Children of God

Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 4 Lesson 8

We continue our study of some of the great themes of the NT epistles this week with a look at the concept of being children of God. Are all people children of God? What privileges or blessings follow from being children of God? What responsibilities and expectations? Join us as we look at these questions and others.

Our main texts for this lesson are 1 John 3:1-10 and Romans 8:12-25, but you would be well served in reading each of these chapters in full as preparation.

Auto Transcript

Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.

let’s begin it is time for Sunday school to start so let’s do that welcome I see that my my view has been elevated I feel like I’m have a different view this week I’m higher up anyways we’re continuing on in our study of the New Testament epistles actually we’re just little bit more okay last time we talked about we we broach the subject of the relationship of faith and works this week were just introducing ourselves to another great theme of the New Testament epistles and indeed of the whole New Testament in Scripture and that is the concept of children of God being a child or being children of God now this is extremely common description in the New Testament it’s so common that we actually might not even notice it or not even think about it what does it mean to be a child of God how does one become a child of God why do the New Testament apostles so emphasize this description to us how should we be impacted by the concept of children of God that’s what we want to begin to explore today this is a topic that we can’t even really we can only begin to cover but I think it will still be edifying for us to do so here’s our agenda we’re just gonna overview this concept as it appears throughout the scriptures the Fatherhood of God or people being children of God and we’re gonna look at two specific passages from first John 3 and Romans 8 and then finally and briefly will consider some application that’s praise we begin our Lord and God our Father in Heaven God I thank you for this time to look in your word and I pray that you would open our eyes to this wonderful astounding truth that we might be called children of God lord I pray this be something that we think about more often and that as we look more closely at it today we’re gonna be deeply affected I pray that your spirit would do this you helped me to be able to explain it well Jesus name Amen let’s start with background and really the most basic question what is a father may seem like a silly question don’t we all know what a father is in fact it is one of the first realities that we encounter when we’re born into this world we encounter the reality of the parent-child relationship specifically that we have a mother and that we have a father we quickly learned even as a baby that a father is someone who at least partly is the source of his children he’s the source of the life of his children without the father a child could not exist the child owes his life in existence at least partly to the man who begot him his father we also quickly learn as children that because of the father’s role as the originator of his children the father almost automatically exercises authority over his children he has a role of authority he’s able to command to direct his children and he expects obedience from his children and from these two basic factors almost intuitively a child learned to earth quickly learns as he grows up to revere or respect his father father’s a source the child’s life along with the mother of course in Bob earth God really and the father also exercises authority over the child and so that the child has a certain reverence for his father now these are some basic facts of what a father is but what else well to explore further we have to acknowledge that not every father is the same or not every father is a good father and even some of the best fathers are not perfect our experiences can readily attest to those facts and we know that there’s some variation of my father’s but I just want to share with you a couple more factors that I brainstormed of what typify a good father and a typical good father and child relationship what does a good father do for his children I’m just brain brain store seven factors and it’s useful for us to think through these things so that we have a background when we consider the Fatherhood of God what does a good father do for his children well first off he loves his children good father besides being the source of his children’s life besides having authority besides expecting reverence he loves his children he feels a genuine affection for them and a genuine desire for their good and he shows this not only in displays of affection but also in the actions he takes towards his children in response to the father’s love what ought the children to do Pro Express love back to the father again through affection and through actions especially obedience the father not only loves his children he provides for his children he anticipates and he meets the needs of his children this includes material needs like food water shelter but also less material needs like encouragement admonishment confrontation just the expression of love itself father meets the needs of his children and how I children to respond how our children to respond to their father’s provisions or with certainly with gratefulness with contentment with patient expectation my father provides me I’m waiting for that provision father loves father provides father also protects father protects his children a good father does not allow harm to come to his children does not expose his children to dangers when those children are not ready for those jane dangers or without some sort of purpose in exposing that’s those dangers some sort of training purpose again this is something we readily know and