Somewhere in Canada tonight, a child will go to bed in a room that’s not their own, will cry for a mother who is not there, will long for the embrace of a father to keep them safe. This child is waiting to belong. In fact, there are more than 30,000 adoptable kids in Canada who are waiting just like this. Most of these kids will go to bed tonight still waiting for a forever family . (http://waitingtobelong.ca/)
In Romans 8, using the figure of adoption, Paul explains the believer’s intimate and permanent relationship to God as a beloved child. In these verses, Paul continues to disclose the ways in which God confirms that believers are eternally related to Him as His children, testifying that we are led, given access to God, and granted inner assurance by His own Spirit. These three means of assurance are closely related and intertwined, but each presents a distinctive truth about the Spirit’s work in the believer’s life.
You may not be called to adopt or foster a child, but someone touched by adoption needs your help. (Likely) are, they are right alongside you, in your church family. They may be parents-in-waiting, discouraged by their long search for a child, or foster parents struggling to heal a wounded, disruptive child. Will you show them Christ's love - a love that gets involved? Will you help other waiting children find a home? (http://waitingtobelong.ca/help-adoptive-families/church-members)
To understand the spiritual significance of adoption and what tangible and practical means we may involve ourselves, the Apostle Paul explains our Spiritual Adoption by God, through the: 1) Arrangement of Adoption (Romans 8:14), 2) Access through Adoption (Romans 8:15), 3) Assurance of Adoption (Romans 8:16)
1) Arrangement of Adoption (Romans 8:14)
Romans 8:14 [14]For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (ESV)
The first inner confirmation of adoption is the believer’s led by the Spirit of God. A person who is truly experiencing the leading hand of God at work in their life can be certain they are God’s child. The “leading” (ἄγονται, agontai) ...refers to being “controlled by” or “determined by” or “governed by” the Spirit The passive form of the verb is significant, in that it suggests that the Spirit is the primary agent in Christian obedience, that it is his work in believers that accounts for their obedience (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 422). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
The genuine believer’s life is basically characterized by the Spirit’s leading, just as it is basically characterized by Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, to be “led by the Spirit” probably means not to be guided by the Holy Spirit but, as in Gal. 5:18, to have the direction of one’s life as a whole determined by the Spirit. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 498). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
A merely professing Christian does not and cannot be led by the Spirit of God. One may be moral, conscientious, generous, active with church and other Christian organizations, and exhibit many other commendable traits. But the only accomplishments, religious or otherwise, one can legitimately make claim to are those of their own doing. One's life may be outstandingly religious, but because one lives it in the power of the flesh, they can never be truly spiritual and will never have the inner conviction of God’s leading and empowering. But if you so meet sin by the Spirit, if you are so led by the Spirit, you do show yourselves nothing less than God’s own sons. He has called you to nothing lower than sonship; to vital connection with a divine Father’s life, and to the eternal embraces of His love (Moule, H. (1975). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 223). Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade.)
Please turn to Matthew 5 (p.809)
Our heavenly Father wants His children to be certain at all times that they belong to Him and are secure in Him. As Paul has just stated (Rom. 8:13), a person who is succeeding in putting to death sin in their life are not doing so in their own power, that is, in the power of the flesh, but by the power of the Spirit. Those who see victory over sin in their lives, who see their sinful desires and practices diminishing, can be certain they are sons of God, because only God’s Spirit can bring victory over sin. Our finite minds cannot comprehend how the Spirit leads a believer, just as we cannot fully understand any of the supernatural work of God. We do, however, know that our heavenly seeks our willing obedience. It is when we are genuinely submissive to Him that our Lord supernaturally reshapes and redirects our will into voluntary conformity with His own. It is our heavenly Father’s great desire for His children to submit to the leading of His Spirit, for the sake of His glory and for the sake of their spiritual fruitfulness, well-being, and peace.
