Adoption Part Two

One other interesting aspect of ADROGATIO, which was the Roman ceremony of adoption, was that it was IRREVERSIBLE. Once a son had been adopted, neither the parent NOR the child could change it!

Galatians 3:26-29

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ (that’s not water baptism, so don’t worry if you haven’t been dunked or sprinkled) have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (The Roman tradition of adoption applied only to sons, but the Christian principle applies to ALL)

29 And if you belong to Christ, (and you do) then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

(When Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians, he didn’t divide it up into chapters! So we continue with Chapter 4)

Galatians 4:1-7

1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

Even though we (as believers) are children of God, we don’t recognize the blessings that God has for us.

2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. (Basically that means when you are mature enough to handle the responsibility and blessings)

…

7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

We are no longer slaves, but adult children of God. You have been deemed worthy because of your relationship with Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 1:5

5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

Ephesians 2:5-6

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:15-17

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"

16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

You have been adopted; you have a family fortune. Through adoption, you have been selected by God to a life of special privilege. Our challenge as Christians is to live in this reality. Look at it this way:

Who’s your Daddy?

What does your Father own?

Psalms 50:10

10 "For every beast of the forest is Mine,

The cattle on a thousand hills.

Haggai 2:8

8 "The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts.

Never take that for granted! If God wants you to have it, you will have it. If God doesn’t want you to have it, then YOU DON’T WANT IT!

Matthew 6:33

33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

As adopted adult children of God, we must live in the reality of our relationship with our Father. When we do, what problem can we possibly face that being a child of God can’t fix? This knowledge gives us the ability to:

Hebrews 4:16

16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We can approach our Father with ultimate confidence, because we are His adult children in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.