The Best Robe refers to the robe given to the prodigal son in Luke 15. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Over the past few months, we’ve talked about A New Me, who we are in Christ. It’s truth that was established even before the foundation of the earth. It was anticipated for generations, but came to fruition through Jesus. Throughout the New Testament letters the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians, we see that it is through Christ that we are new creations.

”20 So here I am dead and alive at the same time! I’m dead to the old me I was trying to be and alive to the real me which is Christ in me! Co-crucified, now co-alive! What a glorious entanglement! I was in him in his death; now I discover that he is infused in me, in my life! For the first time, I’m free to be me in my skin, immersed in his faith in our joint sonship! He loves me and believes in me! He is God’s gift to me!” – GALATIANS 2:20 (MIRROR)

Knowing this, we need to put on the new self and no longer live as we did before we were in Christ. (See Ephesians 4:17-24.)

Grow Up!

We are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. But sometimes we don’t want to grow up into that truth.

”11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” – HEBREWS 5:11-14 (NIV)

Pastor John spoke on this several weeks ago when he talked about how we have spiritual “muscle reflex memory”: how we respond to things. By using the teachings of righteousness over and over again, applying them to our life, we train ourselves to distinguish between good and evil, and act accordingly.

When we respond according to righteousness, we build in ourselves a life of righteousness. We’re to be doers of the Word of God, to live out what He says we are. If He says that you’re the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, then you need to get in agreement with that.

Solid Food / Baby Food

God intends for you to grow up and be – live out – everything that He says you are. It is super-important that we grow up. Why? Look at Galatians 4:

”1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.” – GALATIANS 4:1-2 (NIV)

The core scripture for our series, Galatians 2:20, reminds us that we were buried, co-raised and have joint sonship with Jesus Christ. We are heirs. But as long as an heir is underage (immature), that person is no different than a slave even though they are an heir to the whole estate. It all belongs to them, but they’re not participating in it.

Does this fit you? Hebrews 5:12 said that by now you ought to be teachers, yet you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s Word. You’re on milk and you don’t want to get off the breast and grow up. You just want to feed and feed spiritual baby food; but as long as you’re in that state, you’re not participating. Infants are not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

We’re to be engaged in what God’s done for us on a daily basis so that the people around us can see something different about us. But this person is as an infant: untaught, unskilled and childish…not in a good place. Face it, if you’re unskilled, God’s not going to trust you with His kingdom and say, “Here’s my kingdom; here’s all the power you need…take advantage of it.”
We need to show consistency with God’s truth, training ourselves and then doing it.

As a Christian, you need to understand that you have right standing with the Father. When you understand that, there’s nothing you can’t come to Him about. When I pray, I am fully assured that He’s answering my prayer. I stand before Him as though I’ve never done anything wrong. With that standing, there’s nothing I can’t get from Him; the whole estate is mine and everything in the house belongs to me. I have access to all the resources of Heaven and I do everything I can to take full advantage of that. (But I won’t live that way if I don’t see myself that way.)

The revelation of righteousness is the meat of God’s Word.  That’s freeing!  As John 8:31-32 says, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And 1 Peter 3:12 tells us God’s eyes are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but His face is against those who do evil. (Pretty important, yes?)

The Prodigal Son & The Best Robe

Most of us have heard the story of the prodigal son. The father had two sons. The younger son came to the father and said, “Divide the inheritance…I want my money.” Already we can tell that this son is not mature; yet, the father divided the inheritance and gave him his portion.

We can see how immature the younger son was and what he did with the money. He went and spent it all on riotous living. He had a good time, but all of a sudden, his money was all gone. Then, a famine hit the land and during this famine, there was very little work to be had; in fact, the only work he could find was to feed pigs.

He went from a wealthy place to a place of poverty and starvation. But then, he came to himself. He said, “I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to go my father’s house. There isn’t one slave who works for my father who doesn’t have food and shelter. I’ll go to my father and say, ‘I’ve sinned against you and heaven, and I’m not worthy to be called your son. I’ll be a servant (slave) in your household.’”

We already know about underage people who don’t know who they are, that although they own the whole estate, they can’t participate in it.  Let’s look at Luke 15 and see what the father’s response was to the repentant son.

”20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.” – LUKE 15:20-24

When his father saw the son, the father was filled with compassion for him. “He was lost and is found,” said the father…well you can’t have lost it unless you first owned it. When the son repented and started saying he wasn’t worthy to be called his child anymore, the father immediately said, “Quick! Bring out the best robe! Put the ring of authority on his finger.” He had access again to everything that belonged to the father.

Thank God for His love and compassion! We should be quick to repent and quick to ask God to forgive us.

If you continue reading the chapter, you see that even the older son had a slave mentality. He said, “All these years, I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” The father responded, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”

Neither son understood their standing with the father…we need to.

Watch the June 19, 2022 message on which this post is based:  CLICK HERE.