Devo 50: Guarantee of our Inheritance as Sons

Daddy, Papa, Abba, Father...God is our Dad. Jesus turned everything on its head when He called God “Abba Father.” But Jesus knew our place as sons and daughters. He knew that we could come to the Father through His Son.


Over and over again, Jesus and the apostles spoke of our place as sons and daughters of the Most High God. Many times, this is in the context of freedom from sin, demonic powers, or the law. When we truly realize that God is our dad, our faith will go to a whole new level and many of our worries, fears, and anxieties will dissipate.

In Romans 8:15-16, Paul says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” (NKJV) It is the testimony of the Holy Spirit that bears witness that we are children of God. When we talk to Holy Spirit or “abide in Him,” it is a testimony to our place as sons and daughters, and we can then cry out to Him.

Paul also speaks of this in Galatians 4 and that passage says that the Spirit is “crying out” which indicates that once we have the Holy Spirit in us, He continually cries out to the Father. He is making intercession for us. Romans 8:26 goes into more detail about this intercession by saying it is a “groaning too deep for words” (NASB)

Again in Ephesians 1, Paul also speaks of our place as sons and daughters, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself… (Eph 1:3, 5). He then goes on to speak of our redemption through the blood of Jesus and how we now have an inheritance as our purchased possession. Again, he speaks of the witness of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance (Eph. 1:13).

In each of these passages, the witness of the Spirit is mentioned along with our identity as sons and daughters. Also, in each of these passages, there is a freedom that comes from the witness of the spirit in the place of our identity as sons. In Romans 8, we become free of fear. In Galatians 4, we are free from the Law. Ephesians 1 is an introduction into the rest of the book which goes on to speak of our place seated with Christ in heaven far above principalities and powers (which is the demonic realm) (Eph. 1:3, 2:6, 3:10, 3:21, 6:12). So, from our identity as sons in Ephesians 1, we are free from demonic powers.

The problem is however, that many of us never find our identity as sons and we never use our weapons to fight. Much of the problem is because we have a distorted view of the Father. Also, much of the problem is that we have never truly felt that witness of the Holy Spirit, or if we have, we have neglected to continue growing in our relationship with Him.

When Jesus walked the earth as a Man, He told us that when He went away, He would not leave us as orphans, but that He would send the Holy Spirit—the Comforter (paracletos, GK), to help us (Jn 14:16-18). The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we have not been left as orphans, but that the Lord will return to us and we will enter into our full inheritance as sons and daughters of the King.

Even though all of this is laid out for us in scripture, many people never actually walk in their identity as sons and daughters. Many of us get beat down by fear, anxiety, worry, depression, oppression, etc…and we never taste that freedom we have in Christ. He who the Son sets free is free indeed (Jn. 8:36).

There could be many teachings on what it is to walk in our identity as heirs—I have already taught on it many times, but I will say that the primary way is through fellowship with the Holy Spirit of promise. John 14-17 is all about our relationship with Holy Spirit. He is a person, the third person of the Trinity. He wants to be known even as the Father and Son are known.

In John 15, Jesus speaks on abiding in the Spirit and having fellowship with the Spirit. He warns that any branch who does not abide in the vine will be cut off. We cannot lose our communication with the Holy Spirit. We cannot decide, “Oh, I am not going to talk to you today…” I have tried that—trust me, it’s a bad idea. Anyone who does not abide in the vine will be cut off.

This is not to make us afraid of doing something wrong, but it is a reality check that we have to talk to Holy Spirit. We have to communicate with the Father and Son through Holy Spirit on a continual basis—all day, everyday.

What are some practical ways of doing that? First of all, we have to ask the Lord to help us abide in the vine. We have to ask Holy Spirit for that “witness” of the Spirit. There are many teachings and different theories on that doctrine, but I am not going to argue those right now. Ask the Lord about them. Read scriptures about the witness of the Spirit. Let Him explain it to you.

He wants to be known way more than we want to know Him (Jn 17:3). All we have to do is ask. The Lord said in Luke 12, “Fear not, little children, for it is my delight to give you the kingdom!” (Lk. 12:32). He says this just after saying that we can ask anything in His name and He will give it in Luke 11.

Ask Holy Spirit to give you that spirit of adoption that breaks the bondage of fear, the law (striving to attain our own righteousness), and demonic oppression. Ask Him to cry out on your behalf and tell Him that you agree with Him in intercession for your own spirit.

Then make agreements with scriptural promises over your life such as Jn. 8:36, II Cor. 5:17, and I Jn 4:4. Say these scriptures out loud and make them personal such as: “I am a new creation…” Break agreements with lies you have spoken over yourself and repent for agreeing with them. Say out loud that you no longer agree with those lies (name the lie), and when they come back, begin speaking the promises of God over your life rather than thinking about the lies.

Then ask Holy Spirt to fill you with His presence. I have faith that He will do it! Ask Him for a tangible witness of the Spirit.

There is so much more I can say, but I have already said enough. I have attached one or two similar devos in this email.

“Lord, I ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit to fill each person as they read this. I ask for a tangible presence to be in their room. Bless them and make your face shine on them in the Precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Amanda
 
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