SONSHIP RIGHT: A CHILD OF GOD
When we are born again of God we become sons of God by the spiritual seed of God created in us. This new birth gives us rights, privileges and abilities as sons of God. One of these is that each person who is born again is a child of God.
Romans 8:15-16
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The word adoption in this section of scripture and from the context surrounding it, should be understood as sonship. We are sons of God or children of God. And God says that it is the spirit itself that bears witness with us that we are the children of God.

If the spirit itself bears witness with us that we are children of God, do we need any other witness to confirm this? Do we need confirmation from people before we will accept that we are children of God? I should say not! If God says I am His child by way of the spirit itself bearing witness to that truth, then that is all the confirmation I need.

Galatians 3:26-28
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
There are not different categories of born again ones as far as our relationship to God. We are all children of God, from the person who just got born again to the person who is a leader in the church. A person who is born again is not any more or any less a child of God than any other person who is born again. A person who is born again may serve in a different capacity in the church than another person who is born again, but we are all children – children of God.
I John 3:1-3
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
We can never let anyone by their words or actions talk us out of this truth that “now are we the sons of God.” And we also need to see other born again ones as who they are – sons of God. We may not agree with another person who is born again but that does not make them or us any less a son of God. Being a child of God does not depend on how much you know or don’t know or to what group you belong or don’t belong.
Romans 14:10-13
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
We don’t want to be judged and we should not want to judge our brothers in Christ. We should only want to do our best to stand on God’s rightly divided Word and not be a stumblingblock to other sons of God. We should do our best to be a blessing and an encouragement to our brothers in Christ to help them stand on God’s Word.

If a brother in Christ is not walking according to God’s Word, they may need to be reminded of God’s Word, but they do not loose their sonship. Even if we cannot come to a mutual understanding of God’s rightly divided Word, there is no loss of sonship. It is not up to me to judge others, it is up to me to do my best to stand on God’s rightly divided Word and make God’s Word known to others in love.

Matthew 23:8-11
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
All who are born again are sons of God. Even people in leadership positions are sons of God. We should have great respect towards those who serve others in love and teach God’s rightly divided Word; a respect that can be likened at times to that of a son to a father. But we all have one Father which is in heaven; and that makes us brethren. We need leaders in the church to help us grow up in who we are in Christ, but it is sons of God serving sons of God. And if I become a leader in the church I need to remember that I am serving my brethren, a son of God serving sons of God.
Ephesians 5:1
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
The goal here is to be a follower or imitator of God, as His dear children. Any following of any other son of God should lead us to a following of God Himself. A son of God who is serving other sons of God should be helping them towards this goal. As sons of God, our goal is to be a follower of God, because we are His  children.
Philippians 2:13-15
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
God is our Father; we are His children. And God as our Father is at work within us. Why would we ever get caught up in murmurings (which are complaining and whispering), or disputings (which are questioning and arguing), when God who is our Father is at work within us (His children). We need to rise up to who we are in Christ and see ourselves and our brothers in Christ as the children of God we are.
II Thessalonians 3:14
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
People tend to follow II Thessalonians 3:14 all too quickly and ignore the verse that follows.
II Thessalonians 3:15
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
You know, we don’t even let our brothers in Christ sway us off of God’s Word. But even if a brother in Christ is wrong, he is still our brother, he is still a child of God. We are not to treat him as an enemy but warn and instruct him as a brother. We need to remember that we are all sons of God, even when we disagree. Don’t cross that boundary in your thinking and actions.
I John 5:1-3
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
God says we are to love the children of God who are begotten, as we love God who begat us. We do this by loving God and keeping His Word. The best thing we can do to love our brothers in Christ is to love God and keep His commandments. It is not loving as a son of God to do things contrary to God’s Word which could lead a brother in Christ away from imitating God. And a child of God should never feel less than a son of God as he is doing his best to love God and keep His commandments.

If a son of God is wrong on God’s Word and his brother in Christ corrects him with the rightly divided Word, he should be thankful that his brother loves him so much. As sons of God we need to love each other as sons of God. People may try to set the standard for loving according to the worlds ways. God says we love the children of God when we love God and keep His Word.

No son of God has the right to treat any other son of God as less than a son. When it comes to sonship, no one is any more or any less a son than any other son. A leader or a reverend is a son, a child of God. A follower is a son, a child of God. A spouse is a son, a child of God. A child in a family is a son, a child of God.

II Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Behold the glory of the Lord, in ourselves and in other born again sons of God. Never question your sonship. We may question our thinking and actions, but we never question our sonship. For we are all one in Christ Jesus, born again of God’s spirit, children of God by birth.
In God's Love
Ray
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