Children (5043) (teknon from tikto = bring forth, bear children, be born) is strictly a child produced, male or female, son or daughter. Teknon is thus a child as viewed in relation to his or her parents or family. In the plural, teknon is used generically of descendants, posterity or children. Note that another Greek word huios (5207), translated son, differs from teknon because the latter gives prominence to the fact of birth, whereas huios stresses the dignity and character of the relationship and usually speaks of one who is fully mature. Despite these distinctions, because these words often overlap in meaning and are used seemingly without discrimination, one should not press their semantic differences in every case but allow the context to rule in the interpretation (always a good rule!) Teknon - 99x in 91v- Mt 2:18; 3:9; 7:11; 9:2; 10:21; 15:26; 18:25; 19:29; 21:28; 22:24; 23:37; 27:25; Mark 2:5; 7:27; 10:24, 29f; 12:19; 13:12; Luke 1:7, 17; 2:48; 3:8; 7:35; 11:13; 13:34; 14:26; 15:31; 16:25; 18:29; 19:44; 20:31; 23:28; John 1:12; 8:39; 11:52; Acts 2:39; 7:5; 13:33; 21:5, 21; Rom 8:16f, 21; 9:7f; 1 Cor 4:14, 17; 7:14; 2 Cor 6:13; 12:14; Gal 4:19, 25, 27f, 31; Eph 2:3; 5:1, 8; 6:1, 4; Phil 2:15, 22; Col 3:20f; 1Th 2:7, 11; 1 Tim 1:2, 18; 3:4, 12; 5:4; 2 Tim 1:2; 2:1; Titus 1:4, 6; Philemon 1:10; 1 Pet 1:14; 3:6; 2 Pet 2:14; 1 John 3:1f, 10; 5:2; 2 John 1:1, 4, 13; 3 John 1:4; Rev 2:23; 12:4f NAS = child, 13; children, 76; children's, 2; son, 8; sons, 1. Teknon is used some 142 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen. 3:16; 17:16; 22:7f; 27:13, 18, 20f, 25f, 37, 43; 30:1; 31:16, 43; 32:11; 33:6f; 43:29; 48:19; 49:3; Exod. 10:2; 17:3; 20:5; 34:7; Lev. 25:41, 46; Num. 14:18, 23; 16:27; Deut. 2:34; 3:19; 5:9; 11:19; 21:17; 22:6; 24:16; 28:54f, 57; 29:29; 32:5; 33:24; Jos. 14:9; 22:24, 27; Jdg. 18:21; 1 Sam. 1:8; 2:5, 24; 3:9, 16; 4:16; 6:7, 10; 14:32; 24:16; 26:17, 21, 25; 30:22; 1 Ki. 8:25; 9:6, 15; 12:24; 15:4; 17:12f, 15; 20:3, 5; 1 Chr. 2:30, 32; 22:7; 2 Chr. 25:4; 28:3; 30:9; 33:6; 35:7; Ezra 8:21; Neh. 12:43; Est. 3:13; 7:4; 9:25; Job 5:25; 21:8; 39:4, 16; Ps. 34:11; 78:4; 109:13; 113:9; Prov. 7:7; 14:26; 17:6; 30:4; 31:2, 26; Isa. 2:6; 13:16, 18; 14:21; 27:6; 29:23; 30:1; 39:7; 44:3; 51:18; 54:1, 13; 57:4f; 60:4, 9; 63:8; Jer. 2:30; 3:19; 19:2; 31:17, 29; 32:18, 39; 35:14; 38:23; Ezek. 5:10; 16:21, 36, 45; 18:2; 20:18, 21; 23:37, 39; Dan. 6:24; Hos. 1:2; 2:4; 4:6; 5:7; 9:12f; 10:9, 14; 11:1, 10; 13:13; Joel 1:3; 2:23; Mic. 1:16; Zech. 9:13; 10:7, 9) (Hint: Download InstaVerse to allow you to quickly survey these uses) Teknon was used in secular Greek writings as a form of familiar, tender or affectionate address to speak of one kindly even if they were adults referring to them as "my son" or "my child". For example Jesus speaking to the paralytic declared "Take courage, My son (teknon), your sins are forgiven." (Mt 9:2) In the NT, pupils or disciples are called children of their teachers, because the latter by their instruction nourish the minds of their pupils and mold their characters. For example Paul writes... For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child (teknon) in the Lord (see notes 2 Timothy 1:2), and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. (1Cor 4:17) (Comment: In his first epistle Paul writes as a spiritual father "to Timothy, my true child [teknon] in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." 1Ti 1:2. In Titus Paul again writes as a spiritual father "to Titus, my true child [teknon] in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." see note Titus 1:2 ) Teknon takes on special theological significance when the Bible calls believers the children of God (Click here for NT uses of this wonderful phrase - note one use by Paul is not of those who are born again and uses genos -- "offspring" -- not teknon in the Greek text - see if you can determine which one is not referring to the born again members of the family of God) or more literally "born ones" of God. In using teknon in this context the NT is not saying believers are "childlike" but