After we are born of God to be sons of God, we then must walk as sons according to the Spirit. In Romans 8 Paul does not speak of things such as humility, faithfulness, or honesty. Here he is not concerned with human virtues. Rather, he charges us to walk according to spirit. All those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. To walk as a son of God is not a matter of possessing certain virtues; it is altogether a matter of walking according to spirit. Of course, if we walk according to spirit, there will be a certain issue brought forth in our living. However, the emphasis in Romans 8 is not on the issue; it is on the nature of God’s sons. As those who have been born of God, we should not endeavor to cultivate certain virtues. Instead, we should endeavor to walk by the Spirit.
I am concerned that walking by the Spirit as sons of God may be little more than doctrine to us. We may have the knowledge that we simply need to walk by the Spirit, but in our daily living we may live in a natural, ethical way. Should someone bother us, we may either become angry or try to control ourselves. But in neither case do we turn to the spirit, exercise the spirit, and walk by the spirit.
Often after we see something of the Lord, Satan comes to test us. Suppose the Lord makes you clear that as a son of God what you need to do is simply walk according to the Spirit. A short while later, your husband or wife may offend you. At such a time, you may forget about walking by the Spirit. Instead of walking by the Spirit, you may either become irritated or try to suppress your anger. You may even pray that the Lord will help you. But not even praying in this way is walking by the Spirit.
Religion teaches people to behave; it does not teach them to walk according to the Spirit. According to the Bible, instead of trying to improve our behavior, we should walk by the Spirit. We have been born of the Spirit. Now we need to receive grace to walk by the Spirit. Should your husband or wife offend you, simply walk by the Spirit. Do not try to suppress your temper or force yourself to be patient. That is mere outward behavior. What you need to do at such a time is to exercise the spirit to walk according to the Spirit. Do not say to yourself, “I must walk in a way that is worthy of the church life. If I lose my temper, it will be a shame to me. I must hold back my temper and behave in the proper way.” This is not God’s economy—it is religion and ethics. God’s economy is to make us His sons in an actual and practical way. For this, we must walk according to the Spirit.
Many Christians read Romans 8 without paying attention to the matter of sonship covered in this chapter. Verse 14 says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God, and verse 15 speaks of a spirit of sonship. Furthermore, verse 29 says that God has predestinated us to be “conformed to the image of His Son, that He should be the firstborn among many brothers.” The many brothers of Christ are the many sons of God (Heb. 2:10). Moreover, the sonship in Romans 8 is not in the aspect of birth, but in the aspect of walk. We need to walk as sons of God so that we may be conformed to the image of His Son. Birth takes place once for all, but being conformed to the image of God’s Son is a lifelong matter. Day by day we are being conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God. This conformity takes place as we walk by the Spirit. In the Lord’s recovery the main thing the Lord wants us to practice is to walk by the Spirit and according to the Spirit.
If we walk by the Spirit, God will be able to have mature sons. These sons will also be heirs to inherit God’s riches. If we would be heirs, we must be full-grown. We wish to emphasize the fact that we are being conformed to the image of the Son of God, not to certain practices which may be found among the saints in the church life. I am somewhat concerned that the saints may be conformed to the church life instead of to the image of the Son of God. Some saints may undergo a good deal of change, but this change may not be the real transformation, a metabolic change in life. It may merely be an outward change of conforming to certain ways of living common among the saints in the church life. God does not want this kind of change. He wants to see a real transformation take place inwardly in our being so that we may be conformed to the living image of the Son of God. In order for this kind of change to take place, we need to walk in the Spirit, by the Spirit, and according to the Spirit.
We have seen that in Romans redemption is for sonship. The same is true in Galatians. Galatians 3:13 and 14 say that Christ redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Thus, Christ accomplished redemption so that we might receive the Spirit. Galatians 4:5 says that Christ redeemed us so that we might receive the sonship. After Christ accomplished redemption for us, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” Both Romans and Galatians mention the cry of “Abba, Father.” This is a further proof that in these books redemption is for sonship.
Both Romans and Galatians speak of walking by the Spirit. These books do not charge us to walk according to certain doctrines, teachings, or exhortations, but to walk according to the Spirit. No matter how well we may behave, we do not walk as sons of God unless we walk according to the Spirit. Suppose someone asks you why you do not engage in a certain form of worldly entertainment. The proper answer is that the Spirit does not lead you to do such a thing. Likewise, if you are asked why you do certain things in your family life or refrain from doing certain other things, your answer should simply be that you live that way because you are walking according to the Spirit.
To some degree at least, we are still under the influence of religious concepts. For this reason, when we read the Bible, it is easy for us to pay attention to such admonitions as wives submitting to their husbands, and husbands loving their wives. We can also understand commandments that speak of humility, kindness, and patience. However, such commandments are not basic factors in God’s economy. The basic factor is that we have been born of God and are now divine sons of God with His life and nature. Because we are His sons, God wants us to walk according to the Spirit as His sons. The result, the issue, of walking by the Spirit as sons of God is the Spirit’s responsibility, not ours. Our responsibility is simply to walk according to the Spirit.
The climax of the New Testament is the Spirit. Our living, behavior, walk, conduct must all be according to the Spirit. When we walk according to the Spirit, we are sons of God in actuality, and we are being conformed daily to the image of His Son. This is what God is seeking today.