Background
Galatians 4:3-7 KJV Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Mathew 3:13 KJV
This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
Many define Christianity as being Christ-like, indeed this concept is not wrong however the end goal of following the path of Christ is to attain sonship. What exactly then is sonship, what does it take to be a son? Is being Christ-like the same as sonship?… let’s get into the Word.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Pauls’s rendition in Romans 8:14 corresponds with the first scripture of study today. In both verses, Paul begins teaching the way unto salvation, beginning with the need for salvation in the first place. We were entangled in the bondage of the law of sin until Jesus was sent forth for our redemption in order that we may receive the adoption as sons. In the wording of these verses, Paul begins referring to our state as children, implying our immaturity under the law of sin. Maturity is when children rise and become sons. This is only possible through our faith in Christ, through His Spirit, and His path.
Maturity as sons comes not by chance, see many are being Christ-like but not manifesting as sons. What makes Christ-like impactful is the Spirit of Christ. In 2 Timothy 3:6, we hear of a people who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Hypocrisy can be in the form of godliness, the difference is the power behind it. Christianity is not being Christ-like but letting Christ live through you, if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you( Romans 8:11). It is the Spirit of God dwelling in us that brings us into the position as sons. Good men are not sons of God, great men are not sons of God, but men who have the in-dwelling Spirit of God, and are surrendered totally to the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This is why John said, whoever has known Him does not keep on sinning (1John 3:6). The way then of the Spirit is to yield, we can only manifest as sons when we yield to the Spirit of God. One may ask then, is the Spirit of God different from Jesus, no the Spirit of God is Jesus Himself, unlimited as Pastor Benny Hinn would say. Also confirmed in the very verse of study is described as the Spirit of His son.
There are levels of Sonship, there is that sonship by anointing, that by maturity and the highest of all is attained by sacrifice. In the second verse of the study, Jesus received the anointing which announced His call. Hereafterwards was the sacrifice paid for that anointing. 1John 2:27 affirms that we have received an anointing of the Spirit of the Lord abiding in us which also teaches us all things. In the old testament whenever anyone was ushered into kingship he was first anointed. So was David, so was Saul and so was our Lord Jesus, what we already learn here is that, all these men were anointed but David and Jesus journeyed through God until that anointing found place and ended well. Saul lost that anointing. This shows us that the anointing can come upon us, but the journey of the anointing and the sacrifice of the anointing is what counts and this is what affirms the calling. When Jesus was baptized by John in Mathew 3:13, it was said concerning Him, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, hereby announcing His call. The path that followed in chapter 4 was a period of fast and the temptation of the devil. The fast Jesus embarked on, was none other than a sacrifice of the flesh and to humble His soul , the temptation of the devil was to ensure His Spirit was alive and the flesh truly dealt with. This is what needs to happen when we fast , we humble and quench the voice of the flesh and awaken our Spirits. And these are the true sons, the ones that have overcome. Paul in Romans 8:19, calls forth that the earnest expectation of the creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God. Beloved as you read this today, go through the process of sonship and manifest your greatness to the world. As Jesus did, God highly exalted him, and gave Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philipians 2:9-10).
