9.8 You have the Spirit of sonship within you

Under the Old Covenant, the people feared God and did not dare to come near Him. When the people were at Mount Sinai, they trembled and stood afar. The person who touches the mountain would die. They did not even dare to have God speak directly to them. Sin came between man and a holy God.

(Exodus 20:18)
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

But under the New Covenant, it is a world of difference because of the cross that reconciled man to God. Jesus has dealt with sin and clothed us with righteousness.

We no longer have to stand afar. God has come so close to us – to live inside of us. We no longer need to tremble in fear just as Israel was under bondage to fear. We did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we received the Spirit of sonship. We no longer need to see God as a judge but as a Father. The Spirit of God lives in us to tell us that we are God’s children. Isn’t that so special?

(Romans 8:14-16)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…

But we hear a lot of preaching about fearing God. It is usually a fear of judgment. The verse above tells us that God doesn’t want us to be in that state of fear anymore in the New Covenant. Perfect love of the Father drives out the fear of judgment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.

As a father, I would like my son to be close to me, to enjoy the special father & son relationship. I wouldn’t want him to keep a distance from me because he feared me as his judge. That is what Father God wants too. He has sent His Spirit to indwell you so that you can call Him “Abba Father”.

There is a healthy fear of God. That is not a fear of judgment which puts you under bondage. It means to worship God. When Jesus quoted Deut 6:13 in Matt 4:10, He replaced the word “fear” with “worship”. We are to “worship” God and serve only Him. Today, we worship God because of His great love in sending His Son Jesus to redeem us. It is a privilege and a joy to worship Jesus for His love poured out on the cross.