experience in our world father protects his children from physical dangers such as being hit by a car or being stolen by a stranger but a father also protects his children from more abstract dangers in life like the danger of a self-destructive style or the danger of a of a dangerous relationship so father protects his children how odd the children to respond to this protection they ought to seek it they have to be grateful for it and they ought to trust the father for his protection what the thing the father does for his children that he teaches his children good father wants to equip his children to be adequately prepared for a successful life this includes practical skills like how to tie your shoes or how to do your laundry but also he wants his children to understand themselves and understand the world where the child knows about the world the more he’ll be prepared to interact successfully in it father is especially concerned that his children would learn wisdom they will not make foolish decisions and suffer painful consequences ha how our children to respond to their father’s teaching the father’s instruction well clearly they should listen to it they should practice what the the father teaches them and they should endure through the teaching not just give up and say oh I don’t want to listen it along with this teaching comes the discipline of the father father disciplines his children once to instill the right ways in his child even through some uncomfortable practice and even corrective discipline this is momentarily painful for the child often when he has to endure some may be difficult chores or he has to be corrected or to to endorse some discipline but it’s extremely useful extremely important for the child so that he’s prepared for life now how a child to respond to his father’s loving discipline well he should accept it he should even seek it and endure through it now already you’re probably seeing connections the way the Bible speaks about God and that’s good two other things I want to mention besides loving providing protecting teaching and disciplining while they’re also models for his children he provides a an example or a role model for his children everything that the father does the way he responds to life to difficulty to relationships to the way he interacts with the mother to the way he he deals with money other people etc these are all powerful examples to the child good father wants to set the best example as possible father should want his children to take up after him to even be like him now in some ways children can’t help but be like their parents a son like his father a daughter like a mother or even the daughter like her father and a son like his mother have you ever found your this to be true even in your own family in your own relationships you found yourself doing something that your father did even though you never even tried to learn it something speaking like him or saying something that he would say or acting like him this is what happens children learned from their parents even when they’re not even thinking about it but the father wants to be conscious of this and he wants to set a good example for his children how are the children how are children to respond to their or how children respond to respond their to respond to their father’s example they want to imitate him they see the good example he lives and they want to become like him that’s true of a good father then finally one other aspect of a good father I want to bring out is that a good father prepares for his children for their future it only provides for his children now but he also makes sure the children have a future where he does his best at least to make sure what does this look like today well often this kind of preparation includes Pepperberg includes specific provisions for the child’s career or a future education many fathers some fathers choose to pay for their child’s education not only through elementary school and high school but also even in college some parents or fathers will pay for part of or even all of it it’s tuition but in earlier days the father did even more than this ancient times for example fathers were diligent to pass on a family trade to the children whatever job the father had he would train the son in that trade or a father would also be very diligent to arrange a suitable marriage for his child whether for a son or whether for a daughter he wanted to secure the future for his children but most importantly a father arranged and this is especially true in ancient times the father made arrangements for the child’s inheritance a child would our sons would receive property from their fathers usually upon the father’s death while ladies of the house they would receive other provisions father would make sure they’re taken care of by another family member or that they are taken care of and their husbands new households I’m going to make sure that they had a future inheritance and most of these future preparations the child doesn’t actually receive that preparation immediately but merely a promise of that preparation that would be fulfilled in the future father says here’s what I’ve done for you it hasn’t happened yet but it will happen now how a child to respond to his good father’s preparation for those future provisions is to be grateful used to be patient he’s to look forward with hope confidence and trust even desire for that future provision now we could add more to this list this is not exhaustive exhaustive but I think this gives us a little useful background for considering the Fatherhood of God but you can see kind of a three basics and then then seven additional items of what a good father does for his children now now what do these things have to do with God well as I said as we’ve alluded to already you shouldn’t be surprised that father is one of the titles that God uses to describe himself throughout the