On the first night that we came together, we mentioned that sonship is a great mystery that has been hidden through the ages. It is a mystery to us because it has been hidden so far as the ages are concerned. But it is already in the heart and mind of God.
Even before the foundation of the world, God purposed in His Son this matter of sonship. It is the greatest privilege and the highest destiny to believers: that we should see and arrive at sonship.
It is something that is severely contested by the enemy. The enemy tries every way to keep us from sonship. But thank God, it is the major work of the Holy Spirit to bring us into the realization of sonship. It is indeed at the very center of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of ourselves, sonship is impossible. It is the Son who brings us, or gives us the enabling, to enter into sonship. He is the Son, the eternal Son of God. He shares with His Father glory, honor, majesty, and everything that belongs to God, because He is God. He is the beginning. He is the Word.
He is the Son of the Father’s love. And the Father, in His great love for Him, has purposed to give Him all things—especially to give Him man, to be His companion and to be His bride.
In order to bring this to pass, this eternal Son of God, the Son of the Father’s love, came into this world incarnate, to take upon Himself the fashion of a man, so that He might deliver us from the curse of the law and give us sonship.
Of course, today this Son is exalted high above. He has been given a name that is above every name, and at that name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus indeed is Lord.
It is the will of the Father to give man to His Son as His companions and helpmeet. Speaking individually, we are called to be the companions of Christ. Speaking corporately, we are called to be the bride of Christ.
We are to be many sons whom He will lead into glory. We are made to be co-heirs with Christ.
Now, yesterday morning we mentioned that when we believe in the Lord Jesus and receive Him, we are given the right to be children of God because we are born of God. We have been adopted into the family of God.
But this adoption is so much superior to the adoption that we know in this world. In this world, you adopt someone who does not belong, who is a total stranger, who is not born into that family. You adopt him from outside and make him a member of the family.
But the adoption we find in the Word of God is so much superior to that. Even though, so far as we are concerned, we are actually strangers to God—we are sinners, we are enemies of God—yet God adopts us through His grace.
He adopts us in such a way that He not only takes us in, but He actually begets us. We are born into the family of God. We are indeed the children of God.
But, as we mentioned yesterday, God’s purpose for us is not just that we may be children. His call toward us is that we may grow up, that we may grow out into manhood and womanhood. We may grow out from children into sons.
That we may share not only His life, but also His character; that we may be like His Son, not only having that life, but being conformed to the image of the beloved Son.
Thus will the only begotten Son of God become the firstborn among His many brethren, because all the other brethren have taken upon themselves the very character of the only begotten Son. And this is what God has called us into: sonship.
Now this morning, we would like to enter into what sonship really is. What does sonship really mean? How much does it involve? Is this something that is given to us, something that we realize mechanically and automatically, or is there anything that we need to know, need to cooperate with, or need to let the Holy Spirit work out in us? I think these are important questions.
First of all, what is sonship? Our brother mentioned that this word sonship, in the original Greek, means the placing of a son.
Here you have a son. Finally, you have a son. Finally, that child, that infant, has grown up and become a son. So the father will declare a day to place that son in his rightful position. And this is the meaning of sonship.
It signifies the placing of a son: the place and condition of a son given to one to whom it does not naturally belong.
Sonship means the placing of a son—the place and condition of a son given to one to whom it does not naturally belong.
Now, this definition, of course, cannot be applied to the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. So far as the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is concerned, sonship naturally belongs to Him.
He is the Son. He is always placed in that position, and He always fulfills the condition of that place. His sonship is unoriginated, eternal, and unchanging. That is the sonship of the only begotten Son of God.
Possibly, we may say in one sense that He earned His sonship. Why? Because, so far as He is the Son of God is concerned, sonship belongs to Him. It is His—always His—and never changes.
But this Son of God one day became the Son of Man. And as the Son of Man, you find how He lived upon this earth, pleasing the Father, pleasing God in all things.
After He had accomplished the work of redemption upon His cross, He returned to glory. And we mentioned before that when He returned to glory, He returned actually to a double glory.
