A Weak Link

[This is the first section of a two part article briefly dealing with the proper kind of response that we should have to our sonship status in this present dispensation, and also to our sonship education and edification.]

 You are undoubtedly familiar with the saying, ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.’ And indeed this is true. For even though each link in a chain is joined to the one next to it and as such joins its strength with that of the other links, each link is still an independent entity itself. As such its contribution to the strength of the chain cannot exceed the limit of its own individual strength. Consequently the overall strength of a chain is not measured by the individual strength of its strongest link, nor by either the collective strength or average strength of all of its links, but it is measured by the strength of its weakest link. For when force is applied to a chain and its strength is thereby called into action, the chain will break or fail when the force exceeds the strength of its weakest link. Hence the familiar saying.

Accordingly this saying is also commonly applied to other kinds of chains, because the same characteristic is also true of chains that are not physical or material in nature. For example, the saying also applies to ‘chains of command’ in organizations, corporations, and other systems of administration, where the success of some venture depends upon the strength of the skills and devotion to duty of each person in the ‘chain of command.’ Or to a ‘chain of responsibility’ or a ‘chain of procedure’ in the outworking of some project, where various responsibilities are delegated to a number of people, and the success of the project depends upon each person faithfully fulfilling his or her responsibility. Or the saying equally applies to a ‘chain of reasoning,’ where the overall soundness of the logic depends upon the strength of the proven soundness of each component within it from premise to conclusion. Or even to a ‘chain reaction,’ or a ‘chain of events,’ where the predicted end, or the desired end, or the outcome of a certain initial action or event, depends upon the full function of each action and its corresponding reaction that follows it.

So just as it is with a physical chain, the overall strength belonging to each of these other kinds of chains lies in the strength of its weakest link. Wherefore when a break or failure occurs in any of these other chains, the source of the fault is found by looking for the ‘link’ whose strength did not match that of the other ‘links.’

The Stigma of being ‘The Weak Link’

Needless to say, no one wants to be ‘the weak link in the chain.’ For then you are clearly the source of the problem, or of the difficulty, that has resulted in the failure of the chain. Your weakness has either led to the chain breaking, or to it being unable to fulfill its designed intention of bearing its full load. Its capacity has been reduced in order to accommodate your weakness. What’s more, by being the ‘weak link’ you have not only compromised the strength of the chain, but you have also ‘let down’ every other link in the chain. The strength of every other link, and the expectation of every other link, is forced to suffer because of your weakness. Little wonder then that there is a stigma associated with being ‘the weak link.’

However if it is a shame or a discredit for us to be found to be ‘the weak link’ in some chain of man’s forging, (like a ‘chain of command,’ or a ‘chain of procedure’), how much more is it so for us to be ‘the weak link’ in a chain of God’s forging? Obviously much more. And this is true not only because anything that God does is by nature much greater than anything that man does, but more so because the chains of God’s forging have much more at stake than those that men forge. Hence when we are ‘the weak link’ in a chain of God’s forging, we compromise so much more and we also lose out on so much more.

Now of all the kinds of chains wherein we can function as a ‘link,’ naturally the chains of God’s forging are the ones that ought to concern us the most. Likewise they are the ones wherein we ought not want to be ‘the weak link’ at all. Instead we ought to want to be a ‘link’ whose strength is of the same nature as that of the other links, and is therefore equal to the task of providing for the overall strength of the entire chain.

Chains of God’s Forging

We actually function as a link in a number of different ‘chains of God’s forging,’ beginning right with “the gospel of Christ.” Yet the particular chain that we want to focus upon is one that pertains to our sanctification “in Christ” and to God our Father’s purpose in having given us “the adoption of sons.” Specifically we are concerned with the chain God has forged that provides for our godly edification, or more to the point that provides for the success of our godly edification.

Now God indeed has forged just such a chain, with each link being perfectly worked by Him and joined one to another so that the ultimate objective of our “godly edifying” can be reached, and so that we can both attain and obtain the glory thereof.

