THE HOLY SPIRIT and SONSHIP Devotion 22 of 30 -- Tomorrow:
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but 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, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:12-17, NKJV)
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
The objective of the Spirit's witness is spelled out. It is to witness to our spirit that we are "the children of God." Our own spirit cries "Abba, Father," under the direction of the Holy Spirit, declare this, and now the Spirit Himself does also. John refers to this very witness when he says, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath THE WITNESS in himself" (1 John 5:10). No enemy can reach this witness, or deprive the redeemed of it. It speaks to us in the quiet and in the storm, in good times and in trying ones. When we have no one else to confirm we are the children of God, we have the witness in ourselves, and it is confirmed by the certification of the "Spirit Himself."
The inner witness is involved in our Lord's most remarkable statement to the Samaritan woman. "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be IN HIM a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). This inner "springing up" is not a feeling – particularly a fleshly sensation, as some have alleged. For the God of heaven to confirm that we are His children by giving us sensations in a cursed and vile body is a phenomenon to which no person of Scriptural record confesses. This is not something about which we are set to argue. However, we do remind those who seek to please the Lord that we have a solemn mandate to speak in "words which the Holy Spirit teaches, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words" (1 Cor 2:13, NASB). The time has come to cast sectarian jargon into the theological garbage can. It is not honored in heaven, and it ought not to be honored on earth.
This is an accurate statement of our status: "the children of God." God has begotten us with the Word of truth, and thus we are His children (James 1:18). We were born again, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but "of God." Thus we are "the children of God" (John 1:13). This is what we SHOULD be called. As it is written, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we SHOULD be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now ARE we the sons of God . . . " (1 John 3:1-2a).
Those with a propensity toward Law, routines, and external patterns, do not speak much of being "the sons of God," or "the children of God." I have found that those who argue about what the church should be named, or what individual believers should be called, rarely, if ever, call our attention to the expressions "children of God" (Matt 5:9; Rom 8:21; Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:10; 5:2), "sons of God" (John 1:12; Rom 8:14,19; Phil 2:15; 1 John 3:1:2), "sons and daughters" (2 Cor 6:18), or "sons" (Gal 4:5-6; Heb 2:10; 12:7-8). The reason for men's failure to use these terms is their lack of confidence. For many, it is far easier to identify themselves with a religious institution. Without speaking disrespectfully, what moves professing believers to call themselves Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Anglican? Some have even sectarianized the name "Christian," using it like some in Corinth who said "I am of Christ," thereby distinguishing themselves from others in the body of Christ.
When men lack assurance that they are the children of God, they are often tempted to claim identity with a group who holds to a body of beliefs they can accept. That is simply the way things are done these days. But will the Holy Spirit ever bear witness with your spirit that you are a Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic, Presbyterian – or one of the countless other names that are resident in Christendom? I am not simply stirring up dust here. The Holy Spirit bears witness to something that is essential to your growth in Christ and victory over the world. It is your relation to God through Christ – a relationship that is precisely described by the expression "children of God." It is not described to any measurable degree by names conceived by men.
How frequently the saints are identified as the sons, or children, of God. Ponder the power and ministry of these words.
1. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the SONS OF GOD" (Rom 8:14).
2. "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the SONS OF GOD" (Rom 8:19).
3. "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the SONS OF GOD, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Phil 2:15).
4. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the SONS OF GOD" (1 John 3:1).
5. "Beloved, now are we the SONS OF GOD, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
6. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor 6:17-18).
7. "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of SONS. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal 4:5-6).
8. "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many SONS glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Heb 2:10).
9. "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the CHILDREN OF GOD" (Rom 8:21).
10. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:26).
11. "In this the CHILDREN OF GOD are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (1 John 3:10).
12. "By this we know that we love the CHILDREN OF GOD, when we love God, and keep his commandments" (1 John 5:2).
Let no believer allow religious affiliation to stifle the witness of the Spirit to their own spirit. If you believe on Jesus, and have obeyed the Gospel, you have a powerful witness within you. Those who have been "baptized into Christ" (Gal 3:27) – into His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom 6:3-4) – do not need to have their salvation ratified by a religious institution. God Himself will confirm it through His Holy spirit, whom God has sent into your heart (Gal 4:6).
Contrary to the thinking of some, this makes no provision for doctrinal error, slipshod living, and foolish thinking. The Spirit who witnesses to your spirit that you are a child of God will also lead you in the holy work of subduing the flesh. He will also make intercession for you when you do not know what to pray for as you ought (Rom 6:26-27). He does this because in Christ you are a child of God. Consequently, "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom 8:17). Capitalize on your sonship by drawing near to God, filling your heart and mind with His Word, and resisting the devil.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You through Jesus Christ for the witness of the Holy Spirit. I am never as strong as when I am assured I am Your child.