Led by the Spirit, Lost by the Law

Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is William Bell. I want to welcome you back to the All Bible Prophecy study and podcast. We are going to continue in our series on the Holy Spirit and today we're going to talk about the Holy Spirit and sonship. We want to delve a little bit deeper into that because the subject of sons and the inheritance are interconnected and the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to sons is also related to the resurrection because we're talking about sons, we're talking about the inheritance, and of course the inheritance is the resurrection. So let's get into this particular study. Now I'd like to begin talking about the code of Hammurabi and Hammurabi lived approximately about 300 years before Abraham. He was a Babylonian king and he wrote what is considered to be the oldest system of codified laws that we have in history, over approximately 230 laws I believe in the code of Hammurabi. Now the particular law that we are concerned with today is the one that spoke about sons and slaves or servants and when you had the owner of the slave or servant who took this servant into his house, if he referred to him as a son, then that son was entitled to the inheritance. If he did not consider him as a son, in other words, if he treated him as a servant all the way through and did not call him his son, then he was not entitled to the inheritance. So the relationship of a son to the father and the idea or the concept of being a son is all about having an inheritance. Now we can see this very clearly with the situation with Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac because in the 21st chapter of the book of Genesis, the Bible says that in verse 8, so the child grew, this is speaking of Isaac, and was weaned and Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. Now this is after Ishmael had been born and Ishmael of course was several years older than Isaac but he was the son of a handmaid, of Sarah's handmaid, and therefore he was considered as a servant because that was Sarah's handmaid status as well. And in verse 9 of Genesis 21, it says, And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac. So notice that Sarah requested that Abraham cast Ishmael out of his house. In other words, the net result of casting him out of his house, and of course in Hammurabi's code, it meant returning him to his father. But in this case, in the casting him out of his house, it meant that he was not considered as a son. And since he was not considered as a son, this is the reason Sarah said, For the son of the bondwoman, the son of the slave, will not be heir with my son, Isaac. Now we're going to pick up this narrative in the New Testament a little bit later in the podcast, and we're going to demonstrate how this worked out in terms of the New Testament and the inheritance as it related to Israel and the church. So, and when I say Israel, I mean natural Israel, the sons of God, according to the flesh, as opposed to the sons of God, according to the Spirit. But let's go to Romans chapter 8, which is another chapter on sons of God. And let's pick up a text there because in that context, we have the work of the Holy Spirit. And since we have been discussing the work of the Holy Spirit related to the earnest of the Spirit, it's important for us to see the role of the Holy Spirit in making or in authenticating the sons of God. The Bible uses such terms as sealing of the Spirit, and those terms were used to mark out those who were genuinely the sons of God. Now let's look in Romans chapter 8, and the verse is 14. The scripture says, For as many of you as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. So in order to authenticate them as true sons of God, they have to have the Spirit of God. And by the Spirit of God, we're talking about the miraculous measure of the Spirit, the gifts that were received from the outpouring of the Spirit by Jesus Christ and through the laying on of the apostles' hands all in the first century, according to the text we've given you in lessons past, such as Micah 7, 15, for that 40-year period from Pentecost to the fall of the temple in Jerusalem of 70 AD. But so very important here was the statement, As many as are led by the sons of God, by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Now let's notice also where he says, For you did not receive again the spirit of bondage unto fear, but you received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. So the Spirit had to bear witness on their behalf that they were sons of God. This is what was given to the believers, what was given to Christians in order to authenticate them as the genuine sons of God. And so any of those claiming to be true Israelites who do not have or did not have the Spirit of God were simply counterfeit and were simply not considered as true sons of God. And so in verse 17 the Bible says, And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. Now at the time they were going through some persecution and hence Paul wrote, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed in us. But this was the status of these sons of God. Now when you look in the third chapter of Galatians you will find that Paul separated or distinguished between the true sons of God and those who did not or were not true sons of God. And that distinguishing criteria was the presence of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In Galatians the third chapter, verse 1, the Bible says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you? This only I want to learn from you. Now watch the question. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Now look at that distinction that he's making. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun where? In the Spirit. Are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in deed or in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore, he who supplies the Spirit to you, now watch this next statement, and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? And the answer is, he does it by the hearing of faith, not by the works of the law. The point being, the works of the, or the work of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the work of miracles, was not given to those under the law. And therefore, God did not authenticate them as his true sons. So anyone claiming to be a Torah follower, and especially in this first century timeframe, who did not have the Spirit, was not considered one of God's sons. As the scripture says, those who were led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Now let's take a look at a text in Jude, Jude chapter one, which only has one chapter, by the way. In Jude, we find another reference to those who had the Spirit, and listen to how God characterized them through the writings of Jude, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In verse 17, Jude says, but you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time, who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. Let's look at that again. These are sensual persons. Now the word sensual there is not the word that's used for lust or sensuality. This is the word psuchikos, and it means natural in the sense of those who are considered natural and not spiritual people. Those who are considered natural are the ones who do not have the Spirit of God. Here again, these are natural or psuchikos people who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. Notice he had characterized them as mockers who would come in the last time. What are they doing? They're mocking just like Ishmael was mocking Isaac, and that's why Sarah had him cast out of the family, because he was mocking Isaac, and she said, this son of the bun woman would not be heir with the son of the free woman. But notice verse 20. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying where? In the Spirit. So they were in the Spirit. These were the Christians, and they were considered the sons of God. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Now that takes us back to the third chapter of Galatians. Let's go to the fourth chapter of Galatians, because in chapter four, we're going to see how Paul applied the history of Genesis 21 to the current situation. Before we do that very quickly, let's look at Galatians chapter 3, verses 26 through 29. The Bible says, For you are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither male nor female. There is neither bond nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Now, the Bible says, This I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and tutors or stewards until the time appointed by the Father. In other words, he's that way until he becomes of legal age where he can then inherit his or receive his inheritance. And so Paul says, Even though we, or even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. That's another term for Judaism, for being under the law. And he says they were, as long as they were under the law, were children and were in bondage. So keep that in mind. It's very, very important. But notice when the fullness of the time had come, that is the time when they are reaching full age to become mature and inherit. He says, God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. Why? That we might receive the adoption as sons. Remember they talked about the adoption over in Romans chapter eight. So the reason Christ came was to redeem those who were under the law and in bondage so that they could receive the adoption as sons because they couldn't inherit under the law. They were under age and they were in bondage. Now in the fourth chapter of Galatians, oh, and let's just read a couple of more verses. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. So that's the whole purpose of becoming a son. And you become a son through faith in Christ Jesus by being baptized into him. And so in Galatians chapter four, as we close out this message today, the Bible says, tell me verse 21, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law for it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond woman and the other by a free woman. But he was of the bond woman was born according to the flesh. And he who was of the free woman through premise, which things are symbolic for these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is, but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all for it is written rejoice. So barren you who do not bear break forth and shout. You who are not in labor for the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. Now we brethren as Isaac was our children of promise, but as he who was born according to the flesh, then persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the scripture say? Cast out the bond woman and her son for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. So if you notice that reading, what Paul did was he demonstrated that those who were under the law were the same as Ishmael in the old covenant. That was the hidden meaning of that allegory as Paul expressed it in Galatians chapter four. He showed that those who received the law in were the children were those in bondage and therefore they were ineligible to receive the inheritance. But those who had entered into Christ through faith and baptism had become sons of God. And as sons of God, they were given the Holy spirit to authenticate them as God's true sons. And as God's true sons, they were eligible to receive the inheritance. And that's why they could cry out Abba father. So the blessed status of those who are seeking to follow God is not to be following him according to the law. It's not to be following him according to Torah. It's not to be a child, a child of the flesh and in bondage because that child persecuted those who were of the spirit, those who were the true sons of God who were sealed with the Holy spirit. And this tells us that it is so very important for us to understand the role of the Holy spirit in bringing about the fulfillment and the reception of the inheritance. And that's why those are the ones who are raised from the dead. Those are the ones who are considered sons of God according to the inheritance in Luke chapter 20. As we close the message today and look at Luke chapter 20 and the verse is 34. The Bible says, Jesus entered and said to them, the sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are counted worthy to attain that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor given in marriage, nor can they die anymore for they are equal to the angels and are the sons of God being sons of the resurrection. And so just as Hammurabi's code demonstrated, if a person was called a son, he was entitled to an inheritance. If he was not, he was considered a slave and therefore not eligible for the inheritance. We've shown where those who were the led by the spirit of God, these were called the sons of God, Romans 8 and verse 14. We also demonstrated that the spirit was given to those who were Christians who believed in Christ. It was not given to those who believed in Torah and tried to serve God. According to the law, they were the persecutors. They were the ones called natural who separated themselves without the spirit and they were cast out because they could not inherit with the son of the free woman. I'm William Bell with All Things Fulfilled. Thank you for listening. We'll see you in the next broadcast.