No longer an orphan – Part II

Once we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, God becomes our Father, our ‘Daddy’. This decision brings us into a new family, and Jesus made it clear in John 14:18 (NLT) “No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you.”

Last week, we started looking at how, despite this fact, some believers still behave as though they were orphans. Through the influence of the ‘orphan spirit’, they still feel abandoned, afraid, rejected, and think they will only be accepted based on their performance. But how can we live in a healthy, loving relationship with God, our Father?

We must first accept our true identity as revealed by the Holy Spirit. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:14–17 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit speaks to us about who we are, whose we are, and the inheritance that we have access to. The Holy Spirit confirms:

1. I AM NEW

“… If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV). This is a prophetic declaration of a new power and a new season in your life. You are no longer limited by your past.

Before we received Christ, we were called “sinners” and prone to do wrong. But now - “To all who are beloved of God … called as saints” (Romans 1:7a NIV) - righteousness is part of our new nature. It is natural for our spirits to do and desire righteousness, and now sinning is not our nature. When we accept that we are no longer sinners, we receive the freedom to live anew.

2. I AM AN ADOPTED SON OF GOD

A central truth that Jesus brought to the world was that God, our Heavenly Father, desires that we receive the Spirit of Adoption and so be restored to relate to Him as “Abba”.

We can relate to Him the same way Jesus did in the Scriptures. Galatians 3:27 (NKJV) says: “For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.” We wear Jesus like a coat, so when God sees us, He sees Jesus’ characteristics and fully accepts us.

3. I AM A CO-HEIR WITH CHRIST

In ancient Rome, an adopted person would inherit his or her new father’s social standing, wealth, and political power and have all the same rights as a child that was born into the family. Romans 8 is referring to adoption in this sense. So being adopted by the King of kings means that just like Jesus, we have access to our Heavenly Father’s unlimited resources, the social standing of spiritual royalty, and His immense power through His Holy Spirit. We come into restored access to everything God planned for us from the beginning.

If you accept your new identity, you can now commit to building a better relationship with God, your Father. You can start by forgiving your earthly father, mother, or other authority figure who may have hurt you. Then move forward and allow yourself to be discipled by a more mature Christian at a church that teaches God’s word and lives by His love.