Adopted Children of God
Speaker Notes
Romans 8:13-17
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
2 Corinthians 3:18
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13b-14
13b When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Everett F. Harrison in his Commentary on the Book of Romans:
All to often, a believer may come to the point of doubting his salvation, because his sanctification has proceeded so slowly and so lamely. The Spirit, however, does not base his assuring testimony on progress, or lack of it, in the christian life. The Spirit does not lead us to cry out “I am God’s child!” Rather, he leads us to call upon God as “Father” – to look away from ourselves to Him who established the relationship.
David Thorp was the Director of Catholics Come Home for the Archdiocese of Boston