists admit. So how do they get around this mathematical impossibility? Their standard explanation is that we are here, so the impossible happened. As Urey put it:

[They] believe as an article of faith that life evolved from dead matter on this planet (https://www.azquotes.com/author/20795-Harold_Urey).

This of course begs the question. Our existence is not in question. The real question is what is the cause of life? And for many of us, the cause is a supreme being of infinite intelligence and power. Famous astronomer and mathematician Fred Hoyle put it this way in 1981:

A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggest that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question (https://todayinsci.com/QuotationsCategories/B_Cat/Biology-Quotations.htm#google_vignette).

So with this background, we must wonder: Why? If there is a God, and for a multitude of reasons many of us believe there is: Why are we here? What is His purpose for us? And what does that mean for you?

God’s Plan at Creation (Genesis 1 Explained)

The starting place in scripture is found in the first chapter of Genesis. How many read right over these words and never consider their profound significance?

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26–27).

Man was not made after any other kind of creature.

Created in the Image of God (Genesis 1 26-27)

God’s intent was to make man in His image and likeness and to have rule over all other creatures on earth.

Now consider what that means. Why in God’s image and likeness? Why given rule over all else?

These are the kinds of questions asked by a shepherd boy who later became king over Israel. One night, as he looked up at the Milky Way and all the wonders of the night, he asked himself this question from Psalm 8:3.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet… sheep and oxen… beasts of the field… birds of the air, and the fish of the sea… (Psalm 8:3–8).

Sadly, too few today see the greatness of God as we once did when there was less light pollution. I often wonder how many children grow up never seeing the Milky Way.

But back to David’s question. What are we that God should be mindful of us? Consider God’s investment in our planet. He once placed a powerful spirit being—Lucifer by name—on Earth with a throne to administer His government, but we read in Isaiah 14:13 that this cherub rebelled against his Creator. Further, he stirred up a third of the angels to follow him. You can read that in Revelation 12:4, 9.

Now this indicates that Earth is special. It is not just any planet anywhere in the universe. God has something special in mind that He is working out here below.

The author of Hebrews found David’s question of interest and quotes him beginning in Hebrews 2:6.

But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet” (Hebrews 2:6–8).

But he does not stop there. He goes on to say:

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him (Hebrews 2:8).

The New Testament in Modern Speech translates the second half of verse 8:

For this subjecting of the universe to man implies the leaving nothing not subject to him.

The universe? This is the sense of the passage—He left absolutely nothing not in control of man, but the verse continues:

But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

Joint Heirs with Christ Explained (Sons of God)

Mankind has been given rule over all things on earth, but not the universe at this time. To give us that power and control would be to guarantee star wars. Now notice what comes next in verses 9–10.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than [or for a little while lower than] the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:9–10).

But he then goes on to give us an answer to it—we are to be brethren (or brothers and sisters) with Christ. Furthermore, we are to rule all things—nothing is to be left out of our control—but not yet. For that we need to be resurrected to eternal life as children of God.

Children should be understood in a very real sense, as shown in Roman 8:14–17.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:14–17).

God’s Purpose Is to Create His Family (Children of God)

Dear friends, do you believe what the Bible says? Children of God. Heirs of God. Joint heirs with Christ. Dust off your Bible and read it for yourself—Romans 8:14–17. When we put this together with Hebrews 2, which we read in the last portion of this program, and with Genesis 1, where God made us in His image and likeness, we begin to see a clear picture of a family relationship. Paul speaks of sons and daughters in 2 Corinthians 6.

As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” [And note it here:] “I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the LORD ALMIGHTY” (2 Corinthians 6:16–18).

Friends, these passages are not speaking of this life only. They refer to the time when we will inherit all things. Notice Romans 8.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:18–21).

People speak about “when we get our wings,” about “meeting St. Peter at the pearly gates,” and “rolling around heaven all day,” but none of this is found in the Bible.

For Catholics the purpose of life is described as the Beatific Vision. From Catholic Bible Online we read:

The Beatific Vision is the Catholic Church’s teaching about the ultimate goal of human existence—the direct, immediate, and perfect vision of God in heaven.… This is not a physical seeing with our eyes, but a spiritual seeing that involves the complete knowledge and love of God. The Beatific Vision is the fulfillment of every human heart’s deepest desire and the source of perfect happiness and joy that will never end ( “What Is the Beatific Vision? A Complete Guide to Seeing God Face to Face,” catholicbibleonline.com).

So in other words, live your life the best you can and when you die—for many Catholics, only after spending an undetermined time in purgatory to expunge unrepented sins—you go to heaven so that God can make you happy through some ecstatic vision.

Is that really what the Bible says? Is that what John means when he speaks of the children of God in 1 John 3 beginning in verse 1?

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:1–3).

Was Jesus referring to some kind of ecstatic vision for His sons and daughters when He said in Matthew 5:8–9:

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Is that what being the offspring of God means—seeing God in vision with nothing else to do?

Meaning of Life Revealed: What Evolution Lacks

King David looked up at a star-filled night sky and wondered, “What is man that You are mindful of him?”

Scientists look into the vast universe for answers to meaning, but evolution gives none. Philosophers likewise search for the meaning of life through human reason. They rarely, if ever, consider the critical question: Does God exist?

If He does—and scientists admit that life on Earth or anywhere in the universe is mathematically impossible—then why not look into the Bible, the only source that truly explains why our Creator is mindful of us.

Today, we saw at the very beginning that God’s purpose was to create us in His image and likeness. We’ve also seen scriptures that speak of our being sons and daughters, of being co-heirs with Christ, and inheriting all things at the resurrection. Is this not spelled out clear enough for even a child to understand? We read earlier in Romans 8:16 that:

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

We read here of two spirits—”the Spirit Himself” clearly refers to God’s Spirit. “Our spirit” refers to a spirit in man—not an immortal soul, but a spirit essence that makes us different from the animals. So what does it mean when it says:

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

The Apostle John explains something that few understand, that is lost in translation (1 John 3:9).

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed [Greek: sperma] remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Yes, it is the seed [sperma] of God, God’s Spirit, that unites with the human spirit that allows us to truly be born again into the Family of God at the resurrection.

Jesus explained to the hostile Sadducees:

But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (Luke 20:35–36).

Notice that it did not say we are angels, but “equal to the angels” for we will never die. We will have eternal life. We are “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”