Spirit of Adoption

This Temple which God now lays claim to, once belonged to another. Though the body belonged to Adam, it became the temple of satan. Remember, Jesus referred to him as being our father before salvation. My point here is that God’s claim on the body is by the Spirit of Adoption. It is by the Spirit of adoption that we can now cry Abba Father. Yes, beloved, the body is now living because of the first phase of its adoption.

Nevertheless, the day is fast approaching when the body will experience the final phase of its adoption. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:23-25.

We have the Spirit of adoption living in our flesh. This is true, but not only true. It is most important if we are to be raised from the dead at the sounding of the last trump.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 8:13

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Mortify the deeds: Subdue or put to death the desires of the flesh; by self-denial or discipline: It is not that the body in itself has any desires. However, it is the soul that desires to live out its desires in the flesh. It needs the body to fulfill its lust. Therefore it is necessary that we mortify or ‘put to death,’ any unlawful desires that can only be accomplished through the flesh.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Philippians 3:20-21

20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

In the passage above, it is made clear that at the return of Christ our earthly bodies will be changed. That is the operative word in this lesson, ‘changed.’ The body will be changed. It will be fashioned like the body of our Lord, a glorious body. One that will know no more pain, suffering, or death. It will be a product of the seed that was planted in it. Neither the location, or concondition of the body are relevant as to its change. If alive upon the earth, it will be changed. If sleeping in the grave, it will be changed.

John 5:24-25

24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

The best way to deal with this subject is to allow the scriptures full course to say what they say. We will not add or subtract from their meaning. As the above passages are literal, there is no need for any interpretation of symbols or figures of speech. So let us deal with what is written.

Those who believe on Jesus will have everlasting life.

Everlasting life implies that the believer will never die. The believer has passed from death unto life. Even if the believer is in the grave, he will hear the voice of the Son of God and live.

Those who do not believe on Jesus:

• The Unbeliever will enter into condemnation.
• And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
• If the unbeliever dies before the return of the Lord, he will remain in death, until death is ordered to give up its dead.

But we must continue to investigate that which seems to be obvious. In other words, most would say, the born again will rise in righteousness and the unsaved unto eternal damnation. Yes, that is true. But the ‘why’ of this whole matter, is the manifestation of the mystery of Christ in the Church. Bear with me here.

John 5:26; For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; What does this verse have to do with the raising of the dead? Is it that Jesus is saying that He simply has the power to raise the dead, or could it be that something more is being implied here?

The Father has life in Himself.

The explanation of this statement can be found in the following passage. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17: 20-21.

In His walk on the earth, it was the Father who gave life to the body of Christ. His Body was the Temple of God. Thus, it was God speaking through Jesus, …Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. John 2:19. It was the Father speaking through the flesh to Phillip. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? …10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.(John 14:9-11). And again Jesus speaks of this oneness. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. John 5:17

Jesus is the prototype for the Church. His coming to earth was in the fashion of each individual that will enter the Church. His life, (soul) was in the Father and the Father was in His flesh, (body). The point is that it was the Father who was the life source of Jesus’ flesh.

Let’s look at this 26th verse again.

John 5:26; For as the Father hath life in himself; sohath he given to the Son to have life in himself; The simple meaning here is that Jesus declares himself to be a lifegiving source, even as the Father. He too, has the ability to give life to the flesh. That is the power of the Son of Man. He is given this ability by the Father simply because he has paid the price for the sins of the entire world. We must consider that all the world was condemned to the eternal wrath of God. But Jesus paid for our sins with his own flesh and blood. But having committed no sin of his own, God was justified in raising him from the dead.

Now it is the Holy Ghost, (the Spirit of Life), that raised him from the dead. It is also here that we come to the benefit of his resurrection for the believer. Though he died for the sins of the world, only those who actually believe this report will benefit from this atonement. Consider the following.

Romans 5:8-11

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The Law declares the wages of sin to be death. Thus the entire Adamic creation was doomed to suffer eternal damnation and separation from God. But there is something else I want to iterate here. None of this came as a surprise to the Father. None of this was a spur of the moment solution for a fallen creation. The word declares that God foreknew every member of his creation before they ever existed in time.

The fact that Christ died for us removed the penalty of death and the wrath of God from us. This too, was also a predetermined fact. Therefore, through his foresight and foreknowledge of us, God was able select or elect those whom he knew would believe and accept Christ. Thus, their names were written in a book called The Lamb’s Book of Life.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. If we take a moment to look at our salvation through the eyes of the Father, we would see that we were reconciled by his death; the shedding of his innocent blood for the guilty. But we were actually saved, (given the right to live and our life preserved), by his life.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

This verse gives us the how-to. We literally received the atonement. That man who died on the cross, and was resurrected by the Father, through the eternal Spirit is now living in our natural bodies. This resurrected Christ is now living in the bodies of all who believe.