Romans 8:12-17 (NLT)
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Galatians 4:1-7
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Reflection:
We’re all familiar with this storyline: a damsel in distress rescued by the knight in shining armor. Whether she’s freed from a curse, an evil stepmother, or a wicked queen, the hero comes to the rescue and the rescued receives more than they ever imagined possible. For us, we’ve been rescued from a life of bondage, freed from a life that forces us to obey our sinful nature. Not only that, God calls us his very own! We are heirs of God’s glory and given every right and privilege of being in his family. Paul isn’t just telling a nice story with a ‘happy ever after’ fairy tale ending, the power and intimacy we have in Christ is our present reality. Not only that, he’s given us proof. The evidence that this is true comes through his Spirit who lives in us. His Spirit who lives in our hearts and cries out to him, “Abba, Father” gives us the power to say no to what the sinful nature desires and to say yes to Jesus.
Responding to the Transmission:
What an incredible intimacy and power we have in Christ! Let’s thank God for this truth and pray for an increase of His Spirit in our lives, homes, campuses, and missional groups. Pray that we would fully realize and live in the intimacy and power we’ve been given.