Not only did He return to the glory that He had with His Father even before the foundation of the world, as the Son of God, but when He returned to glory, He also returned to the glory that was given to Him by the Father as the Son of Man.
So, in that sense, we may say that He earned His sonship. He proved Himself worthy to be placed in that position because He fulfilled all the conditions.
So, dear brothers and sisters, so far as we are concerned, sonship means that we are given the place and condition of a son—a place which we do not deserve, which does not naturally belong to us. But to Christ it is different. It is His; it belongs to Him. Only in the sense of His being the Son of Man can we apply this definition to Him.
But, of course, our fellowship this morning is on sonship in relation to us.
The word sonship is used exclusively by the apostle Paul. Of course, we know the Holy Spirit uses that word, but He uses it through the apostle Paul only. You do not find this word used in any other writings, but only in the writings of the apostle Paul.
This word is used five times in the New Testament. You find it in Ephesians, Galatians, and Romans.
Of the five uses of that word, one time it applies to the nation of Israel, one time it refers to something in the future, and three times it refers to the position and condition today.
This morning, we would like to take a closer look into these passages. We look to the Lord that through these passages He will shed some light on sonship and also lead us into sonship.
First of all, we would like to turn to Ephesians 1:5.
Having predestinated us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Now, we do not like to take a passage out of its context. I can never forget that sentence: “A text taken out of context is a pretext.” And that is very true.
So, when we are taking a text, we need to be careful that it has its context to explain what that text really means. Otherwise, it will be a pretext.
Now, here in this text, you find, “Having marked us out beforehand for sonship.” Sonship is something according to the good pleasure of God’s will.
This is to say that sonship is God’s will. Whether you will it or not is secondary, but primarily you find that sonship is the will of God.
Now, why does He will that will? It is because it is His good pleasure. It is something that He likes. It is something that He wants. And we have already explained that it is something that He wants to give to His beloved Son.
Even before the foundation of the world, God had already conceived this matter of sonship. He had already predestined that one day there would be a people who would be adopted into the family of God, who would be many sons after His only begotten Son.
This is something that, even before the foundation of the world, God had already conceived.
For this concept to become a reality, you find the next phrase: “Through Jesus Christ.” In other words, adoption is only possible—it is made possible—through Jesus Christ.
That is the reason why the Son had to come into this world to be a man, in order that He might bring us into sonship. He is the channel by whom we are adopted into sonship.
Then the third phrase is, “To Himself.” We are adopted through Jesus Christ to Himself—that is, the Father.
The Father wants a big family. So we are adopted into the family through the only begotten Son. Then the Father has a big family. The Father is satisfied; He is happy with it.
For this purpose to be fulfilled, what has happened? If you go back to Ephesians 1:4:
Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love.
First, you find that He chose us in His Son before the foundation of the world. We are not saved by an accident, because we are chosen by God even before the foundation of the world in Christ Jesus.
It is a mystery we do not understand, but it is a fact. And I think there is nothing that comforts our heart more than this doctrine of election.
Some people may be afraid of the doctrine of election, but I think it is the greatest comfort to us. Sometimes we wonder, when we look at ourselves, whether we look like one who is saved.
But then you discover that it really does not depend upon you. Even before the foundation of the world, you have been elected. You have been chosen in Christ Jesus, and how that strengthens our faith.
The reason why He chose us even before the foundation of the world is not because He wants us to go to heaven only. It is because we may be holy and blameless before Him in love.
That we may be sons, children of God, in a family; that there may be a kind of family life—a life of love and of being holy and blameless.
You find in Ephesians 5 that we may be a glorious church, holy and blameless, to become the bride of the Son. Now, that is why we were chosen.
I hope, dear brothers and sisters, that we never forget why we are chosen. We are chosen with a definite purpose.
We are chosen to be sons. We are chosen to be the companions of Christ. We are chosen to be the bride of Christ. And because of that, we have to grow up to be sons. We have to be holy and blameless before Him in love.
To make all these things possible, you find in Ephesians 1:6:
To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Even before the foundation of the world, He chose us; and now, today, you find grace given to us. It is only through grace that we are taken into favor before Him in the Beloved.
The whole process of sonship is grace—grace from the beginning, grace to the very end.
