FAITH OF A CHILD

1. Sonship Comes With Salvation
a) We Receive Sonship Through The Person Of Jesus Christ John 1:12-13, NIV –“(12) Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his [Jesus] name, he gave the right to become children of God –(13) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
b) Jesus Lives Out Sonship In And Through Us
Galatians 2:20, NIV –“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. …”
c) Our New Birth Gives Us A New Parent
1 Peter 1:23, NIV –“For you have been born again [born from above], not of perishable seed, but of imperishable …” John 1:12-13, NIV –“… children of God … born of God.”
d) We Are Filled With The Spirit Of Sonship
Romans 8:15-16, NIV – “(15) For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’(16) The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
We have a new identity –we are now sons of God
Our very nature has been changed –into being a child of God

2. Sonship Is An Expression Of God’s Lavish Love Toward Us
a) You Are A Completely New –Not Improved –Creation
1 John 3:1-2, NIV, “(1) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (2) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV –“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
b) Sonship Is Proof Of God’s Great Love For Us
1 John 3:1-2, NIV, “(1) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
c) God Chose Us –Willingly!
Ephesians 1:3-6, NIV –“(3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (4) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love (5) he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – (6) to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
God knew in advance what He was getting, and yet He still chose us!
It gave God pleasure, to adopt you as a son or daughter

3. Sonship Empowers Us To Be Truly Free
a) Dearly Loved Children Are Empowered To Be Like Their Father Ephesians 5:1, NIV –“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
It is God’s love toward us that draws us and empowers us to be like Him
The closer we come to God’sheart, the more we become like Him
b) The Divine Seed Within Us Sets Us Free
1 John 3:7-9, NIV –“(7) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. (8) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. (9) No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
Because God’s seed remains within us, be are spiritually genetically like our Father, who is holy, pure, righteous, and loving. The seed of God within us, empowers us and drives us to turn from sin, and toward righteousness

4. Sonship Brings Us Into A Great Inheritance
a) We Are Heirs Of Present And Future Benefits
Romans 8:17, NIV – “(17) Now if we are children, then we ar theirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
As a son or daughter of God, we become an heir of God, and gain access to God’s resources
James 1:5, NIV –“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
Romans 12:6, NIV –“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. …”