Identity in Christ Series: Week Two I am God’s Child

I.  We are children of God.

John 1:12 (NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

In the early 1970s, a social scientist named Philip Zimbardo led a team of scientists from Stanford University in an interesting experiment. The team built a mock prison in the basement of the University’s psychology department. The scientists placed advertisements in the local papers looking for volunteers who would participate in the experiment. Zimbardo and his colleagues selected twenty-four people to participate, choosing the ones who appeared to be the most emotionally stable and healthy. 

Half of the group was randomly selected to be prison guards. They were given military-style guard uniforms and dark glasses. They were told their responsibility was to keep order. The other half of the group became the prisoners. They were arrested in their homes, cuffed, brought to a real police station, fingerprinted, and then blindfolded for the trip to the mock prison. They wore prison clothes with numbers on the front and back of the clothing. The number became their identity. They were only allowed to refer to themselves and others by their numbers. In post interviews with the prisoners in the experiment, they confessed that when their identity became a number, they felt helpless and hopeless. Four of the prisoners were pulled from the experiment early because of emotional breakdowns including extreme depression, crying, rage, and anxiety. Other prisoners incited rebellions and riots against the guards. When the mock prisoners forgot who they really were, they became depressed. Their self-perception impacted their thinking, attitude, and ultimately their behavior. When they believed that they were criminals, they began to live like criminals. The experiment was intended to last two weeks, but Zimbardo shut it down after six days because of the chaos that was ensuing. When he was dismissing some of the mock prisoners, he needed to remind them that they were not prisoners, that the scenario was not real. Unfortunately many Christians live powerless Christian lives because they have forgotten their identity in Christ. We need to stop believing Satan's lies and realize who we are in Christ. (Jerry Flury Saved by Grace Ministry)

Galatians 4:6-7 (NLT) And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Satan would lie to us and tell us that we are victims of our past.  Like we saw in “Masterpiece” this is a lie.  When we accept Christ as our Savior we are born into a new family; the family of God!

 

II. We have been adopted by God. 

Ephesians 1:5 tells us that “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (NLT)

Galatians 4:4-7, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” (NIV)

In Galatians 4, Paul is writing to people who understood Roman law.  Under Roman law adoption as a son meant that the son had the right to the name and the citizenship of the adoptive father.  The adopted son had the right to inherit the property of the adoptive parents as well as having the same rights and privileges as a natural born son.  

It is interesting to note that these rights were not afforded to adopted daughters. Paul understood this and under the anointing of the Holy Spirit he called us all sons of God which told the Jewish believers of his day that everyone is adopted into the family of God and has the same rights and privileges.  

Another amazing fact is that under Roman law, the adoptive father was granted the full rights and responsibilities of a father, full authority over the adopted son, with the full responsibility to care for him.  

WOW!!! 

The Free Dictionary.com defines adoption as: To take on the legal responsibilities as parent of (a child that is not one's biological child).

 

III. Our adoption is a legal binding agreement between God and us.  

A. We receive:

1. A new name: Child of God. Galatians 3:26 (NLT) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

2. Citizenship of our Father: Heaven.  Philippians 3:20 (NLT) But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 

3. Access to the property of our Father: financial resources, health, freedom of all kinds, power, wisdom, peace, joy, protection, etc.  These things are not reserved until we reach heaven, they are ours today.  2 Peter 1:3, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.  We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” (NLT)  

4. The same rights and privileges that Christ has: When Jesus spoke things happened; if we speaking in faith according to God’s Word our words will carry the same power as His. 

 

The issue is not that God is withholding anything from us; it is that many have not learned how to apply our faith to see the desired results in our lives.    Mark 11:23 (NIV) “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.  John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (NIV). The key here is remaining in Him and His word remaining in us.  How can we know what our rights and privileges are unless we stay connected to the source?  We must know the Word and know who we really are, then if we ask in faith it will be done. 

 

B. God receives:

1. Full authority over our lives.

Before we were saved we were destined for judgement and destruction.  Due to the parameters God established for Himself, He did not have authority over our lives.  That authority had been relinquished by mankind to the enemy.  God had been relegated to waiting for us to “come to our senses.” God had no choice but to judge us guilty of crimes committed “against the throne.”  He had no alternative but to sentence us to eternal separation from Him (hell).  

Once we come to God, through saving faith in Christ, the Father’s hands are loosened, so to speak, and He now has a legal right to declare us redeemed and free from the law of sin and death.  He can now bestow upon us eternal life with Him in His Kingdom!  

2. Full responsibility to care for us.  

Think about a parent’s responsibility to care for their child.  What does that responsibility involve?

a. Providing for all the child’s needs. 

Philippians 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  

Psalm 37:25 (NIV) I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

Matthew 6:8 (NIV) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

If there was something that was good for your child, that was in your power to give, would you withhold it from them?  Of course not!  God knows what is good for us and He has the power to provide it.  Think about it, our Father knows what we need before we ask, He promises to meet our needs, and the Psalmist tells us that the righteous are never forsaken.  We only need to ask and our Father has the right and authority to meet our needs.  

 

b. Protecting the child: physically, spiritually, and emotionally (we are imperfect and can’t possible do this 100% perfectly) but our Father can!!! 

Psalm 121:7 (NIV) The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life.

Read Psalm 91.  The entire chapter describes God’s protection and care for His children.

c. Train and teach the child.  

Psalm 86:11 (NIV) Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness.

Psalm 25:4 (NIV) Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.

1 John 2:27 (NIV) As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

John 14:26 (NIV) But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

d. Heal the broken heart and give comfort.  

Psalm 147:3 (NIV) He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 34:18 (NIV) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

IV. Conclusion

Our adoption as sons of God was God’s desire and design from the beginning.  Our identity is not in our past failures or successes but in our family ties. We are Children of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!  

Let us not allow the enemy to lie to us and rob us of our inheritance.  We are heirs of God!! We are God’s children!!