Thursday | 03 April 2025
The gospel of sonship reveals the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Through the unique initiatives of each Person of the Godhead, we are born of God and made in the image and likeness of God. Significantly, new creation is not through baptism or regeneration. Rather, it begins with an adoption. This is not adoption as conceptualised by Calvin, but rather, a whole process that is initiated by receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith. Gal 3:14.
For the purpose of highlighting the significance of receiving the divine nature through new birth prior to baptism, let us now consider the implications of the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
The Father, at the request of the Son, sends the Holy Spirit into our heart to be with us and in us. Joh 14:15-17. Paul called the Holy Spirit, ‘the Spirit of adoption’. When He comes into our heart, He convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgement. Joh 16:7-11. In doing so, the Spirit is asking us, ‘Do you want to be a son of God?’ As we say ‘Yes!’, the Holy Spirit gives to us the faith to believe for what is absolutely impossible and unthinkable – we are able to believe that we can become a son of God who is born again of His divine nature! This is the same faith that Abram received when Yahweh, who is the Word, came to him and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield [of faith], your exceedingly great reward.’ Gen 15:1. Abram believed by this faith, and it was ‘accounted to him for righteousness’, meaning ‘sonship’. Gen 15:4-6.
Further Study:
Genesis 15
References:
Gal 3:14
That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Joh 14:15-17
If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Joh 16:7-11
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Gen 15:1
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’
Gen 15:4-6
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.