The Goal is Whole: Who am I? W2: Sons of God

FULL STUDY:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26).

Through faith in Christ Jesus we are brought into the new birth. This is our entry into the new creation, and also the beginning of a brand new existence – that of a son of God. For the ladies reading this, this is not a male identity. Sonship in the new creation is race, gender, and status neutral:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:28-29)

This passage is amazing because it traces our identity back to fulfillment of what God began with Abraham thousands of years ago. Look at that statement: “heirs according to promise”. Not only are we sons, but also heirs, and this is founded in the promise of God. It is completely secure. In the new creation life we need to take hold of our new identity, and as we do that, we will find we have access to an incredible new life – the very life of God.

“Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:7).

In the new creation, God is creating a family of heirs. We are siblings of Jesus, who was the first-born among many brothers (Romans 8:29). In that status and standing, we are joint heirs with Jesus:

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17)

We cannot live a life in fellowship with God in the old creation. Rather, we must realize and align with who we have become in the new. It can seem awkward to assert that we are co-heirs with Jesus, but affirming our true sonship-heir status is fundamental if we are to experience the fullness of the new creation life.

There is a Divine mystery in this sonship, the unfolding of the eternal plan of God. Look at this passage as Paul continues in Galatians:

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:22-26)

Abraham’s son Isaac was the son of promise (Sarah was way past child bearing age). Isaac is a type of the new creation, because the new birth is also a manifestation of promise, not a work of the flesh. We enter by faith, receiving salvation as a free gift:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

There is another tremendous revelation in those verses from Galatians 4 above. If we have become a son, then it would seem reasonable that we have a Father and a Mother. Our Father is God the Father Himself, that is quite easy to grasp. But who is the mother? The mother is the covenant that birthed us, which Paul calls “the Jerusalem above”, which he states “is free”. Knowing who our mother is, is crucial to understanding our identity, and our "spiritual DNA". We have a free-covenant mother! The covenant is the new covenant in the blood of Jesus, and can never be broken because He Himself fulfilled it. Jesus referred to this when He introduced communion, saying, “this is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). We are children of the covenant.

In our natural genetics, our identity is taken from our two parents. It is the same here with the "spiritual genetics" of the new creation, in which we have become sons. We have God the Father as our Father, and a covenant of freedom as our Mother. How wonderful! This defines our identity in the new creation. We are called into freedom as children of God! Paul continues:

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Notice that ours is not a fight to gain freedom, but one to maintain freedom. “Keep standing firm”. But what is this freedom? It is not a “cheap-grace” message that says we are free to live as we please. That is the way of the flesh, the fallen man centered on self. Rather, it is the freedom to live as we should – in a way that reflects the nature of our Father and Mother. Paul continues:

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

We are set free to love one another, as His great family in the new creation! We will look more into how we do this in later studies, but Paul goes on to describe our fuller nature in this freedom – the fruit of the Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23)

That is our identity! It is our "spiritual DNA". How glorious! This new nature with these fruits is so different to the fallen nature we were all born with, which carries all the opposite characteristics: hatred, depression, anxiety, impatience, cruelty, immorality, instability, aggression, and recklessness! In the new creation, we do not simply try to follow a set of better moral standards, but rather we have a brand new inner nature with the very attributes of God Himself! The new creation life is all about outworking who we have become. Our new nature and identity is a son of God!

Settling this within ourselves can be life changing. The enemy who opposes us works hard to undermine our true identity. If we do not hold fast to our new identity, as Paul said, we become trapped once more in the failings of the fallen nature - the flesh. Let us assert that we are sons and we are free!

One final thought. Our study today has presented a strong visual of our new creation identity by birth. It can be confusing to read certain passages in the new testament that refer to us being "adopted". We do not enter the new creation by adoption in the way the term is typically used today, where a person is welcomed into a family but does not carry the genetic identity ("bloodline") of the parents. Rather, in the new creation we enter by birth. We are truly family members by birth and we carry the nature of our parents - God the Father and the Mother-covenant of freedom! This is crucial to understanding our true inner identity. We have the spiritual equivalent of God-DNA!

[Note: "adoption" is used in the new testament as a reference to the mature sonship status that we have as joint heirs with Jesus. Adoption in Jewish culture refers to a mature son being given higher status and authority in his father's family, as compared to his siblings. Jesus received this adoption as a man at His baptism, and because our sonship status is "in Him", we too carry that same adopted status.]

We do not enter the new creation by adoption. We enter by birth. It is from this vital reality that we gain our new identity and our new nature as sons and heirs!