Those who are led by the Spirit of God…
June 2000 Commetary on the Word of Life: "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Rm. 8:14). This passage is at the heart of the hymn Paul sings to the beauty of Christian life, to its newness and freedom. These are the result of baptism and faith in Jesus, which graft us fully to him, and through him, to the dynamics of Trinitarian life. By becoming one person with Christ, we share in his Spirit and in all his fruits, the first of which is becoming children of God. Even though Paul speaks of “adoption” (cf. Rm. 8:15; Gal. 4:5), he does so only to distinguish it from the status of natural son, which applies solely to the only Son of God. Ours is not a purely juridical relationship with the Father, however, as it would be as adopted children, but something substantial that changes our very nature, like a new birth. This is so because our entire life is animated by a new principle,