The passage we are looking at today in Romans speaks directly about our new identity—who we are right now. Before coming to church, we did not know God. However, after coming here and encountering Him, we have received “a New Identity.” We haven’t simply taken up a new religion; rather, we have been given an entirely “New Identity” in Him.

Of course, on this earth, it may not seem like our identity has changed significantly. However, in the eyes of God, our identity has been completely transformed. In the past, we had no relationship with God. In fact, we were in a position of opposing and even resisting Him. But as we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and experienced the love of God, we have come to realize that our identity has truly changed.

What is this changed identity? We are children of God. Children of God. We use the term children to refer to sons and daughters, but that is actually a perspective from a human standpoint. However, rather than simply calling us children, the Bible says that we have all received the “Spirit of adoption as sons.”

Today’s passage also mentions the “Spirit of adoption.” This does not mean that God simply took us in as orphans; the original meaning of adoption is “to be made a son.” We have received the “Spirit of adoption as sons” and have truly become His children. Because we have become His children, we now call God our Father. The Bible uses the term “Abba, Father,” which in our language means “Papa, Father.” From this moment on, we call God our Father.

We all likely have a father at home. Some of us might have a close relationship with our father, while others may feel a bit distant. However, we should not think of God through the fixed ideas we have of our earthly father; we must think of Him differently.

God is our Father, and why is that? First, He gave birth to us. God brought us into being through the pains of childbirth. We exist because God exists. God created us. He caused us to be. Just like all things in the world, we too were made by God.

And God is giving us our breath. We are breathing right now, but it is not by our own power. If we were breathing by our own ability, we would not be able to breathe in our unconscious state while we sleep. However, we don’t need to worry when we are sleeping. We are not breathing by our own strength. It is the same with our heartbeat. My heart is not beating because I am forcing it to. The one who keeps this heart moving and gives us our breath is our Father, God.

Another reason we call Him our Father is that we are His sons. In the Bible, the meaning of a “son” is not about distinguishing gender between a son and a daughter; it means an “heir.” An heir inherits everything the father possesses. In the Scriptures, that heir is called a son. When we confess, “Jesus is the Son of God,” that is exactly what it means. It means He is the One who inherits everything from God. Therefore, saying Jesus is the Son of God does not mean He is smaller, lesser, or inferior to God. It means that everything God has belongs to Jesus. God gave everything He has directly to Him.

But does God have two sons? Or three? The Bible calls Him the “only begotten Son.” Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. There is only one. That is why God gave everything He has to the Son.

For example, let’s imagine a father has ten million dollars. He passes all of it down to his only son. Then, how much would that son have? Since the father had ten million, the son would also have ten million, right?

Now, this time, let’s imagine the father has two sons—an older son and a younger son. The father has ten million dollars. Then, the father would give five million to the older son and five million to the younger son. If we were to look at one of those sons, what percentage of the father would we be seeing? We would only be seeing half, just 50%. In that case, we couldn’t say that we “know the father completely.”

But Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. He is the only Son. God has passed down everything He has to that Son. That is why when we look at Jesus, the Son of God, we can know God exactly as He is. All the glory we see in Jesus belongs to God. Therefore, in other words, we say, “Jesus is the one who shows us God!” To put it in more theological terms, we say, “Jesus is the image of God.” Because He is the Son of God, He is able to reveal God perfectly.

And now, the Bible is telling us that we have all become those very sons of God. It says that God has adopted us as His sons. How could such a thing happen? We were originally people who hated God, so how could we possibly inherit everything that belongs to Him?

It is because we have been united with Jesus Christ, who is the heir of God. Therefore, when we believe in Jesus, we can inherit everything God possesses within Jesus.

Everyone, do you wish to inherit what God has? That is why we believe in Jesus. If you do not wish to receive those things, there is no need to believe in Jesus. There is no need to attend church. The reason we come to church is that we want to inherit everything that God possesses.

