The lack of knowing one’s identity in Jesus can often be a root cause to many issues. Below is a chart comparing the differences between an orphan and a son. The more of God’s love we experience and know, the more we can live in freedom!
Chart Comparing the Orphan Spirit & the Spirit of Sonship
| Orphan Spirit | Spirit of Sonship | |
| View of God | Sees God as a master | Sees God as a loving Father |
| Relationship with God | Distant and conditional | Close and intimate |
| Dependency | Independent or self-reliant | Dependent on God |
| View on Church Authority | Despises authority; reluctant to submit to authority | Respectful of authority and see it as God’s way to help |
| Admonition (Counsel, advice, or caution) | Must be right or feelings are easily hurt: reluctant to discipline | Sees admonition as a blessing to deal with personal faults |
| Reason for Christian Disciplines | It’s a duty; a must to earn God’s approval | Done in pleasure and delight |
| Self-Image | Feels rejected and often compares self to others | Knows they are valuable to God |
| Motivation for Service | Sees it as a way to impress others or gain affirmation | Done in gratitude for being loved by God |
| Need for Approval | Working for acceptance, approval, or praise by people | Knows they are accepted by God’s love |
| Motive for Purity | Sees this as a requirement for God’s approval | Desires purity to avoid hindering intimacy with God |
| Peer Relationships | Competitive and jealous towards others | Humble and united, able to rejoice in others’ blessings and success |
| Handling of Others’ Faults | Accusatory, must make others look bad in order to look good | Uses gentleness and love while helping to restore others |
| Expression of Love | Guarded, expression of love is dependent upon others’ performance | Open and patient, puts others’ interests before own needs and agenda |
| Security | Insecurity | Rests secure and has peace |
| Source of Comfort | Finds comfort in addictions, compulsions, escapism, busyness | Makes time for quietness and solitude to rest in the God’s presence and love |
| Vision | Desire to be seen and recognized; willingness to strive for spiritual achievement and distinction | Experiences God’s unconditional love and goes out as a representative of His love to others |
| Position | Servant or slave | Son or daughter |
| Personal Condition | Lives in bondage | Lives in freedom |
Scripture on Sonship
Romans 8:15 (KJV)
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
John 1:12 (KJV)
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Galatians 4:6 (KJV)
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Scripture on God’s Love For Us
1 John 4:19 (KJV)
We love him, because he first loved us.
John 3:16 (KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 8:35-39 (KJV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES VERSION, public domain.