25/08/2015
GOD’S PLAN TO ADOPT US INTO HIS FAMILY
When we read all the promises made and blessings we have received in the Bible it can seem too good to be true, were it not for the fact that we can trust God and everything He says.
As all potential adoptive parents know, the process to adopt a child is frustrating and takes a big investment in time and resources. However, our own Father in heaven persevered and planned our adoption patiently, looking to the time when we would be safely in His home, loved and cherished as children of His very own.
Being adopted by God means that we are accepted into His family and brings a multitude of blessings and responsibilities.
Being legally adopted by God means that we receive new rights
Christians are legally adopted as sons into God’s family. Paul uses the term ‘adopted as sons’ to write to the believers in Rome, where they would have understood this in a specific context. Under Roman law, if you were an adopted son, you had identical legal rights to a son born naturally in the family. An adopted son had the right to the family name of the person who adopted him and the right to an inheritance of the father’s property.
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
For us, this means that we have been given the name of Christ and have the right to be called Christians. Our inheritance is nothing less than the the property of our Heavenly Father—all the spiritual riches that are in Christ, both in the present life and in our life to come.
Under Roman law, the adopted son also had the right to the father’s citizenship of the Empire. We also obtained a new citizenship when our Father adopted us and we have become citizens of heaven—our true home. Galatians 4:4-7
Being adopted by God means that He will care for us
The father who adopts was also granted full rights and responsibilities of a natural father—he had complete authority over the adopted son and also had the legal role of caregiver. With full, loving authority over us, our Father has accepted His responsibility to care for us and He also has the right, and desire, to correct us when we are wrong and to discipline us when we step out of line.
Our Father God is infinitely patient, wise and loving and the Bible tells us that the fact that God does discipline us is proof in itself that we have been adopted into His family.
Being adopted by God means that many relationships will change.
We have a new relationship with God — through believing in what Jesus Christ has done for us God the condemning Judge, who must punish every sin we have ever committed according to the just and perfect law, has instead become our loving Father who forgives us.
God is no longer far off and unapproachable, but near and easily accessible; we can come to Him whenever we desire though the intercession of Christ. The Bible tells us that God wants us to come to Him, He longs for us to spend time with Him, to talk with Him about everything that is happening in our lives—our Father in heaven wants to listen to us and care for us.
Being adopted by God changes our relationship with Him entirely and affects all three Members of the Holy Trinity:
With God the Father—He is no longer the Judge who must condemn us for our wrongdoings, but truly our loving Father;
With God the Son—not only is He our Lord and Saviour, but He also becomes our Brother;
With God the Holy Spirit—He not only calls us and sanctifies us, but also becomes the Spirit of Adoption within us. He witnesses to our own spirit within us that we are a child of God (listen to Him). The Holy Spirit becomes our guarantee and our Father’s initial down-payment of the divine inheritance we will receive and a seal upon our hearts that we belong to God. It is through the Holy Spirit that we can cry out to God, “Abba, Father.”
Our adoption by God also changes our relationship with every person in the world—both Christians and non-Christians. Our relationship to everyone else who has been adopted by God is changed, and no matter what the distance is between us—whether they live near or far, or whether they are alive today or have already fallen asleep and passed on from this life, they are all our brothers and sisters.
Our relationship with non-believers has also changed, for they are still dead in their sins and we are no longer a part of their family. We have different interests from them now; our interests are no longer selfish and centered on the glorifying of ourselves or of other people, but we should only be concerned with bringing glory to God.
Being adopted by God means that we are loved
As we have seen, the promises and love of God are so marvelous as to be almost unbelievable. But we can be sure that we can trust what He has told us and, as we can trust Him, we should also do our best to live in a way that pleases Him and brings honor to our family.
As you read the Bible verses about the Christian Life make a stand to try your best each day to walk as we should in this wonderful new life we have received. As you do so, God the Son, our Redeemer and Brother, God our Creator and Heavenly Father and God the Holy Spirit, our Spirit of Adoption and Guarantee of Salvation, have promised that They will help you and give you the power and the strength to fulfill this desire.