Grace simply means something that is freely given, given without any condition. Sonship is grace. It is grace that brings us into sonship.
First, we are accepted in the Beloved: redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses according to the riches of His grace.
Now, of course, in the process, the first thing that we experience is forgiveness of sins. Through the blood of our Lord Jesus, our sins are forgiven.
But it is more than just having our sins forgiven. As you read on, you will see this in Ephesians 1:11:
In whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory, we who had before hoped in Christ.
It is not just having our sins forgiven, but actually we have obtained an inheritance. You know, sonship is always related to inheritance. We are to inherit.
For this inheritance, Ephesians 1:13-14 says:
In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of His glory.
Having our sins forgiven and having an inheritance to receive, God seals us with the Spirit of Christ. Every believer is given the Holy Spirit of promise.
The Holy Spirit is like a down payment. He is a pledge, and He is there to guarantee that He will so work in us until finally we come into possession of our inheritance.
This is the riches of His grace, and this is for the praise of His glory.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember: sonship is the will of God for us. Sonship is made possible through Jesus Christ. Sonship is by grace. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is responsible to bring us into the possession that God has given to us.
Now, this is what you find in Ephesians 1:5.
Now secondly, let us turn to Galatians 4:5.
That He might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
To understand this text, of course, we have to have the context again. What is the context? In Galatians 4:4:
But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
That is the reason why Brother Sparks said sonship is the great mystery of the Old Testament. In Old Testament times, people did not know sonship. It was something hidden.
Even though here and there you catch a glimpse of it, it was still a secret until the fullness of time. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son into this world, born of a woman.
He is the seed of the woman. God promised Adam and Eve, after they sinned, even before they were driven out of the Garden of Eden, that the seed of the woman would be their salvation.
Here, finally, you find that the seed of the woman had come. So He came of woman, and He came under law, because the whole world is under law.
Whether it is the written law of God or the unwritten law of God, everyone is under law. The nation of Israel had the written law of God, the Ten Commandments. The Gentiles had the law of God written upon their hearts; they had their conscience.
But everyone is under law. Here you find, in God’s mercy, that the Son, who actually is the Lawgiver, came under law. Moses is not the lawgiver; he is only an agent. But God is the Lawgiver.
Here you find the Lawgiver: He came under law that He might redeem us, redeem those under law.
How did He redeem those under law? He who knew no sin was made sin for us.
Not only in His personal life did He fulfill all the law of God, but God said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He said, “I do always the things that are pleasing to Him.” He Himself fulfilled the law. He is the end of all law.
But He was willing to be made sin for us and to suffer in His own body the consequence of sin. He paid the price for us. He suffered death. He tasted death for every man.
This is the way that He redeemed us under law. He paid a big price—even His own blood.
He paid such a price that He tasted death. And, of course, the death there refers not only to physical death; it refers to eternal death.
During those last three hours, He cried out:
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
Literally, He tasted eternal death: separation from God.
He redeemed those under law that we might receive sonship. Sonship is the gift of God. But when God gives a gift to us, God pays a tremendous price. He spared not His only begotten Son.
Thank God, it is a gift. We receive it.
But because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.”
Today, in those who believe in the Lord Jesus, God has given us the Spirit of His Son. Of course, this refers to the Holy Spirit.
But the Spirit of His Son means that now, within us, we are not only called sons of God, but we are truly sons of God. We are truly God’s children. We have the Spirit of God’s Son within us. It is real.
It is not just a position given; it is a life given, a relationship with God given to us.
The Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of His Son within us, enables us to cry out, “Abba, Father.”
I always remember one of my fellow workers in China. He told this story. He said that after he was married, the first time he visited his father-in-law, according to Chinese custom, of course, you call your father-in-law “father” too.
He said the first time he went to his father-in-law’s home, as he entered the house and saw his father-in-law, he tried to call him “Father.” But he said it was so difficult. He made it, but it did not sound right—not like the way that he called his own father.
He said there are many people in the Christian world today: when you hear them pray, they call God “Father,” but you know they are calling their father-in-law.
It does not sound right. By listening to that, you know it is not natural. It is not natural.
