The treasure of being a son of God

The apostle Paul summed it up well when he said, “Christ in you is the hope of glory.” Col 1:27. Unless Christ is in you, there is no hope in the resurrection nor will there be any glory in the resurrection. The only thing that will be glorified in the resurrection is the perfect will of God the Father seen in the completed work and offering of Jesus Christ. For those who are in Christ as part of His completed work, the resurrection and the revealing of our sonship in Christ will be glorious.

As glorious as it will be in that day, when we appear like Him, equally glorious is the revealing of Christ in us while we live this life. Only those who are in Christ can reveal the life of Christ to the world.

In this life we treasure our calling to be sons of God. We consider it to be the highest of all callings, higher than any other title or status. Every other title we receive in this life is with a view to glory that is for this life alone. And like the flowers of the field their glory is revealed one day but is gone the next.

The calling to unique sonship in Christ is something of immense worth. In this life, our rejoicing begins with the hope of and then the call to sonship. As we mature, we further rejoice in the lived expression of our sonship. We rejoice as the hand of our loving Father fashions and forms us into the son He foreknew. As we receive from His hand, we rejoice knowing that we are doing the works He prepared for us. We rejoice as we are conformed to His will even in the midst of suffering.

As we live as sons of God we are strengthened to keep seeking the things that are from above (where Christ is seated) and not the things that are from the earth. We live by the faith of the Son of God and are not persuaded or distracted from the things that are unseen and eternal by the things that are seen and passing away. 2 Cor 4:18. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of God the Father. Rom 8:38-39. In faith we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Php 3:14. And in hope, we wait for that great day, knowing that when Christ who is our life is revealed, then we will also be revealed with Him in glory. Col 1:1-4.

Fellowship in His blood

When Jesus took the cup and gave it to His disciples He said “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”. Matt 14:22-25, Matt 26:26-29. Luke said it this way “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood”. Luke 22:20.

Consider how Jesus took the cup and gave it to them. Later in Luke 22 we read that Jesus has gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. As He prays He speaks about ‘a cup’. “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done”. Luke 22:42. Having appealed to the Father concerning the cup, Jesus was strengthened receiving the power of eternal spirit so that He could drink the cup the Father had given Him. Heb 9:14. As He raises the cup to drink it, His blood begins to flow as His sweat becomes like drops of blood.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of Jesus in the Garden saying “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” Heb 5:7. “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation”. Heb 5:9.

Our obedience is seen at communion where the command of Christ is ‘Drink from this cup!’ Jesus said to them “This is My blood”. The cup given to us by Christ to drink is filled with His blood. Christ’s blood was shed as He suffered from Gethsemane through to the cross.

When we partake of the communion we are obeying the command of Christ to ‘Drink His blood’. Our obedience joins us with Christ where His blood was shed. In other words, to drink the cup, is to join in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. It is by this action that life comes to us. The lesson of communion is therefore fellowship. Concerning the fellowship of the communion Jesus said “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” John 6:54.

The New Covenant in His blood becomes effective when we drink of it. When we drink of it all of the ‘better promises’ made available in the New Covenant become substantial in our mortal bodies. Heb 8:6.

The ‘precious blood’ of Jesus Christ

“…you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Pet 1:18-19

From a biological perspective, there was nothing extraordinary about Christ’s blood. It was the same blood as ours. In Hebrews we read that since we share in flesh and blood He partook of the same. Heb 2:14-16. And just like us, His blood contained His biological life. While it flowed through His body He had biological life. He was sustained in the flesh in the same way that we are. He was indeed the Son of Man who shared in the weakness of our humanity. Heb 4:15.

