The Children of God
The “them” he is talking about here are those that he mentions in verse 9 where he says he tasted death for every man. If he tasted death for every man then now he is not ashamed to call them his brethren. He now calls them as part of His family. He had purchased the whole world by His blood and He was now calling them brethren. There is not even a remote hint here that this only happens if you become a believer and say some prayer. No, it was done at the cross when He became our perfect high priest and offered the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the entire world.
I know there are some in this great family that live like they were not part of the family of God. That goes without saying really. But even in those cases, Jesus in not ashamed to call them brethren. It does not change the fact they are part of the family. In our own human lives, if one of our children messes up in some way and does things they should not be doing do we then say they are no longer our child? Of course not. Your children are your children regardless of what they do or don’t do. Nothing can change that. A child may not even know who their father is but that does not and never can change the fact of who it is.
The entire world was purchased by the Son of God through His sacrifice and we all became His children. The vast majority doesn’t know this fact and they don’t realize who their father in heaven is, but He is till their Father whether they know it or not. Nothing can change that because the price has been paid through the shed blood on the cross. It’s already paid for the entire world.
When you read again the end of verse 11, we see the words “for which cause”. What is he talking about here? He is saying for this cause, which is the fact he tasted death for every man, he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Because in the first part of the verse he says the sanctified (us) are the same as the sanctifier (Jesus). He calls everyone brethren because He has sanctified the entire human race.
He does not say we have to become Baptists, Pentecostal, Catholic or tithe, or pray or anything else to be called His brethren. No, He calls everyone brethren because He sanctified the entire human race when He shed His blood. What can take away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. No prayer or action or belief can do that. It’s a done deal. It is finished.
