Signs of Being A Son of God
The last time I spoke we talked about being sons of God: We looked at the passage in Romans 8:14-23:
We talked about how the Holy Spirit asked me a question, “Why does it say “sons” in some verses (vs. 14, 15, 19, and 23) and “children” in other verses (vs.16, 17, 21)?” Then the Holy Spirit said to me “The Father has many children, but not many sons.”
We looked at the Greek words and discovered that there are two different words used in these verses:
5207 huios (hwee·os) –sons (vs. 14, 15, 19, 23)
5043 teknon (tek·non) –children (vs. 16, 17, 21)
The word that is used for children is “teknon” and shows birth or belonging to the family. But the word that is used for sons is “huios” which stresses the dignity and character of the relationship or shows maturity.
We said that the first thing we must realize as children of God is that we are adopted. When a person is born again, he is not born into a position of slavery. Rather, he receives the spirit of adoption as sons (vs. 15); that is, he is placed in God’s family as a mature son/daughter. The word adoption means “son-placing”—that is, the act of placing all believers as mature, adult sons with all the privileges and responsibilities that go with sonship. Yet, although we may be born into the family (as children of God), we may not show the evidence of our likeness to the Father by our conduct or character (as a son) due to our lack of maturity. So we are looking at what it means to be a son/daughter of God.
Now think with me for a moment about some differences between children and sons:
Children “teknon” Sons “huios”
Birth-belong to the family Relationship
Father—formal title Dad/Daddy—intimate title “My Dad’s Better than your Dad”—“not My Father is Better than your Father”
Heirs Intimacy of the Covenant
Inheritance on Father’s death (later) Inheritance in Life (now)
Dependence Independence (Self-disciplined)
Impatience Patience
Immaturity Maturity
Before we look at the signs, I want to make a statement to help everyone feel more at ease. Please don’t feel condemned if as we go through these areas, you examine yourself and find yourself lacking in some of them. Just as with natural children there is a process of growth that we have to go through to become what we are—sons/daughters of Almighty God. That process helps us to develop the attitude of sons/daughters.
v W.E. Vine. “In Rom. 8:15, believers are said to have received “the Spirit of adoption,” that is, the Holy Spirit who, . . . produces in them the realization of sonship and the attitude belonging to sons”
So this process begins with our spiritual birth as children (justification) and ends with our going home to heaven (glorification). In between that time we are changing and growing day by day in ways that sometimes we can’t see (sanctification). But the Father knows exactly what He is doing to help us to grow into maturity as His sons/daughters. I love this verse:
Ø Philippians 1:6 (NIV) 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Sonship = Maturity. So what are some of the characteristics we can use to tell if we are showing the signs of sonship (i.e. maturity)? Here are a few:
1. Trust—No Fear
Many of you may be thinking, “Ouch, why did I have to start with this one?” I think this is one of the most basic characteristics, yet sometimes the hardest to fully develop. We see this basic characteristic in a little child in the way they trust their parents for everything—food, comfort, etc. But as a child grows up this is an area that the enemy will try to destroy quickly. He will try to convince them that they cannot trust their parents, teachers, pastor, church, in fact anyone other than themselves. This is not new; in fact it is the oldest lie in the book:
Ø Gen 3:1-6
The whole issue in the temptation was one of trust. The enemy came to Eve with words that questioned whether God was withholding something good from them. If he could show Eve that God was withholding something good from her, then God could not be trusted. God’s words would be shown to be false, and therefore not trustworthy.
Today, the same game is played by the enemy in our minds—can we trust God’s Word to be true? Listen to his lies to us: If God’s Word says that we are sons of God—which it does—can that really be true? How can I be a son of God? I’m not worthy to be called a son of God—I’m just a worm. Or if He can’t get us to believe those lies so that we agree with the Word of God that we are sons/daughters, then he’ll tell us that we can’t be one because we don’t always act like a “mature” son/daughter. Especially, when we get angry or act like a child—maybe throwing a temper tantrum because God is not answering our prayers the way we think He should. He says; see you can’t be a mature son of God if you act that way. Surely if you think you are a son/daughter of God, that’s something for the future when we get to heaven—it can’t be true for us now. LIES! LIES! LIES!
Now notice the results of Adam & Eve’s sin (lack of trust) brought fear (vs. 10). Oh, how many of us have fallen into the same trap of not believing God’s Word is trustworthy?! Me included. Let’s covenant together tonight to stop believing the lies of the enemy—we ARE sons/daughters of God and we will trust Him no matter what! AMEN!?
