Romans 8:15-16 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. New Living Translation (NLT)
Yesterday we considered "life in the Spirit" and the "new life" in Christ. In today's verse the Apostle Paul expands on that theme and what it means to us. We live as His adopted children, with the privileges of being a child of the King.
John MacArthur writes that this "Spirit of adoption" is a "Spirit produced awareness of the rich reality that God has made us His children, and, therefore, that we can come before Him without fear and hesitation as our beloved Father. It includes the confidence that we are truly sons of God." So much so that Paul uses the term "Abba Father" which gives a sense of intimacy in which a child would call out "daddy" or "papa".
These thoughts bring back memories of another old hymn "A Child of the King". As we prepare for the weekend, consider what it means to you to be a child of the King as we read a few stanzas from this hymn.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I'm a child of the King.
My Father's own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His, when He comes by and by.
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His, when He comes by and by.
In Christ,
Mike
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Romans 8:14-16
New International Version (NIV)
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
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