But is it not wonderful? When you believe in the Lord Jesus, you are really born again, and the Spirit of God’s Son is in you. You can cry out, “Father! O Father! My Father! O Father!” It is so spontaneous, so natural, and so real.
Is it not wonderful? That is the relationship that God has given to us.
We become also heirs of God. That is to say, all that God has—His property—is ours.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Because we have been made heirs of God.
Now, of course, within the context, you know that when you are a babe, an infant—strictly speaking, when Paul was writing this, it actually applied to the children of Israel.
The children of Israel were under law, and when they were under law, they were infants. As infants, they were not different from slaves.
But I think the principle here is really universal. Even though we have believed in the Lord Jesus, have become children of God, have the Spirit of His Son in us, and begin to cry, “Abba, Father,” we are heirs of God.
All these things are true. These are our position. These are things given to us by grace. You do not earn them; they are given to us through Christ Jesus.
But remember, at the time when you first believed in the Lord Jesus, we are still children. That is the reason why you find in Galatians 4:1:
But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant, though he is lord of all.
You are an heir. But as long as the heir is a child—and the word there is nepios, an infant—as long as you are still an infant, a minor, he differs nothing from a slave, though he be lord of all.
Positionally, you are an heir, and you are lord of all, because one day you will inherit. But so far as your condition is concerned, being an infant, you do not really differ from a slave.
You know, in those days, in the Roman world, they conquered the world. After they conquered the world, they put the whole world into slavery.
Only the Roman people were citizens. They had all the rights and privileges of citizenship. But all the nations they conquered were slaves. They had no rights. They had no legal rights before the law, and they were treated as slaves.
But, of course, we know that when the Romans conquered the world, their culture was not as high as the Greeks. What they would do is have many slaves in a Roman family—more slaves than free people.
In a Roman family, you find many slaves. Some slaves worked in the field; some slaves cooked in the kitchen; some slaves did manual work. But there were slaves who were highly educated, and these slaves sometimes became teachers to their children, guardians to their children, stewards, and so forth.
So a Roman child was put under the stewardship and guardianship of slaves.
Even though he was an heir, the lord of all, when he was an infant, he was put under the guardianship and stewardship of slaves.
One slave might be his instructor, and he had to listen to the instructor. He could not say, “I am an heir; therefore, you have to obey me. I will not listen to you.” No, he had to listen and obey the instructor, even though he was lord of all.
If he was put under the stewardship of another slave who took care of him as his guardian, then he had to follow the guardian. He was not free. He could not do anything he liked.
He was just like another slave, no different from the slave, until the period fixed by the father.
That is to say, when the Roman father observed how his child grew, until one day he felt that he had grown and had become a son, there would be a difference. He would be placed as a son. He would be declared as a son.
Being declared as a son, he was not only to inherit all the property and possessions of his father, but he was also to inherit all the debts of his father. He was responsible for all the debts of his father as well as for all the riches of his father.
He was now to share with his father all the burdens, all the duties, and all the responsibilities of the family. Now, that is sonship.
So far as the general principle is concerned, this applies to us today. We who believe in the Lord Jesus are children of God. We are of the family, and we are made heirs. We are lords one day.
But, dear brothers and sisters, before you grow into sons, God puts you, as it were, under a kind of guardianship.
When you are under that kind of guardianship, outwardly it looks as though there is no difference. There is no difference. But there is a difference.
You are no longer under the bondage of the law, but you are under grace.
Sometimes we think that because we are not under law, therefore we are free. Thank God, we are not under law. We are not under the bondage of law. We are not slaves. We are children.
As children, we think that now we have all the liberty we want. But we forget that we are always under something. If we are not under law, we are under grace.
We are still under the guardianship of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit today is the Guardian. He is the Comforter, the One who is alongside—and, strictly speaking, the One who is in us.
He takes the responsibility to bring us into sonship. He is to train us, to discipline us, and sometimes to chasten us, in order that we may arrive at sonship.
Now let us turn to Romans 8:15.
For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Again, we need to notice the context to understand this text. What spirit did we have before we believed in the Lord Jesus? Or, to put it another way, what kind of inward disposition or attitude did we have before we knew Christ?
