ICS Daily Devotions
Once a Son, Always a Son
Genesis 12:2-3 (NKJV) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Contrary to popular thinking, Christianity is not a Western religion, because the God we worship is not an idol or teacher of philosophy, but the creator of the world. Because He wanted every one of us to be His children, He humbled Himself and took on the form of a man to restore the relationship with all mankind. It is through this covenant that all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Jesus came to solve the sin issue that separated us from Him by paying the price so that we can be God’s children and part of His family.
Galatians 3:13-14 (NKJV) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
God knew that we are sinners and weak in our flesh, and have no ability to fulfil the requirements of the law. Therefore, He established the unconditional covenant with Abraham so that nothing could hinder the Messiah from coming to save and redeem mankind. Jesus took upon all our sins—past, present and future—on the cross, dealing with the sin issue that separated us from God. God judged the sin issue on Jesus so that all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, would become His children and receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts by faith and through faith.
Galatians 4:5-7 (NKJV) To redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
The Holy Spirit can reside in our hearts since we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the longing in our hearts is finally filled with the presence of God. Now that we are sons and daughters, the Spirit of God helps us to cry out “Abba, Father”! God gave us the right to become His children.
While only Jesus is the ‘natural’ Son of God, all of us are adopted into the family. We have a common Heavenly Father and are joint heirs with Jesus. All that Jesus was to inherit is ours. Nothing can stop us from obtaining our inheritance, and nothing is going to dislodged us from the family of God. We are His children, we are seen in Christ, and secure in Him.
Sermon Series: Sonship
