Again and again, the books of Romans and Galatians speak of the Spirit. This is especially true of Romans 8. Verse 2 speaks of the Spirit of life and verse 15, of the spirit of sonship. Because we have a spirit of sonship, we have the life of the Son of God. Spontaneously we cry, “Abba, Father.” In verse 9 Paul speaks of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ and in verses 11 and 13, of the Spirit. The expression “the Spirit” is also found in verse 16: “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.”
The term “the Spirit” is very significant. John 7:39 says, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Why does this verse say that “the Spirit was not yet”? Although the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit were in existence before the glorification of Christ, “the Spirit” was not. In Genesis 1:2 we see that the Spirit of God was brooding upon the water. The Old Testament also speaks frequently of the Spirit of Jehovah. When the Lord Jesus was about to be conceived in the womb of Mary, there is mention of the Holy Spirit, because something common, human nature, was to be made holy by the Spirit of God (Matt. 1:18, 20). But when Jesus cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37), He spoke concerning the Spirit. However, “the Spirit was not yet” because Jesus was not yet glorified. He had not been crucified and resurrected. But after His crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit came. Today the very Spirit who witnesses with our spirit is the Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 even says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” Notice that this verse does not say, “The Lord is a Spirit,” but, “The Lord is the Spirit.”
Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” This verse indicates that Romans 8 is concerned not with the birth of the sons of God, but with the walk of God’s sons. Those who are led by the Spirit truly are sons of God. The word walk is used strongly in verse 4: “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to flesh, but according to spirit.”
Under the influence of the natural concept, Christians often think that after we are saved, we should have a walk which glorifies God. We pay attention to Paul’s word about walking in a way that is worthy of our calling, but we understand this exhortation according to our natural concept. Immediately after people are saved, they automatically try to behave in a way that glorifies God. Such a thought comes spontaneously. It is not wrong to say that we need behavior that glorifies God. However, regarding this we may be under the influence of a natural concept. According to the natural concept, to walk worthy of our calling is to be honest, faithful, humble, gentle, kind, and loving. We may think that we shall glorify God if we have such virtues, and that others will appreciate us. However, the book of Romans, a basic book in God’s revelation, does not charge us to walk in this way. On the contrary, it teaches us to walk as sons of God.
There is a great difference between walking as sons of God and walking as redeemed sinners who express such virtues as honesty, kindness, and love. The goal of God’s economy is not merely to have a group of people who are faithful, kind, and loving. God’s goal in His economy is to produce sons. A person may be honest, faithful, and loving, but he may not be a son of God. God wants sons. He does not want honest, faithful, loving sinners. His purpose is not to make sinful husbands into those who love their wives, or sinful wives into those who submit to their husbands. We repeat, God’s goal in His economy is to bring forth many divine sons.
In order to be sons of God, we must first be born of Him. The Gospel of John emphasizes this. John 1:12 and 13 say, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Then in John 3:6 we are told that that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Sonship is altogether a matter of life and nature, which depend on birth. We have been born of God to become sons of God. Therefore, we can declare with assurance that we are not God’s sons-in-law, nor merely His adopted sons; we are God’s sons in life, sons born of Him.
According to the divine revelation in the Scriptures, we emphasize the fact that, through regeneration, an organic union has taken place between us and God. We have an organic relation with God, a relationship in life. First, because we are sinful, God sent His Son to redeem us. But God has also sent His Spirit to impart the divine life and nature into our being. Now that the divine life has entered into us, we have an organic union with God. This crucial matter, however, has been neglected by those Christians who emphasize traditional teachings and concepts.
Since you have been born of God to become a son of God, do you have the boldness to declare that you are divine? As sons of God born of Him, we are in a very real sense divine. When we teach this, some accuse us of teaching the deification of man. We definitely do not believe or teach that as sons of God we shall become God Himself. Nevertheless, it is a fact that we have the divine life and nature. Otherwise, it would not be possible for us to be sons of God. Does not a child born of a German father have a typical German life and nature? Likewise, because we have been born of God to be sons of God with the divine life and nature, we are divine. Some twist our word and claim that we teach that sinners can become part of the very Godhead. Yes, we teach that as children of God we are members of God’s family. But we certainly do not teach that we shall ever become God Himself. However, the fact remains that since our Father is divine, all the members of His family are also divine. As a human being has the life and nature of his father, so we, God’s sons, have the life and nature of our Father. In this sense, we are divine.
Having become sons of God, we now need to walk as sons of God. God does not want a group of people who are simply kind, honest, and loving. He wants a family. In Galatians 6:10 this family is called “the household of the faith.” To walk as God’s sons we need to be divine. It is not adequate merely to be ethical or religious. It is not necessary to be a son of God in order to be humble or kind. A person may be humble or kind in a natural, ethical way. However, to live as sons of God we certainly must be divine. We must have the life of God and also the Spirit of God.
Toward the very end of the Bible, we read of the Spirit and the Bride (Rev. 22:17). The Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God, and the Bride is the ultimate issue of redeemed mankind. The fact that the Spirit and the Bride are one is proved by their speaking as one. Together, the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”
The Bible reveals the organic union between the believers and the Triune God, but religion emphasizes virtues and good behavior. According to the religious concept, as believers we must be honest, faithful, loving, and submissive. But God’s economy requires not merely that we have these virtues, but that we walk according to the Spirit. One person may be humble in a natural way, whereas another may be humble because he is living by the life and nature of God. Apparently, both kinds of humility are the same. Actually, they are very different. The one may be compared to polished copper; the other, to gold. If we walk according to the Spirit, we shall not be like polished copper; we shall have the appearance of gold, of the very nature of God.
It is not God’s intention simply to have a group of good people; He wants many sons who are one with Him organically and who possess His very life and nature. Only these sons can be members of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is an organism, not an organization. Good people may be organized into a society, but they cannot become the organism known as the Body of Christ. Because the Body is organic, all the members of the Body must have an organic element in them. We receive this element by the new birth, by regeneration.