The Law on How to Receive from God - Part 2

 

Throughout this series, a few people have asked me why we called it the law of how to receive from God. Surely, after Calvary, we have become free from the law. For those wondering the same, allow me to bring clarity – this law is not based on Old Testament laws, for we have all been set at liberty through grace.

The term “law” defines correct procedures or behaviours and is regarded as having a binding force or effect. This law of receiving from God, the likes which results in the unleashing of incalculable blessing which we couldn’t possibly work for in our own strength, is actually spiritual principles and protocols which we can tap into. 

In this article, we want to unleash the revelation of the laws of how to receive from God, focusing particularly on the power of sonship. If you are serious about your sonship as a Christian, then you need to learn exactly what it means. 

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)

Throughout the Bible, God – in His role as a Father – can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations He sets for His people. His original intent for the earth is for those who are like Him – His sons and daughters – to rule the earth, taking dominion over every living thing. For this reason, after the fall of man, God chose to send His Son as a mere man, who would bring deliverance of man.

To equip you to walk in the greatest possible measure of God’s blessing which comes through sonship, we are going to focus on the following aligning and equipping stations:

• God’s original intent.
• The art of submission.
• True meaning of sonship.
• The value of sonship.
• Sons catch the same DNA as their fathers.

1. God’s Original Intent:

³⁰ So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. ³¹ Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 22:30-31(NKJV)

God is abundant in mercy and slow to judge. In Ezekiel 22, we read of a great breach had entered their relationship with God. It was God’s will to have mercy on them, but He was looking for a man to fill the gap and could not find anyone to partner with.

He called, but no one answered. He stretched out His hand in mercy, but no one took it. When His desperate attempts to save failed, He was stripped from choice and sent judgement.

God pours Himself out onto a man and partners with that man to accomplish His will. People often think that a “spirit of sonship” is in relation to their heavenly Father, and although that is also true, this understanding is not all-inclusive. Sonship is also an attitude, and it’s values shown towards the fathers we have been given in the Body of Christ.

A man who carries God and fathers you in the Spirit is what we call a spiritual father. He is someone God has placed in our lives for our spiritual wellbeing;  a source of life to us through Christ.

“If you want God, find a man who is carrying God and then learn how to submit under that man.”

1. The Art of Submission

⁹ For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Matthew 8:9 (NKJV)

We see an example of sonship in the heart of Elisha towards Elijah. The level in which you exercise kingdom authority and power is dependent on your level of submission. We read more testimonies to this in the life of Joshua towards Moses, Timothy towards Paul, David towards Saul and Ruth towards Naomi, yet there are far more examples of this throughout the Word.

Even the Centurion in Matthew 8 understood that for him to exercise power, he needs to be under power. This is known as spiritual protocol. Many believers miss this completely because they are not following protocol.

If you want to operate in greater dimensions of God’s glory and power, you need to submit under someone that already walks in what you desire. This will cause the anointing upon them to flow down to you.

The right submission will take you further than what prayer and fasting will.

1. True meaning of Sonship:

• Sonship has nothing to do with gender and is applicable to both male and female;
• Sonship refers to a posture of submission and maturity;
• Sonship is used to distinguish those who have grown spiritually from those who are still babies in the Lord.

There is a big difference between a child and a son, especially in the way that they deal with spiritual things.

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

Romans 8:14 (NKJV)

Two truths can be found in the setting of sonship in the abovementioned scripture.

1. Firstly, the criteria in becoming a son of God is yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If you are led by the Holy Spirit, then you qualify for sonship
2. Secondly, sonship is all about submitting to leadership. If the Spirit of God is going to lead you, He must be your leader and you must become the follower.

The ability to follow is a sure sign of maturity. Only a mature person can yield to leadership. In fact, it is maturity that will empower you to be able to submit.

¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

John 16:13 (NKJV)

Looking into John 16, one might be curious to ask: “but if I am led by the Holy Spirit, will I still need a spiritual father?” The answer to this question comprises of 3 parts:

• It is not only those who are young in the Lord who need a spiritual father.
• Everyone that claims to be a son of God is in need of a spiritual father because God established parenthood as a way of passing on an inheritance.
• Since God is Spirit, a son needs those who are spiritually mature, to guide him in spiritual matters.

1. The Value of Sonship:

 

Jesus was announced by the Father as the beloved Son of God. When we read about Jesus’ baptism, we easily fix our focus on the heavens that opened and God speaking in an audible voice but miss the revelation in what the Father said about His Son.

So much is revealed in the Father’s announcement of Christ as His Beloved Son. He lays bare His game plan on earth. Of all the references that God could have used – Saviour, King of kings, Lion of Judah, etc. – He chose to use the reference “Son” as the most fitting.

He wanted to make it clear who Jesus is – the beloved Son of God.

To be called “son” is probably one of the greatest titles and acknowledgements one can carry. Everything Jesus is, everything He has done and accomplished, everything that makes Him Jesus was captured into one word, “Son”.

Surprisingly, when the Father referred to Jesus as His Son, Jesus was already a fully-grown man, yet He was only acknowledged as Son at that moment. This means that we are all born into the Kingdom as children, but we mature into sons.

We all know the story of Abram. He was called by God and how God blessed him beyond measure. Yet, despite all of his wealth, he was still not content, something was missing – he needed a son.

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Genesis 15:1 (NKJV)

Imagine having Abram’s wealth, a promise of a reward coupled with God’s undertaking to be your personal protection. One would think this is enough in a currency of blessing, however, Abram was not content. His response in the following verse expresses his deepest desire.

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Abram had many servants but no son. A son is very different from a servant. The bond between father and son is far greater than a bond you will have with even the most trusted of servant. A servant is entitled to receive pay by contract, but a son is entitled to inheritance by birth right.

In essence, Abram was saying that all his riches have little meaning if he doesn’t have a son. His lack of excitement towards the promise tells us that he placed far greater value in having a son and rightful heir to his inheritance than having all the wealth and protection in the world.

²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever…

 

This scripture provides us with a master key in understanding spiritual inheritance.

We learn that the secret things – which refer to dimensions of power and revelation, that we do not know – belong to God. But the secret things that fathers gain access to in the spirit, through hard spiritual labour, becomes our automatic inheritance as sons.

What our father in the Lord fasted many days for, and prayed many hours for, becomes the foundation upon which we start our spiritual journey!

1. Sons catch the same DNA as their spiritual father:

Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit that was upon Elijah. In other words, a double portion of his spiritual DNA.

A son is a carbon copy of his father, because only a father can pass on DNA to a son. Jesus said boldly that if you see Him, you have seen the Father.

Without a son, the name of Abraham and all that he stood for faced extinction and this made the concern of Abraham very valid. It was only through a son that he was guaranteed to have his name being made great among the nations (Gen 12 & 15).

When studying the Word of God, we discover that names carried great spiritual significance, especially the name of the father. You could tell a great deal about someone just by who their father was.

That is why it is only those who are led by the Spirit of God that can be called the sons of God, because when they are led by the Spirit of God, they will ensure the continuity of the character of God.

To sum it all up for you – God is a Father to a Son, Jesus is a Son to a Father. It was and is the very nature of God revealed in this dynamic relationship. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Body of Christ must also have this type of fathering and sonship relationship.

In the natural, a son will function like his father and emulate his character – and the same is true for spiritual sons as well. Your character is developed and your walk with God matures as you observe your spiritual father closely.

Spiritual sons come to realise that spiritual covering is most effective when they are willing to submit, and when they allow their spiritual father to speak into their lives.

If you submit fully, sonship will be the mark of true greatness in the testimony of your spiritual walk!