Greek word for power is "exousia" in John 1:12. This means that when you are born again, you are given the power or ability to develop and grow.
The question is why are there some people who have accepted Christ, but do not grow? The reason is that they have not made a decision to grow, they do not "will" to grow. Then there are some who do not know that they are supposed to grow.
Within the privilege of being a child and within the child himself, are the abilities of growth and development into advanced maturity. This is just a stepping-stone which eventually leads to sonship. So the moment you begin to use the ability which you possess, you begin to grow, develop, and mature. As this happens you get increased revelation knowledge, and you are on your way to sonship.
Remember, this is not something God is going to do for us. We have to present our bodies on the altar of sacrifice by not being governed by the realm of appearance. Sonship is available to us, but God is not going to make us do it. In Isaiah chapter 1 verse 19 we read: "If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good..." If you refuse to grow, you will not grow. To live is to grow and to grow is to change. It is really an awakening.
The early Christians were severely reproved and sharply rebuked for not becoming what they had the right and privilege of becoming. Just because you know these truths, just because you hear them, just because you have a book or tape does not mean that you will automatically come into it; they must become a part of you.
In Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12, Paul gives these Christians a sharp rebuke: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not strong meat.”
Exercise Your Privilege - To Obtain Your Potential
There is a danger in not becoming what you have the right to become. In Hebrew chapter 4 verse 1 we read, "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest any of you should seem to come short of it." The children of Israel had the right, the permission, and the privilege, to enter the Promised Land of rest and abundance. However, they perished in the wilderness because they refused to act on what God had said. They did not come into what they had a right to possess. The same is true same with sonship. If you refuse to act on this Word, you will not experience it.
The Corinthians also came short of what was rightfully theirs in Christ. In I Corinthians chapter 3, verses 1-2 we read: "And I brethren could not speak unto as spiritual but as unto carnal even as unto babes in Christ; I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able."
This body of Corinthians had the manifestations of the Spirit in operation. The scripture in I Corinthians chapter 1 verse 7 says: "...ye come behind in no gift..." yet, they like the children of Israel failed to come into what they had a right and privilege to experience. Even though they had the gift ministries, they failed to come into advanced maturity. They were more interested in the gifts then the fruit.
Refusing To Grow Is Falling Short
When you refuse to grow, what you are really saying is, "I do not want to become a son of God; I do not want to reign with Christ; I do not want Christ to flow through me in a greater measure than it did in Jesus.”
Ministry after one's adoption into sonship can in no way be compared to ministry before one's adoption. There is no comparison between the ministry that comes out of your spirit after you are adopted as a son and the ministry before you are adopted.
A prime example of this truth is the ministry of Jesus; after His adoption as a Son at the River Jordan when He was baptized. He entered a ministry that for 3 1/2 years forever broke, paralyzed, canceled, bound, and destroyed the power of Satan. It was a ministry that shook the very foundations of hell; shook the foundations of earth; shook the foundations of the Sadducees and Pharisees; shook the nations and shook the Law of Moses. It shook everything, because it was such a dynamic ministry. That is the kind of ministry we will have when we are placed as sons.
Four Phases of Sonship
Now, you and I have not been fully placed as sons yet, even though we are sons; we are only the first fruits of sonship. Actually there are four phases of sonship:
1.Jesus the pattern.
2.The ministry of sons or the first fruits. In other words, we are experiencing some of the benefits of sonship, even though we have not yet arrived unto the experience of son -ship.
3.Being placed or adopted as sons.
4.Experiencing immortality as a result of living from the realm of immortality, eternality, and infinity
Then we will have no limitations at all. Then it will be complete.
For about 18 years, from the age of 12 until He reached the age of 30, there was no mention in the Bible of a ministry in the life of Jesus. However, after that there was a lot written about His ministry. The scripture in Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17 says: "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven saying this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
As Jesus emerged from the water, He emerged under opened heavens; the spiritual universe was turned upside-down and everything was at His disposal. He came into His inheritance; He came into sonship at that time. This is beginning to happen to a people today.
The opened heaven in verse 16 is symbolic and has great spiritual significance. What does this opened heaven represent? It means all the miracles, the power, and the might is open, and can flow through you at any time the Spirit wills. So the spiritual universe which has been closed since the fall of man was opened to Jesus and is made available to the adopted sons of God.
Later on Jesus referred to this when he said, "All things are given unto my hands; all authority is given unto me both in heaven and in earth." He got it all at adoption. If this is true of Jesus, then it is true of all adopted sons.
It was prophesied centuries ago about the adoption of Jesus and the open heavens in Genesis 28:12, speaking of Jacob: "And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” It was Jesus, God Manifest in the flesh, in His life, work, ministry, death, and resurrection, upon the earth who built the ladder which gives us access to all the benefits of the spiritual universe.
The scripture says that the ladder was touching the earth and reaching to heaven and the angels of God, as messengers of God were bringing down blessings. There was an interchange, a mingling of heaven and earth. The heavens were opened and this is symbolic of what is beginning to happen to those who experience this sonship. Those who are living a spirit-led life have a foretaste of this now; we have the first-fruits.
The customs and procedures of adoption in the Bible lands in New Testament times were taken from the Roman culture. You may wonder if these customs are different from American customs, why they are not explained in the bible.
When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistles he was not writing to the American Christians of 1993; he was writing to people of those times who were familiar with those customs. Even if the Hebrew people did not practice these customs, the legal way of doing
