REVISITING THE BELIEVER'S POSITIONAL RICHES IN CHRIST

Part VIII: Applying The Truth That Believers Are Children Of God

I. Introduction

A. Some believers struggle with very painful inferiority complexes that cause all sorts of debilitating problems in their relationships while others exude an abundance of arrogant superiority that intimidate others, with both kinds of people becoming a problem that threatens the unity of the Body of Christ.

B. One of the positional truths we Christians have that, when applied, counters both of these extremes, is the truth of our Biblical identification as a child of God, cf. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. III, "Soteriology," p. 241-242. We view this truth for application and edification (as follows):

II. Applying The Truth That Believers Are Children Of God.

A. The instant a human being believes in Christ as his or her personal Savior from sin, he or she is unconditionally positioned in Christ as a "son of God," John 1:12-13.

B. As the result, various invaluable characteristics are true of the believer, characteristics that reflect his identity as a "son of God" that also counter both inferiority and superiority complexes (as follows):

1. The moment one is justified by faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell him or her and equips that one to view God as his or her Parent in calling God "Father" through the believer, Romans 8:15-16.

2. That believer is also led in his Christian life by the Holy Spirit like a parent leads a small child, Rom. 8:14.

3. The believer then enjoys spiritually edifying qualities in his position in Christ that places him on a level and exalted plane along with every other believer as follows:

a. Being a "son of God," the believer is spiritually born anew into the family of God Himself, John 3:6 with John 1:12-13; 1 Peter 1:23; Ibid., p. 241. There is no greater family lineage!

b. Being a "son of God," the believer is cleansed in the sense of being positionally forgiven by God of all pre-salvation sins through being regenerated into God's family, Titus 3:5; Ibid., p. 241-242.

c. Being a "son of God," the believer is made spiritually alive from a state of spiritual death so that he has an eternal spiritual destiny of spiritual life, Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13.

d. Being a "son of God," the believer becomes a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17; his old, pre-salvation spiritual origin is swallowed up in his new point of spiritual origin in Christ.

e. Being a "son of God," the believer is destined to live forever like God lives, 1 Peter 1:23; any limit to his earthly life can only be temporary in view of his eternal destiny of living forever, 1 Thess. 4:13-14.

f. Being a "son of God," the believer is by grace a joint-heir with Jesus Christ of all that God has created, Romans 8:16-17. Believers are not part owners of creation as co-heirs, but they are joint-heirs, meaning they individually possess all that Christ individually possesses! The believer is indescribably wealthy.

Lesson: The instant a human being believes in Christ as his personal Savior from sin, he becomes a spiritual "son of God," a position with the following attributes: he is equipped by the Holy Spirit Who through the believer relates to God with the enduring term, "Father"; he is led by the Holy Spirit through life like a parent guides a child; he is spiritually born anew into God's family; he is cleansed from all pre-salvation sins; he is made eternally spiritually alive; he is a new creation; he is destined unconditionally to live forever no matter what happens in this earthly life and he is a joint heir with Christ so that he individually possesses all that God has made!

Application: (1) A believer who feels inferior to someone else due to differences in lineage, race, station in life, background, history, financial status, formal educational level, etc. need only focus on his or her "sonship" status before God in Christ for deliverance from such feelings. (2) Conversely, a believer who feels he is innately superior to other believers due to lineage, race, station in life, background, history, financial status, formal educational level, etc. must recall that he is a "son" of God only by the GRACE of God, that every OTHER believer has been raised to that same level of spiritual sonship along with him! (3) Every believer can then call God "Father," he is led by the Holy Spirit like a parent leads a child, he is spiritually born into God's family with the highest pedigree in the universe, he is cleansed of all pre-salvation sins, he has a new point of origin as a "new creation" in Christ, he is destined for a perfect, eternal existence regardless of physical limitations and he is owner with Christ of everything God has created. (4) Accordingly, every believer should view himself positionally on a station in life that is equal to that of every other believer in the Lord regardless of human distinctions such as race, gender, station in life, background, history, financial status, formal educational level, etc., thus contributing to the unity of the Body of Christ in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)