Scriptures God is a father and because God is righteous loving and holy he is the best father but to who is God Father if he’s a father who his children well probably uses this term or uses this description for different relationships and we’ll just overview them briefly one sense God is the father of all people he’s the father of all men and why is this well because just like earthly fathers God is the source of all life and therefore he is also deep authority over all men to whom he has given life because God is creator this is precisely Paul’s argument in acts 17 remember we talked about that that sermon from Paul in the city of Athens and acts 17 recently Paul makes an argument to the Athenians as to why they should repent and turn to God based on God being their father he says God made all things we are his children why should we think that God needs something from us he’s the one who gave us life like why would he need a temple why would he need sacrifices from us or how is it that we think we can make God according to our own imagination when he’s the one who made us he’s our Father we’re his children and as a father God demands what is only right for a father to demand this is Paul’s argument that is that his children should seek Him and in in Paul’s words that’s that all men should repent and they should worship God so in one sense God is the father of all people of course man rejects this fatherhood by and large man rejects this creation fatherhood rebels against their father and they fall under God’s wrath but this is one sense of father it’s not the most frequently used sense of Father in the Bible but it is one another sense is God’s you got special fatherhood of Israel God is father to Israel God did not miraculously be get the people of Israel though he did call out Abraham but God chose this group of men group of men and women to be his people and to be a father tonight in a sense God did things for the people of Israel just like a father would even some of the things we discussed he loved them he provided for them he protected them he had authority over them he expected reverence from them all those things we previously discussed and they were to be blessed the people of Israel be blessed by the Fatherhood of God but how did they respond to his father fit well we look at some of the prophets and we can see how this description is used to describe Israel’s unfitting reaction to their father consider what Isaiah says Isaiah chapter 1 verses 2 to 3 God says to Israel through Isaiah listen o heavens and hear o earth for Yahweh speaks sons I have reared and brought up but they have revolted against me an ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s manger but Israel does not know my people do not understand they rejected the Fatherhood of God even Israel Malachi 1:6 says Malachi 1:6 a son honors his father and a servant his master then if I’m a father where is my honor and if I’m a master where is my respect so even though God was a great father to Israel they did not honor him as father they did not seek him as father they did not love him and of course that was part of why God had to judge Israel and why Israel is still in the state that it is today but the bible does speak of God as father to Israel what also speaks of God as a unique father to David’s house and David see now this is really interesting because we see God as father in a broad sense but now we’re getting more specific he’s the father of all people the father of a nation but now even of a house and a bloodline consider what God says to David and you’ll remember this is something that we’ve alluded to at sunday-school many times sooner what God says David in second samuel 7:14 this is part of his davidic prom or the promise of the Davidic covenant to David God says of David seed I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me and we also see in the Psalms the same idea Psalm 89 verses 26 to 27 Ethan the ezra height is one of the psalm psalm writers he says this about David’s house and see Psalm 89 verses 26 to 27 he will cry to me you are my father my god and the rock of my salvation I shall also make him my firstborn the highest of the kings of the earth now why these things are significant because no one in the Old Testament dared to call God his personal father you might sometimes see people refer to our Father people of Israel might refer to God as our Father solomon does that one instance the jews do that in a couple instances in the new testament but no one calls god my father and yet god prophetically says of david seed i will be father to his seed personal i will be the personal father a very individual relationship but we can see where this leads because who in the new testament is constantly calling god his father well jesus christ jesus son of mary and this is another sense that we see god as father in the bible this is the favorite title that jesus uses what addressing god he says father or my father and this drove the pharisees and the jews absolutely crazy how could he do that how could he call god his father and they saw even in this that he was making a specific claim you might remember this verse john 5:18 john 5:18 geez it says for this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath but also was calling God his own father making himself equal with God you don’t call God your father you don’t assume that kind of relationship with God unless there’s something different about you and clearly there was something very different about the man Jesus and is that he he was and is the son of God He is God in the flesh and this is a unique aspect of God’s fatherhood that only applies to the son the the eternally begotten uncreated member of the Trinity the Son of God has unique relationship to his father no one can completely mimic that relationship buts on the basis this this fourth kind of sonship this forth kind of fatherhood in the