Howbeit in accordance with both the privilege and responsibility that is ours having received “the adoption of sons” there is one link in this chain that by nature requires our active participation and our input in order for it to function properly. In other words it requires a positive and proper response and function from us in order for it to be a ‘strong link’ in the chain, which can then couple its strength with that of the other strong links and so ensure the success of the chain’s job.

This particular ‘link’ is ourselves in view of being “the sons of God” that we are in this present dispensation of God’s grace, having received from God our Father “the adoption of sons.” And our active participation and input, (which our Father has designed to comprise the strength of our ‘link’), is the issue of our positive and proper attitude towards our sonship education and edification, as well as our proper response to it.

Wherefore if we have both the proper attitude and response to our sonship education and edification, then we will be able to function as a ‘strong link’ in the chain that God has forged to provide for the success of our “godly edifying.” We will then be able to achieve every attainment that is contained within its curriculum, and thereby be able to reach its ultimate objective. But if our attitude and response to our sonship edification is not what it should be, then we will be ‘the weak link’ in the chain, and as such we will fail to attain and obtain all that the forging of the chain has been designed to provide for us to attain.

Hence in view of what is at stake with this particular chain of God’s forging, we should not want to be ‘the weak link’ in it.

A Father’s ‘Chain of Provision’ for His Son

The ‘chain of provision’ that God has forged to provide for the success of our sonship lives and edification is essentially the same as the one that a natural father forges for his son, and then describes to him when he adopts him. And this is only to be expected, seeing that it is God Himself who designed and created the sonship relationship in the first place.

So it is then that a father, (in connection with knowing that he is going to be a father), begins the forging of ‘the chain of provision’ for the success of his son’s life and education long before his child is born, and so long before the time when he will adopt his child into sonship.

Briefly and very simply described, a father begins by forging both the first and the last links in ‘the chain of provision,’ with the last link actually being hammered out first. And with the hammering out of what will be the last link in the chain the father hammers out what He has decided and purposed should be the ultimate objective of his son’s education and life. Following this the father then sets about hammering out the actual first link in ‘the chain of provision,’ which is the design and composition of the specific curriculum that he will use in order to provide for his son to obtain the ultimate objective that he has purposed. This first link in ‘the chain of provision’ includes both the design and composition of the initial education that his child will receive during childhood, as well as the subsequent education that his child will personally receive from him when he gives his child “the adoption of sons.”

Following the actual forging of the last and the first links in ‘the chain of provision’ a father then plans the forging of the other needed links that will connect the first and last links, and so complete the entire chain. These other links are ones that correspond with the various stages of development that will occur in his child’s life from birth on, up to and including the time when he will give his child “the adoption of sons.”

So then in accordance with what he has planned, a father will then forge these needed links and progressively join them one to another in his child’s life once his child is born. And in so doing the link that is eventually forged and which makes the final connection between the first link and the last, is the ‘link of the adoption of sons.’

Finally after a father gives his child “the adoption of sons,” and during the time that he establishes his “son” in what his sonship status and life is all about, he teaches his “son” about ‘the chain of provision’ that he has forged so that his “son” can understand and appreciate the full provision that his father has made for the success of his sonship life.

In doing this the son is also made to realize that since he is now an adult “son” the onus is upon him to respond positively and properly to his sonship status, life, and education, so as not to be ‘the weak link’ in the chain.

Wherefore of all of these connecting links between the first and the last, the ‘link of the adoption of sons’ is the one with which we are particually concerned. For it is the link in a father’s ‘the chain of provision’ that by its very nature demands the son’s proper response and function as a “son” in order for it to be an equally ‘strong link’ in the chain.

God’s ‘Chain of Provision’ for Our Sonship Edification

Now as was previously stated, God our Father has forged a similar ‘chain of provision’ to provide for the success of our sonship lives and education as His “sons” in this present dispensation of His grace. Accordingly in Romans 8:14–39 He has described His ‘chain of provision’ for us as part of our sonship establishment, just as a natural father does with his own son. This is what our Father does with us particularly in Romans 8:28–30 where He has Paul declare to us…

 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:28–30)

 Wherefore we are given to understand and appreciate that every link in ‘the chain of provision’ for the success of our sonship lives and education has been perfectly designed and forged by God our Father for us, and has been put into place. No link is missing, or has yet to be forged, or is faulty or inadequate.

