Embracing Our Identity: Freedom Through Sonship in Christ
Summary
The freedom of sonship is a profound truth that transforms our understanding of what it means to be set free in Christ. As believers, we are not merely followers of a religion but are adopted into the family of God, becoming heirs with Christ. This adoption is not just a spiritual concept but a legal standing that grants us authority and access to the riches of God's kingdom. In John 8, Jesus emphasizes that knowing the truth will set us free, but it's not just any truth—it's the experiential knowledge of who we are in Christ and who He is to us. This freedom is not automatic; it requires us to apprehend and practice the authority we have as sons and daughters of God.
In Galatians 4, Paul elaborates on this by explaining the Roman concept of "weosthesia," where a child is legally placed as an heir, gaining rights and privileges. This process mirrors our spiritual journey. Before knowing Christ, we were like children under guardians, bound by the elemental spirits of the world. But through faith in Jesus, we are set free from these spiritual intermediaries and given direct access to God. This means we no longer need to seek joy, peace, or purpose through worldly means; we have full access to these through our relationship with God.
However, many believers struggle because they haven't fully embraced their identity as heirs. They allow old habits and mindsets to linger, not realizing they have the authority to cast them out. Jesus has empowered us to speak with the authority of our Father, to declare freedom over our lives, and to replace lies with the truth of God's Word. This is not just about personal freedom but about living in a way that expands God's kingdom on earth.
For those who have not yet received Jesus, the invitation is open. There is no prerequisite other than acknowledging the need for Him. By accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, you receive the Spirit of sonship, enabling you to cry out "Abba, Father" and walk in the freedom He offers. This freedom is not just a future promise but a present reality that transforms how we live each day.
Key Takeaways:
1. Freedom Through Sonship: Understanding our identity as sons and daughters of God is crucial for experiencing true freedom. This identity grants us authority and access to God's kingdom, freeing us from the bondage of sin and worldly dependencies. [04:26]
2. Experiential Knowledge of Truth: It's not enough to hear the truth; we must know it experientially. This involves internalizing and acting on God's Word, which empowers us to live in the freedom Jesus provides. [07:27]
3. Authority as Heirs: As heirs with Christ, we have the authority to speak on behalf of our Father and access His resources. This authority enables us to overcome old habits and mindsets that keep us in bondage. [15:55]
4. Casting Out Old Guardians: Many believers struggle because they allow old habits and spiritual influences to linger. We must exercise our authority to cast these out and embrace our identity as heirs. [23:48]
5. Invitation to Freedom: For those who haven't received Jesus, the invitation is open. Accepting Him as Savior and Lord brings the Spirit of sonship, enabling us to walk in the freedom He offers. [31:45]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [02:00] - Introduction to Freedom of Sonship
- [04:26] - Believing Yet Bound
- [07:27] - Experiential Knowledge of Truth
- [11:45] - Adoption as Sons
- [15:55] - Authority as Heirs
- [19:41] - Benefits of Being an Heir
- [23:48] - Casting Out Old Guardians
- [26:46] - Living Free from Old Habits
- [29:12] - Exercising Authority as Sons
- [31:02] - Replacing Lies with Truth
- [31:45] - Invitation to Receive Jesus
- [32:55] - Closing Blessing
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Freedom of Sonship
Bible Reading:
1. John 8:31-36
2. Galatians 4:1-7
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Observation Questions:
1. In John 8:31-33, what does Jesus say about the relationship between belief and freedom? How do the people respond to His statement? [04:26]
2. According to Galatians 4:1-3, what is the status of an heir while they are still a child, and how does this relate to spiritual maturity? [11:45]
3. What cultural practice does Paul refer to in Galatians 4 to explain our spiritual adoption as sons and heirs? [15:55]
4. How does the sermon describe the role of "guardians and managers" in our spiritual lives before we come to know Christ? [23:48]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. What does it mean to have "experiential knowledge of the truth" as mentioned in John 8:32, and how does this differ from simply hearing the truth? [07:27]
2. How does the concept of "weosthesia" in Roman culture help us understand our identity and authority as heirs in God's kingdom? [15:55]
3. In what ways might believers struggle with embracing their identity as heirs, according to the sermon? How can this affect their spiritual freedom? [26:46]
4. How does the sermon suggest believers can exercise their authority to overcome old habits and mindsets? [29:12]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your own life. Are there any "old guardians" or habits that you have allowed to linger? What steps can you take to exercise your authority as a child of God to cast them out? [23:48]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing the truth experientially. What practical steps can you take this week to internalize and act on God's Word in your daily life? [07:27]
3. Consider the areas in your life where you feel bound or restricted. How can understanding your identity as an heir with Christ change your perspective and actions in these areas? [15:55]
4. The sermon invites those who haven't received Jesus to accept Him and walk in freedom. If you have already accepted Jesus, how can you share this invitation with someone in your life who hasn't? [31:45]
5. Identify a specific mindset or lie that you have believed about yourself. How can you replace it with the truth of God's Word this week? [31:02]
6. Think about a situation where you have struggled to experience joy, peace, or purpose. How can you access these through your relationship with God rather than worldly means? [23:48]
7. How can you practically support and encourage others in your small group to embrace their identity and authority as heirs in God's kingdom? [29:12]
Devotional
Day 1: Embracing Our Identity as God's Children
Understanding our identity as sons and daughters of God is crucial for experiencing true freedom. This identity grants us authority and access to God's kingdom, freeing us from the bondage of sin and worldly dependencies. As believers, we are not merely followers of a religion but are adopted into the family of God, becoming heirs with Christ. This adoption is not just a spiritual concept but a legal standing that grants us authority and access to the riches of God's kingdom. In John 8, Jesus emphasizes that knowing the truth will set us free, but it's not just any truth—it's the experiential knowledge of who we are in Christ and who He is to us. This freedom is not automatic; it requires us to apprehend and practice the authority we have as sons and daughters of God. [04:26]
Galatians 3:26-29 (ESV): "For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."