Bible that actually results in the last one and the one that we’re really trying to get at today because throughout Jesus’s ministry do you just not only refer to God as my father but even when speaking to his disciples he would sometimes call God your father or your heavenly Father he would refer to God as the father of his followers particularly significant is John 20 verse 17 John 20 verse 17 this is where Jesus meets Mary Magdalene after rising from the from the dead and it says there John 20:17 Jesus said to her stop clinging to me for I’ve not yet ascended to the Father but go to my brethren and say to them I ascend to my father and your father and my god and your God in might remember we made some comment about this verse what’s special about this declaration from Jesus go and tell my brethren such and such this is the first time Jesus refers to his disciples as his brethren it’s not until after Jesus rises from the dead that he actually calls his disciples and followers his brethren and that’s a term that’s a very important term right because if you’re a brother or sister of Jesus then that means that you’re part of the same family and that his father is your father which is exactly what Jesus is to Mary I go to my father and your father and so it is this final aspect of fatherhood that we see especially in the New Testament that God is a special father of believers those that belong to Jesus those that have been brought near to God through the life death and resurrection of Jesus and this is all over the New Testament that Paul’s letters often start with a greeting that emphasizes that God is the father of believers consider this is what Paul writes in many of his letters he says grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ never hear that kind of thing in the Old Testament this constant reference to God being thought of believers but you hear it all over the place in the New Testament why well this is experienced as a result of salvation and because of that it’s not the Fatherhood that everyone on earth experiences it’s only for believers rather for those who are not believers in the Lord not followers of Christ they don’t have God as father in this way rather they have a different father and John 8:44 is very clear about that Jesus is speaking to the Jews who are contesting some of the things he’s telling them in John 8:44 and this is what Jesus says to those Jews you are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him whenever he speaks he speaks from his own nature for he is a liar and the father of all lies or the father of lies so we consider these various aspects of fatherhood in the Bible we should see that yes in one sense God is the father of all people but in another sense he’s only the father of believers and you want him to be your father in that way because otherwise you have a different father the devil and you’re gonna act a certain way based on that and you also have a certain future awaiting you based on that now it’s this last aspect of God’s fatherhood this last kind of fatherhood that I want to investigate a little bit more with you today why is it important what does it mean for us that God is now our Father since we believed and repented because of Jesus we can certainly apply many of the aspects that I discussed earlier that God is the source of our life that God has authority over us that God loves us that God provides for us that God trains us etc those things do apply in this aspect of fatherhood and if we were to investigate those various things the New Testament we would see those aspects we don’t have time to do that this morning now so I just want to look at two different passages that explore some of those ideas a little bit further first John 3 and Romans 8 let’s start with first John turn there first John 3 please see a little bit more about how the Apostles talk about the Fatherhood of God and what it means for us to be children of God now just a little bit of background quick back on our first John 3 remember the context John is writing later in the first century probably around 8090 he’s dealing with a heresy in the church teaching that believers can live any way that they wish because whatever happens in the body doesn’t matter all you need is the secret knowledge of God and you’ll be saved but John writes to reestablish what the true gospel is how the true gospel affects behavior of believers by necessity and one of the arguments he makes appears in the section of text we’re going to look at look at first John 229 2 3 3 we’ll make some comment on the rest of the chapter but specifically I want to look at these verses first John 229 2 3 3 follow along with me as i read if you know that he is righteous you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of him see how great a love the father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God and such we are for this reason the world does not know us because it did not know him beloved now we are children of God and it has not appeared as yet what we will be we know that when he appears we will be like him because we will see him just as he is and everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he is pure alright let’s make some observations on these on these verses now just had the last verse the previous chapter introduces the idea of God as father with the phrase born of him and then we transition to a fuller discussion of that now we’ve already discussed discussed the idea of the new birth that comes about through God in previous lessons tied up in this phrase is that truth of salvation being totally of God we were dead in trespasses and sins totally helpless we needed spiritual life but it could only come from outside ourselves and God provided it to us he caused us to be born again and in this way he became a father to us but notice the phrase in verse 1 chapter 3 see how great a love the author pasal John