SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: SONS & DAUGHTERS — ONE IN CHRIST
Based on the message by Pastor Chad Everett
OVERVIEW
What would change if you really saw every believer as part of the same family?
Galatians 3:28 says that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, “for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
The world gives us plenty of ways to separate ourselves. We can divide by race, background, money, gender, popularity, politics, interests, school, friend groups, churches, and even the way we understand certain things in the Bible. It can become easy to decide who is “like us,” who belongs with us, and who does not.
Jesus gives us a different way to live.
Our differences do not determine our value or our place in God’s family. If we belong to Christ, we are one in Him. Romans 12 says we are different members of one body who actually belong to one another. Instead of competing, comparing, tearing others down, or staying divided, we are called to live like one family under Jesus.
Galatians 3:29 takes this even further. If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Genesis 3:15 points toward Jesus as the promised Seed who would crush the enemy, and Romans 16:20 connects His victory to the authority believers have through Him.
Romans 8 then reminds us that we are not outsiders trying to earn our way into God’s family. We are His children. We can cry, “Abba, Father,” and Scripture says that children of God are also heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
This study will challenge you to examine whether your relationships, attitudes, divisions, fears, and understanding of God actually line up with what Scripture says about being one in Christ and living as a son or daughter of God.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Read → Respond → Reflect → Pray → Live It
Read each passage carefully. Do not rush through it just to finish the questions. Pay attention to what Scripture actually says.
Respond to the questions using the Bible. Let Scripture establish the truth before you start thinking about your own opinions or experiences.
Reflect honestly. Do not answer based on what you think a Christian is supposed to say. Ask whether your actual relationships, choices, attitudes, and reactions line up with God’s Word.
Pray about what the Holy Spirit shows you. Be willing to repent where your life does not line up with what God says.
Then live it. Choose a real action that puts God’s Word into practice in your relationships, your school, your family, your church, and the way you approach God.
SECTION 1 — ONE IN CHRIST: LET JESUS DEFINE WHAT UNITES YOU
FOCUS
Galatians 3:28 names distinctions that could separate people: Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. Yet Paul says that those who belong to Jesus are “all one in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 10:12–13 says there is no distinction between Jew and Greek because the same Lord is Lord over all. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Following Jesus does not mean pretending our differences do not exist. It means refusing to let those differences become greater than Jesus.
That challenges us to examine what actually determines who we accept, listen to, spend time with, or consider “our people.”
READ
Galatians 3:26–29; Romans 10:12–13
RESPOND
- According to Galatians 3:26, how do we become sons and daughters of God?
- What distinctions does Paul name in Galatians 3:28?
- According to Galatians 3:28, what is true of all those who are in Christ Jesus?
- According to Romans 10:12, what does Paul say about the Lord’s relationship to both Jew and Greek?
- According to Romans 10:13, who will be saved?
REFLECT
- Think about the people you naturally include and the people you tend to avoid. Are race, money, popularity, appearance, politics, personality, school groups, or other differences affecting whom you believe is worth knowing?
- Is there any identity, group, opinion, or loyalty that has become so important to you that it affects whether you can genuinely love another believer who disagrees with you?
- Where would your relationships need to change if you really lived as though Jesus is greater than the things that divide people?
Further Scripture Reading
Galatians 3:26–29; Romans 10:12–13
SECTION 2 — ONE BODY: YOU BELONG TO MORE THAN YOURSELF
FOCUS
Romans 12:4–5 describes believers as many members of one body. The members are different and do not all have the same function, yet together they form one body in Christ.
Then Paul says something even more challenging: we are “individually members of one another.”
Following Jesus is not only about your personal relationship with Him. You have been joined to a body.
That means other believers are not simply people who happen to attend the same church service, youth group, or event. God has designed us to belong to one another.
There is no need to compete for importance. Someone else’s gift, influence, opportunity, or success does not take away your value. Instead of trying to become more important than someone else, we can strengthen the body by becoming faithful members of it.
READ
Romans 12:4–5; Galatians 3:28
RESPOND
- According to Romans 12:4, how many members are there in one body?
- Does Romans 12:4 say that every member has the same function?
- According to Romans 12:5, what are believers together in Christ?
- What does Romans 12:5 say about our relationship to one another?
- How does Galatians 3:28 describe those who are in Christ Jesus?
REFLECT
- Is church mainly something you attend, or are you actually building relationships where you know, serve, encourage, and allow yourself to be known by other believers?
- When someone else gets attention, succeeds, gets chosen, or has a gift you wish you had, do you celebrate them or immediately begin comparing yourself?
- What would need to change for you to move from simply being around the body of Christ to actually living as a member who belongs to and strengthens it?
Further Scripture Reading
Romans 12:4–5; Galatians 3:28
SECTION 3 — YOU BELONG TO CHRIST: LIVE LIKE AN HEIR, NOT AN OUTSIDER
FOCUS
Galatians 3:29 says that if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:7 says those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Verse 16 explains that God’s promises were ultimately pointing toward one Seed—Christ.
