Introduction

All men have a basic need to feel love, be wanted, to belong to somebody or something, and have a loving, caring, relationship. People want to know love, not just know about it, and they want to feel it also.

With this loving, caring relationship that God calls us to is SONSHIP. Not all people have the right to be called SONS, for example, an unbeliever is not the adopted son of God. Sonship is a special privilege of relationship, created by God for the enjoyment of both God and man.

The unbeliever may be God’s offspring, but they are not His sons. They cannot claim any special privilege with God. They are condemned sinners. We are not children of God by descent or by merit as the Jews claim to be. For example, “… Do not begin to say to yourself, ‘we have Abraham as our father…’” (Luke 3:8).

Read Romans 8:14-17

In this passage, the Holy Spirit is pre-eminent as He is the One who ushers us into sonship through spiritual adoption. This passage is linked to the preceding passage by ‘FOR’ giving us a link to the previous thought conveyed by Paul, being, v.13, “… If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” You will live, because all true sons of God the Father have dealt with their old fleshly carnal natures and are led by the Spirit, signifying their true sonship.

Important Factors About Sonship

It Requires Death

This is no ordinary death – it’s super-ordinary – it’s a death without dying. What is it that dies? It’s the ‘deeds of the body’, that is, the things we do in our bodies that aren’t glorifying God, like stealing, lying, cheating, and the list goes on. The way we put these deeds to death is by God’s Spirit: God’s Spirit is the only power great enough to change man. Change comes through His influence upon our minds. Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

Conforming to this world is to adopt the world’s standards, its motives, its morality, and its habits. The death of deeds done in the body comes about by allowing the Holy Spirit sway over your mind. John 16:8, “He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.” The Holy Spirit’s work is to first convict of sin, which will ultimately lead to salvation; then He continues to convict about deeds not glorifying God, which will lead to sanctification (see Chapter 25).

It Requires a New Lifestyle

If you are dead and going to live, that requires a new lifestyle! Romans 8:14, ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.’
This is an interesting verse as the Greek has equal emphasis on each clause, – so we could reverse them without changing the meaning – ‘those who are the sons of God are led by the spirit of God.’

The first characteristic of the new lifestyle is being led by the Spirit of God.If you are dead and going to live, that requires a new lifestyle!

Romans 8:14, ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.’

This is an interesting verse as the Greek has equal emphasis on each clause, – so we could reverse them without changing the meaning – ‘those who are the sons of God are led by the spirit of God.’

In Luke 4:1 we read of Jesus, the Son of God, being “Led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.” The mark of true sonship is the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life. To be led requires a complete surrender to the Holy Spirit.

The word ‘led’ in Romans 8:14 implies cooperation on the person’s part of the person who is leading (Greek: ‘ago’). What is required is a wholehearted response to the Holy Spirit. It is a new lifestyle to be led of God’s Spirit. If Jesus is the example, it begins by being full of the Holy Ghost

Luke 4:1, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit…”

The second characteristic of a new lifestyle is being delivered from the spirit of bondage.

Romans 8:15, “You did not receive the spirit of bondage going to fear…”Here the references are to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not bringing you into bondage, which is characterised by the fears of the past, when you were once a slave to sin. The use of the aorist tense shows a past action having a future effect upon your life. In other words, the Holy Spirit which are a person has received, is not bring a relapse into the old slavish system of the Law, for instance, trying to earn one’s way through one’s works.

Paul, in Galatians 4:24, when comparing the two covenants, says the law “… Gives birth to bondage.”

The man who puts his trust in the law must live as a slave to it all the days of his life. It controls in like a tyrant. Those who mind the things of the flesh, whether cognisant of it or not, they serve the law for it is “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
This law operates in man. It commands them to obey when the “law is written in their hearts”, their conscience, speech. However in most cases, the conscience speaks in futility and so the individual remains “through fear of death,… All their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15).

All man’s bondage to law leads to fear, and fear has torment. A slave of the Lord will live constantly in the knowledge that one day the righteous judgement of God must catch him up. In this inadequate obedience to the law must bring him and condemnation finally. Unfortunately, these people don’t see themselves under guilt until death looks them starkly in the face and often then there is no way out of that bondage to sin and death. Against this, “the law of the spirit of life” (Romans 8:2) brings them into a place of adoption. They have now been delivered, made free, and made recipients of the mind of the Spirit. Galatians 5:18, “’if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

It Speaks of a New Relationship

Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”

The new birth and the breaking of the spirit of bondage to the law, brings us to the relationship of sums. In the original language, the word ‘these’ is emphatic, showing us that it is none but these (for instance, only those led by the Spirit) who are the sons of God. The Greek word ‘huios‘, translated, ‘son’, refers to the offspring of a parent and a display of distinct moral characteristics. These are the characteristics of God, consistent with His parenting of us. In our standing, or are a child of God; BUT in our state, those who are born again are a son of God.

