Christian Privilege in St. Paul Appreciating What We Are As Sharers in the Sonship of Christ
Date
2001-02
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
After a close look at St. Paul's writings, I have observed an important element
that often escapes our attention as Christians today: What Christ has done for us, and
much more, what he has made of us; what we have become in and through Christ. It is
the latter that we would like to magnify in this work. That we are so much a privileged
people as Christians, and if we were more aware of this our dignity, we would have a new
outlook of life. If a son of a royal family has been separated from his family from
childhood, and comes to discover that he is born of a royal family and is re-united to this
family, his whole life is changed. He will live with much more pride and confidence in
life.
Most of us Christians are ignorant of the dignity and the privilege that we have
attained in Christ. But St. Paul enlightens us on it all. This is the reason for which we wish
to highlight from the letters of Saint Paul this element of our sharing in the Sonship of
Christ: sharing the life of God in and through the Son and our being sons in the Son and
co-heirs with Christ. Therefore, God is our Father and as he said to his Son, so does he
now say to each one of us; "you are my beloved son". As he gave the Spirit to his son, so
now he does shower the same spirit to all who believe in the Son.
We have become sons and therefore we have acquired rights and privileges as
sons. All that the Father has done to his own Son, anointing with the Spirit, resurrection,
glorification, eternal inheritance and so on, he will do for us his adopted sons. Even now,
in union with the Son, we call God 'Abba' and he grants us everything that we ask in the
name of the Son. We therefore ask ourselves, how is Christ's Sonship and in what way do we
share in this Sonship? What was our condition before being sons in Christ and what is our
state now that we are sons? Now we are sons, so what? Do we have any duties and
obligations as sons?
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Keywords
Christian, Christ, Son of the Father, Fatherhood