In the previous numbers of this series I have sought to present what is man's condition by nature and by regeneration. I would now seek to shew what are the position and the privileges accorded to him as regenerate or born of God. The first of these is assuredly Adoption or Sonship, and it will be well worth our while to inquire, first, how we are entitled to this high privilege; secondly, what it confers; and thirdly, how a soul not in the conscious enjoyment of it may attain thereto.
In Gal. 4 it is said, "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father." Now it is evident from this passage, and from many others, that the ability to call the blessed God " Father," is not what entitles any one to be a child of God, but is conferred on him after he is made one by new birth, which does not by any means depend on this ability, but on a work previous to it. " Ye are all (says the apostle-Gal. 3:26) the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." And it is to the children that is granted the Spirit of the Son whereby they say, " Abba Father." The new birth, wonderful as is the grace of it, does not comprise or embrace the position and privileges given to us of God, though it gives full title to all. It is one thing to know myself as regenerate by faith engendered in my soul, and another to take my place before God in the relationship which my new birth confers on me, and in the intelligence belonging to it. Now all this the Spirit of adoption ensures. The newly-born soul has, or at least ought to have, the sense of life; but he knows nothing as yet of the nature of its action, nor of the intelligence of the relationship; and it is because souls do not enter into this, the purpose and blessing of the adoption, that they are, though born again, so defective in both peace and vigor of life. To enter into and appropriate it is the portion of the regenerate, but no one receives grace from God except as he appreciates it. A soul must be awakened to its need of the blessing, before it can be awakened to the nature of the blessing which God. is offering him and has provided for him. I desire most distinctly to state that there is nothing to be provided afresh-all things are ready: the only question is, are souls prepared for each special blessing; or are they ready to receive it, knowing their need of it, and thus appreciating the grace which offers it?
In John 3, where regeneration is detailed, it is said," he that believeth hath everlasting life." That is positive and conclusive as to right. The soul has the sense of its right as God's gift; but if no more than this, it would neither know how to use the right or comprehend what the position such a right entitled it to. Hence in chap. iv. we are told more of this gift, even that it is a " well of water springing up into everlasting life." This is a very important and immense addition to the right conferred in chapter 3. I now come to understand what my title to this great gift embraces-even that I am to have a sense, not only of its actual existence, but of its range of action which is no less than " springing up into everlasting life." The ground of my title is not one whit added to by the development of the blessings to which it has entitled me; though I appreciate the ground, and revert to it with deeper praise as I become acquainted with all the blessings which it assures to me.
Still further, in John 7 the Lord teaches that the Holy Ghost was to communicate this gift in such a manner that out of the believer's belly should flow "rivers of living water;" i.e., that the Spirit of God would not only furnish him with full nourishment and invigoration, but that it should flow over; in a word, the fullness of the gift is described in chapter vii., while the action of it is detailed in chapter iv.
I have touched on these chapters in order to show more clearly what I have already stated, even that the enjoyment of the great privileges connected with the gift of eternal life is distinct, and in addition to the mere sense of the gift; but if we lose sight of these privileges, we must circumscribe the greatness of the gift. In one sense you might as well deprive natural life of the various senses by which its vigor is known, and be content to be thus deprived, as to expect to enjoy eternal life without the privileges belonging to it and by which it expresses its vigor and value.
Every regenerate soul then ought to have the spirit of adoption. And this being conceded, we may inquire what does this adoption accord? Conferred on me by the Holy Ghost, it enables me to say, "Abba Father." It assures me not that I am rescued from judgment-that I know in virtue of my new birth; but far more, even that I am in the relationship of a son through Christ to God; and because of His Spirit in me (See Rom. 8:2-4) I am consciously set free from the law of sin and death, out of the reach of condemnation, for " the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Having received eternal life at the new birth, the Spirit now establishes our new relationship, proclaiming that we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, "Abba Father." The Spirit does not make me any more a child, but He teaches me what is the proper portion and intelligence of a child. The woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment was healed before she had any conference with Him. It was not the conference that healed her; it was His virtue appropriated by her through faith; but the conference established to her soul the healing-and how? By her learning the heart of Him whose virtue had so served her. Thus it is the Spirit who unfolds and establishes to the soul of the regenerate the extent and security of the blessing received. The Spirit unites me to the heart of Christ, and here I learn not only my Sonship, but with it all the privileges and portion secured to me by Him. The Spirit is the promise of the Father and was sent as the Comforter during the Lord's absence. He is the Unction, that which, as the name implies, connects us with the Anointed, and therefore it is said, " 4 Who hath established us in Christ and anointed us is God," and still more, " Who hath sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." It is the distinct and full operation of the Spirit which it is so important for us to understand and enjoy. If I have not the Spirit of adoption, I am not consciously set free from condemnation, even though I may feel myself a rightful owner of eternal life and have occasional gleams of happiness. I have no sense of being " in the Spirit and not in the flesh." I still have the spirit of bondage again to fear. I am not able in the Spirit of the Son to call God my Father or enjoy the sweet relationship of which such an utterance is the exponent. If I have the spirit of adoption, God's gift of eternal life is not only the sense of life but the power of life; not only owned, like that of a newly-born babe without any of the consciousness which makes life enjoyable, but the Spirit is in me a "well of water springing up into everlasting life;" and still more, the well not only furnishes me with all I can use, but out of my belly flow rivers of living water. I am a witness of that which I personally enjoy.
And now let us inquire how a soul, not in the enjoyment of this, its rightful privilege, may obtain it. We have seen that every believer is entitled to it. The Holy Ghost is given-He has quickened, and He is down here as the Comforter to abide forever. (John 14:26;15. 26.) Why then is He not received or enjoyed more fully? It is clear that to enjoy Him is not only a privilege, but I might also say a necessity, if the gift of eternal life is to be known in any measure according to its value. The answer is because He is neither comprehended nor appreciated. As the renewed soul learns to comprehend the ministry and use of the Spirit, so does it appreciate Him, and as it appreciates it enjoys. " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." If a soul is seeking the Lord, desiring to know Him, it is sure to find Him in all the fullness of the heart's desire. The Spirit is the known minister of it all, because He has come down here to reveal to us our absent Lord. The woman who was healed by touching was led on until she heard from His own lips the love and purpose of the heart of Him who had healed her; and this assured her, not in the work of healing, but in the love of Him who did it, as well as in the reality of her link to Him.
And so it is now. If any soul has tasted of the healing poker of Christ's work, and has not yet entered into the assurance of heart which flows from knowing His feelings towards it, and the close relationship into which it is brought, all it needs is to come to Him and confer with Him, tell Him all that He has done for it, and that soul will be made to rejoice in an unerring consciousness through the Holy Ghost, not only of its adoption but of the glorious privileges which are its portion through God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, let us say in the joy of our hearts, be glory both now and forever.