Sons from the Beginning
I. God makes man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). God is Spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, man is like God in his spirit, not physically. Speaking of his physical body, Scripture declares that man will die (Hebrews 9:27). There will be a resurrection of man’s body, Christ being a first-fruit or template (1 Corinthians 15:42-26).
II. God is the Father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9). God was the Father of Adam’s spirit and is the Father of the spirits of those who have believed on Christ (Genesis 2:7). Therefore, sons are neither male nor female, slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:26-29).
III. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God and therefore a son of God (Luke 3:38).
Summary: Adam was created in the image and likeness of God in his spirit. Adam, the first man and prototype for us all, was created for the specific intent of sonship. Therefore, all men were created for the specific intent of sonship. From before the creation of man and from the beginning of all creation God has purposed to have sons. The entire story of redemption must be seen and interpreted through this mindset: the loving Father sending His perfect Son to bring back to Him other sons.
The Fall of a Son (Genesis 3:7-13)
I. When Adam ate the fruit, a fundamental change took place in his understanding of whom he was. God challenged Adam’s assumption that he was naked. It was because of Adam’s awareness of his “nakedness” that God knew Adam had obtained information from another source.
II. Man was not naked as we think of nakedness. We are “clothed” with a body (2 Corinthians 5:1-3). Adam was a spiritual being by nature and was clothed with flesh. When he ate the fruit, he was deceived at the level of his nature, his identity. He thought of himself as flesh that needed “clothing.” God is Spirit (John 4:24) and Adam was created in God’s likeness after/in/by Adam’s spirit.
III. What does he do when he is deceived into thinking of himself as flesh? He “sees” his vulnerability and seeks to provide for himself (fig leaves) and protect himself (hiding). He does not see God as Father, so he hides.
Summary: The major fall was the way Adam saw himself. A new culture arose the day Adam saw himself as flesh and not spirit: the culture of an orphan. He went from being a son destined to rule to thinking like an orphan preoccupied with survival. Adam understood himself as primarily flesh and acted according to that belief system, seeking provision and protection.
The Culture and Identity of an Orphan
I. The root identity of an orphan is one of being alone. “I am all I have.” When this is believed everyone is thought to be a potential enemy, requiring you to hide, whether covertly or overtly.
II. With a belief system rooted in the “I am all I have” thought process, it is to be expected that an orphan would be motivated by a deep-seated desire to provided and protect. When this desire is fully developed, it becomes a lust.
Summary: The identity of an orphan leads to the specific purpose of survival
The Culture and Identity of a Son
I. The root identity of a son is acceptance. I am “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1) by grace and not by works. From that position of acceptance, the Son is about the Father’s business (seeking first the kingdom). God’s love for me is not based on my performance but our of His character. God will never love me more nor love me less than He does right now.
II. To what end are sons given? To be the radiance of his Father’s glory (Hebrews 1:1- 3). The exact representation of His person. So, the purpose was to represent the Father in the earth. Therefore, the resources of a son are the resources his Father (Luke 12, John 16:14,15, John 20:21)!
Summary: It was God’s specific intent from the beginning that His sons would rule in such a way that the invisible God would be clearly seen and portrayed. To be a “ruler.” Orphans will use authority to secure their own provision and protection, whereas a son does not have that preoccupation; he can represent the Father.
A Quick Comparison
I. Orphans
Flesh is the center of reality.
Root identity is “I am alone.”
Feels vulnerable.
Seeks provision.
Seeks protection.
Culture of survival.
Exchange oriented.
Expects lack and therefore hoards.
Seeks approval from others.
II. Sons
Spirit is the center of reality.
Root identity is “I am accepted.”
Feels secure.
Seeks first the kingdom (the Father’s business).
Culture of rulership.
Receives inheritances.
Can be disciplined because he knows he is significant.
Lives vulnerable and free.
Seeks impact.
An Orphan’s Relationship to God
I. God is the ultimate One who can provide provision and protection. However, because of an orphan’s identity of being alone, he has toiled and labored for anything he has obtained. So an orphan’s relationship with God will be exchanged- based. “This for that” thinking and bargaining instead of receiving of a gift.
II. This mentality is the basis for all religion. Its root is self- righteousness. In or to “exchange” with God, one has to believe that at the level of exchange, what the person possesses is equal to what they are exchanging with God. So, to exchange you have to believe that you have something of equal value! How arrogant!
III. Sons receive inheritances, but orphans bargain and exchange for wages. This is the nature of religion: we bargain with God for what He wants to give for free!
Summary: Because the mindset of an orphan is preoccupied with provision and protection, it affects his way of relating to God. This mindset keeps man bargaining with God instead of maturing as a son.
