SPIRIT OF SONSHIP

John 14:18 – I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

Gal.4:6 – And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

John 14:18 was part of the discourse Jesus had with His disciples on the very last night He spent with them. You could say He was taking them into holy territory, more holy than the burning bush or even the cloud that led God’s children through the wilderness. He was bringing them into the place of intimacy with God, you know, oneness with God. He would not be satisfied until we could actually take His life into our being. He was making us sons and daughters of God. This is way beyond anything the disciples could ever imagine, they were being given a promise for them and all who would believe their words; they were being promised the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God’s Son into their hearts. Here is how John Calvin describes this promise.

“To paraphrase Paul: “Adoption by God precedes the testimony of adoption given by the Holy Spirit, but the effect is the sign of the cause. You dare to call God your Father only by the instigation of the Spirit of Christ. Therefore it is certain that you are sons of God.” The Spirit is the earnest and pledge of our adoption, so that we are convicted of God’s fatherly attitude toward us. . . . We are children of God because we are endowed with the same Spirit as his only Son. The use of the word crying is a sign of unwavering confidence and boldness, as he says in Romans 8. . . . Calling on God is common to all languages. . . . God has the name Father in both Hebrew and Greek, for Gentiles too are counted among the children of God.”

This was why Jesus had come, this was about more than forgiveness of sins, all of mankind was being given the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God’s Son into their lives. We would not only live forever but we would be transformed into new kinds of people. This becomes the cry of faith that comes from our heart, “Abba, Father”.

The disciples had no idea where all of this had been going but never the less everything was about to change. They were going to change, Jerusalem would change, the whole region would change as the Spirit of God’s Son began to be poured out on all mankind.