Then what exactly does God possess? What He possesses is unimaginably abundant. Among those things, what we are most interested in is the life that God has. That life is the life of God. It is eternal life; therefore, we call it “eternal life.” It means living forever. While humans may only live 70 or 80 years, God has existed from eternity past and will exist forever without ever fading away.

Also, God is a joyful being. But what kind of happiness is that? It is eternal happiness. Eternal happiness.

Human beings are quite interesting. Originally, when we live only by the flesh without knowing God, we think that life ends after we die on this earth. We think 70 or 80 years is everything. Yet, when we desire happiness, we don’t just want 70 or 80 years of it. What kind of happiness do we want? We want “eternal happiness.” When we seek love and say, “Please love me!”, no one says, “Please love me only for as long as I am alive!” How do we ask to be loved? We ask to be loved forever. Even when couples are dating, they clearly know they will not live forever, yet they still desire eternal love.

This is because there is something inside of us that longs for that eternal love. We call that the “spirit.” That is the real us. That is the true “I.” Because we are spiritual beings and eternal beings, we know that eternal love and eternal happiness exist. We are thirsting for it. And in our search for it, we have finally met God.

Because we long for what is eternal within us, we go out into the world seeking human love and the happiness that people can give. However, we end up disappointed because these things are not eternal. We know this ourselves. So, while people in the world enjoy pleasures through worldly things, they feel empty knowing that those pleasures vanish after only a brief moment. They receive love, but they feel anxious because they know that one day, this love will leave. They know it in their hearts. They say, “Love me forever!”, but they know that the other person cannot truly love them forever. Even if that person’s heart never changes and they try to love us forever, death will eventually tear us apart. That is why there is such deep anxiety.

However, there is one person who can satisfy my spirit that thirsts for this kind of eternal love. That is God. God’s love is eternal, and God’s happiness is eternal.

What did that very God do? Jesus hung on the cross and shed all His blood; He was pierced by a spear and poured out all His water. People completely and miserably put Him to death. They framed Him as a sinner, insulted Him, slandered Him, and killed Him with lies. Then, they placed Him in a tomb. Tombs were placed inside a cave. But the One laid in that cave—after one day passed, and a second day passed, and after He remained there all through the day after He died—God raised Him up at dawn on the third day. That is who God is.

Jesus came and introduced God, but no one believed Him. Even those who said they believed in God did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus said, “That God is alive. That God is at work. Though He is invisible, He gives me all the glory of heaven and everything that belongs to Him. He will raise me up from the dead. I am not being killed because of you; God commanded me to go and die. I am simply obeying Him. And God, being pleased with me, will raise me to life.” And then, He truly came back to life.

If there is no God, how could He come back to life? Someone raised Him. He raised a man whose blood had completely drained away. It didn’t just happen on its own. If it had happened on its own, He would have just fainted and then woken up, but all His blood was gone. All His water was gone. How could He get up? He had no power left. Yet, the One who raised that man—though invisible, His power raised Him—that One is God. That is how we know for certain that God exists.

And there is something else we have come to know. It is that God acknowledged Him by raising Him. Although people killed Him as a sinner, God raised Him up and said, “No! This man is righteous! He is without sin!” People didn’t just kill Him; they pierced Him and hung Him to death while saying, “You are a sinner!” But God said, “He is not!” and brought Him back to life. Jesus is the righteous one.

Then why did that righteous one suffer such a punishment? As it turns out, the ones who deserved that punishment were each of us. You and I were the ones who deserved that eternal punishment—beings who should have been eternally destroyed under God’s judgment. However, instead of destroying us, God sent His Son and had the Son take that punishment in our place.

So, He is speaking to us now. “Now, believe this truth! Believe that you were sinners. Yet, I did not destroy you for being sinners; instead, believe that I love you and desire to bequeath everything I have to you as an inheritance! Since my Son, Jesus, has accomplished this work, now confess and receive Him, and be united with Him! Kneel before Jesus, and now, accept Me!”