As we grow in our walk with God, our trust in Him becomes deeper because we have found Him and His Word to be trustworthy! I know this is not always easy, and I know that we all slip from time to time (me included), but this is the good work that God is working in us through the victories that we win over the trials and struggles of our life. Has anyone here ever found God or His Word to be trustworthy? Then that is enough of a witness to us that if He did it for anyone of us, He’ll do it for me or you. How do I know that? Because God no respecter of persons (Rom 2:11)! God does not have favorite children or favorite sons/daughters. He does not love Pastor Percy or any minister more than He does any of His children. He does not love the “mature” Christian more than He does the immature Christian.
v (Optional) Let me share one story about how God has met my needs in an incredible way as an encouragement to you: In 1982, I went to ORU, my first wife and I had 2 small boys. She got a job working at a leather store at the local mall. The mall was too far away to walk, so she drove the car and I walked 3.5 miles home from school every day—rain or shine. Her hours were constantly varying and her pay was not enough to help us make ends meet. I tried getting a job, but it was hard to do—no car, no steady hours, and 2 small boys to take care of. After a few months we were barely making rent. It got real tough, but I knew that God had told me to go to school at ORU.
One Sunday morning I was watching Oral Roberts on TV and felt led to plant a seed of faith—in fact the last money we had. I sent it in with a note telling him how I had come to ORU and what our situation was like. About a week later I was at school when someone knocked on my classroom door asking for me. The lady was from the OREA (Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc) across the street. She told me to come over after school because they had something for me. So after school I walked across the street and walked into the OREA building. It was obvious that I was a student, with by backpack and tie. When I told the lady at the desk who I was they called someone to come get me. It was really odd, because others were standing around trying to get in to see Oral Roberts and they were not being allowed to get any further than the receptionist. They ushered me into the back and took me into a warehouse where they showed me a pallet stacked 6 - 8 feet high full of boxes. They told me that the people at OREA had received my note and taken up a collection for my family—that was all the boxes. Then they gave me a tour of the place and handed me a thick envelope full of money. Then they loaded all the boxes into a van and took me home, where they unloaded them into my kitchen. In those boxes we found our favorite foods—cookies, candy bars, etc. When we opened them up, we sat on the kitchen floor crying because of the goodness of God. Also they called over to the university and within a day I had a job working on campus, around my classes. I continued to work on campus until I graduated, and God took very good care of us for those 4 years. Later, I actually met Oral Roberts and he remembered my letter! PTL.
Ø Psalms 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants (seed) begging bread.
Now, as we grow in the Lord, we not only learn to trust God with the “little” things such as food, clothing, and shelter; but with the big things like finances, careers, and health. We learn to trust our Heavenly Father without fear and anxiety because we know He cares for us and has our best interest in mind.
Fear and anxiety are an indication of either doubting that we are children of God—i.e. whether we belong to His family—or it is a distrusting of God’s power, His watchful care for us, or His goodness toward His sons/daughters. How obvious it is that this is contrary to God’s Word! Therefore we must let go of every worry and allow the Lord to care for everything.
Ø 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Ø Psalm 37:5 (NLT) Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.
I know this is easier to say than to do at times, but it is a big sign of sonship/maturity when we can surrender all our cares and concerns into the hands of our Father and know that He is in control. We may forget it at times, but we know in our hearts the truth of the Word:
Ø 2 Tim 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.
Rom 8:14 says literally the Spirit of God leads His sons. Thus it is the Holy Spirit who goes before us and we follow after Him. As we follow Him, we are learning to trust God—no matter where He takes us. Just like when the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness—not to harm Him, but to cleanse Him.
2. Bearing the image.
How often do we say a child looks just like their parents? As children we show the image of our parents in our eyes, hair color, complexion, etc. In fact, as we get older and look at pictures of our family, it is often said that we are the “spitting image” of our parents.
But as sons/daughters, we show that we are the image of our parents in more than our looks. We show it in our speech, mannerisms, and actions. We imitate what we have been taught and we often desire to grow up to be just like our parents. Maybe we’ll learn the same job as our father did, or go to the same school he did, or even talk like he did.
