Month: September 2024

In both testaments of the bible, we see men and women who left their Father’s house to journey with God (Our Father) into the unknown and/or a never-before.

Each of them left their Father’s house for a God-glorifying purpose. Think of this God-glorifying purpose as a coin that belongs to God … I also refer to it as the Purpose of Sons. As with every coin, there are two sides (of the same thing). In this blog, I’ll speak to one side of the coin: be a Son. God willing, I’ll speak to the other side of the coin (be a Sun) in a future blog. Both sides say the same thing –the Purpose of Sons is to be like Our Father:Like Father, Like Son…to glorify Our Heavenly Father– Yes, Our Father glorifies Himself(Exodus 34:5-6)… every part of Him does.

In the first part of this blog-series (The Exodus), I mentioned that the instruction to leave your father’s house is NOT a call to be fatherless (orphaned or not belong) – far from it. Instead, it is a call to experience the Fatherhood of God … a call to know (experience and express) God’s provident and protective care.

The response to the call to leave your father’s house begins with a God-led Exodus that leads to becoming a Wife (becoming undivorceably married to God) and then being a Son. In the same way that Wives don’t have two husbands, Sons can NOT have two Fathers (Matthew 6:24). This is why leaving your father’s house is an absolutely necessary prerequisite to being a Son of Our Father in Heaven. The Our in Our Father is inclusive of Jesus – the first of many brethren, one of whom is Ruth. She is a testimony of2 Corinthians 6:17-18… she came out from among them by leaving Moab for Judah where she ultimately transitioned into being a Son – she was bestowed the honor of Sonship and was titled: better than seven sons – a honorable title indeed!

Like Ruth, this transition to Sonship is the path every virgin-servant (christian, bride of Christ) must walk (Matthew 25:1-13) – it begins at the point where you and God meet, court, and God puts a ring on it gives you His Signet (2 Corinthians 1:22). Without this Engagement Ring, it is impossible to leave your father’s house let alone enter into Our Father’s House of many mansions. This Engagement Ring is the powerful Truth that translates us from darkness in to Light wherein we are made one with God (as members of His Body) and are therefore able to be fruitful(Genesis 1:28A)… to multiply … to birth Sons. This birthing of Sons is what it means to be a Son – it is a key characteristic of Sons.

In an attempt to uncover and elaborate on this truth, I’ll be sharing four essential distinguishing characteristics of Sons. In and through this blog-share, I desire that God pursues His desire to teach, encourage, and inspire Sons to meaningfully and actionably be Sons. Like Manoah, I too pray that The One Who’s Name is Wonderful Counselor will (through this blog) teach and guide us into all truth related to the birthing of Sons –Judges 13:8B 🥰.

Who is a Son?

To better understand the above definition of who a Son is, let’s take a look at the Son that was given to Abraham –Genesis 15:1-7; 16:1-16; 17:1-8, 15-21; 21:1-5; 22:1-2. By earthly standards, Ishmael was Abraham’s first-born and would naturally be identified (ID-ed) as Abraham’s Son BUT not so by God. By God’s standard, Isaac was Abraham’s only Son (Abraham’s only true son).

One might wonder/ask: why was Isaac a Son and Ishmael not? The answer to this question reveals a core characteristic of Sons.

Let me explain: Isaac’s birth was predicated on Truth(John 17:17B)– he was conceived and birthed by the Word of God. As such, he became a living evidence (Faith) of what God said (Truth) and what God did (Righteousness) … Isaac became a living testimony/witness that God can NOT lie and that God did what He said He’d do. On the flip side, Ishmael’s birth was predicated on a lie.

Sarah’s plan to obtain children and build a family through Hagar was NOT according to the Word of God(Genesis 16:2)– it was a lie – Sarah actionably told a lie by clinging to her own righteousness. This do-it-myself, do-it-my-way, arm-of-flesh move (lie) led to Ishmael’s conception and birth. True to form, whatever is born of flesh is flesh(John 3:6) … whatever is born of a lie is a lie and inherently stands in opposition to the Truth – herein lies the difference between a Son versus not. This distinction is determined based on what a person expresses or says (in thought, words, and/or actions) – what each person’s core responds to and with: Truth versus Lie. What does your core respond to and with? What are you core-responding to and with? What are you corresponding to and with?

Sons always speak Truththus, they stand right with God … this right-standing is the Righteousness of Sons; it is a position of trust in God. Due to the core or seed of his conception: an unrighteous seed, Ishmael embodied a lie – one could say that he was a bodily or ‘living’ expression of a lie. This, I believe, is why Ishmael was not a Son by God’s Standard (Truth: God Himself). God can NOT lie, neither do Sons – this is characteristic numero uno 🙂.

Characteristic #2:Sons bear Our Father’s Name– Sons embody the reason (the WHY, the purpose) for all that God does (i.e. the making of Sons) – this reason is: His Name … it’s all for His Name’s sake. In part 1 of this blog-series, I shared that a Father is the one who’s Name we bear. I’ll use the example of Jesus and Isaac to buttress this point – both of them embodied God’s Name. Jesus – the Son Who is given – is named Everlasting Father(Isaiah 9:6), a name that reflects/expresses Our Father Who is everlasting (eternal). Isaac embodied the Name of God known as The Fear of Isaac – another name for the Fear of God. Keep in mind that (1) the Fear of God is Love for God, and (2) this Love for God is The Spirit of God(Isaiah 11:2)… THE LORD is this Spirit(2 Corinthians 3:17)and THE LORD is His Name. This precious Holy Spirit of God is the heritage of Sons (He is the Name/Love/Glory of God, Our most-prized treasureIsaiah 33:6AMPC) – He is THE LORD, our Peace … THE LORD, our Righteousness.

