S o n s h i p
By: Andrew Turner
We believe that because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, that we are by faith, born again and that God the Father has adopted us. Our new creation identity is that we are His sons (and daughters). Any time in scripture where God is said to be our Father, that correspondingly means that we are His sons.
As His sons, we are ...
Fully loved - 1 John 3:1 (NIV) “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Fully made righteous and worthy, exclusively by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Fully accepted - Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Fully freed from the law by the Son of God - Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
Fully qualified by faith to be His child - John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Notice, we must receive Him.
Fully adopted as His Spirit confirms - Romans 8:15-16 "you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”
Fully inherited and joint-heirs with Christ - Romans 8:17 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ...”
Fully able to approach the throne with confidence - Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Free from fear - 1 John 4:17-18 “... we may have confidence in the day of judgement ... perfect love drives out fear...”
Eternally secure - Romans 8:31-39 "Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ"
Saved by the Grace of God and through Faith in Him - Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
Jesus was and is forever the Son of God.
When Jesus came down to the Jordan river to be baptized by John, we see where God the Father powerfully affirmed Jesus as His Son. In Matthew 3:16 we see, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’"
Picture that! How wonderful that must have felt to Jesus to be supernaturally affirmed by the voice of His Father in heaven in front of all those people! And the presence of the Spirit of God on Him must have felt like a reassuring hug in His heart. Jesus didn’t just know that he was God’s son with his mind. He KNEW He was God’s son with an unshakable confidence in his heart.
Jesus trusted His Father.
Jesus’ identity was fixed and secure. But His identity would be tested immediately after the Jordan. He was led by the Holy Spirit (who had just descended on Him like a dove) to be tempted by the devil. The very first thing the devil said in Matthew 4:3 was, “If You are the Son of God command this stone to become bread.”
In essence, the devil was questioning His identity. “Prove You are the Son of God. I know You’re hungry. Make yourself some food.” Of course, Jesus answered with “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” And BTW, the last word Jesus heard God say was that He was God’s Son. Jesus knew He could trust His Father God for the Provision of food. He didn’t have to prove anything.
For the second temptation, Jesus’ identity was taunted again. Matthew 4:6 “If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’”. It was as if to say, “if God claims you as His Son, He’ll catch You. Just prove it.” Of course, we know Jesus’ response in verse 7 was, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Jesus knew He could trust His Father for His Protection. He didn’t have to prove anything.
Finally, Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would only worship him. But Jesus shut him down saying, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Jesus was not worried about His Authority. He knew he could trust Father God for His Promotion at the proper time and in the proper way. BTW, At the end of His time in Matthew 28:18, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He didn’t have to prove anything.
Sons and Orphans.
Jesus fully trusted in the Father to take care of His Provision, His Protection and His Promotion. A son can rest in confidence that his father will properly care for him and be his source. An orphan has no such confidence. An orphan heart is full of constant anxiety. "Who will provide for me? Who will protect me? Who will notice me and promote me?" The answer is ... nobody. An orphan's life is consumed with worrying, hoarding, striving and competing. By contrast a son's heart is at peace. He knows his father watches over him.
The heart of a son is well described in the whole of Matthew chapter 6 and it is well worth reading. To begin, we are all familiar with the model prayer in verse 9 in which Jesus begins, "Our Father in heaven..." From the very beginning, we come in prayer as sons addressing our Father. In verse 11, we pray "Give us this day our daily bread." We see that we can trust him to provide continually for us those things that we need. In verse 13, we see "... deliver us from the evil one". We ask our Father for protection against our enemy.
Other sonship examples are seen in Matthew 6. Wherever we read "... your Father", it's also talking about us as His Sons!
When we give in secret, our Father sees and rewards us. vs. 1-4
When we pray in secret, our Father sees and rewards us. He knows what we need (and will provide). vs. 5-8
When we fast in secret, our Father sees and rewards us. vs. 16-18
We should not concern ourselves with treasure on earth, but rather in heaven. vs. 19-24
We should not worry about food or drink or clothes. Our Father knows what we need. Just seek His kingdom and all these things will be given as well. vs. 25-34
So, relax! We can fully trust that we've been forever made Sons of a Father God who loves us dearly and we can confidently trust Him to provide for us everything we need.