The Marks of Sonship - Part Three

Posted 7/24/14 by Donald Barnhouse
SCRIPTURE
John 1:11-14
 
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
LESSON
 
Our word power is the English translation of several different Greek words. One of these is dunamis, from which we get dynamo, dynamite, dynamic. This word describes that power which manifests itself in mighty works. It is a divinely provided energy that changes lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the dynamic power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. (See Rom. 1:16.)
 
Another word is kratos, from which we get autocrat, plutocrat, aristocrat, democrat. This is power which manifests itself in dominion and rule. Neither of these words is used in John 1:12. The word there is exousia, meaning authority, or right, or permission. When Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers, the leaders said, "By what authority doest thou these things?" (Mark 11:28). It is the same word. To as many as receive Christ, God has given the right and authority to become the sons of God.
 
A schoolteacher in a small Central American village challenged a missionary, "Since God created the race, are we not all His children?"
Looking about the schoolroom the missionary answered, "Who made those benches?"
The teacher replied, "Jose made them."
"Do you believe that these benches are Jose's children since he made them?"
"Oh, no!"
"But why don't you?"
"They don't have the life of Jose in them."
Looking straight at the teacher, the missionary asked, "Do you have the life of God in you?"
 
It is not true that all men are sons of God. Only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive His life become the sons of God. This mark of sonship, the right or authority to be sons of God is the theme of the Gospel of John.
The second mark of sonship is the right to call Him Father. It was not always so. You do not find any suggestions of this privilege in the whole of the Old Testament. Our relationship to God as sons depends upon the work which Christ accomplished at the cross of Calvary.
 
How different our manner of approach to God from that of believers who lived before Christ came! This fact is not always understood, even by Christians. In 1918, just after the Armistice which ended World War I, a great Bible conference was held in Carnegie Hall in New York City. The minister who opened the session with prayer addressed God in this manner: "O Thou great and terrible God, great is Thy majesty, great is the distance that separates us from Thee! From the abyss of our helpless and lost condition we cry after Thee, guilty sinners that we are! Have mercy upon us, oh, God and . . ." There was much more in the same vein, but about that moment in prayer, one of the Bible teachers on the platform, a dear old man of God, whispered softly to the man next to him, "Why doesn't someone give that man a New Testament?"
 
We do not need to stand away from God, afraid to approach Him because of the majesty of His holiness. He has preached peace to us who were far off so that we might draw near to Him with full assurance in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has told us that we may come boldly to the throne of grace to find strength for help in time of need. (See Heb. 4:16.)
STUDY QUESTIONS
 
  • What does it mean that we as children of God have “the right or authority to be sons of God”?
  • Is there a fear of lacking reverence if we think God too “near”?
  • How does this understanding of God’s immanence teach us about reverence?