T. Austin-Sparks : God Hath Spoken - Part 3\t
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Chapter 3 - The Transcendent Thought of Sonship
Having, in our consideration of the message of the "Letter to the Hebrews," identified the all-inclusive object as the fullness of Christ, we proceed to crystallize that object, or see that it is here crystallized, into the Divine meaning of sonship. This thought runs right through the letter, but at points the keynote is struck with particular emphasis.
1. THE SON. "Hath at the end... spoken... in His Son" (margin: a son; literally sonwise). (1:2).
"Thou art My Son." (1:5).
"But of the Son He saith." (1:8).
"Christ as a Son, over His (God's) house." (3:6).
2. THE SONS. "...bringing many sons unto glory." (2: 10).
"My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord... and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth... God dealeth with you as with sons... the Father of our spirits." (12:5-7,9). (See also "brethren," "children").
"Ye are come... to the church of the firstborn... enrolled in heaven." (12:22-23).
The central truth then, around which all else circles, and in the light of which all else must be read, is the mystery or hidden nature of sonship. There is no greater thing in all Divine revelation than the thought and purpose of sonship. But this letter shows (as do other parts of the New Testament) that sonship is not an initial relationship but an ultimate one. It is not what is meant by being born of God or being a child of God, although sonship is implicit in that, but it is the maturity and therefore responsibility of those born of God; it is just that motive of all the exhortations, entreaties, encouragements, and warnings in the letter, at one point set over against unduly delayed growth in the words "Let us go on to full growth," (6:1). Let us hasten to mention that we are not thinking or speaking of Deity. We are not called to that unique Sonship which belongs to Christ as Son of God in terms of Godhead, but we keep strictly to what is meant by the use made of the words of the eighth Psalm in chapter two of this letter with its backward relation to Adam and its forward relation to Christ and the "many sons," "brethren," "children," "partners". So then, sonship means spiritual full growth which carries with it the placing in responsibility to govern the world to come (2:5).
The great implication, if not obvious statement, of this letter as a whole is that all "children" of God will not "go on" to realize the full meaning of their birth, but, while they may not lose their life, they may lose their "calling" or the full intention of their birth.
Thus, we are able, by recognizing the governing object of this letter, to link up with those things which show what sonship means. There are many such links; we can take but two of them.
The first obvious link is between "Hebrews" and the fourth chapter of John's Gospel.
The New "Hour" Of The Son
"...the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the FATHER... the hour cometh, and NOW IS, when the true worshippers shall worship the FATHER in spirit and truth: ...God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit" (John 4:21-24). (The emphasis is ours.)
Now, everyone knows that the all-governing object of John's writings was to bring out Christ's Sonship. A study of relevant words - "Father," " Son," etc., will serve as an initial indication of this.
But a second unmistakable characteristic of those writings is the essentially spiritual nature of everything in relation to Christ. Here is a simple example. With Christ a new "hour," or day, or dispensation has come, and in this new day geography, place, material building, traditional association, religious centre, or ecclesiastical hierarchy have nothing whatever to do with it. It is now an inner relationship of a spiritual nature between Father and son. So chapter four follows chapter three in John. "Hebrews" just develops John 4 and gives the so-much-greater range and content of its implication. Thus, in the first place, sonship is a heavenly thing. It takes its rise in heaven: "born from above" (John 3:3, margin). Then it is an inward thing like a heavenly well, springing up unto life eternal (John 4:14), and it is not in any way earthbound. "Neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem." It is not historical but eternal; not temporal, but spiritual. As the Letter to the Hebrews so quickly passes from the personal to the corporate, from the individual to the family, so in "John" there is a distinct point at which there is a transition from the many personal and individual incidents to the gathering of all those separate features into a corporate company in which the full glory of the Son and of sonship is to be expressed. This consummation is reached in chapter 17.
Another clearly defined link between "Hebrews" and the Gospels is seen in the Transfiguration, and this sees sonship in its consummation, as what we have just said sets forth its initiation and nature.
The Consummation Of Sonship
On the mount of transfiguration three things are noted.