Jesus explained what the transformed life, a life of being sons of God looks like:
Matthew 5:1-9 [5:1]Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. [2]And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
[3]"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [4]"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. [5]"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. [6]"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [7]"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. [8]"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. [9]"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (ESV)
When we begin to understand biblical truths that have long puzzled us, when we experience God’s convicting our consciences, when we grieve for the Lord’s sake when we sin-we have the divine assurance that we are sons of God, because only the indwelling Spirit of God can instill such understanding, conviction, and godly sorrow. The believer is not just a child of God, but an heir of God as well. Being a child means that I have a family now; being an heir means I am included in the family forever (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 256). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Illustration:
In 1952 a probation officer in New York City tried to find an organization that would assist in the adoption of a twelve-year-old boy. Although the child had a religious background, none of the major denominations would assist in his adoption. Said the officer later, “His case had been reported to me because he had been truant. I tried for a year to find an agency that would care for this needy youngster. Neither Catholic, Protestant, nor Jewish institutions would take him because he came from a denomination they did not recognize. I could do nothing constructive for him.” If the principles of Christian love had prevailed in the Bronx in 1952, perhaps a good home could have been found for that young, mixed-up lad. In fact, providing a better environment in which to grow up might have changed history. For, you see, the boy was Lee Harvey Oswald (the man who shot then US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy) (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp. 16–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
2) Access through Adoption (Romans 8:15)
Romans 8:15 [15]For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" (ESV)
A second way in which the Holy Spirit confirms our adoption as God’s children is by freeing us from the spirit of slavery that inevitably leads us to fall back into fear. This slavery of fear most likely refers to life under the law, obedience that was concerned for scrupulous exactness with a constant fear of failure. Paul implies that the absence of fear is an important indicator of the Spirit’s presence: As Paul says in“2 Timothy 1:7: [7]for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (ESV) (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 157). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
No matter how cleverly they may manage to mask or deny the reality of it, the unredeemed are continually subject to fear because they continually live in sin and are therefore continually under God’s judgment. Slavery to sin brings slavery to fear, and one of the gracious works of the Holy Spirit is to deliver God’s children from both. (Heb. 2:14–15).
At this point in Romans, Paul is not so much emphasizing the transaction of adoption as the believer’s assurance of it. Through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, we not only are truly and permanently adopted as children of God but are given the spirit of adoption. That is, God makes certain His children know they are His children. Because of His Spirit dwelling in our hearts, our spirit recognizes that we are always privileged to come before God as our beloved Father. Adoption is related to regeneration, or the new birth, but they are not the same thing. Regeneration has to do with our receiving a new life or new nature. Adoption has to do with our receiving a new status (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: The Reign of Grace (Vol. 2, p. 838). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.).
The term adoption is filled with the ideas of love, grace, compassion, and intimate relationship. It is the action by which a husband and wife decide to take a boy or girl who is not their physical offspring into their family as their own child. When that action is taken by the proper legal means, the adopted child attains all the rights and privileges of a member of the family. The term ‘adoption’ may have a somewhat artificial sound in our ears; but in the Roman world of the first century AD an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no (way) inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature, and might well enjoy the father’s affection more fully and reproduce the father’s character more worthily (Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 6, p. 167). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Please turn to 2 Samuel 9 (p.260)
The first adoption recorded in Scripture was that of Moses (see Ex. 2:1–10).. Because Esther’s parents had died, she was adopted by an older cousin named Mordecai, who loved her as a father and took special care to look after her welfare (see Esther 2:5–11). But, perhaps the most touching adoption mentioned in the Old Testament was that of Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan and the sole remaining descendent of Saul.
2 Samuel 9:1-13 [9:1]And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" [2]Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." [3]And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." [4]The king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar." [5]Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. [6]And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, "Mephibosheth!" And he answered, "Behold, I am your servant." [7]And David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always." [8]And he paid homage and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?" [9]Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. [10]And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. [11]Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. [12]And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. [13]So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (ESV)
• Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses out of pity and sympathy. And although Mordecai dearly loved Esther, his adoption of her was also prompted by family duty. But David’s adoption of Mephibosheth was motivated purely by gracious love. In many ways, David’s adoption of Mephibosheth pictures God’s adoption of believers. David took the initiative in seeking out Mephibosheth and bringing him to the palace. And although Mephibosheth was the son of David’s closest friend, he was also the grandson and sole heir of Saul, who had sought repeatedly to kill David. Being crippled in both feet, Mephibosheth was helpless to render David any significant service; he could only accept his sovereign’s bounty. The very name Mephibosheth means “a shameful thing,” and he had lived for a number of years in Lo-debar, which means “the barren land” (lit., “no pasture”). David brought this outcast to dine at his table as his own son and graciously granted him a magnificent inheritance to which he was no longer legally entitled.