Reflection: How can you remind yourself daily of your identity as a child of God, and what practical steps can you take to live in the freedom this identity offers?
Day 2: Experiencing Truth Beyond Knowledge
It's not enough to hear the truth; we must know it experientially. This involves internalizing and acting on God's Word, which empowers us to live in the freedom Jesus provides. In Galatians 4, Paul elaborates on this by explaining the Roman concept of "weosthesia," where a child is legally placed as an heir, gaining rights and privileges. This process mirrors our spiritual journey. Before knowing Christ, we were like children under guardians, bound by the elemental spirits of the world. But through faith in Jesus, we are set free from these spiritual intermediaries and given direct access to God. This means we no longer need to seek joy, peace, or purpose through worldly means; we have full access to these through our relationship with God. [07:27]
Ephesians 1:17-19 (ESV): "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might."
Reflection: What is one truth from God's Word that you need to internalize and act upon today to experience the freedom it offers?
Day 3: Exercising Authority as Heirs
As heirs with Christ, we have the authority to speak on behalf of our Father and access His resources. This authority enables us to overcome old habits and mindsets that keep us in bondage. However, many believers struggle because they haven't fully embraced their identity as heirs. They allow old habits and mindsets to linger, not realizing they have the authority to cast them out. Jesus has empowered us to speak with the authority of our Father, to declare freedom over our lives, and to replace lies with the truth of God's Word. This is not just about personal freedom but about living in a way that expands God's kingdom on earth. [15:55]
Luke 10:19 (ESV): "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."
Reflection: What old habit or mindset do you need to confront with the authority you have in Christ, and how can you begin to do so today?
Day 4: Casting Out Old Influences
Many believers struggle because they allow old habits and spiritual influences to linger. We must exercise our authority to cast these out and embrace our identity as heirs. Before knowing Christ, we were like children under guardians, bound by the elemental spirits of the world. But through faith in Jesus, we are set free from these spiritual intermediaries and given direct access to God. This means we no longer need to seek joy, peace, or purpose through worldly means; we have full access to these through our relationship with God. [23:48]
Colossians 2:20-22 (ESV): "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?"
Reflection: Identify one area where old influences still affect you. How can you actively use your authority in Christ to cast them out and embrace your identity as an heir?
Day 5: Accepting the Invitation to Freedom
For those who haven't received Jesus, the invitation is open. Accepting Him as Savior and Lord brings the Spirit of sonship, enabling us to walk in the freedom He offers. This freedom is not just a future promise but a present reality that transforms how we live each day. By accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, you receive the Spirit of sonship, enabling you to cry out "Abba, Father" and walk in the freedom He offers. This freedom is not just a future promise but a present reality that transforms how we live each day. [31:45]
2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV): "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Reflection: If you have not yet accepted Jesus, what is holding you back from receiving the freedom He offers? If you have, how can you share this invitation with someone else today?
