For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:14).
In our opening verse, the word "sons" is the Greek "huios," and it means the matured sons of God; the adopted sons. Now, let me explain something about the doctrine of adoption that you find in the New Testament. Many have assumed it refers to taking someone else’s child into your family as your child and getting all the legal documentations to that effect.That’s not what Paul was dealing with when he talked about adoption. He was referring to the situation they had back in those days, where a monarch had several sons and chose which one of them would become his heir. He then gave the son he had chosen to the governors, teachers or instructors to train him and bring him up to manhood.
When he was trained and ready for office, he was brought back to the king as the "adopted son." That means he’s come to maturity and ready to take office. Though he was already the king’s son, he had to be brought up from being his "teknon," his biological offspring, to being his "huios," the matured son. So when the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," he was referring to the "huios" of God, the sons of adoption. They’re the ones led by the Spirit of God.
Not all who are born again understand the leading of the Spirit. Many are yet to understand the things of God; so they’ve got to be brought up. That’s the reason God "...gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints…Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13). He wants every one of us to grow unto perfection; unto maturity in the things of the Spirit and live as His adopted sons.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for instructing, directing, training and preparing me to be a custodian of the powers of the age to come, and for a life of victory and dominion over the elements of these world, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
f u r t h e r s t u d y: Romans 8:19; Galatians 4:6-7; Galatians 4:1-2
Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Reading Plan : Psalms 23-25 ;A cts 27:27-44
2 Year Reading Plan : Ephesians 1:1-14; Isaiah 42
