Men become Sons of God Through Likeness to God(2025-12-28)

My dear Brethren

The Gospel of Saint John proclaims a truth that fills the heart with wonder and joy: "But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His Name" (John 1:12). This divine sonship is the greatest gift bestowed upon us through Christ our Lord. It is not a mere metaphor, nor a distant hope, but a profound reality by which we are elevated to share in the very life of God.

Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Teaching

The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his luminous commentary on the Gospel of John, expounds this mystery with clarity and depth. He teaches that men become sons of God through likeness to God, and this likeness unfolds in a threefold manner, corresponding to the stages of our salvation.

First, we become sons of God by the infusion of grace. Sanctifying grace, which makes us pleasing to God, regenerates us as His children. As Saint Paul writes, "And because you are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). This grace is the principle of our divine filiation, imprinting upon the soul the image of the Only-Begotten Son.

Second, we are made like unto God by the perfection of our actions. He who performs the works of justice, loving even his enemies, manifests himself as a child of the heavenly Father. Our Lord Himself declares: "Love your enemies... that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:44-45). Good works, flowing from grace, attest to our sonship and make it visible in the world.

Third, divine sonship reaches its consummation in the adoption of glory. In the beatific vision, the soul shall be likened to God by the light of glory, as Saint John promises: "We shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). And the body, too, shall be transformed, as Saint Paul assures us: "He will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of His glory" (Philippians 3:21). Thus, we await the full revelation of our adoption, "the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23).

My dear Brethren, this teaching finds profound echo in the words of Saint Paul in today’s epistle, where he unfolds the mystery of our adoption: "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: That he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father. Therefore, now he is not a servant, but a son. And if a son, an heir also through God" (Galatians 4:3-7).

Fathers of the Church’s Teaching

The Fathers of the Church have highlighted the radiant spirit of the New Testament, revealed in this passage.

Saint John Chrysostom marvels at God's condescension: the eternal Son comes to redeem us, conferring adoption, so that we, no longer servants but beloved children, receive His Spirit and cry "Abba, Father" with joyful confidence, living as true heirs in Gospel freedom.

Saint Augustine reflects on this pure gift of mercy: redeemed by grace alone, we are elevated to sonship, crying "Abba, Father" in trusting love rather than fear, embraced in the liberty of the Father's goodness.

Saint Jerome emphasizes the wonder of the Incarnation: the Son enters our humanity to grant us divine filiation, with the Spirit sealing our inheritance and enabling us to rejoice as adopted children.

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus’ Teaching

My dear Brethren, this spirit of adoptive childhood shines most vividly in the "little way" of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Inspired by our Lord's words in the Gospel, "Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3), and again, "Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter into it" (Mark 10:14-15), Saint Thérèse discovered the path of spiritual childhood as the sure way to holiness and divine intimacy. This little way is nothing else than living our divine sonship with generosity and humble trust: acknowledging our weakness, yet abandoning ourselves entirely to the Father's merciful love.

My dear Brethren, let us ponder this ineffable gift: “[God] gave [us] power to be made the sons of God” …

Cry out with confidence: "Abba, Father!" Live as true children—abounding in grace, abounding in good works, awaiting the glory to be revealed. 

In trials, remember your dignity; in temptations, cling to your inheritance. 

Let the Spirit bear witness within you that you are God's beloved child. 

May the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Son who made us sons, and given us as mother, intercede for us, that we may persevere in this divine sonship unto eternal life. Amen.

Fr. B. Wailliez