As I have been studying Galatians 4 and reflecting on Father bringing us into a place to receive inheritance, I am struck by the need for maturity. There is a progression in maturing that God brings us through in making us heirs, we are heirs through Christ and yet there is a process by which the Holy Spirit works in our life to bring us to a place of maturity. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Sonship, His role is not only to seal us as sons and daughters but also bring us into the fully reality of sonship. Amazingly according to God's way, you are and then you do. The world's way is that you perform to become someone. In God's grace, He declares that we are His children by being "in Christ" and then the Holy Spirit goes to work removing sin in our lives, bringing us into agreement of who we are, exposing unsurrendered places in our lives, and bringing us into a place of submission. Yet at times the strongholds that surface and contradict Christ, exalt themselves above Him and when we continue in agreement with them rather than come to repentance cause problems in our life and walk with the Lord. Since we are now under Grace and not Law, many people are confused about how maturity happens. Under Law there are rules, expectations, and punishments exacted to get people to change their behavior to conform to the accepted and desired behavior. This doesn't even have to be a Law based model but simply the elementary principals of the world, which say if you do right you are rewarded if you do bad you are punished. This system which is based on fear of sin does not bring transformation at a heart level, though it may outwardly looks effective because there is changed behavior. Under Grace, Father matures us through our relationship with the Holy Spirit who is working in the midst of our circumstances, relationships, and personal struggles with sin that all produce internal pressure (refining fire) that exposes the strongholds of belief that are the root of bondage in our lives. The larger the strongholds, often the harder they fall. Father knows exactly what it will take to see these stronghold that are producing ungodly fruit (behavior or attitudes in our life) come down. Steve Backlund once said, "The Kingdom of God is not advanced by good behavior but by good beliefs." There are some who misinterpret the conviction and pressure of the Holy Spirit as condemnation or even demonic attack, Father is absolutely committed to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). The Holy Spirit has been impressing on me that there is a difference in the internal pain that we experience, one is that it can be for building up and the other is what I call "stuck" pain. Hebrews 12 talks about how the Father disciplines those He loves, His sons and daughters but discipline is about building up rather than tearing down but it does mean putting pressure on us that creates an internal pressure till we yield and repent. Since much of my childhood was painful, I came to the incorrect conclusion that all pain was bad and needed to be avoided. Rather than there maybe pressure that Father is working in my life to mature me to a new level of trust and walking in sonship with Him. In Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;" Conforming involves changing someone into the image of Christ, the term conforming includes pressure on places that our character does not match those of Christ. In Ephesians 4:13 Paul continues the theme of maturity by talking about how God is using all the leader's (apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist, pastor) to build up the Body, "until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." I believe Father is desiring that we mature as sons "in Christ" so He is free to release our heavenly inheritance, which will bring blessing, freedom, life, and maturity to others.
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