We have received the spirit of adoption

...by whom we cry: "Abba! Father!"  Romans 8:15

This verse can move us from a position of fear or dread into a relationship of love. What a contrast!

It tells us:

• “You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.”

Before belonging to Christ, a person could live under several forms of bondage: the fear of judgment, the fear of never being good enough, the fear of God as a distant judge, the fear of death, the fear of spiritual failure…

But in Christ, the believer is no longer under this spirit of slavery. He no longer serves God like a servant trembling before a harsh master.

We now serve God as beloved, welcomed, forgiven children.

This does not mean that we should not approach Him with reverence and holy fear! God remains holy, majestic, and sovereign. But this fear is no longer a fear that drives us away: it is a reverence filled with love.

• We have also received the Spirit of adoption.

God does not merely show grace to the sinner: He brings him into His family.

He does not only forgive us; He says to us:

• “You belong to Me, I have redeemed you, you are My child.”

Adoption speaks of a new identity. The believer is no longer defined by his past, his sins, his falls, his wounds, his limitations, or even his temperament. He is defined by what God has made him in Christ.

He has become a child of God.

As John writes:

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”  1 John 3:1

John strongly emphasizes: “and so we are.”
This is a spiritual and filial reality! Jesus came to restore the Father-child relationship that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

The Christian can freely call God “his Father,” because the word “Abba” is intimate and familiar. It expresses the trust of a child toward his father.

Therefore, the Christian no longer addresses an impersonal power, nor an inaccessible God. He can come to God as to his Father.

What an immense blessing: to have access to the Father and to the throne of grace! Jesus Himself taught us to pray in this way:

“Our Father in heaven…”. Matthew 6:9

This means that I can come to God with my weaknesses, my tears, my needs, my misunderstandings, and my struggles. I can come, not because I think I am strong, but because Christ has opened the way for me.

Because of this, we receive an inner assurance that no one can take away from us!

• “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”   Romans 8:16

What a wonderful assurance!

Of course, the believer may go through times of doubt, dryness, and weakness. But the work of the Spirit is to bring us back to Christ, to grace, to the promise, and to the faithfulness of God.

• Christian assurance does not rest on the question:

“Have I done enough?”

It rests on the fact that:

“Christ has accomplished everything.”

We are no longer slaves to fear or to our past, and we can now look forward to a glorious future with our Lord!

Let us hold this assurance firmly in our hearts!

Franz