Instead, from what our Father has showed us and has described to us we are to look upon His ‘chain of provision’ with great awe and admiration. Not only because of the perfection of its completeness, but also because of the superb quality and strength of its links — including the quality and strength of ‘the link of our sonship status,’ even though as “sons” we are given to know that the onus is upon us to live properly as “sons” so as not to be ‘the weak link’ in the chain.

Avoiding being ‘The Weak Link’

Since our first and foremost responsibility as “sons” is to respond positively and properly both to our sonship status itself and to the curriculum for our sonship edification, this then is also the ‘key’ to how we avoid being ‘the weak link’ in the chain.

Moreover when we do respond to our sonship status and edification as a “son” should, we not only avoid being ‘the weak link’ in the chain, but we actually make ‘our link’ to be just as strong and enduring as the other links in the chain, and we thereby ensure our success of meeting the objective of our Father’s purpose with us as His “sons.”

Now we truly can be an equally ‘strong link’ in the chain, even though we ourselves are inherently weak on our own, (or after the flesh); i.e. even though we have no natural capacity to generate or sustain the proper attitude we need to have for our sonship lives, as well as have no capacity to naturally or consistently bear the load of our sonship edification. For in spite of the fact that we naturally have the tendency to be a ‘weak link,’ our Father Himself has supplied the needed capacities for us.

In fact by the very way in which He teaches us what our sonship status and lives are all about, He provides for effectually generating within us the positive and proper attitude that we need to have for our sonship status and edification. And then by the very means by which He educates us, He provides for the proper response that we need to have to what we are being taught so that it can effectually work within us, and so that we can successfully proceed through the curriculum for our sonship edification.

Wherefore ‘our link’ in the chain need not be ‘the weak link’ at all. But rather through the effectual working of our Father’s supplied capacities ‘our link’ can be just as ‘strong a link’ as each of the other links in the chain.

Being ‘A Strong Link’

As stated, we function as a ‘strong link’ when (1) we respond positively and properly to our sonship status itself, and (2) when we also respond positively and properly to what we are taught by our Father throughout the course of His curriculum for our sonship edification.

Now of these two components to being a ‘strong link’ our response to our sonship status is the most fundamental. For if we lack the positive and proper response to our sonship status itself, it should come as no surprise that neither will we have an adequate positive or an adequate proper response to the issue of our sonship education.

Hence responding properly to our sonship status itself is not only fundamental for us, it is also a prerequisite to our ability to respond properly and fully to our sonship education. Therefore it needs to be looked at first.

The Positive and Proper Response to Our Sonship Status

From the moment that our Father teaches us that He has given us “the adoption of sons” both the effectual working of what He says, along with the effectual working of what it all means, works to begin to generate within us the positive and proper response that we should have, (and need to have), for our sonship status as God’s “sons.” And with this being so our Father begins to supply us with the capacity to be the ‘strong link’ in the chain that we need to be.

Wherefore when in Romans 8:14–15 our Father through Paul declares…

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 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. (Romans 8:14–15)

 …this is where the provision for our positive and proper response, (and for being a ‘strong link’), begins. And the sum and substance of what constitutes our positive and proper response is expressed by the issue of us ‘crying, Abba, Father.’

‘Crying, Abba, Father’ is the natural and expected response given by a child when the long-awaited time comes and he finally receives “the adoption of sons” from his father. In view of having been bound to the inferior status and state of childhood for so long, with all of its necessary but beggarly limitations and restrictions; and in view of the joyful prospect of the grandeur and the glory of what it means to now be put into the status of ‘an adult son’ and to be treated as one by his father, (with all of the glorious liberties of adulthood, along with the new intimacy of fellowship and communion he can have with his father); in view of these things and more the appreciative child cries out to his father with both overwhelming and uncontainable relief and joy when his father tells him that he is now adopting him into sonship. He is filled with elation, delight, and rejoicing because of what it means to no longer be a “child” but to now be a “son.”

