Word Study: Sonship, An Organic Process

As I continue to delve on the word "sonship," the word "organic" was put into question. For which, I did further study and wrote the following article with the help of the messages by Brother Witness Lee and other scholars. 

God's Complete Salvation

God's complete salvation is of two aspects: judicial redemption and organic salvation. Judicially, God accomplished redemption in Christ at the cross. Therefore, forgiving and washing our sins, justifying, reconciling, and sanctifying us positionally. All these, Christ accomplished for us, and qualifies us to subjectively experience His salvation by life, which is, God's organic salvation.

Romans 5:10For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.

Romans 5:17For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:18So then as it was through one offense unto condemnation to all men, so also it was through one righteous act unto justification of life to all men.

Romans 5:21In order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sonship, An Organic Process

Organic refers to life. Organic process refers to our experiences of God’s saving life unto sonship through the life-giving Spirit operating in us since the time we repent and believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of such subjective experience is regeneration or born again or born anew, then continues with feeding, dispositional sanctification, renewing, transformation, building, conformation, and finally, glorification, when we will attain the full sonship. These experiences are fully of life, subjectively experienced, and God predestinated us for this, unto sonship, through the organic process as mentioned above. 

The five occurrences of the Greek word huiothesia describes the organic process of sonship.

This organic process begins in Ephesians 1:5 with the predestination of the believers unto sonship. 

Ephesians 1:5Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

According to Galatians 4:5, we the redeemed believers received the sonship.

Galatians 4:5That He might redeem those under law that we might receive the sonship. 

According to Romans 8:15, we the redeemed believers receive the spirit of sonship.

Romans 8:15For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!

Finally, according to Romans 8:23, we the redeemed believers are eagerly awaiting our sonship, the consummation and maturation of the process of becoming a manifest son of God, the redemption of our body.

Romans 8:23And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body.

In the Old Testament, this sonship is the unique privilege of Israel according to God’s sovereignty.

Romans 9:4Who are Israelites, whose are the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service and the promises; 

Therefore, the use of the phrase "adoption as son" refers only to and conveys the judicial procedure of becoming a son. Whereas "sonship" implies both the judicial procedure as the basis, as well as the subjective experiences by life as the process, through the operation of the life-giving Spirit within the believers for obtaining the full sonship.

Praise the Lord brother, we are in such an organic process now as we love the Lord, pursue Him in prayer and in His Word, and fellowship with fellow believers day by day.