here he quickly describes for us how we can see this great love that the father as bestowed on us it’s not just gesturing into the cosmos see how greater love know he has something specifically am i how do we see the great love of God well namely that we should be called children of God that we would be allowed to be called children of God and note in verse 1 also that we see that the term father is to apply directly to God there there stowed on us from the father he’s the father that we a believers are his children very says see how great a love that we should be called children of God and then he says and such we are now this is interesting John was to point out to us not only are we called children of God but we actually are children of God and I think that distinction is important in human terms what do we what do we what term do we use to designate a child who is not biologically a child of a family but according to name and according to the law he belongs to that family adoption right I mean I biologically be a child but he is called by that family name because he’s been adopted into that family so he says we applying this John we are called children of God but we actually are children of God also then at the phrase that comes next for this reason now oftentimes that phrase is an indicator that the author’s referring to something that he just said that’s every so often the author will use a phrase like that to point to something he’s about to say and we can see that here the sense of the sentence is the latter situation for this reason the world does not know us and what’s that reason because it did not know him it didn’t know God now what does this have to do with what he just said about being a father and being children well we can apply it in this way the world did not know or understand God our Father therefore the world does not know or understand us the children of the father it’s a connection because we are the children of the Father now note the contrast that appears in verse 2 we have a contrast between the now and what’s coming in the future says right now we are children of God and in the future it’s not yet appeared what we will be but there is something we know about the future because look at the rest of verse 2 what we do know is that when he that is God appears we know that we will be like him how do we know that why do we know that John tells us the reason because we will see him just as he is and this knowledge will have or this knowledge has an effect on us notice verse 3 it says it refers to this hope he who has this hope well what hope well the only item that could qualify as a hope has to be something related to the future the only thing that’s been mentioned about the future in this context is what we just discussed that we will become like him in the future when we see him as he is so that is what John refers to when he says this hope he who has this hope of becoming like him seeing him and becoming like him just as he is and it’s interesting that John uses the term hope here he who has this hope it’s not merely an expectation or a promise it is a hope which tells us that it is something desirable it’s something that a person longs for he looks forward to he waits for so you as this this wonderful hope of seeing God and being transformed into God’s image it has an effect on them they do something now what did they do they purify themselves just as he that is God is pure and how pure is God oh he’s perfectly pure he’s God he’s 100% holy there’s no holy there’s no one who is holy like God and the person who has this hope he purifies himself just as God is pure so what do we do with these things let’s talk about interpretation now we’ve made these observations and ask some questions first why was it such a great act of love that we should be called children of God certainly because of what it cost God to make us his children yes because of the the great sacrifice that was required of the son that love displayed and his being made a man and his living and dying as our substitute yes Danny right it’s another aspect of this great love because of what we were we were enemies of God children of Satan we were evil rebellious despicable sons and daughters we hated our Creator we exalted ourselves we rejected God’s many overtures of peace to us all we wanted was sin I wanted nothing to do with God we want a God to die we want to just go the way of Satan are our new father the father we would rather have and to such and by the means of Jesus Christ that costly precious means God himself made peace with us and then he called us by his own name he made us into his children he brought us into his family why should we considering what we were what the attitude we had to work out why should we be called by God’s family there is no reason except for God’s great and undeserved love now consider that for yourself personally consider your lack of worthiness to be call all God’s son or daughter but if you believed in him it is nonetheless reality you are called a child of God you have God’s name you are a part of his family now in what sense are we called children of God and then our children of God I think well it’s possible John may simply be reiterating that concept of adoption that we mentioned that we are called his family we are adopted and indeed we are adopted it may be emphasizing that I think there’s something more going on though because of this emphatic repetition and I think some something might help us see this consider what T’s does every maybe not every but do often cool older siblings like to play at one time or another on a younger brother or younger sister it will say something along the lines of you’re not a real member of this family you’re only adopted right and of course that causes a great consternation in the younger one and someone might make the same accusation of believers you are called a part of God’s family