And one of the most special components of the son’s great joy and delight is his anticipation of now being personally educated by his father in the matter of his business, and thereby learning all the ‘ins and outs’ of it and what he needs to know so that he can function in it, so that he can begin to labour with his father in the operations of his business. [For a more detailed description of this matter, see the First Quarter 2002 edition of The Enjoy The Bible Quarterly.]

Now as great as the son’s initial ‘cry of Abba, Father’ is, it is really only the beginning. For instead of the novelty of the grandeur and glory of “the adoption of sons” wearing off soon after it is received, it is actually designed to grow and intensify. And indeed this is what the father wants to see happen when he goes on to establish his son in his sonship by telling him all about his business, and all about the specific vocation that he is going to have in the business, and especially when he tells his son all about the vocational education and training that has been pre-planned and provided for him through ‘the chain of provision.’

Wherefore when the son is informed of all of these things, he ‘cries, Abba, Father’ all the more. His appreciation for what his father has planned for him and has done for him just abounds, and his desire and enthusiasm for getting underway with his sonship education and vocational training becomes intense.

Hence in connection with ‘crying, Abba, Father’ all the more, the father then tells his son about the kind of commitment that he needs to make when it comes to getting his vocational education and training. And the son truly needs to make a firm and serious commitment to learning all of the things that his father is prepared to teach him, and that he has made full provision to teach him. For sonship education is by no means ‘a piece of cake.’ Instead it is concentrated vocational education and training. As such it entails the son learning the very constituents of his father’s mind and thinking, as well as learning the various mechanics and operations of his business, so that he can then emulate his father in his thinking, and in his lifestyle, and in the conduct of his business; and so that he can then fully and successfully labour with his father in the day-to-day operations of his business. Such an education naturally requires the son to have a strong measure of commitment to learning from his father.

So then after the father tells his son about the kind of commitment he needs to make, a positively and properly responding son then responds to his sonship establishment by declaring to his father that he will make the necessary commitment to learning what his father wants to teach him. And then he ‘caps off,’ so to speak, his sonship establishment by presenting himself to his father as one who is fully ready to get his sonship education and edification underway.

Therefore this is just how it ought to be with us too, when through the effectual working of Romans 8:14–15 we receive the glorious news that we have been given “the adoption of sons,” and when through the effectual working of verses 16–39 that follow we too receive our sonship establishment from God our Father.

The Commitment to Sonship Learning

It is our commitment to sonship learning that more or less defines whether or not we have the positive and proper response to our sonship status that we ought to have and need to have, if we do not want to be ‘the weak link.’

What then should constitute our commitment to sonship learning? Is it some arbitrary or purely subjective thing? Or is it left up to us as “sons” to determine and decide? No, not at all. Rather it is plainly described in the Book of Proverbs, where in His program with Israel God not only specifically deals in detail with the issue of “the adoption of sons,” but He also sets forth the general format for sonship education.

Wherefore it is God our Father Himself, (in being both the Father of the members of the remnant of Israel in their sonship, and our Father as His “sons” that we are in this present dispensation of His grace), who describes in the Book of Proverbs the kind of commitment to sonship learning that a “son” needs to have.

In accordance with this the opening verses of Proverbs chapter two declare…

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1–5)

 Here then is what constitutes a son’s needed commitment to his sonship learning. And just as the father sets forth, his son’s commitment should be composed of three measures, with each being described by one of the three “ifs.”

With the first “if” the foundation, or first measure of sonship commitment is described. Hence the father says…

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; (Proverbs 2:1–2)

 Very simply put, our first measure of commitment has to do with our basic attitude toward our Father’s desire to educate us. And as stated our attitude ought to be one of truly wanting our sonship education, with no insincerity or pretense. It begins with us having the genuine willingness and desire to ‘receive our Father’s words’ and thereby be taught by Him. And then in connection with being taught by Him our attitude should be such that we also purposefully determine to ‘hide His commandments with us,’ having the sincere and strong desire to make full use of them and to have them effectually work within us precisely as He has designed.

Such should be our fundamental attitude toward our sonship education. Our desire for our education should be manifestly sincere and serious, with the result that as we give attendance to our Father’s teaching we give such fervent attendance that we ‘incline our ears unto His wisdom’ and we ‘apply our hearts to understanding’ exactly what He is teaching us.

