Now we need to consider three things concerning sonship, concerning being sons of God. The first is that God has predestinated us unto sonship by putting the Spirit of His Son into us. At the time we believed in the Lord Jesus and were regenerated, the Spirit of God came into us as the Spirit of the Son of God. This is the reason that after regeneration we can easily and sweetly call, “Abba, Father.” Before we were regenerated, we could say at most, “O, God, help me.” But after we were saved, we spontaneously began to cry, with tender, intimate feeling, “O, Abba, Father.”
Both Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 speak of this. Galatians 4:6 says that the Spirit of the Son cries, “Abba, Father,” but Romans 8:15 says that it is we who cry out in this way. This indicates that our cry is His cry and that His cry is ours. Together, we and He cry, “Abba, Father.” Without the Spirit, we cannot cry, “Abba, Father,” so sweetly and intimately. But what a pleasant, sweet, and comfortable feeling we have when we say this! This is a strong proof that the Spirit of God is within us. We have the Spirit of sonship.
A number of times young people have come to me with questions about sports. Some have tried to argue that there is nothing wrong with sports. I replied, “I don’t say that there is anything wrong with sports. I would simply like to ask whether or not you can call, ‘Abba, Father,’ as you are about to take part in a certain sport.” They answered, “Brother Lee, you are too clever. You know that if we call, ‘Abba, Father,’ we will not be able to take part in sports because we know that our Father doesn’t approve of them.” I am not against sports; I am against the Devil. There is no need to ask me about sports. Instead, simply call, “Abba, Father.” If you do this, He may tell you to pray or to read the Bible instead of taking part in sports. I can testify that I have been dealt with by the Father in this way. This is the life of the sons of God. Do you live the life of the sons of God or the life of the sons of sinners, of the sons of disobedience?
Living like a son of God, however, is not a matter of outward regulations. It is altogether a matter of the Spirit of the Son of God within us. If you call, “Abba, Father,” you will know what to do. A number of times my children have come to me and said, “Daddy, can we go to a certain place?” I answered, “You don’t need to ask me. As long as you call me daddy, you know what I will say.” Likewise, when we go to our Father and call, “Abba, Father,” we shall know what kind of life we should live, because we have the Spirit of the Son of God within us.
We have been predestinated unto sonship, not only by the Spirit of the Son of God, but also in the life of the Son of God. This is very subjective. We actually have the life of the Son of God. As 1 John 5:12 says, “He that hath the Son hath life.” Therefore, we are not God’s sons-in-law; we are God’s sons in life. At times, we may be able to reject the Spirit of the Son of God, but we cannot reject the life of the Son of God because it has become our very being. We have two beings: the first is the natural being that was born of our parents, and the second is the spiritual being that is born of God. In this second being we have the life of the Son of God. According to our second being, we have not only the Spirit moving and working within us, but also the life that has become our self, not the natural self, but the spiritual self. Sometimes we not only rebel against the Spirit, but also against ourselves, against our being.
I do not agree that there should be any regulations in the churches. Nevertheless, I know that in every son of God there is both the Spirit of the Son of God and the life of the Son of God. Because of this, there is no need for regulations. For example, there is no need to post a regulation in your home saying that your children should not eat anything bitter, but eat only things that are sweet. If a child takes something bitter into his mouth, he will spontaneously spit it out, even if he does not know the meaning of the word bitter. Because the life within every child rejects bitter things, there is no need to have regulations about bitterness. In addition to having the Spirit of the Son of God, we have the life of the Son of God. If we taste something that is bitter to the Son’s life, we cannot pretend to be happy with it. Although we may pretend to be happy, we are not happy in the depths of our being, for we know that we are acting against the life of the Son of God. If we call, “Abba, Father,” and live according to the life of the Son of God, we shall have joy in the depths of our being. In fact, our whole being will be filled with joy.