“How should I accept Him? Do I need to practice self-discipline for the rest of my life? Or is there some kind of lifelong effort I must make?” “No, there is no need to do anything for the rest of your life. Simply believe! Believe this truth, and if you believe, put one thing into practice!” What is it? It is to be baptized in the name of Jesus. “I am a sinner. I am the one who deserves to be punished!” Repent, and then acknowledge that “Jesus has no sin. He is the Son of God. That is why God raised Him!” When you are baptized—when you go into the water and come out—that is precisely what it means to be united with the Son of God.

By uniting with the Son of God through this confession, God no longer regards us as sinners but treats us as His own children. From this moment on, God answers our prayers, grants us the happiness He possesses, and sends many angels from heaven to help us. We begin to live a life experiencing these things here on this earth. As a result, our souls realize and come to know: “Ah, I am truly receiving the love of God!”

There is something even more important. Our physical bodies will die. However, that is not the end. Just as Jesus was resurrected, God has promised, “I will not leave you buried among the dead, but I will cause you to rise again!”

Therefore, our hope is to be resurrected and to receive the glory that God gives, just as Jesus went to heaven and received glory. What God gives is so incredibly abundant that it cannot be described in a single word. We simply bundle all of it together and call it “glory.” When we see it for ourselves, we will be absolutely amazed. We will say, “Ah, so this is what it was really like!” At that time, those who ignored this truth while on earth will deeply regret it. However, those who were united with Jesus and received the love of God on this earth will be overwhelmed with gratitude. They will say, “I did nothing; I simply believed. How can I enjoy such great glory?” They will be filled with emotion before God and will enjoy a life of happiness, praising Him forever.

What you must obtain by coming to church is this very happiness of God. I pray in the name of Jesus that you receive God’s happiness and truly hold onto this heavenly hope.

Acknowledging that I am a son of God is not easily done by human strength alone. When I first came to church, no matter how much the people evangelizing to me said, “You will become a child of God,” I simply couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t understand how a being called God could appear in the form of a human. Having been heavily influenced by Confucianism and Eastern philosophy, I thought of God in abstract terms. I believed that God was simply the logic of how the world operates or the laws of nature. I thought, “Ah, what people call God must be the principles governing all things in the universe!” So, the idea that this man named Jesus was actually God, or the Son of God, was impossible to believe and seemed almost ridiculous to me.

So when I first came to church and said I was starting my life of faith, it wasn’t because I had completely repented; rather, I came with the mindset of trying it out by my own will. Back then, praying at church was quite awkward for me. I could follow along with everything else. I could attend the service and listen to the sermon—though, of course, my mind would wander. And when it came to the offering, I didn’t give anything. Since I had no faith, I thought, “Why should I give my hard-earned money to the church?” At times, seeing the pastor in front, I even thought, “Why should I give this money to that man?” I had absolutely no faith. Still, since I had decided to show up and at least act like I had faith, I knew I had to pray. But when the pastor said, “Let us close our eyes and pray,” I just couldn’t do it. When everyone prayed together and ended with, “In the name of Jesus, I pray,” I simply couldn’t bring myself to say those words. I thought, “What does this man named Jesus have to do with me? I came here because I want to know the Truth.” So, while everyone else said, “In the name of Jesus, I pray,” I would say to myself, “In the name of the Truth, I pray.” To me, that was the only way it didn’t prick my conscience.

Later, I went to a church retreat. I began to plead with God to let me meet Him. I prayed, “God, please meet me. If You are alive, please meet me.” Of course, at first, I couldn’t even pray out loud. No matter how much people told me to actually open my mouth and speak out, it just didn’t work. I mean, I didn’t even know if God existed, so how could I open my mouth and say, “God, please help me!”? So I just forced it out in a tiny whisper. “God, if You are alive, please help me!”

As time passed, it seemed like everyone else was meeting God except for me, and I became desperate. Around that time, I received my military draft notice. I felt that if I went to the army without meeting God, that would be the end of everything. So I began to pray with such intensity that I started to cry out loud. I prayed, “God, if You are alive, please help me! God, if You are alive, please help me!”