An Orphan’s Relationship with Others
I. Everybody has four basic needs: security, total unconditional acceptance, value, and significance. When a need goes unmet by a loved one, it creates a wound, which leads to pain, which leads to fear, which leads to controlling the environment to meet the need. This is surviving in your relationships. It is impossible to love as Christ when fear is the motivation. The result of this type of relationship is manipulation.
II. The lie being believed by the orphan is that no one could/would love them enough to put their needs first. No trust or intimacy, just isolation and loneliness. But an orphan still has those four needs. The deception continues until the orphan is convinced that he can meet these needs for himself through possession, passion, position, and protection.
III. Our Father wants to meet these needs (Philippians 4:19). A son has his Father as the source of his security, acceptance, value, and significance. This frees him up to truly love people and not try to survive relationships through manipulation because of fear. When wounds do happen, our Father creates ways of healing, like forgiveness and mercy.
Summary: God created man to have certain needs with the intentions of meeting those needs. However, man has looked to others or things to meet those needs, creating wounds of fear, which leaves the orphans trying to control people and/or circumstances to meet their needs. All the while, the Father longs to be the supply of those needs and to heal the wounds.
Recognizing the Orphan Mindset within Us:
I. Areas of defensiveness: this is usually when one is called “touchy”. The evidence is an imporprtlionate reaction to a situation. Often one begins to recognize this and ask oneself, “What about this causes such a reaction in me?”
II. Patterns of Compulsions: Everyone tends to be compulsive about something. (Success, esteem, cleanliness, appearance, uniqueness, etc.) Compulsions represent excessive attachments. Compulsions usually exist to protect the false self.
III. What is necessary for you to maintain the usual amount of stability or peace in your life? (Money, friendships, good emotional feelings, health, respect, position, etc.)
Conclusion: Peter’s transformational knowing of himself and Christ
I. Matthew 4:18-22- Peter knew Christ and would have said much about what he believed was true about Christ. He told his brother Andrew from the beginning that Jesus was the Christ.
II. John 13- Initially refusal to let Christ wash his feet, then is shocked at Jesus’ prediction of his betrayal. It seemed inconceivable to Peter that he would deny Christ. He must have assumed Christ was mistaken. Doubting Jesus was easier than doubting himself. He had not yet encountered the full extent of either his pride or his fear.
III. John 18:15-27- Catching Peter after his denial, we would probably find him self-absorbed in regret and anguish. Struggling to comprehend the depth of his betrayal, lack of courage, fear, and how easily his pride would have been wounded. In short, he had encountered his weakest and most despicable self, and he was likely filled with self-loathing.
IV. John 21:15-25- Peter’s encounter with the risen Christ gives us a glimpse into the connection between self-knowledge and knowledge of God. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved him- one for each denial- and then gives the exact same invitation to Peter that had started their relationship. (Follow me).
Summary: Peter’s knowing of self and Christ has grown and so has his soul. By coming to experience the painful and worst parts of himself, he moves beyond believing into knowing the depth of Christ’s love by experience.
GP2RL: Ask God to help you see what makes you feel most vulnerable and most like running for cover then discuss with God.
This is not about introspection or self-analysis, this is about prayer! A conversation with the ONE who can heal you!
SPIRITUAL WELLNESS: The Healing Love of the Father
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
When the sons and daughters of God possess a healthy perspective fruitfulness results and the world becomes a better place.
The spirit of Ishmael (heart of an orphan) wars against the spirit of Isaac (heart of a son). This seems to be the dominating spiritual battle on the earth.
John 14:18-21 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live...The one who loves me will be loved by my Father...” NIV
Jesus didn’t die on the cross so God could be your Master. Jesus died on the cross so God could be your Father.
Adam and Eve experienced deep fellowship with God, their Father before the Fall. Their sin brought disconnec- tion producing an orphan spirit causing untold damage! This is why we see Jesus restoring this kind of Father language to humanity.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
The orphan mentality has a preoccupation with provision and protection. When we accept the love of our Heav- enly Father in our brokenness and insecurities we are restored and healed.
Genesis 3:7-8 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. NIV
After the fall, Adam and Eve were aware of their nakedness motivating them to provided covering for them- selves and hiding from God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Name something you once felt shame or embarrassment about that is no longer shameful or embarrassing.
Name something in your life that brings you a sense of peace because you have it but without it or if it is threatened you are no longer at peace?
Name a certain aspect of your life that has been healed or made better by receiving the unconditional love of God?
What aspect of yourself are you the most defensive about? What might you need to grow to trust God with in order to see this transformed?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Ask God to help you see what makes you feel most vulnerable and then discuss with God.