but if you’re only adopted yes you have the rights and privileges of being part of God’s family but if you’re not really a son if you’re not really a daughter then you don’t share his nature meaning that when it comes to sin you’re just as powerless against it as you were before because after all you don’t really belong in this family but there’s something in the context that counters such an assertion that you’re only a child and name only what in the context shows us that that’s not really true back to verse 29 it says how did God become our Father because right yeah verse 1 I tempt you because we were born of him we were born of him so consider them the profound nature of our adoption by God he not only calls us by his name but he actually truly becomes our Father rewriting our DNA as it were and you can see this further in verse 9 of this chapter it says that God’s seed abides in the believer just as a father seed abides in a child to make a child grow up and to look like the father so God’s spiritual seed abides even in his adopted children to give them life and to make them grow up into him into his image so then God is not only the father of believers by adoption but also by regeneration adoption gives you and me the privileges of being part of God’s family but regeneration gives us the power of our Father to be like him to become like him and I think that’s why John says we are called children of God and such we are now verse 2 says that we will become like God when we see him as he is why does seeing God make us like him well this really goes back to you the profound nature of God’s glory and power to behold God and His glory is to be transformed by him and a great example this is Moses in the Old Testament recall that Moses spoke face-to-face with God or at least that’s the way the Bible describes it he beheld God’s glory in a very intimate way and he began to bear the reflection of that glory in his own face so much so that when Moses came back to the people of Israel they hid from him because they were they were scared of all the glory that was being reflected off of Moses face in the same way as believers behold the beauty and the glory of God believers cannot help but be conformed and transformed into the image of the God they behold and this is what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 he’s talking about the believers experience of sanctification on the earth 2nd Corinthians 3:18 Paul says but we all with unveiled face beholding in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the spirit well that’s true in a sanctification sense right now it will be true in a fuller way when we actually see him in the future when we see him face to face we see him just as he is he’ll be transformed to be like him now verse 3 states that it’s the believers hope to be conformed into God’s image in the future why should it believe our desire to be like God to be transformed into the very image of God well God is the most glorious and worthy being in all existence to be shaped into a reflection of the beauty and wondrous character of God is a great prospect of joy for the believer I think a father child analogy will help us understand this when a son has a good father especially if it’s a young young son what does the son naturally desire to do he wants to be like his father the son desires this because what he sees in the father is beautiful it’s noble it’s admirable and the young son because he enjoys who his father is he wants to become like him and is glad when he becomes so so it is for believers we are not glad to become like God so that we might somehow revel in our own glory God’s glorious now I’m like God look how glorious I am no we realize that we don’t have anything good in ourselves rather we want to become like our glorious God so that we might revel in him even more we desired him and we admire and we we love who he is so much that becoming like him is a great prospect of joy for us now this does not mean that we ourselves will become deity we’re not becoming God or we’re not becoming gods but we become like him we reflect the righteous beauty of God as we are transformed and that is a great prospect of joy for the believer and as a results of this first three says a believer purifies himself in the present so why does this future hope of transformation lead to purification in the present well again I think this analogy of father and a child is helpful for illustration if a child looks forward to truly becoming like his dad like his father in the future he’s not content to merely leave such a transformation for later he says wow someday I’ll be like my dad that’s great no a child if he loves his father his father’s indeed a good father he’ll already even in his youth begin taking up after his father’s ways and you can see this sometimes in a really cute way especially if it’s a young child but this is even true of older children he really loves his father but this father’s really a good father the son will start to act like his father he’ll talk like his father he’ll walk like his father it won’t address like his father he want to do he wants to do what his father does he wants to conform himself more and more to the father’s image so that earn more and more and more to the father’s image now even as he looks forward to one day becoming the spitting image of his father and so it is for believers it is a great joy for us to think that we might one day resemble in a great and full way the purity of our great God but we want to become pure now and that’s such a great joy for us in the future we want to experience that now we’re eager to become more like him so that we might enjoy him all the more and so we put off the sin that is so unlike our God and we put on the righteous beliefs and thoughts emotions words and actions that reflect who our God is now if someone says that he is a child of God but he doesn’t look like