The people next to me told me that since God is my Father, I should say, “Father, please help me!” But I absolutely could not do it. I couldn’t say, “Father, please help me!” because I kept thinking of my father at home. I thought, “I only have one father; how can I call an invisible being ‘Father’ when I already have a father at home?” I simply couldn’t do it. So I said, “Truth, please help me!” or at most, I would just say, “God, please help me!”

Eventually, I became even more desperate and prayed, “God, I admit that I am a sinner. I am in despair. I have no hope. If You are alive, please meet me!”

That was the moment. What does today’s scripture say? It says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s sons,” doesn’t it? Just as this word promised, the Holy Spirit—whom God and Jesus had promised—finally came upon me. I prayed earnestly, “I confess that I am a sinner. I admit it! And I want to believe that Jesus is the Son of God!” Why? Because He is the only one who showed me that I was a sinner. And He is the only one who said He paid the price for my sins. So I prayed even more desperately, “If You are alive, I want to know You!” and suddenly, the Holy Spirit came upon me.

From this point on, it’s hard to explain. Since the Holy Spirit is neither visible nor material, I can’t explain physically how He came upon me. But clearly, what was promised took place within me. To put it into words, the moment the Holy Spirit came upon me, it felt as if lightning had struck and exploded deep inside my stomach, and a great wailing surged up from within me. A wail of repentance. It was like a child who wakes up to find their mother gone. What would they do? They’d cry, right? They might cry for an hour, but if the mother doesn’t come, they eventually stop because crying feels useless. They sit there trembling in fear, and then an hour later, the mother appears. What happens then? They burst into tears again. They cry their heart out. That’s exactly how I felt.

Because I had finally met God—the one I had longed to meet for decades—at that moment of discovery and encounter, the moment the Holy Spirit came, a wail burst forth and one word naturally came out of my mouth. Quite naturally. What do you think it was? That’s right.

“Father!”

For the first time in my life, I said the word “Father.” It was so natural. This was something I could never do no matter how hard I tried before. But the moment the Holy Spirit came, I cried out “Father!” while weeping, and that day, I cried for an hour with tears and a runny nose. I wept because of the overwhelming emotion of meeting God and the realization that He is truly alive. And because I confirmed that He had forgiven all my sins and accepted me, I shed tears of gratitude.

From that moment on, my life was completely transformed. Since I had become a son of God, I was finally able to pray, my fears vanished, and I gained eternal happiness, eternal love, and the hope of resurrection. From then on, I have been able to live boldly because of my identity as a child of God. Before that, I was filled with worries about money and loneliness. But since then, because God is with me, I no longer worry about those things. In the past, whenever I had to do something, I would calculate the finances first. I would think, “Ah, I can’t do it because I don’t have the money,” or “The circumstances won’t allow it.” But now, if I have the conviction that “I must do this! The purpose is clear! God supports this!”, I do it even without money. This is because everything else follows. I can pray.

To give you an example, I got married two months after graduating from university. I had nothing. I was penniless. I didn’t even have a job at the time. I got married at the end of April, and I only started working on April 1st. When the wedding date was set, I didn’t even have a job. Who could do such a thing? Who could decide to get married without a job or a home? But because I had the faith that “God supports this,” I made the decision even without money or the right circumstances. Once I made the decision, everything followed. This is the life of a Christian. Of course, this is just a very small example.

Our Sungrak Church began with nothing, yet in 50 years, this masterpiece has been created. There are countless disciples all over the world. Even when there was nothing, because one person established a purpose, everything followed. God was with him. It was because he was a child of God.

You, too, can live such a powerful life. Why? Because you have a new identity.

Everyone, I pray in the name of Jesus that you become children of God within Jesus Christ and be filled with the happiness and joy of God as His children.

God our Father, we thank You for sending us Jesus Christ, so that by being united with the Son of God, we too may become Your children and enjoy Your eternal happiness and joy. May You grant grace to every soul here today, leading them step by step to truly meet You and experience the fullness of Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!