Who Are God's Sons?

In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul writes especially about the work of the Holy Spirit. He drew a very sharp line and made a definite separation between being carnally and spiritually minded. He teaches us that we can only be partakers of God’s spiritual life if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead also dwells in us.

In the above mentioned text, he says very clearly that we can only be a child of God if we are led by the Spirit of God! It is generally known among us, that the third Person, in the one being of God, pre-eminently bears the name of the Holy Spirit. Not that He is, in regard to the other two divine Persons, more spirit, or has more spirituality than the Father and the Son, for the three divine Persons are all of one spirit.

The name Spirit particularly fits the third Person, for He proceeds from the Father and the Son, by way of “breathing” On. 20:22). In Hebrew, Greek and Latin, his name means “Breather”! Moreover, He is the cause, the origin of all spirituality in the believer. For “that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.” Likewise, his manner of working is totally spiritual. Furthermore, Paul calls him in this text: “The Spirit of God.” Not that He is not God of Himself, but because He proceeds from the Father and the Son. Therefore, He is sometimes called the Spirit of the Father, or at other times, the Spirit of the Son.

Paul credits the Holy Spirit with leading believers! God’s Word speaks about the regenerating, enlightening, sanctifying, comforting, and establishing work of the Holy Spirit.

To need leading makes us think of a blind person who needs guidance from another, or of a small child who cannot be entrusted to himself. This text shows us clearly that not everyone is led by the Spirit of God. As long as we live in our sad natural state, we are led by another spirit, namely, the spirit of the devil. This evil spirit took residence within our hearts when we, in Paradise, thrust the Holy Spirit out of our hearts. That wrong spirit leads us to destruction, blinds us, infatuates us, and causes us to choose death above life. So many are willing to be led by this spirit even though the end will be eternal destruction. Unfortunately, even in the religious realm, there is much that looks encouraging but sooner or later appears to be the work of Satan. This we could call the work of the spirit of imitation!

The text says that only they who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The Spirit of God leads God’s elect out of darkness into his marvelous light. God’s Spirit regenerates and renews His people, making their dead souls alive.

God’s Spirit does not first lead us to Jesus, but to our lost state before God. Let us never forget that the work of making room for Christ precedes the revelation of Christ. As long as we do not know our sinful state, our guilt, and the impossibility of being saved, what would we do with Jesus?

This is why the Holy Spirit discovers and convicts us of our sin and guilt. He works in us a godly sorrow of repentance, not to be repented of. He works a homesickness for God, a thirst after the living God. The only object of God’s people is God Himself, and His communion. That’s why their sins become so bitter — because they have caused the breach between God and their soul. Woe unto us that we have sinned so much! Neither good works nor our self-righteousnesses are able to deliver us. All of us are stained, defiled through sin, and are as filthy rags before God.

Oh, certainly, God is merciful, but He is also just! Therefore He will have His justice satisfied. The Spirit of God binds the claim of God’s justice upon the soul and this brings us into the impossibility of being saved from our side. No, we cannot produce the ransom. So we lie as in the open field to the loathing of our person, in our helplessness and inability. God is right and just and we have deserved eternal death. Led by God’s Spirit, God’s people become honest and can acknowledge this. They fall toward God, before God, and under God, in His divine justice.

Dear reader, do we know something of this experientially? Do we know experientially that we are lost and damnable before God? This is experienced by those who are led by the Spirit unto Jesus who came to seek and to save sinners. This is the work of the Holy Spirit when He initially begins to work in their hearts. And this, His work, has but one goal. He aims to glorify the Lord Jesus in the heart of a sinner. They have no feet to walk, but the Holy Spirit leads them to flee unto the God-given Savior. The Spirit teaches them how to cast themselves as lost ones at Jesus’ feet. What preciousness and suitability they may see in Him who is so willing to show them His mercy! The Holy Spirit removes all their objections and teaches them to pray: “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me!”

What a wonder it becomes when the Spirit opens our ears and hearts to hear from Jesus’ blessed lips: “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” Oh, then we want nothing except to be helped, rescued and delivered by Him! Full of love, our hearts will burn for Him. Yes, the Holy Spirit knows how to glorify Christ within us. For Christ is altogether lovely.

At such a time we thought that we should have received the assurance of faith in the shortest possible time, so we could say: “My Beloved is mine, and I am His!” Why does He tarry so long? Because the Holy Spirit has to teach us so much, because “we know not what manner of spirit we are of.” We do not see that God’s way of salvation is a way of justice. Before God’s Spirit can lead us unto Jesus as the great Prince of Life, He has to bring us first into the garden of Gethsemane and into the judgment hall of Gabbatha. We do not like that way any more than the disciples did.

