2 October 2026: WALKING IN THE SPIRIT OF SONSHIP – Romans 8:14-16; Philippians 2:5-8

The spirit of sonship is the greatest spirit in the Kingdom of God because it is the spirit that allows the Heavenly Father to take His proper place as Father in a person’s life. You can call God Father and yet not permit Him to father you. A father gives direction, correction, identity, protection, provision and inheritance, but these things operate properly where the disposition of a son is present. Romans 8:15 says that we have received “the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Christianity was never designed to be a distant religious relationship between God and people who merely come to Him when they need something. God wants a family, and He is looking for men and women in whom the spirit of sonship can grow until their relationship with Him governs every other part of their lives.

This is why the spirit of sonship affects so many things in the Kingdom. Life flows in sonship; divine leading operates there; inheritance, protection, boldness, promotion and spiritual portion all find proper expression there. But don’t make the mistake of pursuing those things while neglecting the spirit that can carry them. Many people want the blessing of a father without the disposition of a son. They want power without alignment, inheritance without formation and promotion without obedience. Philippians 2:5-8 shows us another way in Jesus. He humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death. That is sonship at work. The righteous spirits of the Kingdom can safely rest upon you to the degree that your nature is coming into alignment with the nature and character of God. God is not merely interested in what He can put upon you; He is concerned about what you are becoming underneath it.

Always have this at the back of your mind: the safest place for power is upon a true son. God does not put His greatest treasures into the hands of strangers in spirit. He wants people whose hearts He can trust, whose wills can bend before Him and whose lives are increasingly governed by His pleasure. Therefore, instead of asking only, “Lord, bless me; use me; increase me,” begin also to pray, “Father, make my sonship proper.” Let Him deal with rebellion, self-will, independence, pride and every attitude that prevents Him from truly fathering you. When the spirit of sonship is functioning properly, God is no longer merely Someone you believe in; He becomes Father in the practical details of your life. Receive His leading, submit to His dealings and let the Holy Spirit cultivate in you the disposition that gives the Father freedom to be Father indeed.

THOUGHT TO PONDER

Have I truly allowed God to take the place of Father in my decisions, attitudes and responses, or do I only approach Him for blessings? Is there any area where self-will is resisting His fatherly government?

PRAYER

Father, let the spirit of sonship grow strongly in me. Deliver me from self-will and independence, and bring every part of my life under Your loving government until You can freely fulfil Your purpose through me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Isaiah 66:1-24, Philippians 3:4-21, Psalm 74:1-23, Proverbs 24:15-16