Hope: As It Is in Heaven, So Be It on EarthSample

Welcome to the last day of week 3 in our series about Hope. Today, we focus on Romans 8:15-16 where Paul continues to write about sonship.

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God”

In this third week, we were invited to consider the irreplaceable importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in our calling to behold Jesus as King, the Christ, and to live for His hope-bringing Kingdom.

We’ve spoken about the Spirit of Christ, who is the one who works the faith in us that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ. In other words, it is by the Spirit that we start beholding the King.

In the previous weeks, we spoke about engaging in prayer and scriptures to behold Christ. All of this is done by the Spirit. It is by the Spirit that we align our minds not to the flesh but to the life- and peace-bringing will of God. In other words, the Spirit helps us repent. The resurrection power brought into our lives by the Spirit allows us to present our bodies as instruments of Christ for His kingdom.

In essence, all this is contained in what Paul is writing here. He says we have been given the spirit of Sonship – the Spirit that witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. Through what Jesus has done, we are restored to this relationship with God. We are His children, and we can call Him "Abba," just like Jesus.

However, what Paul describes here is more than just a relationship; he is describing identity. The Spirit calls out in you who you are: a person who beholds the King, who sees everything through the lens of Jesus’s Lordship. When you look at your home, your place of work, or your community, you see what others don't see. You see that Jesus is king and that God's kingdom is coming. The Spirit calls out in you: this is who you are.

You are a person whose mind is now learning to think in line with the Spirit's mind - thoughts of life and peace, bringing hope and new life into environments. You are a person indwelt by the Spirit of God. Your body is the temple of God, and that's why you present your body, your whole self, for the King and his mission.

There was a time when you were a slave, dominated by the flesh bully that made demands on you, dominating you with fear. But that's no longer who you are. The flesh did you no favors, and you owe it none in return. You are set free, and you are now a child of God.

Like Father, like son, you no longer live for yourself. You are someone who lives for the mission of Christ, bringing new life and peace, in other words, hope, into every environment where you go. This is who you are. Through resurrection power, the Spirit of God who dwells in you calls out that identity in you. This Spirit lives in you. He is not in the moving business; he is not a tourist. He came to stay. This identity is the constant call of the Spirit in you: This is who you are.

And we call out with the Spirit, "Abba Father." When we agree with the Spirit about who we are, we will discern with more clarity what the Spirit is leading us to do in our world to bring Hope.

So, we pray: We thank you, Father, for the sacrifice of Christ that makes it possible for your Spirit to dwell in us as Your temple. We thank you for making us your sons and daughters. Help us to be in agreement with your Spirit about who we are, how we think, and live. In Jesus Name. Amen.