To those who do not know Christ, their inward attitude and disposition is a spirit of bondage unto fear. Why? People are under the law, under the bondage of the law, under the bondage of tradition, under the bondage of the elements of the world.
People are under bondage. That is their inward disposition, their inward situation, and that brings us into fear.
I think everyone who does not belong to the Lord feels himself somehow under bondage and with fear.
But thank God, we have not received a spirit of bondage again unto fear. In other words, God has given us another spirit, another disposition, another inward attitude.
This is not a spirit of bondage that brings us back again into fear and under the law. But here you find that He has given us a spirit of adoption, a spirit of sonship.
Of course, we know especially in Romans 8 that Romans 8 is a chapter on the Spirit. In the original manuscripts, either all is capitalized or none is capitalized.
So the great difficulty in interpreting Romans 8 is this matter of spirit: whether it should be capitalized or whether it should not be capitalized. That is a great problem for translators.
In some cases it is easy, but in some cases it is almost impossible to determine whether it is spirit with a small letter—that is, a human spirit—or Spirit with a capital letter—that is, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
You find it very difficult to distinguish in Romans 8. Why? Because the Spirit of God and the human spirit that has been renewed are so intertwined, so joined together, that sometimes you cannot see the difference.
But anyway, in this verse some translators render it “a spirit of adoption” with a small letter. It refers to a disposition, an inward attitude.
When He saves us, not only does He give us a position outwardly, but actually He has given us a new disposition inwardly. This new disposition is sonship.
In other words, in the very depths of your being, you know that you are to be a son to God. Wonderful.
God has given us a spirit of adoption. You have this spirit within you, a new disposition. Because you have that new disposition within you, you cry out, “Abba, Father.” There is a relationship.
This relationship is not merely outward adoption in the human sense. It is a life relationship that gives us a new life, a new nature, a new disposition, a new attitude, and a new consciousness. Out of that, we cry out.
Now, if it is capitalized, then it refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of sonship.
Why? It is the Holy Spirit who works in us to bring us into sonship. Without the Holy Spirit, we can never become sons. Without the Holy Spirit, we can never arrive at that place and be placed as sons.
The Holy Spirit, dear brothers and sisters, is called the Holy Spirit of promise because it is through Him that all the promises of God become reality to us.
He is called the Spirit of God’s Son because He reveals the Son to us. He is called the Spirit of adoption because it is through His working in us that He brings us into sonship.
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Our human spirit, which has been renewed, and the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our spirit, bear witness together that we are children of God.
You do not need anyone to tell you that you are a child of God. You know it. You know it inwardly, because the Holy Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, no matter what people say.
People may say, “Now, you do not look like a child of God.” But you are a child of God if you believe in the Lord Jesus.
And if children, then heirs—heirs of God. You are an heir of God. Think of that.
People today like to be heirs to some billionaire. Unfortunately, you are not born into the family, and that billionaire does not adopt you.
But do you know that we have been adopted and born into the family of God? We are heirs of God. All that God has is ours. That is sonship: heirs of God.
But, strangely, He says, “Joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.”
You know, there is no “if” to being children of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. We are. There is no “if.”
How miserable it would be if there were an “if.” Today you think you are a child of God; tomorrow you think you are not. That would be most miserable.
But thank God, there is no “if.” You are children of God. The Holy Spirit says you are, and your spirit confirms that you are. There is an inner witness within you: you are. You are heirs of God—no doubt about that.
But remember, He says, “Joint-heirs with Christ, if.” Whenever you have the word if in the Bible, it speaks of a condition.
It does not refer to your position in Christ. It refers to your condition today.
If we suffer with Him, then we may be glorified with Him.
Here is the difference between children of God and sons. Romans 8:14 says:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
By the grace of God, we are all children, and as children, we are all heirs. One day we will inherit. There is no question about that.
But only those children who are led by the Spirit of God become the sons of God.
We are all God’s children, but not all God’s children today grow into sons of God. Many remain as babes.
How can you grow into sons? That is by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit in you is responsible for your spiritual growth, but you have to let Him lead you.
