We have the Divine Right to Participate in God’s Sonship and in God’s Manifestation

The believers in Christ are God-men, and they have the divine right to participate in God’s sonship and also to participate in God’s manifestation. Hallelujah!

We were born of our human parents to have the life and nature of our parents and are therefore sons of men, enjoying the rights of a man.

As human beings, we grow in life, learn, exercise, are trained, and develop, and we enjoy the human life.

It is our right as men to participate in the riches of the human life, to do what people do, and to enjoy what people enjoy.

Similarly, as believers in Christ, we are born of God, and we grow in life and participate in God’s divinity in many ways.

We can never participate in the Godhead, for that is God’s exclusively; we also can’t participate in other incommunicable attributes of God such as His being almighty, all-inclusive, omnipresent, and omniscient.

However, the New Testament reveals in many places that we can participate in so many aspects of God’s divinity for our enjoyment and experience.

We begin by being born in sin, for all men born after Adam are born in sin.

By being born in sin, we are born of Satan, for he is the father of all sinners.

All our cute little children are actually born in sin, and you don’t have to teach them to sin – it comes naturally.

However, when we hear the gospel and choose the Lord, when we turn our heart to the Lord with an unveiled face and see Him, we simply believe into Him.

When we repent and believe into the Lord, something marvellous happens: we are reborn, that is, we are born again, born of God. Wow!

A human being can be born of God!

This is the greatest miracle in the universe, but it is so simple, so normal, and it happens all around the world so often.

This is why we need to preach the gospel and tell our friends, classmates, workmates, neighbours, and everyone about the Lord, for in an instant, a person can become a child of God. Wow!

After being born of God, we need to know what it means for us to be children of God, that is, we need to know our rights.

When we move to a different country, let’s say we’re from a country in South America and we move to the United States of America, we have a new set of rights, so we need to know our rights.

Maybe in our country of origin, we did not have the freedom of speech or the freedom of worship, but when we’re in the USA, these are our unalienable rights, our rights by constitution.

By being born of God, we have the highest and best rights, for we are born in the kingdom of God, and we have the right to participate in many aspects of God’s divinity. Hallelujah!

Our whole Christian life is a quest to know Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ, and we have the right to participate in what He is and even become the same as He is! Wow!

This is our reality and this will be our future. Our destiny is really to become the same as Christ in every possible way. Praise the Lord!

We have the Right to Participate in God’s Sonship through Regeneration, Transformation and Transfiguration

Because we believers in Christ are born of God, we have the divine right to participate in God’s sonship. God predestinated us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5).

Every believer in Christ has been predestinated by God the Father unto sonship, and each believer has the right to participate in God’s sonship.

We can have God’s life, nature, mind, being, image, and glory because we’re God’s sons.

Just as a human son shares the glory or prestige of his human father, so we as sons of God share in the glory of our Father, for we have the right to participate in God’s sonship.

And this is not initiated by us nor is it carried out by us; we are simply the beneficiaries, those who cooperate with what the Lord is doing.

Even before we were born, in eternity past, before the foundation of the world, God marked us out unto sonship.

He intended and determined that we would participate in His sonship.

Through sonship we have the spirit of sonship, the witnessing of the Spirit, the leading of the Spirit, the firstfruits of the Spirit, the Spirit helping us, and the Spirit interceding for us (see Rom. 8).

Christ’s redemption brings us into the sonship of God, and we have a spirit of sonship; our regenerated human spirit mingled with the Spirit of the Son of God is a spirit of sonship (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15-16).

Sonship is a term encompassing at least three main matters: children, sons, and heirs.

We are born of God through regeneration to be children of God, and the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16).

It doesn’t say that the Spirit witnesses that we are sons of God but that we’re children of God.

Every believer in Christ has the Spirit in his spirit witnessing with his spirit that he is a child of God.

And as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (v. 14).

This means that there’s a further process, the process of transformation, so that we may grow in life and be able to take the leading of the Spirit and therefore be sons of God.

Being sons of God is something further and higher than being children of God, and it is through our being transformed and by following the leading of the Spirit.

Praise the Lord, each one of us as the Spirit witnessing with our spirit!

However, we need to go on from this stage to follow the leading of the Spirit, grow in life unto maturity, and be transformed so that we may be sons of God, no longer babes or children.

Ultimately, we will be heirs, inheriting what God has assigned to us as our portion of inheritance.

In ancient times, when children were born to rich families, they had to reach a certain age before they could be declared the legal heirs to claim the inheritance.

In Romans we are told that we’re children of God by being regenerated with God’s life, we are sons of God by being transformed and by being led by the Spirit, and we’re heirs of God by being transfigured in our body, therefore being glorified.

We all were born of God to be children of God, and we have the right to participate in God’s sonship.

We need to grow in life and be transformed, being led by the Spirit, so that we can be sons of God.

And one day we will become heirs of God, heirs together with Christ, when God will transfigure our body, redeeming it and bringing us into the redemption of God’s sons (v. 23).

When our body of humiliation is transfigured to be conformed to the body of His glory, we will be fully qualified to be heirs of the divine inheritance.

This transfiguration of our body is accomplished by God’s glorification of our whole being, especially of our body.

