This is an important question as our understanding of it will be the basis of the way we relate to God. A servant is only in the house because of the job he does. If he does a good job, he will stay. If he does a bad job, he will get fired. A son by comparison, might be a bad son and lose his inheritance, but he will always be a son.
What does religion say?
Religion will tell us that we are servants and that therefore we must obey to make us acceptable in the eyes of God. If we serve well, we will be safe. If we dont, unless we repent and try and change our ways, we will not be accepted by God on the Day of Judgment.
This teaching is man’s teaching and it is totally wrong. It would imply that Jesus’ sacrifice was only good enough to get us to the gate of His Kingdom, but that after that it is all up to us to behave properly and repent each to remain in His good will.
That is really belittling Jesus’ sacrifice.
What does God say?
Not only, did Jesus deal with sin fully but He also nailed all our sins to the Cross. In its place, He gave us His righteousness. He gave us His life abundantly.
Colossians 2 says this: 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Our debt has been repaid in full, not by our means or any of our works but by the free gift of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Grace of God. This sacrifice welcomes us into God’s family when we believe and put our trust in Him.
As we come to understand this more and more, we realise that we are truly children of God and no longer servants or simply friends of God.
We call Him Abba Father.
We call Him: “Abba, Father”.
Galatians 4 says: 6And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
We can be a babe who does not know much and acts childishly because of his young age.
We can be a carnal child, which is someone who is still mainly led by his flesh, because he doesn’t yet realise all the marvellous things that Jesus has deposited in him.
We can be a mature person, which means we understand our position in Christ and know that God loves us unconditionally. We know that our salvation is eternally secure. We knows that we are is righteous because Jesus made us righteous. We understand our position in Christ and have received revelations of all the treasures He has given us.
Let’s have a look at the prodigal son
After this son had squandered his inheritance by living a carnal life, he decided to return to his father’s house, hoping to return as a servant.
What did is father do? As soon as he saw him coming in the distance, he ran to him and embraced him. He gave him a beautiful garment to put on, a ring on his finger, most likely a signet-ring, with the crest of the family, as a true gesture of his being a member of the family. Then the father asked that a feast be prepared in his honour.
When we believed in Jesus, God deposited the Holy Spirit in us as a guarantee of our new status as a child of God.
Ephesians 1 confirms this: 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
We are His until we die or until Jesus returns, whichever comes first.
If you are assured of His love, if you are assured that you belong to Him, if you are sure that you have been adopted into His family, how much more will you praise Him, thank Him, obey Him. We do more for love than we do for fear.