The supremacy of God’s Son compels us to consider what He has accomplished. We are called to behold the love the Father has lavished on us in His Son so that we should be called children of God (1 John 3:1). Paul’s statement about our sonship includes key words that delineate the great privilege that is ours.
Paul uses the term “brothers” (adelphos v.12) which speaks to the fact that all who are in Christ have a connection – we are born of God, we are family in the deepest sense of the term – children of the same eternal, infinitely good Father. A father’s nature is passed on to the children. To Titus he calls this the washing of regeneration, and John points out that His seed abides in us (1 John 3:9).
God grants us – His sons – the divine nature through His great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4). Therefore, by the Spirit (not by regulations) we can put to death the deeds of the body (v.13) – that is, we can diminish and render inoperative the selfish drives of the fallen human nature – not by regulatory demands but through our relationship and communion with the Father and Son.
To be led by the Spirit of God (v. 14) speaks to the fact that we are indwelt with His divine nature and that reproduces the character of the Father in us. Those who exude the character of the Father are sons (uihos) of the Father in an evidentiary sense. They therefore can effectively carry on the purposes of the Father as representative heirs (see Matt. 5:44).
In verse 15 Paul makes the distinction he alluded to in verse 13. As adopted sons now having the full right of sonship we are no longer in bondage under a tutor enforcing particular regulations. We have, rather, complete and free access to interact with the Father – the Spirit of adoption (uihothesia) by which we cry out ‘Father!’ This diligent, passionate interaction is life transforming.
The Spirit testifies to us that we are in fact children (tekna) of God (v.16) – ones who share the nature of the Father. God speaks to our conscious understanding through His Spirit saying: “You are mine and I am yours, living in you and through you.”
If we are indeed children then we are heirs (kleyronomos) of God (v.17), joint heirs with Christ ( He is our “brother” – Heb. 2:11) meaning we share in all that is His, from his suffering to His glory, the perfect, perpetual presence of God.
This is profound and worthy of contemplation. Ponder the work accomplished by the Son – that we should be called sons and daughters of God.
May you have a deeper appreciation for Emmanuel this Christmas.
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