The inference from the passage cited is obvious, εἰς παιδείαν ὑπομένετε, “it is for training ye are enduring (are called to endure), as sons God is dealing with you”. [προσφέρεται is common; as in Xenophon, οὐ γὰρ ὡς φίλοι προσεφέροντο ἡμῖν; and in Josephus, ὡς πολεμίοις προσεφέροντο.] Their sufferings are evidence that God considers them His sons and treats them as such; for what son is there whom his father does not correct? τίς γὰρ υἱὸς … similar in form to Matthew 7:9, τίς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἄνθρωπος; εἰ δὲ χωρίς.… Whereas did they receive no such treatment, were they free from that discipline of which all (God's children) have become partakers (as illustrated in chap. 11) then in this case they are bastards and not sons; their freedom from the discipline which God uniformly accords His children would prove that they were not genuine sons.

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Old Testament