THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Romans 8:15-19).

 

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:2, 3).

 

Each of us who have been born again by the Spirit of God has been adopted into the family of God.  From the outset we are fully sons and daughters just as surely as our own children are our sons and daughters the moment they are born.  In terms of maturity, however, we have a lot of growing up to do in order to become fully functioning children of God.  It isn't apparent, looking at ourselves now, just what we will look like or be like once we grow to full maturity.  What is evident, though, is that the more we discover of the Lord Jesus and His true nature, and the more we yield ourselves to that revelation, the more we will be transformed into His likeness.  This is the thing that drives us to become pure even as our Lord and Savior is pure.  It's Christ in us the hope of glory that gives us that power.  It's a hunger and thirst for His righteousness that drives our pursuit of the truth. 

 

God's expectation for every Christian is that they grow up into the full measure of the stature of Jesus Christ, and that they not remain children indefinitely.  And it isn't God's expectation alone, but all of creation is groaning as if it were in child birth, waiting for God's sons to be fully manifested (Romans 8:19).  God has a mighty work for His church to accomplish in the last days, but He cannot fulfill that purpose through a people who are often faithless, quick to murmur when things don't go their way, and easily led into sin.  God is raising over-comers whose faith has been purified by fire, and by the things that they have suffered.  Jesus was the first and the only begotten Son of God; yet even He learned obedience by the things that He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).  We are being tutored by the Holy Spirit of God, and He uses all of the day-to-day struggles, nuisances, temptations, heartaches, and trials in our life to a) get our attention, and b) teach us that we can't trust in ourselves, or our own strength, but we must rely on Him.  Paul spoke of this process when he said, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).  The story of Gideon illustrates this very well.   

 

"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.  And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.  And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.  And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD" (Judges 6:1-6).

 

Israel was in a bad way.  They felt they had to hide themselves for fear of their enemies.  And because they had no faith to stand against their enemies, then those who hated them came up and robbed them of what food they tried to grow.  This kept Israel weak and without hope.   Isn't this what the enemy of our souls does to us today?  Every time God's Word is sown in our hearts, and we feel blessed and encouraged in the Lord; then the enemy of our souls comes in like a flood with doubts, fears, and temptation to rob us of the very thing that would give us strength and nourishment.  God's people are impoverished today in the very same way Israel was.  Instead of affirming the victory and power that we have been given in Christ, we glorify the devil by professing our sins and inability to overcome.  God's people were given a promised land, and it was the Lord's intention that they go in and possess it by defeating the Canaanites one stronghold at a time.  Instead, they were put to the worst by those enemies initially and again later after they had possessed much of that land.  Why couldn't they overcome?  "...they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19).  They failed to believe the promises that God had given them and so fell into sin.  Faith is the victory that overcomes the world - not our willpower, not our mental toughness, and not our best intentions - but faith pure and simple.

 

When God sent His messenger to Gideon, He addressed him in this way, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."  Gideon was as impoverished as the rest of Israel, and felt like anything but a mighty man of valor.  He even questioned if the Lord was with him at all!  The point though is that this is how God sees us: as mighty men (and women) of valor.  And He is with us!  We just need to believe all of the promises that He has given us and enter in and take the land from our enemies.  We have been given the power to bring down the walls and slay the giants.  It is high time that we be outraged like David was by the taunts and insolence of the Goliaths in our lives.  It is time that we quit cowering in the trenches and instead proclaim as David did, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

 

God was very patient with Gideon, and step by step cut away all those things that he trusted in outside of God Himself.  His father's misguided religion, the army that he raised, and his many doubts and fears - one by one God dealt with them until Gideon was willing to withstand a substantial enemy host with only 300 men.  God is very patient with us also.  We must wholly believe what He has promised He will do in and through us.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him.  The Israelites got bogged down because of all the distractions that they found in Canaan, and to this day they have never taken all of the land that God originally said would be theirs.  Their devotion turned to idolatry because they refused to walk by faith.   

 

I want my testimony to be one of victory and praise for the One Who has delivered me from the powers of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.  I want to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in my life rather than be conformed to the way the rest of the world is living.  I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me because it is God Who is working in me to will and to perform His good pleasure.  I want to learn to live as a son of my heavenly Father, with His nature imprinted in my spiritual man; and not as a servant of sin, and a bondservant of the world.

 

The Lord looked on Gideon and said to him, "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" (Judges 6:14).  The more we put on Christ, and put off ourselves, the more the power of the Son of God will be manifested in us, and we will be able to speak salvation to a dying world, and set souls free from the hand of their enemies.  The Prophet Daniel said of the last days, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he [the antichrist] corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many.” (Daniel 11:32, 33).

 

We have been called to, “…be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14, 15).  When Jesus delivered His great commission to the disciples, He said that all power had been given to Him in heaven and in earth – ALL POWER!  The next thing that He said was “Go ye therefore…” (see Matthew 28:18-20).  Jesus told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  He said that those who believed would be saved.  Finally He said that many signs and wonders would follow those who believed.  Jesus’ commission has been passed on to believers down through the ages so that His Church, His body, can continue to grow.  Because all power is His, we can now go forth!  God has passed this power down to us through His Son Jesus Christ.  Scripture says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). 

 

What characteristic is it that defines a son of God, and distinguishes him (or her) from everyone else?  Simply this: they hear the Father’s voice through the Holy Spirit that has been placed in them, and they allow that Spirit to lead them in their life decisions and the values that govern their everyday choices.

 

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Ro 8:14).  They are learning to follow the Lamb of God wherever He goes!  (See Revelation 14:4).  God is not satisfied with us just warming pews!  There is a generation of lost souls who are hungry to hear the good news of their salvation.  Are you willing to stand before God some day and say, “It wasn’t my job to reach them”?  God has a job for every believer to do.  The Holy Spirit will teach us what that job is, if we listen.  It may be to preach, to teach, to heal, to help, to intercede, or any of the many spiritual gifts that God says He has given us.  We must not let that gift go to waste!  It is high time that the world begin to see the manifestation of the sons of God.  God is willing.  Now it is time that we be willing also.