Power to become a son of God Jn. 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God Jn. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. The Word gives a human being power to become a son of God. Ge. 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Ge. 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; Ge. 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” God made Adam to become His son ( Lk. 3:38) by breathing into him His Holy Spirit and then giving him His word. When Adam turned against the word that God gave him, he fell from glory. Mt. 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. Mt. 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Mt. 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. God breathed His Holy Spirit into Jesus, just after he was baptized in the River Jordan. Jesus grew up in Judea and so was accustomed to words of God. He therefore became a son of God. He had to be tried to determine his willingness to continually hold on to words of God, as opposed to words of Satan. Mt. 4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’“ [Deut. 6:13] Mt. 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Lk. 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. Because Jesus Christ consistently rejected words of Satan and held on to words of God, he proved himself worthy to receive the fullness of the Spirit. Angels came and anointed him with fullness of the Spirit. Col. 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him. Ac. 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Power to become a son of God means having the ability to live a holy life and ability to do miraculous works, just like Jesus Christ. The power is received by receiving (as opposed to rejecting) God’s words. Comparison of the stories of Adam and Jesus Christ shows us how to become and how not to become a son of God. The difference between Adam and Jesus Christ is simply how they related with God’s word. Becoming a son of God Mk. 16:15 He said t o them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Mk. 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. The good news or gospel of Jesus Christ is that human beings have been reconciled to God by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for our sins. The Holy Spirit of God can dwell in man again. Adam’s disobedience to God’s commandment made the glory of God to depart from man; man became alienated to God so that the Holy Spirit of God could not dwell in man. The blood that Jesus Christ shed for the sins of man reconciled man to God. Man can now receive the Holy Spirit of God. In order for a human being to become a son of God, s/he must have both the Holy Spirit and words of God. Ac. 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Ac. 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you believe the good news, you need to respond. Ac. 2:38 shows us the right response: Make up your mind to be done with sin, because sin separates man from God; that is repentance. Then submit yourself to a minister of the gospel who has the Holy Spirit for baptism into the name of Jesus Christ. Once you are baptized into Jesus Christ, you are qualified to receive the Holy Spirit. The minister who baptized you should pray over you for the gift o f the Holy Spirit. If the baptizer doesn’t pray for you to receive the Holy Spirit, you can pray to God yourself. You are already qualified; God will readily give you the Holy Spirit (Lk. 11:13). Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Ep. 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory. The Holy Spirit that one receives after water baptism is the initial deposit of the Holy Spirit, which is a seal that marks one as a son of God. This initial deposit of the Holy Spirit is not enough for one to start manifesting as a son of God. A greater measure of the Holy Spirit is required in order for a person to manifest as a son of God. It is the word of God that increases the measure of the Holy Spirit that a son of God has. Increasing the Measure of the Holy Spirit Having received the initial deposit of the Holy Spirit at the point of being born again, a son of God is supposed to continually increase the measure of the Holy Spirit in him. The reason why born-again Christians are not manifesting as sons of God today is because the measure of the Spirit in them is not growing. Is. 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, Is. 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. God’s word cannot return to God without accomplishing what it says. Every word of God is a promise. Even the word of God that says, “Do not commit adultery” is a promise that adultery shall no longer be seen in your life. If you want to see the promise fulfilled in your life, return the word to God. Jn. 3:34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. As a person returns God’s words to Him by confessing His words, God fills the person with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then fulfills the words of God in the pe rson’s life. The measure of the Spirit in the person grows. This is very much like charging a battery. The human soul is like a battery and can be charged with either divine life or devilish life. When the human soul is connected to God, divine life (or the Holy Spirit) flows from God to the soul. The connection is done by speaking words of God . Anytime God’s words are being returned to God, the connection is made. Mt. 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Mt. 22:37 Jesus repli ed: “`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Mt. 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment. Mt. 22:39 And the second is like it: `Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Mt. 22:40 All the Law and the Pro phets hang on these two commandments.” Lk. 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. By your grace, Holy Father God Almighty, I shall be perfect, even as you, our heavenly father are perfect. I shall be holy and blameless. In the name of Jesus Christ. By your grace, glorious Father God, I will always love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind and with all my strength. I shall love my neighbor as I love myself. In the name of Jesus Christ. By your grace everlasting Father God, I shall do to others as I would have them do to me. In the name of Jesus Christ. Above is an example of how I return some specific words of God to God. I recommend that you experiment with the above example by returning those words to God every morning and evening (before you retire to bed for the night and just after waking up in the morning). Do this continually and you will notice the measure of the Holy Spirit in you growing. Fullness of the Spirit Col. 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him. Jn. 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Those who believe in the promises of God’s words will be able to do the kind of works that Jesus Christ did during his earthly ministry and do even greater works than he did. However, in order to be able to do the works that Jesus Christ did, God must be pleased to have all His fullness dwell in the person. Ja. 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Ja. 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Ja. 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Ja. 2:15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. Ja. 2:16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? Ja. 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Ja. 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. Ja. 2:21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Ja. 2:22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. Ja. 2:23 And the scr ipture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” [Gen. 15:6] and he was called God’s friend. Ja. 2:24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. Speaking words of God increases the measure of the Holy Spirit in a son of God. However, it is still up to the son of God to adopt a policy of always doing what God’s word says. Words of faith alone without always doing what the word says does not justify a son of God. Take good note of Ja. 2:22: when words of faith and actions are working together, one’s faith is made complete. God is pleased to reward His son with fullness of the Holy Spirit when his faith is complete. Complete faith goes with complete or fullness of the Holy Spirit. Jn. 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Jn. 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 1Jn. 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1Jn. 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1Jn. 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1Jn. 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1Jn. 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1Jn. 4:12 No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Notice in 1 Jn. 4:12, “If we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” As we believe and speak words of God, we should provoke God to live in us and make His love complete in us by giving sacrificially. God’s love being complete in us means fullness of the Spirit. Paul Nosike Divine Nature Evangelism Awka, Anambra State, NIGERIA Email: ikesinenu@gmail.com