For all who are led by the Spirit
of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall
back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom
we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that
we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be
glorified with him.
If by the
Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you are being led by the Spirit
– and this is the sign or evidence that one is a child of God. There are those
who claim all people are children of God, but this is not true in the sense
spoken of here. Unredeemed sinners were made in the image of God but must be
born by the Spirit of God to become His children. There are some who claim a
specific sign or gift must be in evidence of all of God’s children, such as speaking
in gibberish tongues or having a second baptism in the Holy Spirit. But Paul
says elsewhere, There is one body and one
Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
The universal church, the total number of redeemed saints, are THE body of
Christ, each and all are indwelt by THE Holy Spirit, subject to ONE Lord in ONE
faith, ONE baptism, belonging to the ONE God. This baptism that ALL children of
God participate in is not the water baptism that characterizes Baptist
churches. It is the same thing as the circumcision made without human hands
spoken about elsewhere – the invisible yet undeniable work almighty God does on
each person ransomed from hell and death by the all sufficient work of Christ
Jesus. In Christ there is no Gentile, Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, or female.
It’s not that we lose those characteristics when we get saved (slaves are told
not to worry about being free since they are free indeed in Christ); it’s that
these things which matter so much to mortal man do not make a difference in the
kingdom of God.
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