—Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
—Ephesians 1:4-6 (NLT)
Before God made the world, we were chosen to know Him and to have fellowship with Him. But the powerful God who made us was pure and holy, and sin separated us from His presence. God loved us so much that He made a way for us to have an intimate and loving relationship with Him. He sent His dear Son to us—not to condemn us but to save us. (John 3:16-17). When we accept Christ into our hearts, God adopts us as His own.
—And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
—Galatians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
The Holy Spirit within us cries out to God saying, “Abba.” “Abba” is a term of endearment that indicates a deeply loving and intimate relationship with God. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us proves that we are the children of God. God is our Abba Father—our loving “Daddy.” It is a spirit of sonship, and it brings a sense of worthiness that we are at peace with God. Knowing God loves and accepts us is the opposite of feeling we are slaves to God. The thought of being a slave to God creates a sense that we need to earn the privilege to be in His presence. And there is no way to be at peace in the presence of God if we believe we have to earn His love. When we continue to believe we are still unworthy in God’s eyes after receiving Christ, then we remain a slave to the old person we were before we received Christ. We are no longer slaves who need to live in fear of God’s wrath. There is no wrath in our relationship with our Abba Father. We are heirs to the love that he has revealed in Christ.
—For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
—Romans 8:15 (NKJV)
The law made God our judge but the Grace of Jesus made God our Father. We are no longer under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14). God desires for us to know Him not as the Father who judges but as the Father who loves us. As His adopted children, we don’t need to fear His judgment. He doesn’t want us to have a fearful relationship with Him. God longs for us to know that we have the freedom to boldly come to Him in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
God chose us to be His sons and daughters. We have a privileged status of “sonship” because of Christ. The sonship that Christ has given us is found in three ways, and we were created to need these three things—a secure identity, acceptance, and approval. Without these things, we cannot live peaceful lives. But no person can give us a sense of worth. Only in Christ do we find our true worth in God.
When you believe you have to earn God’s love, you don’t walk in the redemption of Christ. You try to find your identity, acceptance, and approval in people and circumstances instead of Jesus who has already made you worthy. The law makes you insecure because it creates the need to earn acceptance. But the Grace of Jesus gives you unshakeable security because Christ has earned your acceptance and approval. He has given you His identity. And Christ is within you crying out that we are no longer slaves to the law, but a child of His Grace.
—To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
—Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)
The love of God has been made known to us in Christ. Christ lives within us, the hope of glory. We receive our identity, our acceptance, and approval from being His and being in Him. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). When God sees us, He sees the identity of His Son. Just as much as God loved and accepted and approved of His Son, so He loves, accepts, and approves of us.
Who we believe we are in Christ—our identity in Him—our sense of worthiness in Him—makes all the difference between living a defeated or victorious life.
—For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
—Romans 8:29-30 (NLT)
You were chosen by God to receive His love. He has called you to come to Him. And when you come to Him, don’t miss the benefits of your relationship with Him. You have right-standing with God. And having right-standing with God, you have received His glory. You have Christ within you, the hope of glory.
God wants you to experience all the spiritual blessings of your relationship with Him. Believe Him in your heart. He is your Abba Father.
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
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