Divine Sonship
Adopting the faith of Jesus grants us the privilege of divine sonship. Because of Jesus, we have been brought back into righteousness, or “right-standing,” with God. Jesus is our righteousness. When we adopt the faith He has authored, we also adopt His righteousness.
Romans 3:21-22 (KJV) “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested...Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
This righteousness allows us bold access to God’s throne, where we may now stand before Him as approved sons and daughters. There is no longer any separation between us and God or conditions that must be met in order for us to approach Him.
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV) “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
The main purpose of the cross was to restore a lost humanity back into the loving arms of a heavenly Father. Jesus is God forgiving man’s sin and restoring our status as righteous sons and daughters, who have become members of God’s household.
1 John 3:1 (NIV) “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
John 1:12-13 (NIV) “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Romans 8:14-17 (NIV) “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV) “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
In the English language, “son” simply means male biological offspring. However, the word for “son”in the Greek (huios, used 382 times in the New Testament) denotes a person, biological or otherwise, who is acknowledged in a household to be the full legal representative of the male parent. In the Greek culture, a son who had been granted this right would inherit everything that his father had. This son did not have to come from within the father’s biological family.
Outside of the family context, to be a son is to fully represent a person, concept or idea (i.e. thunder, light, disobedience, the prophets, etc.). Jesus is not the son of God biologically, but in the sense that He is the perfect representation of the heavenly Father, the fullest manifest expression of God’s personality and being. Jesus is God incarnate revealing Himself to the world. He is the fullest and most perfect representation of our heavenly Father’s character, will, and intent for humanity.
Colossians 1:15 (NIV) “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
John 1:18 (NIV) “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
For us to be “sons of God” means that God has given us the privilege and responsibility to fully represent His character and name. There are many privileges that come from adopting the faith of Jesus, including the ability to partake in His divine nature, access heaven’s abundant life, and demonstrate His spiritual authority over sin, sickness, and disease. Sons of God do not have to work hard to represent and express His character - they, by nature, already do! Jesus reveals this truth. He took our old nature to the cross and crucified it with Himself, so that we would be raised to new spiritual life. The moment we come into the revelation of this biblical truth, our actions and lifestyle soon align themselves to agree with what God has already spoken about us through His Son, Jesus. What an honor and privilege this gift of divine sonship is!
The richest fruit of divine sonship is the ability to live life in intimate relationship with our heavenly Father as we journey through life and walk in the works that He has prepared for us to do. Our life’s purpose is not to strive to save souls, heal millions, or advance the kingdom of heaven. Rather, our purpose is to rest in and steward our divine sonship. As we do, we will bear extraordinary fruit and reap a great spiritual harvest as the Lord flows through us to achieve His purposes for this planet. I find in my life that the harder I work for the kingdom, the less fruit I see. The more I learn to rest and just be with Jesus, the more I see His presence manifest in and through my life.
We can not partner with Jesus in the renewing of our minds unless we realize the goal of His work in us : to become increasingly perfect representations of His character in thought, word, and deed. Renewing the mind is like a journey through a vast and uncharted land. Divine sonship is our shelter - the place we repeatedly retreat to when darkness falls, so that we may refresh ourselves and continue the journey.
