7 Breathtaking Privileges Of Being A Child Of God

1. Security 
We are not to fear, but enjoy sonship (v 15a).
An employee or a servant basically obeys out of fear of punishment, loss of job,
etc. But a child-parent relationship is not characterized by a fear of losing
the relationship.

2. Authority 
We have the status not of “a slave” but of
“sonship” (v 15a). In a house, slaves have no authority. They can only do what
they are told. But under their parents, children do have authority in the house
— they are not mere servants. The children of God are given authority over sin
and the devil. They are to move about in the world knowing that it belongs to
their Father. There should be a confidence and poise about them. Children have
the honor of the family name. There is a wonderful new status conferred on
us.

3. Intimacy 
“By him we cry, ‘Abba’” (v 15b). We need to know
the original language here. “Abba” was an Aramaic term which is best translated
“Daddy” — a term of the greatest intimacy. A child does not always (or even
often) address his father as “Father”; likely, he has a different term for him
that shows his loving, trusting familiarity with his father, such as “Dad” or
“Papa” or “Daddy.” And this is how Christians can approach the all-powerful
Creator of the universe, who sustains every atom in existence moment by
moment!

Martyn Lloyd-Jones is worth quoting here: “Let us notice the word
‘cry’… we cry ‘Abba, Father.’ It is a very strong word, and clearly the
apostle has used it quite deliberately. It means ‘a loud cry’… it expresses
deep emotion… It is the spontaneity of the child who sees the father … and not
only spontaneity, but confidence.” (Romans Chapter 8:5-17, pages 240-242)

4. Assurance 
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God’s children” (v 16). When we cry out to God as “Abba,” the Spirit
of God somehow comes alongside us (“with our spirit”) and gives us assurance
that we truly are in God’s family. There is a lot of debate about the nature of
this “testimony,” but it appears to be an inner witness in the heart, a sense
that yes, he really loves me.

Notice, Paul says our spirit is already
testifying: “The Spirit … testifies with our spirit.” This means we already have
evidence that we are Christians. We know we trust Christ. We have his promises.
We see our lives changing and growing. All these pieces of evidence lead our
“spirit” — our hearts — to have a measure of confidence that we really are his.
But Paul says that the Spirit can come alongside us and, in addition to all we
see, “testify.” This seems to refer to a direct testimony of the Spirit in our
hearts. This probably is a sense of God’s immediate presence and love that
sometimes comes to us (something Paul has already spoken of back in 5:5). We
don’t get this all the time, or even often; and it may not be a very strong
feeling. But there will be times when, as we cry out to Abba, we find ourselves
deeply assured that he really is our Abba. That is the Spirit’s work, testifying
for us and to us that we truly are sons of the living God.

5. Inheritance 
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs”
(v 17). This means we have an incredible future. In more ancient times, the
first son was the heir. There may have been many children, and all were loved,
but the heir got the largest share of the wealth and carried on the family name.
This was the way a great family kept its influence intact and did not have it
divided and dissipated. (Paul’s reference should not be read as either
supporting or rejecting this practice. It is simply illustrative.) Now, in a
breathtaking turn, he calls all Christians “heirs of God.” This is a miracle, of
course, because the heir got the lion’s share of the parent’s wealth. Paul is
saying that what is in store for us is so grand and glorious that it will be,
and will feel, as though we each had alone gotten most of the glory of
God.

6. Discipline 
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs …
if indeed we share in his sufferings“ (v 17). Fathers always discipline their
children. When parents discipline a child, they allow or introduce a milder form
of pain in order to teach or mature the child away from behavior that will lead
to far greater pain later. Hebrews 12:9-10 explains: “We have all had human
fathers who disciplined us… but God disciplines us for our good.” A good
father will lovingly discipline. He will not use his authority selfishly to
indulge his own need to feel powerful or in control. But neither will he be so
needy for his child’s love and approval that he never does what is hard or
difficult. It is a (painful) privilege to be put through discipline by the most
loving Father in the universe.

7. Family likeness 
“We share in his sufferings” (Romans
8:17). Christians will suffer, not simply in the pains of this world that all
people face, but specifically because they are brothers and sisters of Christ.
Christ faced rejection because of who he was, and because he had come to expose
sinfulness, warn of judgment and offer salvation through himself. Likewise, his
family will suffer in the same ways as they live for him and speak of him. We
get to be like him! God works in us and through our circumstances so that we
would “be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers” (v 29). Though we are adopted, God actually implants
Christ’s nature in us. As sons of God, we actually come to resemble the Son of
God. As we bear the family likeness of suffering, we become more and more like
the Son, and our Father, in our characters and attitudes. This is how the
Christian looks at persecution and counts it as a privilege (eg: Acts 5:41; 1
Peter 4:13, 16).

We get to be like him!

[written by Timothy
Keller]