Who are the “sons of God” spoken of in Genesis 6? Part 3

The other meaning of “sons of God” in Scripture refers to humans who have been recreated by God’s Spirit. We are sons of God when we are led by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the primary force in God’s children, and the fruits of the Spirit will be shown in their lives.

Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Here Jesus is referring to humans, but not just any humans; these are peacemakers, the righteous children of God. In no way should this be construed to refer to angels or aliens.

“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Notice that there were those who were not sons of God, but that through receiving Him became sons of God. That “believing,” in the original language, means to continue to believe, to keep on having faith.

It should be mentioned that “sons of God” doesn’t mean just males. Many Bible translations, such as the King James, render the phrase “children of God.” Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Verse 28 brings this out even more distinctly when it speaks of there being neither “male nor female.” Salvation is a gift to all people.

In the apostle John’s epistles, he often uses the phrase “children of God” as well. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). The apostle Paul describes this process of being redeemed as being adopted (see Galatians 4:5).

The inescapable conclusion from these verses and others is that the sons of God in Genesis 6 refer to the righteous children of God. So who are the daughters of men? We’ll look at that next.

Key Bible Texts

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14 KJV)