Turn with me to Gen 1:26:
Ø Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Image- 6754 צֶלֶם, צֶלֶם [tselem /tseh·lem/] n m. From an unused root meaning to shade; TWOT 1923a; GK 7512 and 7513; 17 occurrences; AV translates as “image” 16 times, and “vain shew” once. 1 image. 1a images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods). 1b image, likeness (of resemblance). 1c mere, empty, image, semblance (fig.). Shadow—not an exact duplicate
Likeness- 1823 דְּמוּת [dâmuwth /dem·ooth/] n f. From 1819; TWOT 437a; GK 1952; 25 occurrences; AV translates as “likeness” 19 times, “similitude” twice, “like” twice, “manner” once, and “fashion” once. 1 likeness, similitude adv. 2 in the likeness of, like as. Shape, manner, model
When God created man, He created him as a shadow and in the same shape as God. In other words, man bore the very image of God as much as was possible in the human body he was given.
“. . . man was placed on earth as God’s representative, and . . . He resembles God in certain ways. Just as God is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), so man is a tripartite being (spirit, soul, and body). Like God, man has intellect, a moral nature, the power to communicate with others, and an emotional nature that transcends instinct. There is no thought of physical likeness here.[i]
Example: My hand on screen shows a ring as a shadow so you can tell it is a ring, but you can’t tell exactly what kind of ring it is (wedding, college) or what color of jewel (or if there are any jewels). You see the shadow and shape of a ring, but not an exact duplication of it.
God created man to be as much like Him, so that when the enemy saw him, he saw the shadow and shape of God walking around on this earth exercising authority. The enemy knew that man was in charge, but when he saw man, he saw God’s shadow and shape. Is it no wonder that he wanted to destroy the image of God—man?
One thing I believe very strongly is that the work Christ did on the cross was more powerful that the work the enemy did in the garden! The whole purpose of redemption is to restore what was lost in the fall of man. If not, then the enemy was more powerful than God when he caused man to fall! NOT!! When a man get born again, his spirit becomes a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). His spirit goes from being dead to alive! He then has the responsibility to renew his soul with the word of God so that his mind, will, and emotions agree with God’s Word. Of course the last thing that will be restored is our bodies, but even in that there is a promise that one day they will be restored (Rom 8:23; 1 Cor 15:50-57) and this takes away the power of death over us.
So, when the Lord recreates His children according to His image and likeness, He is restoring the pattern that was lost in Eden. He is creating us in His shadow and shape, so that we are the image and likeness of God walking around the earth. In other words, we resemble our Father!
Ø Eph 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Ø Col 3:8-10 (NASB) 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—
Ø (NCV) 10 You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God.
Ø 2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
He makes us as partakers (sharers) of His divine nature—we share the same nature that God has as His sons/daughters:
Ø 2 Pet.1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers (sharers) of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Ø And we are told to “be imitators of God, as dear children” (Eph. 5:1).
As a son/daughter we can know that though we were once children of darkness, we are now children of light. We can have the eyes of our understanding enlightened (Eph 1:18) by the Holy Spirit. Our hearts can be united with the will of God and it is our delight and desire only to do His will in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Our speech can be that of our Father—the Words recorded in His Holy Word—that we speak just as His Son, Jesus would. We are being conformed to the image of Christ as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us (Rom 8:29) so that others (including the enemy) will see Him, not us.
Does the enemy see God’s shadow and shape walking in His authority when I walk into a place? If so, then he hates it and will try to destroy it. But thank God we have the power of God dwelling in us through Christ, so he cannot destroy it and we can be victorious as the sons/daughters of God. So let’s bear the image of our Father well everywhere we go!
3. Honor—Worship
As we grow up we learn to respect and honor our father and mother. We are also taught respect for all authority (e.g. teachers, policemen, etc), because this leads to a peaceful society. Our earthly parents are not perfect, but we still respect them because of who they are. When we loose respect for our parents we are headed down a slippery slope that leads to destruction.
A recent TV program was called Brat Camp. They took 9 teenagers who were in serious trouble and through a series of exercises and living in the desert in the winter taught them to have self-confidence and respect for others. Most of them had lost their respect for their parents and were into drugs and a very destructive lifestyle. Now we may not agree with everything they did in the show, but we can support the fact that they taught these kids to cherish and honor their parents.
As sons/daughters of God we should have a strong desire to honor and worship our Heavenly Father with a humble heart. We should continually meditate and acknowledge the awesomeness and the great glory of our Heavenly Father. We should show that respect for Him to others through our lifestyle as well as our words.
Ø Malachi 1:6 (NIV) “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty.”
