Adoption, Part 2

Radio Broadcast Transcript

Grace and Glory

"The Blessing of Adoption - Part 2"

By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.

Message #95018

I want to continue this subject of adoption. I said previously that adoption is taking us out of the devil's family through redemption and placing us into God's family. We are installed and appointed as God's sons and daughters, and granted all the status and privileges of the children of God. We said the basis of this is the love of God that is lavished upon us, and that is the wonderful thing about adoption. You don't just adopt a child that you don't love. God loved us from all eternity and has adopted us into his family.

Adoption is like justification, not like sanctification. Sanctification is a process. It is continuous. But adoption is like justification - a one time action. Like justification, it is the action of God the Father. It is not the action of God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. It is the action of God the Father.

Like justification, adoption also is a legal, declaratory, forensic, once-for-all action. It is not repeatable; it is once-for-all. When God places us, or appoints us, as his sons, it is a legal procedure. It is irreversible and it is once-for-all. Oh, that gives us great security, doesn't it? You know, we may slip and fall, but God will never abandon us. We always will be his sons. Some people like to be abandoned. It helps them, I suppose. They don't believe in the security of the believer. Some people thrive in insecurity, but I thrive in the security of the believer. So I thrive in this idea that adoption is permanent. It is once-for-all, and God will never change his mind.

What is the proof of adoption? We discussed this before. We said it is the cry that is created within us by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. We cry out of our mouths to our God as our heavenly Father. Jesus taught us, "'This, then is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven."'" You see, he is Jesus' Father, and he is also our Father. So that prayer, that conversation - that intimate conversation - is the proof that we are adopted by God. It is a child's calling, "Daddy," based on intimacy of relationship. You don't have to train that child to call, "Daddy." He calls, "Daddy" because there is an underlying love relationship.

Another proof of adoption is that there is confidence. You are not afraid of the Father. It is like when you come home from work and your little kid runs to you and tags onto your coat or holds onto your leg. That is confidence. Why? Because the child knows that this one is his father. so there is confidence, not fear. Even if the door is closed, a little infant will come and push open the door, and come to the father while he is studying and conversing. Why? There is confidence. Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, if we are adopted into the family of God, there is within us that confidence, that love relationship, that lack of fear and that courage before our God.

Of course, in the Jewish culture to call God in this endearing term of "Abba, Father" was the highest form of irreverence, because God was conceived to be so distant and so transcendent that no one should dare to call him that. But Jesus Christ paid no attention to this. Why? He was with the Father, he knew the Father and he conversed with the Father continually. So Jesus Christ continually called God what? "Abba," which is an Aramaic term for "Daddy." And then he told us to use the same term. So in the Jewish culture, calling God "Abba" was the highest form of irreverence, but for Jesus Christ and for us it is the highest form of piety. Why? Because we know him. We love him and he loves us. Underlying our ability to call God "Daddy" is a father/son relationship.

What, then, are some of the blessings that accrue to us as adopted children of God? Now always remember this: we used to be children of the devil. We were against God. We blasphemed God. We were rebellious. But God, in his infinite mercy and grace, through the sacrifice of his Son, brought us into the kingdom of God. And more than that, he brought us into his very family. So there are eleven blessings I want to speak about based on the status that we have as sons and daughters of God.

We have new status and dignity. You see that? We were nobodies. We were lost. We were sons of hell. But God, in Jesus Christ, came to our hell, lifted us out and brought us into his own family. To be called the children of God gives us very high status and dignity. I don't know whether I would want to be called the son of most powerful man in the world. I have no interest in that. The one thing that I do relish and enjoy is this amazing call of God of me as his son. This is a new position, a new dignity, a new status.

Don't worry about the tribe you came from, the educational background you have, or how poor you are. Don't worry about anything. You are given the highest possible dignity God can give you, because you have been made his son. Think about it. Meditate upon it. This is self-esteem, isn't that true? We speak about all kinds of self-esteem. This is it! We didn't have any real self-esteem before, but now God has given us this position as his sons. Never forget about it! Enjoy it! Relish it! May this give you great confidence as you live your life in this world.
We have a new Father. Once you are his son by adoption, this heavenly Father becomes your Father. This means we have no reason to worry about anything. Read Matthew, chapter 6:25-34, and look particularly at verse 32: "For the pagans run after all these things, and" - what? "your heavenly Father knows that you need them." In other words, the Father cares for his children. Whether it is physical blessing or spiritual blessing, God the Father knows that you need it. The Father cares for you. The Father will care for you just as we care for our own little children. We are always thinking about them. We are always caring for them. We are always planning for them. We see their needs ahead. Isn't that true? Then how much more will God care for us? So in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus simply teaches, Do not worry, do not worry, do not worry, do not worry. Your heavenly Father cares for you. Your heavenly Father knows that you need these things.
We receive discipline. If you are a child of the heavenly Father, if you have been adopted into God's family, then that means that your Father is a potentate. This is something that you must be happy about! This Father is one with absolute authority, and he is not going to put up with your nonsense. There is discipline. Read Hebrews 12:5-11. Discipline is a manifestation of fatherly love.