Thank You, Father God, for predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Yourself, according to the good pleasure of Your will. Amen, Father, it is Your pleasure to have many sons, and You marked us out even before the foundation of the world to be Your sons. Hallelujah, we believers in Christ have been regenerated with the life of God to be children of God! Praise the Lord, the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God! We can call God, Abba, Father! Amen, Abba, Father! We love You, Father! Cause us to grow in life and be transformed so that we may become sons of God, those led by the Spirit of God! Amen, Lord Jesus, grow in us and transform us. Hallelujah, we will be transfigured in our body to become heirs of God! Hallelujah, it is our divine right to participate in God’s sonship!

We have the Right to Participate in God’s Manifestation – we will be Manifested with Him in Glory!

Rom. 8:19 tells us that we, the believers in Christ, have the right to participate in God’s manifestation.

As God-men, those who are born of God with His life and nature, we have the right to participate in the manifestation of God.

Christ is in us as the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), and one day He as our life will be manifested, and we will be manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:4). Wow, Hallelujah!

This is something so real to the whole universe, but we as believers in Christ are many times so blinded to this fact.

It is a fact that the whole creation is anxiously watching and eagerly awaiting the revelation of the sons of God.

The whole creation is subject to corruption and death because of the fall of man, the head of creation.

Because man fell, the whole creation is now subject to corruption, decay, and death.

But when the sons of God fully participate in God’s manifestation, that is, when we are manifested with God in glory, the whole creation will be released from the slavery of corruption and death!

Praise the Lord!

We believers in Christ are in a process at the moment, a process through which we’re regenerated, renewed, transformed, sanctified, conformed, and glorified, and when we have the right to participate in God’s sonship and in God’s manifestation.

Today God seems to be hiding, for He is not visible nor is His economy clearly seen; everything is in the spiritual realm.

But one day, He will be manifested to the whole universe, and when He is manifested, we will be manifested with Him!

When God is manifested, we as the many sons of God will be revealed with Him, for we will participate in His manifestation! Praise the Lord!

God will be manifested with His sons (Heb. 2:10) who will be the same as He is in life, in nature, in mind, in being, in image, and in glory. Wow!

Yes, this is something that we hope for, something that the Bible promises that will happen, but we can have a foretaste of this today.

Today we can participate in God’s sonship and in God’s manifestation.

When we exercise our spirit and live in the mingled spirit, we manifest God.

We manifest Him to a small extent, but this manifestation will increase, little by little and day by day until we see Him and we become like Him!

We dare not to think or imagine how that will be, but we believe with all our heart that what God’s word says is true.

We do not look at our situation, our condition, and our failures; yes, we do fail, we do make mistakes, and it seems that there’s no change in us, but we continue to exercise our spirit and contact the Lord.

He has begun this in us, and He will carry this through.

He has regenerated us, He is transforming us, and He will transfigure our body to make us the same as His.

He will grant us the privilege to participate in His manifestation.

He promised that He will do it, and we say Amen to this.

Christ is now leading many sons into glory, and we will share in God’s manifestation to be the same as Christ in life, nature, mind, being, image, and glory. Hallelujah!

Hallelujah, we believers in Christ will participate in God’s manifestation! Praise the Lord, when Christ our life is manifested, we will be manifested with Him in glory! Amen, Lord, we believe with all our heart that You have given us the divine right to participate in God’s manifestation, for the Bible tells us so. We do not look at our situation and we do not focus on our failures; we look away unto Jesus, the One who has cut the way into glory and who is leading us into glory! Praise the Lord, our destiny is to enter into God’s manifestation! We have the divine right not only to participate in God’s sonship but also to participate in God’s manifestation. Hallelujah, God will be manifested in His sons, and we will be the same as He is in life, nature, mind, being, image, and glory! Amen, Lord, bring in that happy day in which we participate in God’s manifestation for all to see the glorious Christ living in us!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Romans, msgs 19, 53, and 62, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery Before His Appearing (2023 July Semiannual Training), week 10, entitled, The God-men’s Divine Right to Participate in God’s Divinity.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – To participate in God’s sonship, a portion from, Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – 10 Divine Rights for Every Believer to Participate in, article via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Deification by participation in God’s divinity, article by Ed Marks via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The God-men’s Divine Right, a new song via, Hymnal.net.
  – Excerpts from Life-study of Ephesians, Message 5, The praise of the glory of God’s grace, pdf via, The Church in Manilla.
  – To participate in God’s being, a portion from, Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Abba, Father! we adore Thee, / Humbly now our homage pay; / ’Tis Thy children’s bliss to know Thee, / None but children “Abba” say. / This high honor we inherit, / Thy free gift through Jesus’ blood; / God the Spirit, with our spirit, / Witnesseth we’re sons of God. (Hymns #45 stanza 1)
  – God ordained us unto sonship, / Ere creation’s work was done, / To conform us by His Spirit / To the image of His Son; / That His only dear Begotten / Might become the firstborn One, / And by Him with many brethren / His expression full be won. / By divine regeneration / We the sons of God became, / But we must mature to fullness, / Thus the birthright to obtain. / Born and fully grown to manhood, / God’s adoption we may share; / By the measure of full stature, / We God’s sonship will declare. (Hymns #741 stanzas 1-2)
  – For the glorious revelation / Of the sons of God to come, / All the creatures wait, expecting, / That they all may free become. / All creation groans together, / Subject now to vanity, / Looking for their full deliv’rance / From corruption’s slavery. / Even we ourselves are groaning, / Till we reach maturity; / We are growing into sonship, / With Christ in conformity. (Hymns #970 stanzas 1-3)