Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4; cf. Heb 6:4.
When we are born again, begotten of God, we become a child of God, a son or daughter of God because the Spirt is in us. But must recognize that our present sonship is a matter of function. We are born into a new walk of life. It is about what we do. What we are is based upon what we do. We are only sons if we function as sons being led by God's Son. It is a verb thing not a noun thing. We are born again of God so that we might walk as children of God. Our sonship is defined by how we walk and whether we do walk according to the Holy Spirit, the divine nature of God. The children of God are "partakers of the divine nature." Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Rom 8:14). The Spirit is given for obedience to the will of God. To be a true son of God means sharing in his divine nature. But at the present time, we are only sons of God insofar that we walk according to this new divine nature, the Spirit. We are not yet that divine nature of God which we will inherit and which will eternally fix us as His sons and daughters. This walk in the Spirit defines who we are. What we do defines who we are. It will not be until the resurrection of our bodies that we will be sons of God in what we are. Now we walk according to the divine nature; then when Jesus comes we will inherit and become the divine nature of God and fixed as natural children of God in glory if indeed we have been faithful. It is only then we will receive that divine nature by which we walked, the Spirit of God. And then our nature will inherit the divine nature of God, we, these human bodies, clothed in the Spirit of our God and therefore consumed in the love of the Father for eternity.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.... we have this treasure in earthen vessels.... knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus.... our inner man is being renewed day by day... an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.... the things which are not seen are eternal...we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having been clothed, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be consumed by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge...we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 3:17-5:7.
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a Spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a Spiritual body. So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam life-giving Spirit. However, the Spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the Spiritual. The first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second man is out of heaven. As is the earthly (Adam), so also are those who are earthly (all humans); and as is the heavenly (Jesus risen), so also are those who are heavenly (those resurrected in him). Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly (life-giving Spirit). Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal must be clothed with immortality. But when this perishable will be clothed with the imperishable, and this mortal will be clothed with immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is consumed in victory."
1 Corinthians 15:44-54.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of sonship by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (see Gal 4:6). The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our sonship, the redemption of our body. For in hope we are saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Romans 8:15-25; see Ephesians 1:5.
Now we are sons only insofar as we function, insofar as are being led by the divine nature, following the Spirit of God, the Spirit of sonship, the Spirit of God's Son Jesus Christ. Our sonship is defined by what we do and whether we do it. If we are faithful and overcome, we will inherit that divine nature when we are bodily clothed and consumed in the Spirit of God.
NOW:
Function/Doing - walking by the Spirit, functioning according to the divine nature. Heirs.
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God... we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit... groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for... the redemption of our body
Romans 8:14, 23-25.
THEN:
Substance/Being - becoming Spirit substantially, inheriting the divine nature. Inheritors.
He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:7.
