From Slave to Heir

ok WOW this is long...

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.


This is another truth that I don’t begin to deserve. I am called a child of God. God looks at me and says “My daughter…” What an honor! A good relationship between a father and his child is unparalleled. How much more so would it be with our heavenly Father! The following quote enlightens on being called a son and daughter of God.

“Who are the sons and daughters of God? They are all those who are led by the Spirit of God, all those who “walk” according to the Spirit. The call is always the same. We are to abide in Christ, as the branches abide in the vine. There is to be fruit in the Christian life. If there is no fruit, if there is no evidence that we are abiding in the vine, then perhaps there is no reality to our profession of faith. It is fine to say, with the apostle John, that to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). That’s a great truth. On the day when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, wonder of wonders, we became the children of God. But if we truly became the children of god, we were at that moment indwelt by the Holy Spirit; and if we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, surely there will be some evidence of this in our lives. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). It is a call for a conscious effort on our part: we should be “led by the Spirit” (Rom 8:14); we should not “quench” the Spirit. Paul has shown us the wonder of the Spirit’s work in helping us keep the law; and yet he is also showing clearly that there must be a conscious involvement on our part: Walk after the Spirit, be led by the Spirit. – Francis Schaeffer

Romans 8:15 So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children adopted into his family calling him “Father, dear Father”

We are programmed to be slaves to sin, whether we know it or not. We are born into the sinful nature. Yes, there is innocence but even children steal and lie (even though they don’t know that what they are doing is wrong). With Christ our slavery bonds are no more and we are free, but we are so used to acting like slaves. Imagine being a slave of a prominent, loving master; a master known far and wide for how much he gives his slaves and how well he takes care of them. This master, YOUR master, comes to you saying “I love you so much that I want to adopt you into my family, sharing the same inheritance as my children” You would be dumbstruck. This man wants you to be in his family. You are not fit to even be in his house, but he wants to be your father. Though you are no longer a slave but now an heir, the life you led as a slave does not go away easily. Here we are told not to be like the slaves we once were, but like the children of God that we ARE .

“God is no longer to us a distant God. He is not merely a God in whom we believe intellectually, theologically, theoretically, and doctrinally only. All this is possible to one who is not a child of God at all. Our worship and praying is spontaneous; it is the spontaneity of the child who sees the Father, and not only spontaneity, but confidence: -- Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Romans 8:16 For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.

What a comfort that is! Deep in our hearts, past all the sin and baggage, there is God reminding us that we are His. What’s broken, He shall fix. What hurts, He shall heal. What seems irreparable, He shall repair. Whatever it is about ourselves and our life that we just can’t seem to get through, we need to give it to God. He knows our heart because He lives there. We need to give him the reins and be led by the Spirit.

We are children of God! Against the forces of Satan, against sin and earthly pleasures, that is our battle cry! Get behind me Satan, for I am a child of God!!!