Q. My question is regarding the wording of the absolution in Divine Service II: "To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit."  I have heard these words for many years, but I was recently thinking about their meaning. What does "become the children of God" mean? If I believe in Jesus Christ, I already am a child of God; I don't become a child of God.  Does the phrase refer to sanctification and not justification? It would make more sense to me if it read: To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives them the power to live as a child of God.

A. I have always understood the form of absolution used in Divine Service II (and The Lutheran Hymnal page 6) as an objective, declarative pronouncement of the Gospel, i.e. that it is through faith in Jesus Christ alone that we receive God's forgiveness and thus "become children of God."  It is essentially a reminder of what we have already "become" through faith in Jesus Christ, not what we are striving to "become."  It is first and foremost a statement of justification, not (strictly speaking) sanctification-- although, of course, our response to the Gospel is to seek to live holy lives of service and obedience in response to God's free grace in Christ Jesus.  The word "power" in the absolution, in my view, is best understood in the sense of Romans 1:16, where Paul says that the Gospel is "the power of God for salvation for all who believe."  It is also true, as you note in your e-mail, that God gives the person who believes the "power to live as a child of God, etc."  But the primary purpose of the absolution is to remind us and assure us of what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ (i.e., forgiven us and made us his children).  This message of God's grace in Christ then motivates us to live as he wants us to live with the help of his Spirit.

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God"

John 1:12