I. God sent forth His Son

A. The relationship between God as Father and Jesus as a son preceded our relationship with them.

B. The meaning of all creation stems from the preexistent relationship between the Father and the Son.

C. John 17:22-24 “And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me; for YOU LOVED ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

D. An essential part of understanding the person of God is to see Him as being in relationship with someone else. God is revealed to be a father, and His primary relationship is with His Son, Jesus.

E. The very terms “Father” and “Son” are relational. These terms cannot stand alone in themselves. To be a father, you have to be the father of someone. To be a Son, you have to be the Son of someone. Father implies relationship.

F. Everything else in life is an extension of that relationship (job, home, cars, etc.)

II. We have received the adoption as sons

A. We have entered into a relationship with God as our Father

B. We are now, by virtue of our new relationship, SONS and DAUGHTERS of our Father God

III. God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into our hearts

A. Because you are sons

B. Crying out, “Abba,” a title of personal intimacy ( “Daddy”)

C. Crying out, “Father” which is a title of relationship

D. “Lord, give me the heart of a son!”

IV. You are no longer a slave, but a son

A. We are used to relating to God as a slave (minister, leader, church worker, etc.)

B. God wants us to relate to Him as a Son.

C. All we do is to be done out of the heart of a Son rather than out of the heart of a servant

V. You are an heir of God through Christ

A. Moses served in God’s house as a servant

B. Jesus served in His Father’s house as a Son

C. We are to reflect the heart of a son in the house

1. We belong in the house because we are sons

2. We serve in the house because we are sons

D. We are heirs in the house because we are sons

VI. “Lord, give me the heart of a son!”

A. We cannot impart the heart of the Father until we have first received the heart of a son.

B. Once we know and relate to Him as our Father, then we can accurately communicate the heart of the Father to the children of the house.

C. “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” (1 John 2:13)