That is a beautiful picture of the spiritual adoption whereby God graciously and lovingly seeks out unworthy men and women on His own initiative and makes them His children, solely on the basis of their trust in His true Son, Jesus Christ. Because of their adoption, believers will share the full inheritance of the Sons. To all Christians God declares, “ ‘I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17–18). Paul gives us the unspeakably marvelous assurance that God has “predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:5).
Paul assures believers of the wondrous truth that they are indeed God’s adopted children, and that because of that immeasurably gracious relationship they have the full right and privilege to cry, “Abba!” to God as their heavenly Father, just as every child does to his earthly father. Abba is an informal Aramaic term for Father, connoting intimacy, tenderness, dependence, and complete lack of fear or anxiety. Modern English equivalents would be Daddy, or Papa. The fact that believers have the compelling desire to cry out in intimate petition and praise to their loving Father, along with their longing for fellowship and communion with God, is evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which indwelling proves one’s salvation and gives assurance of eternal life.
Illustration: Adoption
In Reader’s Digest, a contributor told of an Aunt Ruby and Uncle Arnie who had adopted a baby boy after five years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive. To their surprise, a short time after the adoption, Aunt Ruby discovered she was pregnant, and she later gave birth to a boy. One day when the two boys were eight and nine years old, the teller of the story was visiting Aunt Ruby, and a woman in the neighborhood came to visit. Observing the children at play, the woman asked, “Which boy is yours, Ruby?” “Both of them,” Aunt Ruby replied. The caller persisted. “But I mean, which one is adopted?” Aunt Ruby did not hesitate. In her finest hour, she looked straight at her guest and replied, “I’ve forgotten.” (“A Perfect Squelch,” Reader’s Digest, September 1990, 82.)
Describing the situation in human terms that we can relate to, when we are adopted as God’s children, we quickly come to cherish our heavenly Father’s forgetfulness. For he chooses to forget our sins, to forget our wayward past, and to give us the full rights of sons or daughters. (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (p. 14). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
3) Assurance of Adoption (Romans 8:16)
Romans 8:16 [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (ESV)
To give us even further assurance of our eternal relationship to Him, the Lord’s Holy Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Just as the witnesses to a Roman adoption had the responsibility of testifying to its validity, so the indwelling Holy Spirit Himself is constantly present to provide inner testimony to our divine adoption. He certainly does that through the inner work of illumination and sanctification, as well as through the longing for communion with God. Our very capacity and desire to approach God as our Father is itself evidence of the Spirit’s witness with our spirit that we are children of God. We are motivated by the Spirit (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 157). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers).
Please turn to 1 John 3 (p.1022)
But here Paul does not have in mind just some mystical small voice saying we are saved. Rather, he may be referring to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23), which, when the Spirit produces it, gives the believer assurance. Or, he may be thinking of the power for service (Acts 1:8), which when experienced is evidence of the Spirit’s presence, thus assuring one of salvation.
The book of first John itself is a testimony and test of the Spirit's indwelling:
1 John 3:18-21 [18]Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. [19]By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; [20]for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. [21]Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; (ESV)
• John provides the objective evidence that we are truly God’s children (v. 18-20a). then reminds us (v.20b-21)of the subjective evidence our gracious Lord provides.
Whenever the world, other Christians, or we ourselves question that we are truly saved, we can appeal to the indwelling Spirit to settle the question in our hearts. Providing that assurance is one of His most precious ministries to us.
When believers are compelled by love for God, feel deep hatred for sin, reject the world, long for Christ’s return, love other Christians, experience answered prayer, discern between truth and error, long for and move toward Christlikeness, the work of the Holy Spirit is evidenced and those believers have witness that they truly are children of God. “Children” emphasizes family relationship based on regeneration, while “sons” stresses legal standing (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 93). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
(Format note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (pp. 429–439). Chicago: Moody Press)
