βFor ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Fatherβ (Rom. 8:15).
The position of the believer in the family of God is amply illustrated for us in the Epistles of Paul. In Gal. 4:1-5 the Apostle alludes to the fact that in the life of every Hebrew boy there came a time, appointed by the father, when the lad was formally declared to be a full-grown son, with all the rights and privileges of sonship.
It was now assumed that the young man would no longer need overseers to keep him in check. There would be natural understanding and co-operation between father and son. And so the βadoptionβ [Gr., son-placing] proceedings took place, indicating that the child, now a full-grown son, was no longer under law, but under grace.
βAnd because ye are sons,β says the Apostle, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a [full-grown] sonβ (Gal. 4:6,7).
This is the position of every believer in Christ. He may, like the Corinthians, still be a babe in his spiritual experience (I Cor. 3:1), but in Christ he occupies the position of a full-grown son, and to grow spiritually it will do him no good to go back under the Law; he must rather recognize his standing before God in grace. This is why the Apostle says in Rom. 8:15:
βYe have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption [sonship], whereby we cry, Abba, Father.β
A recognition of this position will do far more to help us live godly lives than will the βdos and dontβsβ of the Law. source
