Sons of the Kingdom

 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."        John 3:3-8

Jesus introduced the principle of personal salvation as a living faith in Jesus as Messiah (and God) to Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, and some say, the brother of Josephus, the historian. Being born of the Spirit means that the Holy Spirit inhabits the believer and empowers him to walk with God in the new covenant, dependent on the believer’s willingness to go along with that leading. Many Calvinists believe that the true believer will automatically go along; they call this the perseverance of the saints. Yet the above passage teaches that the spiritual man understands that the spiritual can be derived only from the Spirit, not realized through human effort apart from God. The Holy Spirit (pneuma) is likened to the wind (pneuma) in that the believer is blown (pneo) from one experience to the next, from one moment of faith in Him to the next (Romans 1:17). The righteous life is a byproduct of that experience.

For all who are being led [ago – led along] by the Spirit of God, these are sons [huios – sons, mature children] 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 [huiothesia – placed as a son] by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children [teknon] of God, and if children [teknon], heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.                      Romans 8:14-17

The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the believer’s sonship. The Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9, 1 Peter 1:11) brings the follower forth (led along, in cooperation with the believer) into the deepest place within his relationship with God and produces an intimacy with Abba Father – Daddy. The human spirit also receives assurance from the Spirit that he is a child and an important part of the family, as evidenced by his inheritance. The believer learns that, when taught by the Holy Spirit, he need not rely on human wisdom to understand the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit allows him to think independently of others, thus evaluating every thought and message according to the Spirit's personal application. It is learning to think with God, not what to think about God. As a son, the believer is dependent only on God Himself. All believers are children, but only those who desire a deeper relationship with Abba Father are considered sons.

So, also, we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.             Galatians 4:3-7

Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia was written mainly to address the question of the role the Law of Moses (Torah) should play in the believer's life, particularly that of a Gentile. Jesus, the Messiah, came to offer each person the opportunity to be adopted into the family of God, based solely on faith in who He is and what He did. Instead of the Law dictating how the new believer should live, the Holy Spirit was sent forth into his heart to provide the blueprint for sonship in Christ. Adoption is a word of relationship rather than position. In love, He predestined [proorizo – determined beforehand] us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:4-6). The essential idea of proorizo is determining limits beforehand and not what God determined to do as done, but that He established the believer’s possible conclusion as an adopted son beforehand, as the believer lives in the new covenant relationship. The believer's relation to God as a child results from the new birth (John 1:12-13), whereas adoption is the divine act whereby one who is already a child is, through being released from the law (Romans 7:6), placed in the position of an adult son.

Before Abraham had Ishmael or Isaac, he had great concerns about leaving an inheritance. In Genesis 15:2-3, Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Abram probably adopted Eliezer, his servant, as his son. This is likely the same servant spoken of in Genesis 24, taking place some fifty years later, when Abraham, now near the end of his life, sends his servant back to “his country and his relatives” to find a bride for his son Isaac. The story symbolizes the role of the Holy Spirit during the Church age, who is searching for the bride of Christ. The Church-age believer’s life is centered on the leading, guiding, and teaching of the Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to walk uprightly as sons.

Kept in Custody

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore, the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.              Galatians 3:23-27

" Before faith came" refers to the period before Christ's coming, when religious success was measured by obedience to the Law of Moses. In contrast, the new covenant is based on faith in who Jesus is and what He accomplished. The Law was never intended to be the basis for receiving God's righteousness (Romans 3:20). Instead, the Law's purpose was given to lead the Jews back to faith, as was the case for the period of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prior to Mount Sinai and the giving of the Law. As a result, the Law of Moses has fulfilled its purpose for everyone who has found faith in Jesus, and it is no longer necessary to find a deeper relationship with God.

According to Kenneth Wuest, the Greek word huios, translated as sons in verse 26, “signifies someone of full age. Under law, the individual was in his minority and under a guardian. Now, under grace, he has attained his majority, having outgrown the surveillance of his former guardian.” The context shows that huios in this verse is given in contrast to the old covenant position of the believer as a child of God.

New Wine in New Wineskins

Then the disciples of John came to Him and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."                           Matthew 9:14-17

John was a reformer seeking to bring about repentance among those steeped in the traditions of Judaism. Jesus, however, was not out to patch up an old system, like sewing a new, unshrunk cloth on an old garment, which would then tear, or pouring new wine into old wineskins, which would then burst. His purpose was to bring in something new. He had come to lead a group out of Judaism into the kingdom based on Him and His righteousness. True righteousness is not built on the Law or on Pharisaic traditions, but on the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Live to God

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live [zao – life devoted to God’s will] to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify [atheteo – displace, abolish] the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."          Galatians 2:19-21

Paul described the transformation of a person who has come to God by faith in Christ in terms of death and resurrection. He died to the Law because he was crucified with Christ; he was able to live for God because Christ lived in him. Basic to an understanding of this verse is the meaning of union with Christ. Paul writes in other letters that believers have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ and into the church, the body of all true believers. Having been thus united to Christ, believers share in His death, burial, and resurrection. Paul could therefore write, I have been (and am now) crucified with Christ. This brought death to the Law. It also brought a change regarding oneself; thus, it is no longer I who live. The self-righteous, self-centered Saul died. Further, death with Christ ended Paul's enthronement of self. He yielded the throne of his life to Christ.

