So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:15–17 (NLT)
These few short verses are a wonderful summary of the relationship that you and I, as Christians, enjoy with God, by his Spirit. Who are “sons of God”? Verse 15 tells us that this sonship is a “received” status, not a natural one. We are not born as God’s children; we are adopted into his family when we receive his Spirit. In the Roman world, a wealthy, childless man might adopt someone as his heir. (This heir would be male, and so Paul describes all Christians—men and women—as “sons.”) The moment adoption occurred…
- the new son’s old debts were canceled.
- he got a new name and became heir of all his new father had.
- his new father became liable for all his actions.
- the new son had an obligation to please and honor his father.
Why is it amazing to have been adopted in this way by God? What are the privileges of being an adopted son of God? In verse 15, Paul draws a distinction between two “spirits”—two ways of thinking about and relating to God. The first is an attitude based on “fear”; the attitude of a slave. A slave obeys because he has to; he fears punishment and is insecure. It is the view that says, “I must perform well in my work for God, and then he will pay me my wages—he will answer my prayers, protect me and so on. But if I perform poorly, he might fire me.”
But Paul says we did not receive this relationship to God. “You received the Spirit of sonship.” The Spirit gives us the ability and confidence to approach God as Father, not as a slavemaster or boss. A child obeys out of love for his daddy; he knows the security of ongoing forgiveness and unconditional love. It is the view that says, “I am a child of God, and he loves me and will give me more than I deserve. My performance doesn’t change my position in the family—but I want to work hard for him, because he’s my loving Father.” One of the privileges of sonship is that the Spirit enables us to “cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Abba means “Daddy.” Pray to God as your Father now. Enjoy this intimacy with him.
What security do we gain from adoption? In verse 16, His Spirit affirms to our spirits that we are His child! The tormenting power of insecurity by “belonging” that comes through conforming to some exterior standard is broken because the indwelling Spirit affirms that our trust in Christ’s promise to save us is enough to confirm our gift of sonship. Our inheritance in Christ is guaranteed as we share in God’s glory and in this life, share in His sufferings. Even in suffering, we know that we’ll overcome because that is what Jesus has promised us (John 16:33).
Pastor Mark
Rom. 8:37