Quotes
"habit in your life, a behavior pattern, that's something no matter how hard you try, no matter what you did, no matter how much you prayed, how much you believed, how much you went up to the altar for prayer, it's just something that seemed to keep coming back into your life. Now, I can tell you, beginning of my walk with Jesus, there was a lot of these things. And because of what we're going to talk about today, learning how to live free from those habits and habitual patterns that are there to try to rob you of the freedom that Jesus died to give you." [00:01:40]
"It is possible to believe and still be bound. That's right. It is possible to believe and still be struggling with something. And, and I just want to encourage you. One of the reasons that are not the reason, but when we struggle as believers, this is a playground for the enemy to start embedding our mind full of lies. Like God doesn't love you. God doesn't want you. You're just a screw up. And all of those are lies. He's taking advantage of the fact that we haven't yet realized just how free we are." [00:03:19]
"because there's going to be areas in our life where we don't experience the total freedom that Jesus died to give us because we're not understanding the truth of his word and what Jesus came to do. And that's what he says right here in verse 32. He says, because then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. So it's not just the truth, because trust me, I share truth with a lot of people. People, they hear it, but it don't help them at all because it's the knowledge of the truth. That word for knowledge means to experientially know. It's something you've taken in, you've thought about, and then you've started acting on that truth. It's the knowledge of the truth that sets us free." [00:06:41]
"Jesus, he says to them, I tell you the truth. So look, he's helping them out. He's like, hey guys, I'm trying to share the truth with you here. I'm trying to help you get free because clearly you believe in me, but you're not where you need to be yet. So Jesus says, I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave, you're a slave of sin. And he goes on in verse 35 and he says, a slave is not a permanent member of the family. Now, you got to understand, Jesus is shifting here to a metaphor that us as modern thinkers, it doesn't really register with us." [00:07:49]
"But to the people in his day, Jesus is drawing on a well -known cultural reality in the Roman empire at that time to explain not just what freedom through the son looks like, but how we as sons who believe in Jesus live free. He says, a slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is a part of the family forever. How many of you can say hallelujah to that? And then in verse 36, he says, so if the son sets you free, you are truly free, or as a lot of translations say, the way I remember it is, if the son sets you free, you are free indeed." [00:08:24]
"Verse six, and because you are sons, because you've been adopted, you've been brought into the family of God, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Abba is an Aramaic term. It's a familial term akin to us calling our father daddy. So it's a personal term. It's a term of affection. And he's saying here that when you became an heir, a son, when you were born again and you move from death to life." [00:12:52]
"that the holy spirit came and inhabited you and now you're able to see god not just as some austere father or or cosmic figure in the sky but as your papa as your daddy as your abba someone who loves you someone who cares about you someone who who would give their life for you he says god has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying abba father so you are no longer a slave but a son and if you're a son then an heir through god and so what paul is describing here the same way jesus was giving an illusion an allusion to this in john 8." [00:13:41]
"When you go through this process of adoption as a son, you now attain certain legal status and you have rights within the culture. And so you got to understand, even if you were a biological child, before you could have any access to your father's inheritance, you had to be placed as a weos, as a son, as an heir. And once you were placed as an heir, as a weos, as a son, you now had certain rights and privileges that were legally given to you according to the kingdom of Rome that you lived in." [00:15:30]
"another one of these great benefits from being placed as an heir is that you now have full access unadulterated access to the possessions and a state of your father and so this is kind of a double win for the father he gives you the ability to speak on his behalf and in his authority so that you can do business in order to his expand his estate but then it doubly benefits you because you're just growing the estate that you would get when he died but you have full access to this and one of the places that we see this most readily in the Bible is in the parable of the prodigal son that parable starts off in Luke chapter 15 and a man had two sons two we are and so while in a Jewish mindset the son that goes to his dad and says I want my inheritance the Jewish person would think man that's him saying you know I want my inheritance I want my son I want my inheritance I want my son I want my inheritance I want my son I want my son I want my son I'm saying oh I wish you were dead give me what would be mine if you died but in the Roman in the Greek mind that was totally okay because the son was saying hey I want access to what I have a right to access as a son the problem wasn't that he asked for it the problem was how he spent it because he didn't spend it to increase his father's estate he spent it on himself but the we lost would have the ability to speak on the behalf of and in the authority of their father they would have full access to their father's estate so think about having you know being like a teenager and have an access to your mom or dad's bank card come on somebody and another benefit of being an heir and this was probably one of the most of the most" [00:16:45]
"enjoyable ones is that after you were placed as an heir, it was near impossible for you to be disinherited or cut off from the estate. No matter how bad you screwed up, your dad couldn't cut you off. And I want you to catch how this affects us. And as believers, when you're placed as a son of God, you now have the ability to speak on the behalf of and in the authority of your father. And I want to let you know that's power because our father in heaven, when he speaks, universes get created. Healing comes into being. Provision miraculously shows up. We have full access to what belongs to him. Joy, peace, satisfaction, a sense of purpose, a sense of enjoyment. We have access to confidence and courage and a bunch of different things because God wants to freely share these things with us. And we also don't have to worry about God turning his back on us, cutting us off." [00:18:35]
"To access joy in our life, which we can freely get from our Father in heaven as children, well prior to becoming His children through faith, we would have to go through some of these things. We would have to go through some of these things. We would have to go through some of these things. We would have to go through some spiritual intermediary. So to get joy, and I'll just put myself out there, I'd have to get high or get drunk or I'd have to be doing some kind of crime in order to get pleasure, which I could should freely, I can freely get from God. I'd need sex or something illicit like that. To have peace, I'd have to smoke weed to calm down, to have confidence. I'd have to drink and get beer muscles to have control in my life. I'd get everything I could want from God. I'd have to be high or get drunk or I'd have to be doing some angry and be domineering in the people around me and all of these other things that i freely should be able to access through my father there were spiritual entities that were basically" [00:25:02]
"keeping me from those things and keeping me under their thumb. But what Jesus is saying in John chapter 8 and what Paul is further saying in Galatians chapter 4 is that the moment we receive Jesus, the moment the Son sets us free, we are no longer a slave but a son. We have full inheritance rights. We don't have to go to these things anymore to try to tap in to the joy and the peace and the sense of identity and purpose and the enjoyment of life. We don't have to go to anything else but to God. We have direct access to His estate. But the reason why many of us as Christians struggle with things in our lives is because even though we've been made heirs, we didn't kick the guardians and managers out of our life. I want you to think about this." [00:25:53]
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