Sonship has its origins in the Old Testament, where God reveals himself
as a father who desires a son to serve him. However, his son always
proved a disappointment. This was true during the exodus, when Israel grumbled
against Moses and complained about God’s fatherly care. The Old
Testament people of God never lived up to the demands of their sonship.
This is why God sent his only Son to be our Savior. The New Testament
presents Jesus Christ as God’s perfect Son, the one who served his Father
with absolute devotion. Jesus was everything God had ever wanted in a
Son, on one level accomplishing what Israel was supposed to accomplish.
The Gospels make this connection explicit by describing the life of Christ
as a new exodus. Not long after he was born, Jesus was sent down to Egypt,
as a father who desires a son to serve him. However, his son always
proved a disappointment. This was true during the exodus, when Israel grumbled
against Moses and complained about God’s fatherly care. The Old
Testament people of God never lived up to the demands of their sonship.
This is why God sent his only Son to be our Savior. The New Testament
presents Jesus Christ as God’s perfect Son, the one who served his Father
with absolute devotion. Jesus was everything God had ever wanted in a
Son, on one level accomplishing what Israel was supposed to accomplish.
The Gospels make this connection explicit by describing the life of Christ
as a new exodus. Not long after he was born, Jesus was sent down to Egypt,
where he remained until the death of King Herod. His subsequent return to
Israel reminded Matthew of the Old Testament promise: “Out of Egypt I
called my son” (Matt. 2:15, quoting Hos. 11:1). It was Matthew’s way of saying
that Jesus is the true Israel, God’s firstborn Son. This was confirmed when
Jesus was baptized, and the Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love”
(Matt. 3:17). The promise of sonship was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The amazing thing is that everyone who comes to Christ in faith
becomes a true child of God. The work of Christ is to bring the slaves of sin
into the liberty of sonship. Charles Spurgeon writes, “The Lord Jesus comes,
identifies himself with the enslaved family, bears the curse, fulfils the law,
and then on the ground of simple justice demands for them full and perfect
liberty, having for them fulfilled the precept, and for them endured the
penalty.”* The Bible thus calls Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers”
(Rom. 8:29) — “many brothers” because every believer is a child of God. As
the Bible also says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”
(Gal. 3:26). To know Jesus as Savior is to know God as Father, and the exodus
teaches us what kind of Father he is. He is not like human fathers, with
all their failings. Rather, he is a good Father, always faithful to his children.
In his tender compassion he cares for them and rescues them from every danger.
Israel reminded Matthew of the Old Testament promise: “Out of Egypt I
called my son” (Matt. 2:15, quoting Hos. 11:1). It was Matthew’s way of saying
that Jesus is the true Israel, God’s firstborn Son. This was confirmed when
Jesus was baptized, and the Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love”
(Matt. 3:17). The promise of sonship was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The amazing thing is that everyone who comes to Christ in faith
becomes a true child of God. The work of Christ is to bring the slaves of sin
into the liberty of sonship. Charles Spurgeon writes, “The Lord Jesus comes,
identifies himself with the enslaved family, bears the curse, fulfils the law,
and then on the ground of simple justice demands for them full and perfect
liberty, having for them fulfilled the precept, and for them endured the
penalty.”* The Bible thus calls Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers”
(Rom. 8:29) — “many brothers” because every believer is a child of God. As
the Bible also says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”
(Gal. 3:26). To know Jesus as Savior is to know God as Father, and the exodus
teaches us what kind of Father he is. He is not like human fathers, with
all their failings. Rather, he is a good Father, always faithful to his children.
In his tender compassion he cares for them and rescues them from every danger.
--Phil Ryken
*from Spurgeon's sermon, The Great Emancipator
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