tat we are members of God's family as thus heirs, Paul affirming... and if children (teknon), heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. (See notes Romans 8:17) Teknon is used in a number of phrases in the NT, and one must examine the context to determine whether the phrase refers to believers or non-believers: • children of the flesh (unsaved Jews -Ro 9:8-note) • children of the promise (Jews who have placed their faith in the Messiah -Ro 9:8-note) • children of the desolate (those saved by grace through faith, Gal 4:27), • children of promise (any believer in Messiah, Jew or Gentile, Gal 4:28), • children of the bondwoman (unbelievers in Gal 4:31), • children of wrath (unbelievers - Eph 2:3-note), • children of light (believers - Eph 5:8-note), • children of the devil (unbelievers - 1Jn 3:10 - read this text which clearly divides all of humanity into one of two camps). Teknon views the child in relation to his parents or family and this use is especially significant in the New Testament, in which we see all of mankind divided into one of two families from a spiritual standpoint -- either the family of God or the family of the Devil. As such we can apply the common saying "Like father, like son". In one of the most scathing discourses of Jesus against the Jews (who had "believed" in Him in John 8:30, but not with a belief unto salvation as context shows, eg, these same Jews "picked up stones to throw at Him" in John 8:59) we read the following interchange They (the Jews who had "believed" in Jesus) answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children (teknon), do the deeds of Abraham." (John 8:39) Comment: Read this entire incredible exchange -- John 8:30-59 -- where Jesus goes on to declare that these "believing" Jews are actually of their father the Devil, as their deeds, even in context, clearly demonstrate. As an aside, this text clearly points out that if what we say we believe does not correspond to our deeds or behavior, we are deceiving ourselves and will had better carefully examine our profession of faith in Christ. And simply sitting in the pew on Sunday is not sufficient evidence of our deeds. Our deeds Monday through Saturday are a far better barometer of what we say we believe. Be careful to make certain that your practice does not belie your profession! The derivative word teknion (5040) designates a little child and was used for example by the apostle John (7 of 9 uses of teknion are in 1John written somewhere around 85-90AD possibly from Ephesus) to address the followers of Jesus, who must have seemed like very little ones to the aged apostle. In Matthew 23 Jesus uses teknon in a "Hebraistic" sense to refer to the inhabitant of Jerusalem as if she were their mother, declaring... O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Mt 23:37) In other Hebraistic uses teknon describes a person as characterized by some condition or quality -- "children of light" (Eph 5:8-note), "as obedient children" (Greek reads literally "children of obedience" 1Pe 1:14-note), "accursed children" (more literally "children of a curse", 2Pe 2:14-note) In summary, in the present usage of teknon, Paul is referring to literal children as those born of their parents. In context of his discussion of the relationships in which one lives out the reality of a Spirit filled life, it appears that these children are best considered as believers. J Vernon McGee tells the story of... When I was a pastor, I remember visiting in a home in which the father and I couldn’t even carry on a conversation because his little boy occupied the center ring of the circus. He was a little circus himself, and if you ask me, the dear little fellow was a brat. The father said, “I just can’t make that child obey me.” The father weighed about two hundred pounds, and the boy weighed about thirty pounds. Yet the father said, “I just can’t make him obey me.” Well, I think he could have, and I think he should have. God intended for the father to make him obey at that age. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)