John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, you are a son of God. Now, as believers we have become accustomed to the words "child of God", and "born again", but do we really understand what it means? If you believe the Word of God of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God died on the cross for the sin of the world, then you are born from God. God becomes your Father, and you don't share in your natural heritage any more, but in a supernatural heritage that you inherit from your real Father, Who is God. Now in Christian tradition it's fine to go around and tell everyone you're a child of God, because people see it as a metaphor, but when you start saying I'm a son of God, people get frightened. What is the difference between a child and a son? A child is someone who do not yet know who he is, and who do not yet recognize his heritage. A son is mature, and has come of age, and has realised who he is.
Gal 4:1 Now I say, [That] the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
If a child is under age, and he inherits a lot of money, that money can not benefit him until he is of age. It is kept in trust until he is of age. The difference between a child and a son is the Spirit crying Abba Father. The Spirit of God, Who testifies in our hearts that we are sons, and keeps on crying to the Father. If we are not led by the Spirit, we are children, and are kept under tutors and governors. If we are not led by the Spirit, we are under the law.
People reason that Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the rituals of the law, and that now we use the ten commandments as a guide so that we don't lose our way. Rom 8:14 says: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. If you are led by the ten commandments, you are NOT led by the Spirit and you are under tutors and governors, and you are a child, and you do not yet know your inheritance, though you already are Lord of all and master of the whole estate.
1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
2:10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
If you want to know the inheritance we have in God, it needs to be revealed to you by the Spirit of God. It is impossible to know God by the ten commandments. The ten commandments puts YOU in the centre and you only start to know your own sinfulness. By the Law, you will only recognise you sin (Rom3:20, Rom5:20 Rom7:7, Heb 10:4) and be conscious of sin. The law reveals sin, the Holy Spirit reveals God. He knows your inheritance. So if we are to know what Jesus left for us in His Testament before He died, we need to receive the Gospel, and believe in Him, because that gives us the power to become sons of God, and through faith in the cross of Christ we receive the Holy Spirit, Who reveals to us the deep and bottomless things of God and cries Abba Father! He reveals to us who we really are in Him.
2 Cor 3:15 Yes, down to this [very] day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their minds and hearts.
3:16 But whenever a person turns [in repentance] to the Lord, the veil is stripped off and taken away.
3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).
3:18 And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.
Repentance is NOT away from bad works UNTO good works. Repentance IS away from Moses, UNTO Jesus. You can not believe in both. One justifies you, the other accuses you. One saves you, the other condemns you. If you mix law and grace, you will remain a child until you die and only in heaven will you start to experience God. How about we start to experience Him here and now. Look away from the law that places your focus on yourself, and turn to Christ, so that the veil van be lifted from your heart, so that the Spirit can reveal the bottomless things of God to you, and so that we can see Him and behold His face and become transfigured into the very image of the Son of God.
The more you realise that you are already a son, the more your life will look like that of a son.
1 Cor 13:10 But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.
I am now done with tutors and governors, and laws, to try and keep me on track. I am now of age, and van be led by the Spirit Himself.
13:12 For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].
The more we look at the Gospel, the more the veil is stripped of and taken away, and the more we see Him face to face. Then we realise who we are and that we have been perfected and sanctified by His flesh body broken on the cross (Heb 10:10-14)
13:13 And so faith, hope, love abide [faith-conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope-joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love-true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Colossians says that Love is the Bond of Perfection. If you want to know perfection, you need to know love. God is Love! If you look at the law, you see an imperfect image of yourself. If you look at Christ hanging on the cross, you look at a perfect image of demonstrated love. Look away from all that will distract unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of you faith (Heb 12:1-3).
Believe in what Jesus did on the Cross. Trust in Him and not in Moses. Do not let you heart be accused by the law, but let it be strengthened by means of grace (Heb13:9)
Jesus said in John 5:45 Put out of your minds the thought and do not suppose [as some of you are supposing] that I will accuse you before the Father. There is one who accuses you-it is Moses, the very one on whom you have built your hopes [in whom you trust].
Feeling condemned about sin is not at all noble. It is the greatest sign of immaturity in Christ. If you know who you are in Christ, and you know you are forgiven, you will not feel guilty, and you will be free to follow the Spirit. If you are always looking at the accusations of the law, and not the Love of God, you will never ever see any supernatural work of the Father happen through your hands. You will remain immature and a child, and never get to a place where your heart has fellowship with Jesus and the Father. Your condemnation and feelings of guilt is not your friend. It is the greatest source of destruction in you live. Get it out. Believe in the blood. Believe in what Jesus did for you and get the condemnation out, so that the veil van be removed from your heart, and you can see the glory in the face of Jesus, and be changed into that image.
God really loves you. If you realise that, you will live the life of a son, and not the life of an infant heir child who has no idea what he owns.
Bless you.
