'Children' in the Bible

Now people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, but the disciples scolded those who brought them.

But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much -- homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.

"Teacher, Moses wrote for us: 'If a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.'

There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children.

The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third.

None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too.

Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death.

And he will go as forerunner before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."

Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don't begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, 'We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.'

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.

Then he will reply from inside, 'Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.'

If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

But Jesus called for the children, saying, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Then Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God's kingdom

They will demolish you -- you and your children within your walls -- and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died without children.

and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children.

But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!'

But to all who have received him -- those who believe in his name -- he has given the right to become God's children

-- children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband's decision, but by God.

They answered him, "Abraham is our father!" Jesus replied, "If you are Abraham's children, you would be doing the deeds of Abraham.

and not for the Jewish nation only, but to gather together into one the children of God who are scattered.)

Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me, and just as I said to the Jewish religious leaders, 'Where I am going you cannot come,' now I tell you the same.

So Jesus said to them, "Children, you don't have any fish, do you?" They replied, "No."

For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself."

that this promise God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have fathered you.'

When our time was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying,

They have been informed about you -- that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.

an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth --

The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God's children.

And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) -- if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God's children.

nor are all the children Abraham's true descendants; rather "through Isaac will your descendants be counted."

This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac --

And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, "Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved,

I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband. Otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking. Instead, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

Now as a fair exchange -- I speak as to my children -- open wide your hearts to us also.

Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

My children -- I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you!

These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.

Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband."

But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest

So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.

Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children

for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light --

Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord.

Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened.

although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children,

As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children,

He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity.

Deacons must be husbands of one wife and good managers of their children and their own households.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to fulfill their duty toward their own household and so repay their parents what is owed them. For this is what pleases God.

and has a reputation for good works: as one who has raised children, practiced hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, helped those in distress -- as one who has exhibited all kinds of good works.

So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us.

An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion.

In this way they will train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Again he says, "I will be confident in him," and again, "Here I am, with the children God has given me."

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

So in fact children were fathered by one man -- and this one as good as dead -- like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.

Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance,

like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.

Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children!

(My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One,

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour.

And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back.

(See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God's children -- and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him.

Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness -- the one who does not love his fellow Christian -- is not of God.

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth.

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

From the elder, to an elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth),

I rejoiced greatly because I have found some of your children living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

The children of your elect sister greet you.

I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are living according to the truth.

So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus. And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.