Belonging to God’s family is not something you achieve by having the right background, being good enough, knowing enough Bible, or having an impressive Christian life.
You belong through Christ.
Yet it is possible to belong to God and still live like an outsider—constantly trying to prove yourself, wondering whether God really wants you, comparing your spiritual life with someone else’s, or believing your failures have pushed you beyond His reach.
Scripture gives you a different place to stand. If you are Christ’s, you belong.
READ
Galatians 3:7, 16, 26–29
RESPOND
- According to Galatians 3:7, who are sons of Abraham?
- According to Galatians 3:16, to whom were the promises made?
- Who does Galatians 3:16 identify as the promised Seed?
- According to Galatians 3:29, whose seed are those who belong to Christ?
- According to Galatians 3:29, what are those who belong to Christ heirs according to?
REFLECT
- What makes you feel like you are doing “good enough” or “bad enough” with God, and are you allowing those things to determine whether you believe you belong?
- When you fail spiritually, do you turn toward Jesus or begin distancing yourself until you feel like you have done enough to come back?
- If you truly believed your place in God’s family comes through Christ rather than your performance, how would it change the way you pray, repent, worship, or approach God?
Further Scripture Reading
Galatians 3:7–9, 16, 26–29
SECTION 4 — WALK IN CHRIST’S VICTORY: STOP LIVING LIKE THE ENEMY HAS THE FINAL WORD
FOCUS
Genesis 3:15 contains a promise made at the very beginning of humanity’s struggle with sin. A coming Seed would crush the serpent’s head.
Galatians 3:16 identifies the promised Seed as Christ.
Jesus has already accomplished the victory. Romans 16:20 says that the God of peace will crush Satan under the feet of His people.
Spiritual authority is not about convincing yourself that you are strong enough to defeat the enemy. Your confidence comes from Jesus.
Fear, temptation, accusation, discouragement, and lies can feel powerful. But they do not get the final word over someone who belongs to Christ.
Instead of measuring your situation by how strong the opposition feels, learn to measure it by who Jesus is and what He has already accomplished.
READ
Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16; Romans 16:20
RESPOND
- According to Genesis 3:15, between whom would God put enmity?
- What does Genesis 3:15 say the woman’s Seed would do to the serpent’s head?
- According to Galatians 3:16, who is the promised Seed?
- According to Romans 16:20, who will crush Satan?
- According to Romans 16:20, where will Satan be crushed?
REFLECT
- What fear, temptation, accusation, insecurity, or lie currently feels more powerful in your mind than the victory of Jesus?
- When spiritual pressure comes, what do your thoughts and reactions reveal about whether you trust your own strength or Christ’s victory?
- What truth from these passages do you need to begin speaking, praying, and acting on instead of agreeing with fear or discouragement?
Further Scripture Reading
Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16; Romans 16:20
SECTION 5 — LIVE AS A SON OR DAUGHTER: STOP TRYING TO EARN WHAT YOUR FATHER GIVES
FOCUS
Romans 8:14–17 describes a completely different relationship with God than one built on fear.
Believers have received the Spirit of adoption, and through Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God, and if we are children, we are also heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
You do not have to earn your way back to God every time you fail.
That does not make sin unimportant. It changes what you do when you sin. Instead of hiding from God, punishing yourself, or waiting until you feel spiritual enough to return, you can repent and come to your Father.
Psalm 103 tells us not to forget His benefits. God has provided forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, and mercy.
The question is whether we will live like children who know their Father or continually disqualify ourselves from what He has made available through Jesus.
READ
Romans 8:14–17; Psalm 103:1–5
RESPOND
- According to Romans 8:14, who are identified as sons of God?
- According to Romans 8:15, what Spirit have believers received, and how do we cry out to God?
- According to Romans 8:16, what does the Spirit bear witness with our spirit?
- According to Romans 8:17, what becomes true of us if we are children of God?
- What benefits of the Lord does Psalm 103:1–5 tell us not to forget?
REFLECT
- When you sin or mess up, do you repent and turn toward God, or do shame and embarrassment make you hide from Him until you feel worthy again?
- Are you treating prayer, Bible reading, worship, serving, or good behavior as ways to earn something from God, or as ways of living in relationship with a Father who already calls you His child?
- What has God made available in these passages that you have struggled to receive because you feel undeserving, and what would it look like to trust His Word instead of your feelings?
Further Scripture Reading
Romans 8:14–17; Psalm 103:1–5
FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT
Being a son or daughter of God changes more than the way you see yourself. It changes the way you see other people, the body of Christ, spiritual opposition, and your relationship with God.
You are one in Christ with other believers. You belong to one body. Through Christ, you are an heir according to the promise. Jesus has already won the victory, and God invites you to know Him as Father.
Do not just agree with these truths. Look honestly at whether your life lines up with them.
Stop allowing differences to become divisions. Stop living like an outsider. Stop letting fear have the final word. Stop trying to earn your way back to a Father who calls you His child.
“Let’s stop dividing ourselves amongst ourselves … let’s unite under Jesus Christ.”
Live like you belong—to Christ, to His family, and to His body.