In other words, by no means at all do we just ‘sit in on our Father’s teaching.’ By no means at all does what He teach us just ‘go in one ear and out the other.’ By no means at all do we ‘attend class’ but act like “silly women.” Instead we not only attend our Father’s teaching, but we give attendance to our Father’s teaching with nothing less than the sincerest desire to have Him ‘renew our minds’ with His knowledge and understanding, and with nothing less than the firmest determination to see to it that this is exactly what takes place.

This, once again, is what should constiute the first measure of our commitment to getting our sonship education.

The second measure is described by the second “if” in verse 3 of Proverbs chapter 2 when the father says…

3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; (Proverbs 2:3)

 In saying this the father describes how his son needs to actively participate in the sonship learning process. And indeed he does. For the very nature of sonship education and edification demands that the son have active interaction with his father in what he is being taught, if both he and his father are going to be able to properly deal with everything that the son needs to learn.

Hence as the son is being taught, he needs to actively engage in the learning process with his father by ‘crying after knowledge,’ especially when he realizes that he does not know something that he needs to know. And likewise he needs to ‘lift up his voice for understanding,’ especially when he realizes that he does not quite understand how to properly apply something that his father has taught him.

In fact a son’s desire for his father’s knowledge, and his active participation to ensure that he gets it, ought to be such that he is dissatisfied if he does not think that he has learned what he needs to learn, or does not think that he has learned it well enough to intelligently and confidently apply it in the details of his life.

We too, therefore, need to actively participate and actively interact with our Father as He educates us; as the Spirit of God — the Spirit of adoption — leads us through the curriculum for our sonship edification. And such active participation and interaction for us should especially involve us partaking of the God-designed opportunities that are built into the operation of a local church for the specific purpose of ensuring that proper learning takes place by all the saints. And also it especially involves us taking advantage of the privilege of sonship prayer, whereby our Father ‘searches our hearts’ for the very purpose of personally dealing with us about the proper understanding of, and application of, what He is teaching us.

Wherefore this second measure of commitment to sonship learning should also be possessed by us, if we are to have the positive and proper response to our sonship status and edification that we need to have in order for us not to be ‘the weak link in the chain.’

The third and final measure of commitment to sonship learning is set forth with the third “if” when the father says…

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; (Proverbs 2:4)

Though there is an awful lot of information and insight contained in these two analogies, the basic upshot of both is that a son needs to pursue his sonship education and edification vigorously and with strong compulsion. All of the various aims and benefits that the father has built into the curriculum for his son’s education ought to be perceived by the son as being so important and valuable that they grip him with a compelling drive to possess them.

In other words all of the aims, goals, benefits, attainments, and the like, belonging to his sonship education, (along with the unspeakable glory of obtaining its ultimate objective), ought to so captivate the son that no other desire or pursuit in his life equals that of getting his sonship education and edification.

Wherefore getting his sonship education and edification is to be a son’s top priority in life.

Therefore this third and final measure of commitment also ought to characterize us as “sons,” if our response to our sonship status is what it should be. To put it bluntly, we ought to orient and organize our lives around the pressing need for, (and around the compelling pursuit of), getting our sonship education; and not the other way around. For in view of being “the sons of God” that we are, getting our sonship education and attaining the objectives thereof is our life. In other words it is what our sanctified lives “in Christ” are all about.

A ‘Weak Link’?

Though the issue of us having a positive and proper response to our sonship status is only the first half of what constitutes us being an equally ‘strong link’ in the chain that God has forged for the success of our “godly edifying,” as was stated earlier it is the most fundamental of the two responses. As such the issue of us also having a constantly strong positive and proper response to what our Father teaches us as we work our way through our curriculum depends to a great degree upon the strength of our initial response to our sonship status itself.

Wherefore we should ‘take stock of ourselves’ as the “sons of God” that we are. Knowing what constitutes a son’s positive and proper response to his sonship status, we should want to honestly evaluate whether we have the initial characteristics of a ‘weak link’ in the chain that our Father has forged, or those of a ‘strong link.’ And we should do so before dealing with what constitutes the other half of being a ‘strong link.’

— K. R. Blades

2006Q3