Rom 8: 19 – “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Tell me, is this talking about Jesus, NO. WHY? It says the sons (plural) of God.
Who then are sons of God?
Rom 8: 14 – “For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God, THESE are the sons of God.” It does not say as many as are born again…
Aren’t you curious? Why is all of creation eagerly awaiting this phenomenon – the sons of God?
I surely am!
Well the answer would be…they will walk the earth as Jesus did, as Peter did, as Paul did. There will be a distinguishable difference…
2 Corinthians 3:1-2 – Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.
2 Corinthians 3:3 – clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
What is Paul saying here? These believers were so transformed by the Holy Spirit that their changed lives were a letter of commendation, a written message of Christ, and proof of the gospel…the Good News…
- Who did the work of transformation? The Holy Spirit.
- Can He do this without our participation? NO!
- How much access does the Holy Spirit have to your life?
We are the new creation, raised from spiritual death to new life in Christ. We are filled with God the Holy Spirit. We have been called to walk as the sons of God and the only way for that to happen is by LIVING a Spirit led life!
The difference between a carnal life and living as a son of God is huge! The choice is ours but let’s not forget the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 or the judgement of the sheep and the goat nations in the same chapter!
There is nothing that God has planned for your life that He hasn’t equipped you for and there is nothing as fulfilling, as rewarding, as exciting as doing what He has purposed you for! When you got born again, you walked into Eternal Life…why?
You walked into Christ who is the LIFE and He is ETERNAL. All of the promises and our inheritance are benefits of the Eternal Life we have received in Christ. He has made you a part of His Life. We are spiritually alive, a new creation and that work is complete!
Understanding Eternal Life – what is it?
John 3:14-16 – And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up (why?) that whoever believes in Him SHOULD NOT perish but (should) have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (why?) that whoever believes in Him SHOULD NOT perish but HAVE (Present Tense Possession) everlasting life.
Most people believe that Eternal Life is living forever in heaven…that it is talking about going to heaven instead of going to hell… BUT IS that all IT is?
If we believe that Eternal Life is living forever in heaven and it is the reward for believing in Him… then what do we say about the following scriptures:
James 2:19 – You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble.
Mark 5:6-8 – When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him. And he cried out aloud with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
We know that the demons will not be living forever in heaven even though they believe. Nowhere in scripture does it talk about dying and ceasing to exist. If people die, they no longer have a physical body so therefore we can no longer see them or interact with them BUT they still exist in spirit form and there is coming a resurrection of our physical bodies. Some will be resurrected into life and some will be resurrected into the 2nd death!
Rev 20:11-15 – Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the SECOND DEATH. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The point is…we ALL live forever…some in His Presence and some in the Lake of Fire
Therefore!!! Eternal Life or Everlasting Life must mean something else then… not so?
Firstly, we see that Eternal life is a present tense reality…we can have it now!
Secondly, John 17:1-3 – Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour is come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, (what for?) that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
And this is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.”
This knowing that Jesus is talking about is not intellectual knowledge and it is not about information or an acceptance of facts!!!
This is EXPERIENTIAL! Adam knew his wife. It was an intimate, close, personal relationship and the two became one flesh.
Therefore, we now have the privilege of learning to know the Father and the Lord and we get to experience our own personal relationship with the Father and the Lord Jesus. You start to become one with Him and as you become one with Him, He begins to transform you. How?
Through the wonderful Holy Spirit who is the Lifeline between you and the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who reveals the Father and the Son.
Beside this wonderful privilege, the Holy Spirit who is the Promise of the Father is the One who has come specifically to transform us into the image of God.
You are the Holy Spirit’s prime ministry.
You are the unique reason that He is here on the earth!
The Promise
John 14:16 – And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.
John 16:7 – Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
(The Greek word translated ‘sealed’ here was a seller’s guarantee of the validity of a purchase – as such God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is our guarantee that we are God’s possession.) Having the Holy Spirit is proof that you have been born again.
Our Guide and Teacher
John 16:12-13 – I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into ALL truth; for whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you ALL things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
1 John 2:27 – But the anointing (impartation of the Holy Spirit) which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches concerning ALL things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
The empowering Spirit of Grace
In Ephesians 4:22-24 we read that we are to put off the old man (our old carnal behaviour) and we are to put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. The question is how do we do that?
Romans 8:13 – For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:11 – But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus dwells in you, He (the Father) who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies (how?) through His Spirit who dwells in you. (This portion of scripture deals with being free from indwelling sin).
2 Corinthians 2:14 – Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 – “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God gave us victory and the ability to triumph over all the challenges of life…BUT it takes the Holy Spirit to get us from Point A to Point B.
Carnal Christians
Without establishing a strong relationship with the Holy Spirit we will remain carnal Christians, tossed about by every challenge and every temptation that comes our way. Instead of hearing His voice, which is instruction straight from the throne of Heaven, we will follow our limited intellect which will ensure that we do not tap into the unlimited wisdom of God.
Romans 8:5-8 – For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:13 – For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Matthew 16:24-27 – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his (carnal) life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each one according to his works.
Children of the Most High God…We have the mighty Holy Spirit…God the Holy Spirit living in us…He is our Lifeline to the Father, to the Lord Jesus, to our destiny!