Even though Christ shared in our humanity, He did not cease to be God. The thing that made Christ’s blood extraordinary was that it contained His soul. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus Christ “poured out His soul unto death” when His blood was shed as an offering on the cross. Is 53:12. While Christ partook of the same biological life in flesh and blood that we have, Christ’s life or His identity as God the Son, was in His blood as the Son of Man. This is what made it precious – more precious than any other saint who ever had or ever would lay his life down for another. It was ‘by reason of the soul’ that resided within His blood that He was able to make atonement for us. Lev 17:11. “In Him we have redemption through His blood.” Eph 1:7

Having shared in our humanity He became our ‘next of kin’; someone who is related to us by blood. This enabled Him to function as our ‘kinsman-redeemer’, where a member of the family (kin) could redeem another. Ruth 3-4, Lev 25:25-26. As the Son of Man, Christ became related to us ‘by blood’ and as our Kinsman-Redeemer, redeemed us from sin. “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.” Heb 2:16.

The blood of Jesus Christ was indeed precious. It was a great treasure that could redeem all of mankind in one offering on the cross.

He Has Made Me a Select Arrow

“The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me. He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand he has concealed Me. And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. He said to Me, “You are My servant, Israel, in Whom I will show My glory.” Isaiah 49:1-3

In writing these words the prophet Isaiah was not just referring to himself but was speaking of Jesus Christ and all those who are in Christ. God has named each one of us and made us to be a select arrow. Psalm 127:4 says, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.” Arrows go the way you aim them. The Lord has a very definite aim for our lives, a certain direction in which He has purposed. We were not designed to be aimless but to hit God’s intended mark for our lives. Sin is to miss the mark that God has aimed our lives to go in. God has predestined us to become conformed to the image of His son. (Rom 8:29) How select can you get!

For the arrow to go in the way it is aimed it firstly has to be crafted Thought for the Week by Allan Willsand then placed in the hand of a warrior. An arrow can’t direct itself. A warrior is someone who is trained and skilled in how to both craft and fire an arrow. They have sight to aim the arrow in the direction it needs to go. The Lord has graciously given to us skilled warriors, fatherhood and motherhood, to oversee our lives. We need to submit to God’s hand upon our lives if we are to hit the intended target that God has purposed for us. We also note that the arrow has a home, it is to be hidden in His quiver. The quiver in which every son of God is hidden is the body of Christ. If we are not committed to abiding in the fellowship and protection of the quiver then we are not in a place where God can select and use us.

When prophesying of the restoration of God’s people to their predestined sonship the prophet Zechariah describes them as ‘arrows going forth like lightning’. (Zech 9:14) John the Baptist was certainly one such arrow. “He was a burning and shining light.” (John 5:35 KJ) The aim of his life was to be a messenger who revealed the Saviour, Jesus Christ. God has chosen each one of us to be His messengers, “arrows going forth like lightning”.

A Plumb Line in His Hand

“Thus he showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing on a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel.” Amos 7:7-8

When you build a building a plumb line is used to make sure that what you are building is in line. We sometimes use the expression ‘that’s plumb’ to describe something that is straight and in line. When writing to God’s people the apostle Peter describes them as living stones who are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pet 2:5) In terms of His house, it’s priesthood and it’s offering, everything must measure to Jesus Christ. He is the plumb line for all that is true. The world and its wisdom is not the plumb line for the church. Jesus is the plumb line to what lines up to being Christian or not. As sons of God we are defined by the plumb line of His word towards our lives and not what the world says.

We also see that the plumb line is in the hand of the Lord. This is an important consideration for us to note. In order for each son of God to grow up into the fullness of their sonship we must accept the hand of God that is bringing His plumb line upon our lives. The fivefold ascension gift ministry grace given by Christ Himself is His hand operating amongst His church to bring each son to the full maturity of the measure of their sonship. (Eph 4:11-13) We need to seek out and love the hand that holds the plumb line. It is for our spiritual good not our detriment.

In the book of Revelation the apostle John is given a measuring rod like a staff with which he is to measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. (Rev 11:1) The measuring rod, which is akin to the plumb line, is God’s word. The temple of God is the place of worship, the altar is the way of worship and those who worship are the worshippers themselves; you and me. The Lord is standing in the midst of His people with a plumb line in His hand. Now is not a time for delay but a time to be alert and take heed. (Matt 24:42-51)