Heirs with Christ
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Rom 8:15
spirit of bondage... Spirit and nature of Satan (Eph. 2:2; John 8:44; 1Jhn. 3:8; Heb. 2:14-15). You have not received a spirit of slavery to relapse again into fear and terror, but you have received the Spirit of freedom and sonship to break every bondage.
the Spirit of... Spirit and nature of God (Rom. 5:5; 8:2, 8:9, 8:11, 8:15-16; Gal. 4:4-6).
spirit of adoption... Sonship (Rom. 8:15, 8:23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). Adopted sons share the same rights and privileges as one born in the family. The Spirit of adoption isn’t a reference to the transaction by which God adopts us, but to a Spirit produced awareness of the rich reality that God has made us His children, therefore we can come before Him without fear or hesitation as our beloved Father.
Cry, Abba, Father... Slaves were never allowed to say Abba to a master or Imma to a mistress.
Unregenerate people are slaves to their fear of death because of their life of sin, and to fear their final punishment.
A very similar Scripture is in 1 Corinthians.
1Cor. 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
When God adopted us into his family, then that made us heirs to all he possesses. We will be joint-heirs with Jesus as we read (in verse 17 of Romans 8). There are 3 places in the New Testament Abba is used; one here (in Romans 8:15); once (in Mark 14:36), and once (in Gal. 4:6).
Mark 14:36 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
Gal. 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
We see in all of these 3 verses, that this name is reserved for only the children of God to call Him by meaning Daddy or Papa and connotes tenderness, dependence, and a relationship free of fear or anxiety.
In contrast with the control of sin, which enslaves to the point of fear, believers have received the Spirit of sonship. The word translated “sonship” (huiothesias) means “placing as a son” and is frequently translated “adoption” (as in, e.g., Rom. 8:23). Believers are adopted sons (Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5), not slaves (Gal. 4:7); so they need not be enslaved to sin or in fear. In New Testament times adopted sons enjoyed the same privileges as natural-born sons. So, instead of cowering in slave-like fear, Christians can approach God in an intimate way calling Him Abba, Father. “Abba” is a Greek and English transliteration of the Aramaic word for father (used elsewhere in the NT only in Mark 14:36; Gal. 4:6).
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