A Fruitful Life

And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me the Father will honor him.             John 12:23-26

Alfred Edersheim, a 19^th-century Biblical scholar, wrote many books, including “The Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah,” first published in 1883. He made the following observations concerning the above passage:

“The hour of decision was about to strike. Not merely as the Messiah of Israel, but in His world-wide bearing as 'the Son of Man,' was He about to be glorified by receiving the homage of the Gentile world, of which the symbol and the firstfruits were now before Him. But only in one way could He thus be glorified: by dying for the salvation of the world, and so opening the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. On a thousand hills was the glorious harvest to tremble in the golden sunlight; but the corn of wheat falling into the ground, must, as it falls, die, burst its envelope, and so spring into a very manifoldedness of life. Otherwise would it have remained alone. This is the great paradox of the Kingdom of God, a paradox which has its symbol and analogon in nature, and which has also almost become the law of progress in history: that life which has not sprung of death abideth alone, and is really death, and that death is life. A paradox this, which has its ultimate reason in this, that sin has entered into the world.”

“And as to the Master, the Prince of Life, so to the disciples, as bearing forth the life. If, in this world of sin, He must fall as the seed-corn into the ground and die, that many may spring of Him, so must they also hate their life, that they may keep it unto life eternal. Thus serving, they must follow Him, that where He is they may also be, for the Father will honor them that honor the Son.”

Sovereignty of God

The Lord reigns [malak - rules, becomes king], He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.                   Psalm 93:1-5

And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.                Revelation 21:5-7

So then, He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?         Romans 9:18-21

The sovereignty of God is the term that expresses God's supreme rulership. As Psalm 93 declares, The Lord reigns. Sovereignty is not an attribute of God, but a prerogative based upon His perfection. To properly understand a son’s living faith, he must recognize God’s authority and involvement in every event of life. The Scriptures are filled with references to His sovereignty. The method of divine rulership is, however, to be judged in the light of special revelation. Many Calvinists interpret sovereignty as absolute, meaning the sovereign election of a certain number to salvation and the sovereign reprobation of others, without regard to man's free will. He is the Supreme Dispenser of all events, and He is able to allow man's free will, yet still be in total control of time and space. All forms of existence are within the scope of His dominion. He rules over them in justice and wisdom and grace. The sovereignty of God is the great ground of confidence for His people, and its acceptance by the believer is a source of real strength for his faith in the all-powerful One whose essence is based on His love for all creation.

 

The Will of God

 

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose [ennoia – intention, attitude], because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.             1 Peter 4:1-2

 

and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.                           2 Corinthians 5:15

 

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify [hagiazo – make holy, set apart] Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready [for anything] to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.                          1 Peter 3:13-15

 

Peter referred back to Christ's suffering and applied the principle of patient endurance in unjust suffering to his readers' immediate situation. He exhorted believers to adopt the same courageous attitude Christ had toward suffering. With the same determination and care with which a soldier puts on his armor, Christians are to adopt Christ's intention, purpose, and unswerving resolve to do God's will. To stand for the will of God is to face periodic suffering for His sake; it is suffering for that which is right. This process can best be defined as sanctifying (setting apart) Christ as Lord in the heart, a decision of the heart and not the mind. Once determined, the believer will be ready in any situation to communicate his faith with conviction.

 

Enter In

 

Enter in, enter in

Surrender to the Spirit's call to die and enter in

Enter in, find peace within

The holy life awaits you, enter in

 

The conflict still continues raging deep within my soul

My spirit wars against my flesh in a struggle for control

My only hope is full surrender, so with each borrowed breath

I inhale the Spirit's will for me to die a deeper death

 

These words come from Steve Green’s song “Enter In” and speak of the entry each believer can have into maturity as a son of the Kingdom of Heaven. It begins with surrender to the Spirit's call, an invitation to set aside his own interests and priorities for a higher purpose, the will of God. It does involve a struggle since the soul will not surrender its interests willingly. This process is not a one-time event, but rather a process of deferring priorities to a cause that will ultimately bring true peace. In so doing, access to divine abilities that supersede natural capacity is gained. Jesus spoke of this transformation in Matthew 5:43-45, "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.