it and he’s making no effort to become like his father what conclusion according to John’s teaching can one make of such a claimants he’s not a real child he’s not a real child if he doesn’t look like his father doesn’t act like his father is not becoming conformed any it at all into the image of his father it’s probably because he’s not a real child of his father and this is exactly John’s argument in the rest of the chapter we won’t read through it I encourage you to read through it on your own but look at verse 10 first John 3:10 John says by this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious anyone who’s not who does not practice righteousness is not of God nor the one who does not love his brother so in short John says if you’re a child of God you’re adopted into his family and if you’ve been regenerated with the seed in you then you’re going to become like him because that’s what you true children of a good father do if you believe if you proclaim that you belong to God but act like the devil you show who your father really is you have no part in God’s family and therefore you have no part in God’s inheritance for his children no as I’ve said before we ultimately as humans we cannot see into someone’s heart so it’s possible that we might encounter someone who claims to be a child of God doesn’t really seem like it but actually is he’s just confused or untaught or in a season of sin but because of what we see from John here we understand that if we see such a one brotherly concern ought to move us to say friend brother this is what I see and I’m concerned about you if God is truly your father why aren’t you taking up after him this is part of John’s argument in his book that if you’re a believer it’s gonna affect you and one way to look that is God your father yours child you’re gonna be like your father this is what John writes to us now many of these same truths are echoed in Paul’s writing and Romans eight so let’s turn over there now we’re not going to go as slowly through these verses we don’t have the time but you will notice many parallels in this section of Romans that we’re going to look at just to give you a little background on the context remember the book of Romans is Paul’s theological introduction to the Church of Rome so that those believers My partner with Paul and ministry and in the previous seven chapters Paul explains how both Jew and Gentile are under God’s wrath for sin how salvation comes only by faith how this faith leads to a life of holiness and how mere adherence to moral rules that is the law cannot produce a holy life and the beginning part of Romans 8 which we don’t don’t have time to read but Paul explains there how the Spirit the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Christ is able to do what the law cannot do the Spirit frees Christians from both the power and the penalty of sin through the gospel Jesus perfectly fulfills all the moral rules of God the law on behalf of believers through the gospel the God gives life to previously spiritually dead believers makes them alive and he imparts his spirit to believers well notice what it says in verses 12 to 17 and this we will read Romans 8 verses 12 to 17 says so then brethren we are under obligation what’s the flesh to live according to the flesh for if you’re living according to the flesh you must die but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body you will live for all who are being led by the Spirit of God these are sons of God for you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba Father the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and if children heirs also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him now notice just a few things there are many parallels here to what we read while we read in first John we see first of all because of God’s salvation and more specifically because of God’s Spirit believers cannot live any longer according to their old way according to their old sinful desires the spirit of adoption in believers now leads them to holiness as they cry Abba Father after their God just as Jesus cried to the father he often addressed God by saying Abba Father now sidenote is often been said that Abba means daddy or Papa but this is not quite accurate Abba is literally Aramaic for my father so while the term is full of affection and familiarity it still has a sense of reverence in it that daddy doesn’t quite capture but anyways through the spirit believers have a new father that they now look to for help and deliverance and believers cry Abba Father now this spirit this new spirit in the believer it testifies to the believer of his sonship both by the fruits of the spirit in the believers life and that inner sense of belonging to God that comes from the spirit but notice that verse 17 it there in verse 17 says and this I want to key in on a little bit more the fact that believers are children of God Paul says also means that they are heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ now what does Christ inherit from the father he’s a son he has an inheritance what’s he going to inheritance well what’s he going to inherit everything all things are going to be be given to the son rule of the entire universe is going to be given to the son so if we are also heirs if we are co-heirs with Christ then what will we inherit same thing all things this is why it says in other scriptures all things belong to you and that we will rule and reign with him such is the result of our sonship but notice the end of verse 17 if you are children and fellow heirs then understand that you must also experience what you must suffer with Christ if you’re going to inherit with Christ if you’re going to reign with Christ then you must also suffer with him so that to the end that you will be glorified now Paul explores this connection between suffering and a glorious inheritance further in the following