However, whether we like it or not, the Spirit of God works through (not according to our desires), but first of all to glorify God, and to adorn God’s attributes. Instead of leading towards the fulfilment of our hearts’ desires, He leads us deeper into the tragic fall in Adam, into the fact that we broke His covenant in Paradise.

How good, holy and perfect we were originally created from the hands of God our Creator! We bore God’s image, lived in God’s communion and shared His friendship. No matter how deeply we may search, we cannot find anything but the fact that God made man upright. Oh, how much we owe God!

Wilfully and voluntarily we broke away from God; we broke His covenant and desecrated His majesty. That’s why we are sentenced to death. On account of God’s justice and truth, only death can fulfil the punishment of sin. However we may seek or try to find a way out, there is none! It becomes so true: “No place of flight or refuge near; and none to whom my soul is dear.” God will have His justice satisfied! We cannot satisfy this with even our sweetest experiences, comforts or promises received, because God’s justice demands a justice equal to His law.

The soul becomes so frightened when God’s Spirit leads it to the smoking and cursing Sinai; when God’s justice pursues it; when Satan claims his right and our conscience accuses and condemns us. Who shall dwell with a devouring fire? Who shall dwell with an everlasting burning? This is only possible in Him whose sacrifices have appeased God’s wrath and extinguished his anger. How indispensable and necessary the Lord Jesus becomes then for us, as being “He who was brought as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.”

The necessity to be found in Him, to be covered with His righteousness is experienced. However, if Christ and His righteousness will ever be granted to us, we have to die to all that is outside of Him, we have to be crucified to all our foundations, yes, we have to lose our own life and to find our life in Christ.

Our time to be saved is very short, and eternity is endless. Do you belong to the truly concerned? Keep courage! God delivers at His time and He leads by His Spirit to a wonderful peace and salvation. “Wait on the Lord, nor faint, nor fear; yea, trust and wait, the Lord is near!” The guidance of the Holy Spirit is wonderful and glorifies God. While we always seek ourselves and our salvation God seeks first of all His honor. We seek salvation in a way that seems right in our eyes, in maintaining our own life. Satan’s word is so true: “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has, will he give for his life.” Only he who shall lose his life, shall save it. To bring us there, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. What a blessing if He will lead us to the place where we will love God’s attributes more than our own salvation! Then we may fall to God’s side. We would rather go lost forever than that one of God’s attributes should be offended. When God has to condemn us to eternal death on account of His justice, we may and will be able to accept this. There we will sign our sentence of death and accept our hell-worthiness.

But there is another one who has been summoned before a holy Judge, in the stead of His people, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. He presents His merits to His Father and that is the basis whereupon the Father can find satisfaction, and upon which it can be said: “Deliver him from going to the pit!” On account of Jesus’ merits, sacrifice and intercession, the condemned sinner is acquitted. We receive the richest gifts out of the hands of Him against whom we have sinned, namely, God’s own Son, as our God-given Savior—and all His benefits.

He is our Surety, our Redeemer, our Bridegroom and our Savior. Oh, wonderful, blessed time when the Holy Spirit reveals and applies this to our hearts! He grants knowledge of our acquittal, yes, of all that God has granted us, and assures us concerning our state before God. We may then stand firm in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. For, only if the Son shall have made us free, shall we be free indeed. But, beloved, do not make the great mistake of thinking that you have no more need for the leading of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, we become more dependent, more helpless, more foolish, and more poor than ever before. The Spirit leads us in a way that we daily die spiritually more and more. Regarding our state, we are rich for we are, and we know that we are sons of God, but concerning our condition, we become a poor beggar. We have nothing of ourselves, and we cannot perform anything because we are deeply dependent of the administration of the Holy Spirit. He has to instruct us to live out of Christ, for without Him we can do nothing. And yet, this poor, beggarly sinner’s life is such a rich life for then we live in, through and with someone else, namely, Jesus. The more the Holy Spirit grants us from Christ, the poorer we become of ourselves.

If you are still unconverted, please seek the Lord, while He can be found. Our Heidelberg Catechism says so clearly in Q.116: ‘That God will give His grace and His Spirit to those only who with sincere desire continually ask them of Him.” May we know something of the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Do not forget that it is only by free grace! For the Lord does not lead us for our sake, but only for His own Name’s sake. May it be our continual prayer to be led and instructed by the Holy Spirit.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true;
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart;
Steadfast make my willing heart!

Rev. A.F. Honkoop is pastor of the Gereformeerde Cemeente (Netherlands Reformed Congregation) of Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. Translated from De Saambinder.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen