Rabbi Schneider - The Spirit of Adoption
Baruch Hashem. Bless the name of the Lord. We are continuing in the Word of God today as we're journeying through the book of Romans. Now, last time I was talking about the 14 verse of chapter 8, which says, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God". Now, a lot of times we don't realize the importance of what it means to be called and to be identified as a son or a daughter of the Lord. Now, let me, first of all, clarify that sometimes women may have a harder time fully integrating this language because it simply says here "sons of God". It doesn't say "daughters of God". But in reality the Lord is speaking to both male and female here. Sonship includes both the male and the female species. It's the same thing.
You see, biblically speaking, when we trace through the genealogies of the scriptures, we find that it's the seed of the man that determines the identity of the child. And so, for example, when you trace different figures, both in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament, they'll say, "So and so is the son of so and so who's the son of so and so". So they trace the identity through the father. So that's all that's happening here. So whether you're a woman or a man, when the Lord says that we are sons of God, it's the same thing. We are, beloved, His offspring. In fact, many of the more modern translations are actually saying "sons and daughters of God" just to make that point clear.
But I want to take a few minutes now for you and I to focus on the fact that too often all of us are guilty of looking for our identity in something more than being sons of God. In other words, we're not looking to find out who we are by understanding that we're sons and daughters of God first. But rather we're looking for our identity first in our title, in our job, or looking for our identity in how we look. We're looking for our identity in how we reflect ourselves to be to other people. But if we only knew what it meant to be a son and a daughter of God, if we really knew what that meant, we wouldn't be looking to anything or anyone else for our identities.
You know, Jesus, when He came out of the Jordan River, He heard the Father's voice saying to Him, "You are my beloved Son and in you I am well pleased". That was enough for Jesus. He didn't need anybody to pat Him on the back. He didn't need to be approved by the Pharisees. He didn't need to be living in a big house to feel good about Himself. Yeshua just knowing that He was the Son of the Father and all that meant that all the Father's love was focused on Him, that His destiny was secure, that everything that the Father had was His, knowing that His entire identity was bound in the Father was all that Yeshua wanted, or needed.
Now, what's the point? The point is, beloved, that I'm calling you and I back to seeking revelation from the Father as to what does it mean to be a son and His daughter. If we only knew what it meant. We read this verse, that we are sons of God, and it kind of like it doesn't really register. Listen to what Paul said in the book of Ephesians 1. He said, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love". Now get this. "He predestined us to adoptions as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace..."
Everything, beloved that you and I could ever want, could ever long for, could ever dream of that would really satisfy we have in Him. And as we enter into knowing who we are, as Yahweh, as the God of Israel's son and daughter, if we knew all that that meant, we would be completely happy and we would be totally complete. This is why the Bible says, "In Him you are complete". And so Paul, in talking about the Father's great plan of what He has accomplished for us through Messiah, talks about, first of all, what He has done is He's made you His son and daughter. Let's continue on. "For you are being led by the Spirit of God,..." If you're being led by the Spirit of God, you are the sons of God. Let me read it again. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God". Let's continue. "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father.'"
The whole thing is focused on us being His son and daughter. Now, we read this word that "we've been adopted". And sometimes in our secular society, we think about adoption, we think it's a great thing. But we think that, you know, adoption is great. And if you're adopted, you might even know that your parents that adopted you, not your biological parents, but the parents that adopted you they love you, even as they love their own biological children if they have biological children. And when the Lord speaks about us being adopted, He loves us, beloved, listen now, not just as somebody that He's brought in, but He loves us, get it, as His own children.
There's nothing that says, we are now born of His Spirit, born of the Spirit of Yeshua of Jesus. We are His own children. We're flesh of His flesh, bone of His bones, spirit of spirit. You and I were made for Him. And this is what we should be focused on in our prayer life. Too oftentimes we're praying about all this stuff, and all of it's important, but we're missing the main thing: to come into the revelation of who we are in Him. And if you're a son, if you're a daughter, what that means, listen, is that all the strength of the Father's love is focused on you. And if all this strength is focused on you, you know what? You've got nothing to fear, you've got nothing to be afraid of because the one whose strength is focused on you is greater than everything.
All authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him. All the Father's strength is focused on you in Yeshua. And because of that, you have a bright future. Paul just got done saying, in the book of Ephesians, we've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And then our destiny is to reign with Him as a son and daughter forever and ever. So what you and I should be focused on is being cleansed of our identity that comes to us from the world. And we should trade that in by saying, "Father, I want to know who I am to you. I want to know how much you love me as your son or daughter". Let's take a moment right now just to pray.
Father God, we ask you to wash us and cleanse us of our false identities, that we think of ourselves, Father, God, according to the flesh. We spent so much time looking in the mirrors, looking at the color of our hair. We spent so much time, Father, trying to project an image to the world because we want the world to think of us a certain way. Father, forgive us for spending so much of our energy trying to pursue the American dream and the things that the world has to give us thinking that that's what defines us and that's what gives us significance and worth. Father, we ask You to forgive us. And we humbly repent of looking for life in the world, forsaking you when you've called us to yourself. Father, we say right now that our true identity is only bound up in You. Father, we say You are our Creator, that we were made in Your image, and only knowing who we are to You, only in knowing that will we truly find ourselves.
We're talking about being sons of God and daughters of God. Paul said, "If you're being led by the Spirit of God, You're a son of God". And then Paul went on to say that God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of adoption. We've been adopted by the Father through Jesus. We're not just adopted so that we're part of the family as some type of you know, member that's not fully a born of Him. We're born of Him. We're not adopted only in the sense of legally, we're adopted biologically. We're born of Him, His own sons and daughters. This is where our life is found. This is the call that I'm putting out to you today. We need to start seeking for the revelation of this so that will be brought into our true identities.
In the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, right before Jesus washed His disciples' feet, we read the apostle John writing this: Jesus, knowing that He had come from God... He knew where He had come from. He knew He was the Father's Son. Jesus, knowing that He had come from God, knowing that the Father had given Him all things... So He knew that God had given Him everything. ...and knowing that He was going back to God, He girded Himself with a towel and began to wash the disciples' feet. What's the point? Before Jesus washed the disciples' feet, He knew who He was. It's deep revelation. There's a deep mystery there. Knowing He had come from God, knowing He was going back to God, knowing that the Father had given Him everything, He didn't need the world to serve Him. He was free to serve because He knew He already had everything. And that all came by revelation.
So, Father, we're asking you today for revelation to know who we are to You. Daddy, help us to understand what it means to be your son and to be your daughter. Father, help us to know how much you love us, O God. Open our hearts, Father, open our mind to understand your love. We think about Paul's prayer that you would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know you, and the height, and the depth and the width of your love for us that passes understanding. Father, we come to you right now, once again, Daddy, and we repent. And we say to you, Father, that we are so deficient in our understanding of how much you love us. But we believe, Father, that as we set our intent and our prayer on asking You to reveal Your love to us, on asking You to reveal to us that we're Your sons and daughters that you're going to bring us into the fullness of that revelation in King Jesus. So, Father, we thank you now as we're knocking, asking, and seeking, knowing that you're going to answer, draw us near and open the door.
And so Paul says that we've not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you've received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Daddy, Father"! Listen, how many of you struggle with fear? I know I do. Everybody does. The Devil's chief weapon against us as the children of God is fear. He comes at us by putting all these thoughts in our mind. You see, the devil is the prince of the power of the air. And the realm of the mind, our thought life is in the power of the air. So the devil was able to project thoughts into our mind, thoughts of doom, thoughts of dread. He projects that this is going to happen in the future, that that's going to happen in the future. He projects thoughts of that's what's going to happen to your loved one.
Thoughts of fear about that's what's going to happen to your loved one. He's constantly projecting thoughts of a negative outcome into our head. You're going to get sick, you're going to be in pain, your children are going to get in a car wreck, you're going to run out of money, you're going to end up in a nursing home and no one's going to take care of you, your husband's going to leave, your wife's going to leave you, all this stuff. He's constantly bombarding us with fear. It's the greatest plague of the human race. But listen what Paul said. "You have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fears", see, the devil is trying to make us a slave to himself by fear, "but you've received the Spirit of adoptions as sons by which you cry out, 'Abba! Father!'"
What's the point? When we know that God is our Daddy, that the number of hairs on your head are numbered in His love, that He's watching over you, that He's going before you, that whatever happens in your future, He, God is going to be in your future. When you know that you're a son and a daughter and really believe that the thoughts that Satan will put in your mind won't make you afraid anymore because you'll know that they're lies, God's going to take care of you and your future. No matter what happens tomorrow, He's going to take care of you. The Father said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". You're a son, you're daughter, Father will never leave you or forsake you through the ministry of Jesus to your life. You'll never be alone. He's always going to take care of us. His angels are always going to be protecting us. There's nothing to be afraid of.
And so Paul says, "We've been adopted, we've been born again, we are now the literal children of the Father, all the strength of His love. All the love that has been focused on Jesus is now focused on you, dear one, because you're in Jesus, and you have nothing to fear". And he continues on to the 17th verse. He says this, "If children were heirs also..." What does he mean by heirs? That we've received something, we've inherited something. "...heirs of God..." and get this, "and fellow heirs with Christ". Do we really believe this? If we believe that Jesus is truly Lord, that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him, that God the Father has given Jesus everything, and that we're in Him and that's our destiny, friend, that's something to rejoice about. That's something to rejoice about. The Lord says, "Rejoice continually".
God wants us to walk in faith, in joy and confidence in this role, in faith in His Word. Listen, "...if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..." God wants us to recognize this world is not our home, we have a destiny, we've got a future that's so much bigger, and we should walk in faith and in joy. I want to encourage you. Practice walking continuously in joy and you will overcome everything the devil throws at you, and bring praise to the Father. It's good to start the day every day: This is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made. And it's not because you feel like it all the time, it's because you believe His Word and you walk in faith.
We love you, Father God today, and we worship you today, and we thank You, Father Daddy for making us your daughters and your sons. Father, thank you that this world is not our home, and that the temporary trials that we face in this life aren't worthy to be compared with the eternal glory that going through these trials, as we're clinging to you, are working in us and for the glory that's going to be revealed to us at the coming of Jesus. Father, thank You for Messiah. Thank you for adopting us. Thank you for making us your own. Father, we love you today, we worship you today. Thank you for giving us purpose. Thank you for giving us identity. Thank you for giving us destiny. Thank you for making us complete in you through the Sar shalom, Yeshua the Messiah.