verses we can’t again we can’t take a close look at that but I want to expose that to you look at verses 18 to 25 I think this would be very useful for you to meditate on as we move on from this lesson today but verse 18 to 25 notice what Paul continues to say for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us but the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God but we know the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now not only this but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons the redemption of our body for in hope we have been saved but hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes what he already sees but if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance we wait eagerly for it so notice here we have another instance what theologians sometimes call they already and not yet have we been adopted by God are we as children yes that’s why we have the spirit of adoption but we’re also looking forward to our adoption we haven’t received it in full yet we’re looking forward to the glory that will that will be revealed when all of God’s children are shown to be indeed his children before all the witnesses of the universe and they receive their inheritance now such waiting such expected waiting will include suffering in their present but just as a son of a great man in ancient days waited patiently for his inheritance so we also because of the great glory that is to be revealed in us and for us we do not become unsettled due to the small comparatively small sufferings of life rather with eagerness with perseverance we wait for our full adoption now think on that for a moment if you’re a believer you are God’s child you have been given a full inheritance as a co heir with Christ imagine receiving that inheritance as best you can imagine what Paul describes here this final unveiling of the sons of God sons and daughters of God and their inheritance being given them imagine that being given to you if you are God’s child what did you ever do to deserve that it is indeed as John said in his passage first John 3 see how great what kind of love this is a love that we do not understand or encounter in our world what kind of love the father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God so in sum Paul in light of our future inheritance as children of God he urges a life of steadfast holiness in the meantime by God’s Spirit and of course we’ve only skimmed the surface of what the New Testament says it has to say regarding our being children of God regarding the believers being children of God but I hope that even from this brief look that your spirits have been moved to meditate more on your sonship or daughter ship what it means for you to be an inheritor and what all of this means for the holiness in your life and your hope for the future now as we’re winding down here a few questions for you to think of as we close we’re considering application here most important of all is are you a child of God are you really a child of God not just by creation we’re all children of God in a sense by creation but are you regenerated by God born again and are you adopted by God does your spirit cry out Abba Father by means of the Holy Spirit or does it instead cry for some Idol do you long to be transformed into the image of God do you with eagerness look forward to the inheritance that will be yours in the future or do you merely serve your fleshly lusts do you live for your or do you live for this present world do not be deceived as John warns us as Paul would warn us the sons of the devil will end up just as the devil it will be thrown into the lake of fire forever but the sons of God sons and daughters are God they will reign the God they will reign with Christ sure are you really his child if you are do you think much of your being part of God’s family that’s something that moves you not why not do you think much of the inheritance to be given to you how much does that come up in your mind how much does that inform the way you look at life and the way you make decisions in life the Apostles considered the hope of what will be in the future crucial for our present sanctification so if you think you can be sanctified without really paying attention to what happens in the future there’s something off of course there are other factors that motivate our sanctification but this is a crucial one how much is that part of your thinking and then one of one other thought how do you view other Christians because if you’re a child of God so are they and they’re your brothers and sisters they aren’t fellow inheritors with you do you treat them that way do you to the sake of your father for the sake of pleasing him do you get along with your brothers and sisters or are you indifferent contemptuous even as if you were the only child of God consider Jesus’s own attitude he was not ashamed to call his people his brother and he endeavoured to save and sanctify that so what about you that’s it for this week next week we sample what the epistles have to say about prayer that’ll be another big topic let’s end with prayer by God we thank you God I pray that the people at Calvary anyone who’s listening to this message today that they would think deeply on this what this is just beyond comprehension then we even us who are we we would be called your children that we would be inheritors with your son Jesus Christ that we would rule and reign with him forever why why should we ever be given such a gift why should we ever be blessed in such a lavish way oh we were only rebels hateful towards you sons of the devil but those whom you have made into your own sons and daughters but God thank you I pray Lord that we would live worthy of this gospel that would be purified by the hope that we have for what will be in the future I pray that you would do this work by your spirit in Jesus name Amen all right I’ll see you next week