Who are the Children of God?

Mat 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

Christ referred to himself as the "son of God." Here he connects that idea to those who make peace. In the original Greek, both "peacemaker" and "son of God" are very close to the English. The only difference is that both terms are masculine in the original. The term used was "sons" of God, rather than "children" so the connection to the title Christ used for himself is much clearer in Greek.

What is lost in translation is the sense that both of these concepts are terms of power. In the Greek, peacemakers were not pacifists. They were people of power, people of influence who could enforce the peace. Plutarch said that young men wanted war and contests (because they had no power or respect and wished to win it) while old men became peacemakers. Old men in ancient tradition were associated with power, wealth, and wisdom.

In Greek, things can either become (gignomai) peaceful or be made (poieô) peaceful. When something happens in a natural way (that is, by God's design), Christ uses the former term. When something is done intentionally, usually by men, the later is used.

So there is a bit of a pun here for those that know classical Greek literature. The young of God are the old of human society.

The deeper message here is that as humanity grows in wisdom, we will tend toward peace. We will find ways to create and enforce peace. Christ likened this to his role in bringing the "kingdom of heaven" and the "rule of God." He was a man of power coming to push humanity toward peace, push humanity toward wisdom and maturity. The coming of God is the coming of maturity, the understanding of the way the universe works.

"Peacemaker" is from eirênopoios (eirenopoios), which means literally, one who produces peace. It only appears in the NT, but if comes from eirênê (eirene), which means both the freedom from fear and a treaty of peace between countries and poieô (poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."