If you do not allow Him to lead you, if you rebel against Him, if you grieve Him, if you quench Him, if you do not cooperate with Him, if you want to have your own way and live your own life, you can do it.
God respects us so much that He will not force anyone.
But if you are willing to be led by the Spirit, then He will lead you into sonship. On the way, you may have to suffer.
Now, do not think that the word suffer here applies only to physical sufferings. No. Do not think that suffering is such a terrible word.
The word suffer here simply means that when you are led by the Spirit of God, He will have to discipline you. There is so much in you that is flesh. There is so much in you that is self.
There is your foolishness. Even though you do not consider these things foolish, you think you are clever.
There is so much natural strength in you. You may think this is your strength, something that you can boast of, not knowing that these actually are your real weaknesses.
You may cry over your weaknesses, but actually these are your strengths. In other words, we do not know ourselves. We really do not know what is good for us or what is pleasing to the Father.
We have to learn, and the Holy Spirit is the Teacher. You have the anointing in you. He will teach you in all things.
Do not think that it is only in big things that you ask the Lord to teach you by His Spirit, while in small things you take liberty. The Holy Spirit, as the anointing within you, will teach you in all things—big and small.
Sometimes He has to point a finger at a certain area of your life and say, “This does not look like the Son. It has to go.”
Then your soulish life suffers. You want to retain it. You want it for yourself, and you suffer.
The Bible says that he who loses his soul-life shall gain it. There is the suffering.
Suffering brings us into maturity.
You know, sometimes Christians have a wrong idea. I have met people who have the wrong concept that God wants to punish us.
Anything happens, and they say, “Well, God is punishing me.” No. God, as a heavenly Father, does not want to punish you for punishment’s sake.
He chastens you, yes. He disciplines you. But that is training you—child training. He is training you that you may grow up. He does not punish you.
If we suffer with Him, we may be glorified with Him.
Christ, being the Son, when He was on earth, learned obedience through the things which He suffered.
He is the Son, but as the Son He learned obedience. How did He learn obedience? Through the things which He suffered.
How He suffered! In one sense, there were many things He could do. Of course, He could do much more than we can. Even though He was a man on this earth, He was still God.
No wonder His mother said, “Do something. You could do it.” He could.
But He said, “My time is not yet come.” He could not act independently. That is why He suffered. He said, “I can do nothing without the Father. I cannot even say anything without the Father.”
In the Garden of Gethsemane, how He suffered! But He said:
Not My will, but Thine, be done.
When He prayed, His sweat came out as drops of blood. It is literally true. The agony that He went through, the suffering—He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.
He became the Captain of our salvation. But through the things which we suffer, we grow up into sons. The order is a little different.
We grow up from children into sons through the things which we suffer. We are willing to let go of ourselves and let Him work it out. We are willing to lose our soul-life in order that we may gain it for eternity.
That is the way we become co-heirs with Christ. When Christ shall return, we will reign with Him for a thousand years—co-heirs with Christ.
Then Romans 8—just mentioning it because my time is already over—Romans 8:23:
And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
We are waiting for sonship. What is sonship here? It refers to the redemption of our body. This is the consummation of sonship.
In other words, sonship is not only something today that we are growing into, but one day in the future, when the Lord shall come, even this physical body will be transformed and put on an immortal, incorruptible, glorious body like the resurrection body of our Lord Jesus.
This is the time that we will be placed as sons. Why? We will reign and rule with Christ—the placing of sons.
This is the day that not only we are looking forward to; this is the day that Christ is looking forward to. This is the day that the heavenly Father is looking forward to. This is the day that the whole creation is looking forward to.
At the manifestation of the sons of God, the whole creation will be released from the bondage of corruption and vanity and enter into the liberty of the children of God.
Finally, in Romans 9:4:
Who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants.
This is referring to the nation of Israel. God adopted Israel as His son, His firstborn.
Thank God, we know that one day Israel, in the millennial kingdom, shall become the first of the nations, a nation of priests. They will go out to teach the nations the ways of God.
Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, we just commit all these things into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to make them real to every one of us, to the praise of Thy glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.