Child Of God: Freedom

No Longer Slaves

Romans 8:14–17 NIV

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:14–17 NIV

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Last week We looked at how Children of God are lead by the Spirit. That being lead is to willingly search and obey the Holy Spirit. Whether that means to pray with someone, step outside the comfort zone, invest into people when you feel like they don’t want anything to do with you. Being lead by the Spirit is how we contribute to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Today we will be understanding that a child of God is no longer a slave.

Paul writes to the church of Corinth, Rome, and to Timothy about the spirit we have received through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:15 NIV

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

1 Corinthians 2:12 NIV

12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Cor 2:12

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

As children of God, we are infused with various Characteristics of the Holy Spirit. Paul quickly points out that we are no longer slaves to fear in romans, and again in 2 Timothy. To the Corinthians, Paul explains how the opposite spirit of the world lives within those adopted into God’s family and therefore are free to understand the blessings God has for us.

spirit of the World.

What does it mean the Spirit of the World?

1 Corinthians 1:20–21 NIV

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 1:27–28 NIV

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,

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1 cor 1:27-28

Paul lines up his reasoning in the chapter prior. The spirit that is within the world is human reasoning and human wisdom.

Those within the world are blind to the goodness of God. They constantly try to juncture up their own understanding to justify the way they live. The more human wisdom and this push for equality becomes the pursuit of the masses, the more and more humanity will leave behind the knowledge of God. The spirit of the world is trending further and further from the truth yet in the midst of it there are those who are children of God and they have a inner desire caused by the Holy Spirit that Cries Abba Father so that we yearn for the Father’s ways and his wisdom.

When our spirit cries abba father it mimics the feelings of Jesus. He would call on His father in time of guidance and deliverance to ensure that Jesus stayed focus on the reason for His mission on earth.

As children of God, to stay away from the spirit of the world, we need to constantly take time to be re-aligned to the father’s purpose for our lives. It keeps us rooted, because it is simple to be lead astray by the ways of the world. Paul calls the Devil the god of the world and satan is the one who fuels these thought patterns and we all know he comes to steal truth, kill truth, and destroy the understanding of truth.

The sneaky way the devil goes about doing this is by trying to make the Bible and God look like the bad person. The world tries to make the children of God look like bigoted haters and exclusive to the world. But in reality, the world is lost without a compass or a GPS and don’t even know which way is up. Without a certain point as an origin, the wisdom of the world argues in a circle.

As a child of God we are able to properly reason through prayer and ask God what is it that He wants of us. As the body, the church, going forward, we realize that we are to welcome everyone, love everyone and accept everyone, but we live in a manner that stands firm on the wisdom of God that is written in the bible.

Spirit of Fear.

Slavery must be horrible. To be bound for life or until you are useless is the saddest aspect of existence. Being a slave to sin causes fear in many ways. Fear of the future, fear of eternity, fear of not being good enough or measure up to a certain level. Slavery and fear goes hand in hand.

As Christians, We cannot be children of freedom and of slavery. We Cannot be children of Faith and of fear. We cannot Be children of God and Children of the world. As we learned from last week, the Roman Jewish law of Adoption stated that you cannot have any association with the former family once you have been adopted. We need to be devoted to one family. God releases us from the slavery of Sin and the fear of tomorrow so that we may walk in the promises of the family of God which is freedom and security. We are filled with the spirit of love and self- discipline as Paul wrote to Timothy.

This is the proper way to live.

1 John 4:18 NIV

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

The truth behind this passage sets you free. Don’t fear about tomorrow, about finances, about relationships, about your children or spouse, Live in the abundance that is found in being a child of God so that others will see the difference in our lives in comparison to the life lived in the spirit of the world.

Abba Father: A call to Holiness

We get the context for this term from the Lord’s prayer in . When Jesus tells us to pray “Our Father” who is in heaven, Holy is your name. We are to be holy for our Father is holy.

When our spirit cries abba father it mimics the feelings of Jesus. He would call on His father in time of guidance and deliverance to ensure that Jesus stayed focus on the reason for His mission on earth.

As Paul Describes that our spirits confirm by the Holy Spirit that God is our Abba Father, Paul is saying that the Spirit pulls a child of God into holiness. Holiness is a life set apart for the purpose of God. As Jesus calls us to pray to Abba Father, it is a reminder that we are to be Holy for our Father is Holy; to be fully sanctioned for the Family of God.

That means not to tear down a brother, not to tear down anyone, not to cause strife or to cause quarrels. We are to live peacefully in the family of God. Being Holy means that we constantly bring our lives int subjection to God’s will and plans for our life. Its not a matter of personal perspective, but living according to the call God has for us.

Every Saturday, Sunday, Monday I question if I should be here; If I am the right person for Hawke’s Bay. But its not if I’m right or my personal perspective, its about God having me here for such a time as this and putting my trust in Him and the family of God to be honest and true.

Conclusion

Proverbs 3:5 NIV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

Stand true in the ways of God, even when you may question if God’s ways are right in 2018, always stand strong on his word.

2. Fear and Faith should not live in the same vessel. God doesn’t release us from slavery of sin and keep the fear of life there too, He takes it all.

3. Be Holy because God our father is Holy. As the Holy Spirit gives us the assurance that God is our father, we are to live in the way that Jesus taught us to pray.

Matthew 6:9 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

For the Father is Holy and we too are to be like the Father if we are apart of His family.