Like a robe to be worn or a name that we bear (wear or put on), this God-given gift is the breastplate of righteousness on which is the representations of Sons (the twelve gemstones for each tribe of Israel … for each Son, for each Disciple – those who leave your father’s house to follow God to God). Surely, all who are led by God are Sons of God(Romans 8:14)… He is our God-given righteousness, the very same righteousness that leads us to Peace(Isaiah 58:8)– to God Himself (Peace).

This imparted righteousness (right standing with God) is the authority we’ve been given by God to be called Sons … the authority on which we call Our Father: Abba! Father! His is the Name by which we are called: THE LORD, our Righteousness (Jeremiah23:5-6)– this gift of Sonship is the gift of belonging to God, the unearnable privilege to be called His people – a Name Sons wear proudly on their chest like the breastplate of righteousness. FYI: God puts this on too! (Isaiah 59:17).

Characteristic #3: Sons belong to Our Father. I alluded to this in part 1, where I shared that we bear the image, likeness, and name of the one we belong to. I believe that this third characteristic of Sons (at least in part) is why God asked for Isaac and not Ishmael inGenesis 22:2. In asking for Isaac, God was asking to be given what belonged to Him: Isaac – the one who was birthed by God’s Word and thus embodied God’s Name (God’s Name is the Glory of God that is to be given to God).

Sons belong to God and are uniquely His for His Name’s sake, for His Glory … no sharing allowed –Isaiah 42:8(VOICE). Sons are given for the Glory (the revealing, revelation, or unveiling) of God – to make God known. Same is the story of Abraham and Isaac in relation toGenesis 22:2– Isaac (like Jesus) was given to Abraham for God’s Name’s sake, for the knowledge of God, for God’s Glory – this experience led to the revelation of God’s Name: Jehovah Jireh (God, Our Provider) – another expression of the Fatherhood of God.

To be found belonging to God means that you have left your father’s house and have become God’s people. He calls you: “My people“(Hosea 2:23) and says “you are Mine“(Isaiah 43:2)– this is the very same claim that Our Father made of Jesus, when He said:

Right before Our Father spoke these words👆about Jesus, something pivotal happened – the Spirit of God descended like a dove and alighted on Jesus(Matthew 3:16)… this is how Sons are made (made known, ID-ed, revealed). Jesus’ time had come! God was ready to give the Command (Grace) … God was ready to make all Grace abound to Jesus. Note: the HolySpirit is the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ that rests on, abides in, and leads those who are Sons.

The indwelling of the HolySpirit is the proof that we (Sons) belong to God. He is the One Who makes the Fatherhood of God real to us as He whispers truth in to our innermost being saying: you are God’s beloved child. The HolySpirit is the Love of God that God pours into our hearts and that we ought to receive (welcome) in order for Him (the Spirit of God) to rest/settle on and dwell/abide in us.

We can NOT be Sons without the HolySpirit. This was the case with Jesus – He could not be a Son without the HolySpirit (John 5:30 Acts 10:38)… this was the case with the twelve disciples (Sons) – the HolySpirit settled on each of them and they were filled with Him(Acts 2:1-4)– this was the only way they could be Sons. This also was the case in the beginning, when Man was made – when Sons were made.

The Making of Sons (aka Love-Making)

Be a Son … do NOT Lie:Be Fruitful, multiply

Do you feel like you’ve strayed away from this place … from your God-given place as Sons? This happens – the righteous falls BUT gets back up. Two quick testimonies of this, and I’ll wrap up with a prayer 🙂.

Samson was conceived by the Word of God(Judges 13:3)… to ensure his birth, his mother was instructed to ingest no unclean thing (lie). She was on a clean diet(Judges 13:4,14)… one could say she ate Truth (John 17:17), she ate the Word of God: the root of the character of Sons, of Nazirites (dedicated ones), of those who prophesy (Sons). The free Will (mercy and grace) of God gave him birth, thus he was to be consecrated to God – to exclusively belong to God. YET, like Solomon (1 Kings 11:4), he too was distracted and side-tracked. He was temporarily blind-sided like the prodigal son (the lost sheep) who went about his own not-so-merry way(Luke 15:11 -20A).

If any of this relates to you, fear not … be encouraged in The LORD (in the Merciful Truth and Love that He is). There is Hope for your future (for the Sons that you will beget 🙂). What’s done is done and gone … there is hope in the not-yet –Isaiah 42:9(VOICE). Look heretoforward … expect Love, Love, and more Love –Jeremiah 31:3(MSG). Our Father wants you back – He is unrelenting in His pursuit of you (the Spirit-Man He created). All that is required is repentance – turn to face God, return to Him(Hebrews 4:16)and you will be pleasantly surprised to find that, like the Father of the prodigal son inLuke 15:20-24, God is ready, eagerly waiting with arms wide open to welcome you Home: the dwelling Place of Sons.

Assuredly, this reconciliation (of Truth) is impossible with man. Nevertheless, with God Who is The More, all God-glorifying things are possible – this is the sole basis on which I pray that heretoforward, the sweet fellowship, presence, and companionship of the HolySpirit Who is both the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God, will always be with us … leading us, carrying us, and enabling us to live by the Faith of the Son of God (Jesus Christ) Who gave Himself for us that we may be Sons – this is the first, foremost, full, and whole purpose of Man.