Eph. 1:5 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will
Rom. 8:23 …We ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,… groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body
19 For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God
Another aspect of the God-men’s divine right to participate in God’s divinity is the right to participate in God’s sonship (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:23). We can have God’s life, God’s nature, God’s mind, God’s being, God’s image, and God’s glory because we are God’s sons…As a human son shares the glory or prestige of his human father, the sons of God share in the glory of their divine Father
Before the foundation of the world, that is, in eternity past, God predestinated us, marked us out, unto sonship. Before time began, God intended and determined that we would participate in His sonship. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification,” p. 217)
Today’s Reading
We are the sons of God enjoying all the blessings of sonship. We may itemize the blessings: the spirit of sonship, the witnessing of the Spirit, the leading of the Spirit, the firstfruits of the Spirit, the helping of the Spirit, and the interceding of the Spirit. Eventually, we will have the full sonship of the sons of God revealed in the freedom of glory (Rom. 8:19, 21)
In this portion of the Word three significant terms are used—children, sons, and heirs…The life of God works in three stages to make us sons of God. The life of God regenerates us in our spirit, transforms us in our soul, and transfigures our body. Hence, we have regeneration, transformation, and transfiguration. These together give us full sonship. As the result of these three steps, the sons are fully matured
In…Romans 8 we are told that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God (v. 16). In verse 16 it does not say “sons” or “heirs,” for in the first stage of sonship we are simply little children who have been regenerated by the life of God. After this we will grow. Then verse 14 says that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” In verse 14 we are no longer babes or children but sons…We have grown from children into sons who are able to take the leading of the Spirit
This means that we are in the second stage, the stage of transformation
Ultimately, we will become heirs. According to ancient law, heirs had to be of age and declared the legal heirs that they might claim the inheritance
Therefore, in this portion of Romans we have children by regeneration, sons by transformation, and heirs by transfiguration or glorification. We were born the children of God, we are growing up as the sons of God, and we are waiting for the time when we will be fully matured and legally declared to be the rightful heirs of God. The procedure which makes us legal heirs is the transfiguration of our body, that is, the redemption of our body, the full redemption (v. 23). The transfiguration of our body will qualify us to be the heirs of the divine inheritance. This transfiguration will be accomplished by glorification. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 233-234) As God-men, we will participate also in God’s manifestation (Rom
8:19). When Christ our life is manifested, we will be manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:4). Today God is hiding, but one day He will be manifested to the whole universe. Romans 8:19 indicates that when God is manifested, revealed, we, the sons of God, will participate in that revelation, in that manifestation. God will be manifested with His sons, who will be the same as He in life, in nature, in mind, in being, in image, and in glory. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification,” p. 217)