Romans 8:14 says the sons of God are those who are lead by the Spirit of God. When someone leads, what does that imply for those who are lead? They follow. Jesus says we are to take up our cross and FOLLOW Him. What does that mean? It means we are to take His lead. He is the leader. And that doesn’t mean He forcibly drags us by our ear against our will. To follow is a free choice, which is where the model of “free will” enters the realm of kingdom dynamics and physics. It’s an act of volition, of will, to go where the Spirit of God leads. So the “sons of God” are those who FIRST listen and hear the leading of the Spirit, which means they know His voice, for sheep know the voice of their shepherd, and THEN obey its leading or counsel. Which is to follow.

     So sons are those who not only hear, but do. For does the counsel of the Spirit of God not say, be not hearers only, thereby deceiving yourselves (that you are sons), but doers (James 1:22)? So the requirement for being a genuine son of God, which is one who is a son “in Spirit AND in truth” (John 4:24), is to pick up your cross, which is to lay down your own will, and take the leading of the will of the Spirit of God. Which is to die to self, or die to our own will, and come alive to the will of the Father. For is this not why God says He will order the steps of the righteous? (Psalm 37:23)? And in doing so, you shall make your way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). For the gateway to having a successful life according to the standards and the will of God the Father is obedience. For if you love Me you shall obey Me (John 14:15). And if you obey Me (love Me), you shall be My friends (John 15:14). God’s love language is obedience. And if you are a friend of the One who holds the earth in the palm of His hand, is God a liar that He shall not fulfill His Word to make your way prosperous?

     When we take the leading of the Spirit of God, if we be not only hearers, but also doers, when we worship not only in spirit, but in truth, we set in motion to make Jesus the cornerstone of each of our lives. For is the cornerstone not the trust anchor of the rock that cannot be moved or shaken? Is it not the foundation of wisdom upon which a house is built? “Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24:3).‬ For it is then that in each of our houses His name shall be hallowed. It is then that His kingdom shall come in each of our lives. It’s then that His will shall be done in our lives on earth as it is in heaven.

     For those who only hear what the Spirit of God says, but do not do what it says, who do not follow where the Spirit of God leads, according to the counsel of God, they surely deceive themselves that they are sons of God. But for all those who do not even know the Spirit of God, God has this invitation, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭7:9-11‬).