To be sons of God, what a thrill! We Christians, though, are so used to this terminology that we often take it for granted. The implications are enormous, to have such an intimate relationship with the Creator and Sovereign of the universe. The One who spoke the cosmos into existence with a mere word. The One of whom Isaiah asked, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?” (Isaiah 40:12). The “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16). We are HIS sons!

Ancient monarchs often had scores of children by multiple wives, most of whom had little relationship their father. If at all, it was usually a business or legal arrangement, rather than a father-child relationship. But our relationship with our Heavenly Father is instinctively personal. The new relationship with God through faith results in the Spirit motivating our inner spirits to react to God in familial terms, “Abba! Father!” The term, “Abba,” is well known to be the affectionate call of a child to his tender father. It was reserved for those with a special relationship. This is the same manner of speaking to God as Jesus used of His Heavenly Father (see Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15). Today’s equivalent might be “Papa.”

Paul’s logical sequence then goes like this: Because of faith in Christ, 1)We are not slaves, 2) We are “sons” and therefore, 3) since we are sons, we are heirs. What this means is that everything that belongs to God is rightfully ours, by virtue of our family relationship to God. Elsewhere, Paul writes, “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…” (Romans 8:17). This Christ is the Son of God, “whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (Hebrews 1:2). This is just another way of saying that the blessing promised to Abraham is now ours through faith!

Finally, when Paul says we are heirs, this is not because of any effort or good works on our part. It comes “through God.” It is not through being a physical descendant of Abraham, or from attempts to keep the Law. Nor is from practicing circumcision, or for just males or free men (see Galatians 3:28). All who believe are heirs of the great promise of blessing made to Abraham.