Adoption into the Family of God

What Is Adoption?

Question No. 1: What is adoption? Adoption is the act of God by which He gives each of His children an adult standing in His family. Adoption is not the way you get into God’s family. The only way to get into God’s family is by regeneration, being born again. When a couple adopts a child, it is a beautiful experience. They can give that adopted child their name, their address, their home, their wealth; but they cannot give that adopted child their nature. That child will always have the nature of his parents. The only way to get into God’s family is to have God’s nature and share God’s life, and that can come only by regeneration, being born again.

Adoption is not the way you get into God’s family; adoption is the way you enjoy God’s family. Adoption is the act of God by which He gives each of His children an adult standing in His family. The instant you were saved, you received an adult standing, which means you have all the adult privileges. You also have adult responsibilities.

This means that you and I cannot use the length of time we have been saved as an excuse for being poor Christians. Someone may say, “Well, I have only been saved for four or five years; you can’t expect too much of me.” God says, “No, I expect of you what I expect of every one of My children. I am going to give you adult privileges, and I expect from you adult conduct and the fulfilling of adult responsibilities.” That is what adoption is. Adoption means that the instant you were born into His family God gave you an adult standing.

What Are the Privileges of Adoption?

Question No. 2: What are the privileges of adoption? Many of them are listed in Romans 8:14-17: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 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. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Walking

We have listed here at least six privileges of adoption. I wonder how many of these privileges you and I have been claiming? First, there is the privilege of walking. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14). The verb “led” means “willingly led.” You can’t lead a little baby because a baby cannot walk. A baby has to be carried. But when you enter God’s family, you are adopted, and instantly you are able to walk. The unsaved person walks according to the course of this world; he walks according to the prince of the power of the air; he walks in disobedience (see Eph. 2:2). But you and I have the privilege of walking in obedience because we are led by the Spirit of God. God has a plan for our lives; He has a path on which we should walk. Romans 6:4 tells us we walk in the newness of life. Romans 8:4 tells us that we walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. We have the freedom and the blessing and the privilege of walking. Freedom

That leads to our second privilege-we have the privilege of freedom. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15). Under the Law there was bondage. The Jewish nation had to obey, and if they did not obey, they would be judged. Consider Galatians 4:1-7: “Now I say,
That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he is lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time has 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.” There is a contrast here between being a servant and being a son.

The word “son” refers to a mature son, not just a little baby. When you are a child, you are under all kinds of rules and regulations. “Don’t do this, and don’t do that. Don’t touch this, and don’t go there.” Sad to say, many Christians live like this; they live a life of legalistic bondage. Paul informs us that the Holy Spirit who has come into our lives is the Spirit of adoption. We have not received “the spirit of bondage again to fear” (Rom. 8:15). I suppose these two words best describe little children-fear and bondage. They are always afraid of something, and they are in bondage-they must always obey others. They are under the control of parents and teachers. You and I, as God’s adopted children, have freedom from the Law. This does not mean we are lawless; it does mean that our relationship with our Father is one of love and not of bondage. We have freedom; we are able to walk.

Speaking Third, we have the privilege of speaking. Romans 8:15 states that we receive the Spirit of adoption “whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” According to Galatians 4, when the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, He cries Abba, Father, and then we are able to cry Abba, Father. No baby is born speaking. That would be a remarkable thing if a child could instantly speak. But when you were born into God’s family, even though you were only one second old in the Lord, you were adopted and you had the privilege of speaking-speaking to God in prayer, in praise, in worship, and speaking for God in witness. Assurance

The fourth privilege is found in Romans 8:16, the privilege of assurance. We know we are God’s children. Notice what it says: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” No little baby knows it is a baby. It doesn’t even know it is a human being. It has to grow into this knowledge. No baby knows who his parents are. A baby gets to know very early that certain people are very close to him and are very meaningful to him, but he doesn’t know how to call them father or mother. When you and I were born again and adopted, instantly we knew we were God’s children. Instantly we knew who our Father was and was able to look up and say, “Abba, Father.” The word “Abba” is equivalent to our word “daddy.” “Abba” expresses our close, intimate, loving relationship with our Heavenly Father.

So we have the privilege of walking, the privilege of freedom, the privilege of speaking, and the privilege of assurance.

Inheritance

We have a fifth privilege, the privilege of inheritance. Romans 8:17 says, “If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” No baby can inherit anything. If the parents die, and they leave their estate to their baby, that baby has to be under trustees until he can legally inherit the wealth. You and I do not have to wait to mature to inherit our wealth. If that were the case, we would never grow up. We need that spiritual wealth now in order to grow up. In Romans 8:17 we are told that we are now the heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. That means everything we inherit comes through Christ. We have two names on the check: Our Lord Jesus signs the check, and we have to sign the check.

This is what prayer is all about. This is why we come “in the name of Jesus,” because apart from Him we can inherit nothing. As a Christian, you are rich today. Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn son, born of Hagar, but Ishmael was born poor. Isaac was born rich. You and I were born rich in Jesus Christ. We have the riches of His grace, the riches of His wisdom, and the riches of His mercy. We can draw upon all of His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Suffering

Finally, we have the privilege of suffering. Romans 8:17 says, “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” We do everything we can to shield babies from suffering. If a baby starts to suffer, everybody drops everything to make that baby comfortable. But God allows His children to suffer because we aren’t babies. He is treating us as adults.

We need suffering because it builds character. We need suffering because it builds spiritual muscles. Suffering teaches us much about the grace of God, and suffering prepares us for future glory. “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” God gives us the privilege of suffering because He wants us to grow up. The ultimate privilege of life is to be entrusted with God’s glory. God puts us through suffering so that He might be able to share His glory with us. That is an amazing thing!

Are you living up to your privileges? If you are a Christian, you have been adopted, you have an adult standing in the family of God. With this standing comes responsibility. We don’t run away from suffering. We don’t waste our inheritance. We are sure that we are born again, and we share this with others. We have the privilege of speaking to and for God and the freedom of walking with God. What privileges we have! How Can We Enjoy Adoption?

Question No. 3: How can we enjoy adoption now?

Believe

To begin with, believe that it is true. Adoption is not a feeling, it is a fact. Just believe that it is true. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “You are being treated as an adult son, an adult daughter, not as a little baby.” God does not pamper His children. He will have no pampered children at all because pampered children cannot be used for His glory. So just believe it and say, “Thank God I have been adopted; I have an adult standing before God. All these privileges are mine.” Yield

Second, yield to the Holy Spirit, for He is the Spirit of adoption. He is the One who will make all of this real to you. In Romans 8:2 He is called the Spirit of life. In Romans 8:13 we see He is the Spirit of death-He puts to death the deeds of the body. Yield to the Holy Spirit and claim God’s promise by faith. The blessing is there; it is true, it is real. Start treating yourself the way God treats you. Look upon yourself as an adult son or daughter in His family. Stop pampering yourself. Stop whimpering. Stop asking God to give you toys; ask Him to give you tools and weapons, because there is a Church to build and a battle to fight. It is a marvelous thing to be adopted and to be rich in the Lord Jesus Christ.