4. Obedience—Submission to Discipline
One of the toughest lessons we learn as children is to be obedient. Because of our fallen natures we are born with the seeds of rebellion and as soon as we are old enough to walk, we begin to express our disobedience. Of course, our loving parents train us to be obedient and teach us that there are consequences for disobedience. We learn that when we disobey we are subject to discipline.
Now as a parent, I never enjoyed administering discipline (i.e. the paddle), but I did use it to teach my children right from wrong. We lovingly called our paddle, the “Pow-Pow” and I can promise you that my children knew that when Dad got out the Pow-Pow it was going to hurt. As our children become more mature, the discipline changed to time out, taking away privileges, etc. However, we must never lose sight of the purpose for the discipline—to teach right from wrong.
Obeying God as our Father is just as important to our spiritual growth as obedience to our parents was to our physical growth.
Ø 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NIV) 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” a
We must show our humility, meekness, moderation, love, fear, and obedience toward God, as well as our patient submission to His disciplining hand—so that men, seeing our light, may glorify our God.
Ø Phil. 2:15 “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world”
We must submit ourselves as a child to the chastisement of the Lord as being the chastisement of our Father. The Lord deals with us as His children when we misbehave and do not keep His commandments. He will punish us with the rod of afflictions. If we rise up against this punishment, murmur and complain, or say “I am not a child of God, God is not my Father, because God hurts me; if He were my Father, He would have compassion on me; He would deliver me from this punishment”— then we are saying that we know best and we are not being submissive to His discipline. Instead it is best that we be quiet, and humbly submit and say, I will “Humble myself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt me in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6).
Ø Hebrews 12:5-10 (NIV) 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” a 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”
5. Love the family of God
Brothers and sisters may fight and speak badly about each other, but no one outside the family dare do so. Those are fighting words! We will stick up for a family member, even when they done wrong or are the black sheep of the family.
How much more should we as sons/daughters support those who are in the body of Christ? Not just our church, but the whole family of God. I think this is one of the saddest things I see in the church (universal), that we do not love and support one another (e.g. Baptists fight against Methodists, etc.). Yet we are all part of the same family. We should live as sons/daughters of God in mutual love and peace, so that men may see that the Spirit dwelling in us differs from the one dwelling in them.
Ø John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
As God loves us with an infinite, eternal, and absolute love, His love grows in us as His sons/daughters.
Ø 1 John 4:19 “We love Him, because He first loved us”
Our love of God is a real and dependable mark of son ship.
Ø 1 Cor. 8:3 “But if any man love God, the same is known of Him”
Paul was strongly motivated by the love of God.
Ø 2 Cor. 5:14 “For the love of Christ constraineth us”
Ø Gal. 5:6 Yes, anyone who has faith will manifest this love. “...faith which worketh by love”
There is one more truth in the passage that we started with in Romans 8:17. That is that we have an inheritance with Christ as children of God. Notice that our inheritance is tied to the fact that we belong to the family, not to the level of our maturity.
As children of God we are the benefactors of all the covenant blessings that God has for His children. Of course, the primary blessing is that of our salvation—which is what brings us into the family of God. Paul says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Our inheritance consists of sound wisdom (Prov. 2:7), riches and righteousness (Prov. 8:18), and a kingdom which the Lord Jesus has appointed unto us (Luke 22:29). It is “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4), a glorious inheritance which is “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). It is an eternal inheritance; “that...they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:15). It is beyond our understanding and beyond words what exactly our inheritance is, but we know that it is all good!
So as let us continually strive to grow into maturity as sons and daughters under the loving guidance and care of our Heavenly Father.
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Ps 109:10
n n: noun
m m: masculine
TWOT Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
n n: noun
f f: feminine
TWOT Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
[i]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (electronic ed.) (Ge 1:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Rom 13:14
Rom 6:4; 7:6; 12:2; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:10
Lit man
Lit according to God
Eph 2:10
[ii]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Eph 4:24). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
Or Stop lying
Eph 4:25
Eph 4:22
Eph 4:24
Lit renovated
Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 4:16; Eph 4:23
Gen 1:26; Rom 8:29
2 Pet 2:19
Lit Through which (things)
2 Pet 3:9, 13
James 1:27
[iii]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Pe 1:4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
Eph 4:13, 24; Heb 12:10; 1 John 3:2
2 Pet 2:18, 20
a Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7
a Prov. 3:11,12