~Agnostic~ said:Just a small point of contention here. It is my interpretation of scripture that all human beings are children of God (assuming that we're looking to scripture as an authority source).
Ac 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'
Ac 17:29 "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.
And although there are references to children of the devil in scripture, we may nonetheless surmise that such is merely allegory, insofar as the devil has never actually impregnated any human being (at least as far as I'm aware).
Joh 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
There are two senses. We are all 'children' of God and share a brotherhood of man in that God is the Creator and Sustainer of man (both good and evil men).
Paul was quoting their pagan poets to make a point and find common ground to argue from an unknown god to the uncreated triune Creator (Living God revealed in the God-Man, Christ). He was not making a doctrinal statement in their quote that would be contrary to Christ's explicit teaching (Jn. 3...believer vs unbeliever; light vs darkness; truth vs lie; spirit vs flesh= dualisms).
Jn. 1:12 and Romans refer to spiritual vs natural children of God who are adopted into His Forever Family through faith in Christ. He becomes Abba, Father, in an intimate, redemptive (vs creation) relationship. Those who do not enter the narrow gate are still creations of the Creator, but they are not the sons of God leading to eternal life. They are at enmity with God and objects of wrath, children (by default) of the devil (Eph. 2; Rom. 1-3).
We are sons of Adam (children of Creator God), but we must be born again to become sons of the New Adam (Christ), new creatures in Christ, adopted as sons of God once again.