REVISITING THE BELIEVER'S POSITIONAL RICHES IN CHRIST

Part IX: Applying The Truth That Believers Are Placed As Adult Sons In God's Family

 

I.                 Introduction

A.    When one first trusts in Christ, he enters a fellowship of those who are spiritually more mature than he is.

B.     Coming to realize this fact can cause a new Christian to wonder if he is less significant to God and is thus less accountable to live and function productively for God than are more mature believers.

C.     One of the 33 positional truths that every Christian possesses the instant he trusts in Christ is the fact that he is immediately forwarded into ADULT sonship in God's family. (Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. III, "Soteriology," p. 242-243)  Applying this truth in life gives the believer full spiritual freedom as well as a sense of great accountability to live for the Lord and to serve Him even as a new Christian (as follows):

II.              Applying The Truth That Believers Are Placed As Adult Sons In God's Family.

A.    Galatians 4:5-6 claims that we believers have "received the adoption as sons."

B.     Unlike the regular definition of "adoption," the placing of a child into a family in which he was not born, "adoption" in Galatians 4:5-6 (huiothesian in the Greek text, cf. U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 656) pictures the placing of an immature child into adult status by way of a bar mitzvah in accord with Paul's Hebrew culture:

1.      Paul contrasted the post-bar mitzvah Galatians 4:5 huiothesian status of "adoption" with the pre-bar mitzvah status of an immature child who was kept under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the child's father that the child might attain adult status in his bar mitzvah as an adult son, Galatians 4:1-3.

2.      However, when one trusts in Christ for salvation, he receives the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9b), indicating he is then positionally forwarded by God into adult status in a spiritual bar mitzvah complete with all of its privileges and responsibilities, Galatians 4:4-6.

C.     Various New Testament passages reveal these privileges and responsibilities of spiritually adult sons:

1.      The instant one trusts in Christ, he is made an "adult" son of God with the following privileges:

                             a.         He is instantly positioned as an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, individually possessing all that Jesus Christ Himself individually possesses, Galatians 4:6-7 with Romans 8:17.

                            b.         He is instantly positioned to be free from the jurisdiction of the Mosaic Law to serve in the fullness of the Holy Spirit's power, Galatians 4:3-6; Romans 8:3-4.

                             c.         He is instantly positioned to be destined to be physically glorified and taken to heaven to dwell in God's heavenly presence, Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 8:23.

2.      Accordingly, this placement of even the newest believer as an "adult" son of God with these privileges means the new believer carries the following responsibilities and accountabilities before God:

                             a.         Having been forwarded into "adult" sonship with God, even a new believer possesses the Holy Spirit, so God expects him to live by the Spirit's power and thus not sin, Romans 8:3-4; Galatians 5:16-23 with 1 John 2:1.  [1 Corinthians 10:13 reveals that God will not allow a believer to face a temptation that is greater than he at his personal level of spiritual maturity cannot handle by God's provision, so even a brand new believer is accountable to God to avoid committing sins from the point of salvation onward!]

                            b.         Having been forwarded into "adulthood" sonship with God, even a new believer is expected of God to pray for results in his Christian walk as Jesus did in His earthly life, John 14:12-14.

                             c.         Having been forwarded into "adulthood" sonship with God, even a new believer is expected of God to use his spiritual gift given him at salvation for supernatural service and responsibly serve God like any mature believer should do, Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:11-13; 1 Peter 4:10-11.

 

Lesson: The instant anyone trusts in Christ for salvation and is justified by God, he is positionally forwarded by God in His spiritual family into an "adult" sonship status with all the rights, enabling powers and privileges pertaining to every other more experientially mature believer.  God thus expects even brand new believers to function spiritually to the fullest with their rights, powers and responsibilities as "adult" sons!

 

Application: (1) May we believers never feel inadequate to please God simply because we may be new to the faith, for God expects EVERY believer to make USE of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God and spiritual gifting God has given him to live for and to serve the Lord, and God furthermore insures that we face no temptation to sin that we with our maturity level together with His supernatural enabling might not be able to overcome!  (2) Accordingly, may ALL of us believers in Christ OCCUPY ourselves with living for and serving the Lord, knowing God EXPECTS NO LESS REGARDLESS of our experiential spiritual maturity level!