Jesus was the true Son, the only begotten of the Father, “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29); but now we read in Galatians 3:26, “… You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 6:18, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

It means all now have a new and vital status in God’s household. We are dear to the Fathers heart and are welcomed into His presence. We are no longer strangers. We need to note that we can’t claim to be God’s children by descent – or by our own merit. These were both claims made by the Jews.

In John 8:38-44 Jesus said, “… You do what you have seen with your father.” They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, man who has told you the truths which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You the do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “… We have one father – God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me… You are of your father, the devil…”

The Jews thought, because they descended from Abraham, they were all right – they weren’t! God has no grandchildren. We all must have personal relationship with Him. Jesus said to them, “You are of your father, the devil.” John the Baptist said in Luke 3:8, “… Bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourself, ‘we have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”

It Speaks of a New Spirit

The spirit of bondage is broken, now we have a new spirit, for instance, ‘the spirit of adoption’.

Romans 8:15, “… But you have received the spirit of adoption.”

‘Adoption’ in the Greek ‘huiothesia’ is literally ‘son placing’, for instance, the State and place of the son to one who is not entitled to him by natural decent. Under Roman law, the adopted son shared equally in the inheritance, along with those who were the natural progeny. We have become by grace what Jesus was binding nature.

Paul uses the new concept to enlighten his readers – just what it is that they have been brought into by God’s Spirit. Adoption was not a Jewish concept – it was Roman. It speaks clearly of a new legal relationship with God, distinct from the only begotten but enjoying all the benefits of a first-born.

Galatians 4:4, 5, “God sent forth His….to redeem those who are under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

The Spirit which has brought us into a new relationship with God, now enables us to “… Cry Abba, Father!” ‘Abba‘ is the cry of an infant- one who is totally dependent upon God. It implies trust relationship. No slave was able to use this term in reference to his master. It expresses filial confidence, Communion, obedience and complacent love. It is the intelligent trust of a child for his parent. There is no fear, no bondage, made death here. It is a result of God’s indwelling Spirit upon your own! (Read Romans 8:16.)

This new Spirit gives witness with your Spirit that we are God’s children and therefore, “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (v.7).

Heir-ship Speaks of a New Inheritance

Adoption as sons meant child status. Child status means an inheritance is due to that child from his parents. Paul statement here is based upon Roman Law. The head of the household could adopt a stranger three legal ceremony. This adoption was carried out in front of several witnesses including a magistrate so there was no doubt as to the adoption being carried out. It involves a fictitious transaction of sale and purchase in which rights were conveyed from house to house, as well as a formula uttered publicly by the adoptive father. The transfer was been completed upon the waiving of a brass WAND over a set of scales. Such a son then had claims to rights and privileges of the householders if he were a true firstborn son. It put an end to the ties of the old life. His debts were cancelled, he was secure in all his rights of inheritance and he could outrank other members of the same household. Paul uses a metaphor to explain our heavenly relationship with the Father.

Galatians 4:7, “You are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Under Jewish law, the older son received the larger share of the State, in the daughters were excluded, unless there were no sons. Under Roman law, sons, daughters of adopted children shared an equal inheritance. So in Christ, as joint heirs with Him, we receive an equal inheritance.This is one of the most sublime endearing’s of all Pauline concepts. It was to rise from the complex Roman laws of inheritance. The concept was to eliminate the fact of death, thus enabling the head of the household, through his heir or group of heirs, to live on as it were in them, and was at law the same person with them. We now see the complexity of the analogy and its profound truth thrust: God lives, as it were in His heirs (Hebrews 1:2), we are all fellow heirs with Christ- “He is heir of all things.” God treats all his children as heirs and there are no favourites.

To be joint heirs with Christ means that week, as a matter of grace, receive what Christ as a matter of right. What more can an adopted child hope for but to enjoy all rights and privileges as well as the inheritance along with the ‘first born’. We may enjoy all that belongs to Him, on the basis that: Romans 8:17, “… If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” We are joint heirs, not only on condition of our son ship, but also on our free parent must to share the cross before we wear the crown. Paul new to suffer with Christ would not lead to glory as a matter of reward; but he didn’t know it would help his capacity and hours to share in the glory.

Four Aspects of Sonship:

1. It reflects His character in the believer.
2. By the believer keeping His good name – righteous actions are manifest.
3. By the believer using His name – healing, deliverance and provision are manifest.
4. The believer dwells in his Father’s house and enjoys all benefits as a child of God.