Identity in Christ pt 3

No one likes to be called a child, when they are an adult.

We associate kids with helplessness. Limits. They can’t drive. Or own a house. Or have a job.

But kids can have the best outlook on life if the situation is right- dependency and trust. Complete sense of security. And boldness.

As adults, we often long for that. It would be so nice sometime to throw up our hands and say, someone else has to deal with this!

Enter Jesus.

The same Jesus who calls you forgiven and new creation, has another name for you- child.

Specifically, His child.

When we follow Jesus, we are adopted into the family. But our position is not at the head of the table. It is at the kids table. Because that is who we are- kids who have a good Father.

Remember- that’s what some of you were- 1 Corinthians 6:11. All of us were people with no family…who got invited into the King’s house, to His table, as Hid kid.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

What we once were no longer has any claim on us. We are not obliged to obey the desires of our old earthly nature. In fact, if we do live under the control of our lower nature, we are “on the road to death

Turn with me to Romans 8:12-17.

So verses 12-13 start out with where we started out. In debt. In over our heads. Following a way that cost us more than it gave us.

I think the picture of debtors is as powerful today as it was then. In the NT times, debtors when to prison until they could pay off their debts. Today, people live in psychic prisons to plastic debts that lead to phone calls, emails, letters, and a constant sense of impending doom.

Being in debt is hell.

Not seeing a way out of debt is the 9th level of hell.

That’s where we were. In a hell of our own making.

Imprisoned by our own sins which led to debts we could not pay.

And when we are saved, the arrival of the Holy Spirit opens the cell door and invites us to come and live in freedom, to be made new, and to have our sentence wiped out be His mercy.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

The need to put to death the evil practices of the body is ongoing. Note as well that the way to crucify the old self is to obey the promptings of the Spirit. When we walk in fellowship with the indwelling Spirit, the desires of the lower nature are not met. For all practical purposes they are put to death. It is only when we break fellowship with the Spirit that our sinful nature is able successfully to reassert its fraudulent claim on our lives. The key to freedom from what we were is constant reliance on the active presence of the Spirit

Enter Jesus. Look at verses 14-15.

Being saved by Jesus gives us a new title- “son”- “child” that’s a place of honor in the family. A place of belonging.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

Who is a child of God? While doctrinal correctness is important, no amount of theological acuity can substitute for the guiding presence of the Spirit. Not only does the Spirit guide the believer, but he initiates the action as well. While God is the Father of all in the sense of creation, and specifically the Father of Israel in a corporate sense (

Think about your own kids. What do you want for them? The very best right?

Well that is how God feels about you.

Now consider this, what if you see your child headed to the brink of destruction? (Mia on the glass table)

Now look closely at verse 15-

We are not meant to be afraid of our Father- in awe, respect, reverence- yes

Afraid like He is going to end us- no. That is the fear of slavery. Of someone who is not a kid. We fear the power, but not the abuse.

And we see this demonstrated in how Paul says we refer to God- Abba. Daddy.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

On the contrary, the spirit they received was the consciousness that they had become adopted sons of God. Accordingly, they cried out “Abba, Father.”158 The metaphor of adoption comes primarily, but not exclusively, from the Greco-Roman world. The Greek word for “adoption” (huiothesia) is not found in the LXX, and the five occurrences in the New Testament are all in Paul’s writings. Although adoption as a legal act was not practiced in Judaism, some Old Testament customs support the view that Paul had that background in mind as well.159 In adoption all previous relationships are severed. The new father exercises authority over the new son, and the new son enters into the privileges and responsibilities of the natural son. “Abba,” the Aramaic word for “father,” was used primarily within the family circle and in prayer (cf.

I called one man, ever, daddy. he earned that title.

Daddy implies gentleness. A controlled strength. Safety. Someone who is there in the worst.

That’s Jesus.

So what happens to kids of God? Look at verses 16-17.

First, they are secure. We know who we are. That means we know we can go to Dad anytime. We are not afraid to bring Him our mess. We do not hide. And we submit to His will. We are not in rebellion. We follow dad’s lead.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

What our own spirit assures us to be true is strengthened by the powerful inward testimony of God’s Spirit. In much the same way that the hymn writer knew that Jesus lives (“He lives within my heart”), we rest assured that we are actually members of God’s family because the same Spirit witnesses to our spirit that it is so

Second, we have an inheritance. Security. We know where we are going and how we are going to be provided for. Which makes us bold.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

We are co-heirs with Christ. “All that Christ claims as his will belong to all of us as well!” (Phillips). How rich in significance is the fact that we are full members of an eternal family in which God is our Father and Jesus Christ is our elder brother (cf.

Third, as a result, we can endure. We stand thru hardship because our Father has as well. We are no alone in the midst of difficulty. We have a place of refuge AND a destination.

Forgiven, new creation, child.

This is who you are. Now how can that boldness be used for the Kingdom?