Sonship

Galatians 4:1-7

1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Examine / Explain

These verses explain who we are: moved from the child of wrath and against God to an adult son adopted into God’s family with the full inheritance the moment we are born again. As a child, we are wild and require guardians and managers and are unable to enjoy the Father fully. As children, we are bound to the basic natural humanity of this world. We are bound to our sins and unable to break free from them. But there is a way to break free. Find redemption in Jesus’s death on the Cross. Confessing with your mouth that He is Lord and believing in your innermost being that God raised Him from the dead. At that moment of confession and belief, we are placed as a full adult sonship to the Father. We are then filled with the Holy Spirit, and we cry to our heavenly Father to break free, for we are all equal heirs now.

How do I apply this to my life?

Do I understand my place as a son of the most high God? When I first believed I was a baby needing the milk of the word, I was a full adult adopted into His family. I know I didn’t live like it for a long time. I still needed someone to show that baby how to live up to being an adult. Not that I get it right all the time now, but I know I did miss out on being discipled. We are now capable of living a life worthy of the calling we are called to, AND we show the next person how it can be lived out. We must live up to our adult sonship. We must invest in relationships. God has called us to spread the gospel through the world with horizontal relationships. Through those relationships, we build the relational equity to call each other out when our actions don’t align with the word of God. And if our actions are not aligning, then we are allowing our flesh to rule over our spirit. It takes intimate knowledge in relationships in our lives to be able to speak into someone. It takes relational work to build up to a point of openness to call out each other’s missteps. I can say I’ve only had that in my later years of life. I had never allowed that type of relationship in my life. Now I don’t know how I can live without it, and I want more of it. I need other Godly men in life that I can sit across from on a regular basis to look me in the eye and know that something is off. It takes time. It takes vulnerability! It takes the death of our pride? It takes a risk to let someone in? To trust others with your “life”!

What is my response?

Father, allow me as Your son, to build up other men. Allow me to be the catalyst in their soul to be curious about You. Help me live to the fullest extent of what it means to be Your son. Let me act like an heir and not as a child of wrath opposed to You. Soften my heart to what the Spirit tells me and leads me to do. I want to disciple other men. I want my significance to be found in a legacy of advancing Your kingdom and not my own. I don’t want to build castles in my life. I want to bring those in my influence close to You. Keep me humble. Keep me focused on You. Bring me to a place to help others learn how to better walk out this life in Christ. Tear down any castles I’ve built. Tear down any walls of stone that I have constructed. Teach me to tend and steward the garden you have placed me in. Teach me how to make it flourish and bring You Glory! Amen.