That's wonderful! I am so glad my God will not let me do my own thing. He will not let me go my own way. He sent his Son to die for me, to redeem me, and he is going to see to it that he will discipline me and he bring me back so that I may walk in the way of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So there is discipline, which means there may be some physical pain he has to give you to put a stop to your rebellion. He will use all means to deal with you, including what? Physical death, as you read in 1 Corinthians 11. Oh, praise God for that! I would rather go and be with God than live in this world in sin. So the third blessing is the Father's discipline.
We have the privilege of prayer. We have just said that it is the Holy Spirit who creates this filial affection and confidence within us, in our subjectivity. Christianity is not just an intellectual idea. It is also something you feel within the depth of your being. Do you understand that? If you don't feel anything, maybe you are not born again. Love is feeling, too, isn't it? Love and joy - these are feelings. It ought to register in our subjectivity.
Today's evangelism says, "Just believe. That's it. You are a Christian. Don't worry about any feeling." But feeling is part of it. Ask a child whether that child feels anything about his father and mother. There is a lot of feeling there, isn't there? So prayer is a blessing God gives us. God says, "Come, and speak to me." Isn't that wonderful? And Jesus Christ himself, our elder brother, taught us, "'This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven."'" So prayer is the privilege of an adopted child of God. May God help us to engage in dynamic, serious, concentrated, bold, confident, substantial prayer, that we may experience the blessing of his answers and so that we can say to people with confidence that there is a heavenly Father who listens to my prayers and answers my prayers according to his own will.
We are given authority, exousia . John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right. . ." the exousia , the passport, the authority. Oh, isn't that wonderful? When we come before God, we come not as strangers but as sons. I have a right to come into the presence of God. We are given access to the very presence of God. That is a wonderful right and a wonderful authority which we must use on a daily basis.
We are given confidence. That means no fear. We do revere God, but there is no slavish fear. We have not received a spirit of timidity, a spirit of fear, a spirit of bondage. No! There is always confidence. That is a wonderful blessing.
We know the Father loves us. We just read to you from 1 John 3:1. What does it say? Here John is so happy, and he says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us!" It is impossible to describe the depth and the width and the height and the length of the love God the Father has for his children. Keep that in mind. Of course, it is such a great love that he even disciplines you. That is part of the manifestation of that love. But love is the strong foundation, and this love will never dissipate or come to nothing.
We have inheritance. You are sons and heirs of God. Isn't that wonderful? You may have nothing in this world. You may make very little money. You may have received nothing from your parents, but don't worry about it. You have been made sons of God, and therefore you are an heir to all that he is as well as he has. And let me tell you, the highest form of inheritance is what? God himself. He is our portion. There is on earth nothing I desire. Let me tell you, when we really grow in spirituality, we will come to recognize that the highest form of blessing is to see him as he is and to fellowship with him.
We have the privilege to imitate him. Sons imitate their parents, isn't that true? Ephesians 4, beginning with verse 32, says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." That is another proof of your security. If you are a child of God, then you will mimic, you will imitate your father. I see that as a pastor of this church. I see your children and they do things in a certain way, just like their parents. They sneeze in a certain way. They walk in a certain way. They talk in a certain way. It is all reflective of the parents. So if we are adopted into the family of God, then it is incumbent upon us to imitate him and to have character reflective of the character of God. It is a privilege to imitate God. We used to imitate whom? The devil. Now we have this highest possible privilege of imitating our God, based on this wonderful relationship as children of God.
We have family. If you have been adopted into the family of God, then you must recognize that God has other sons and daughters. That is a blessing, isn't it? That is what church is. I enjoy coming to church. Why? I come not only to worship God and hear from him, but I also come to meet with my brothers and sisters. It doesn't matter whether they are white, black, rich, poor, men or women. They belong to my family, and therefore I am rich in brothers and sisters. I have the amazing privilege of loving them and being loved by them. That's wonderful, isn't it? That is all based on adoption.

Let me ask you: Do you recognize this fact that the person sitting next to you is really your brother? Do you recognize that he is your brother in a sense that is greater than your physical brother who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ? This Christian brother is your brother forever and ever, throughout all eternity. This Christian sister is your sister throughout all eternity. Your mother may not make it there, but these people will be there. Therefore we must learn to bear one another's burdens, to love one another and to be interested in one another. There should be no envy or jealousy. Those characterize the family of the devil. Here we are interested in loving one another and always putting the other above us. W should not live always looking after number one - myself. It is a privilege to say, "I am glad that you are my sister, my brother. What can I do for you? I am interested in love - the love that sacrifices myself for your benefit." That is what God demonstrated for us in terms of the heart of love. So you have no option not to relate to your brothers and sisters. If you are truly born of God and adopted into his family, you will have a natural affection for brothers and sisters in the church of Jesus Christ.
We have Jesus Christ himself is our older brother. Isn't that a wonderful blessing? It's an amazing privilege. Scripture states in several places that Jesus Christ is our older brother. That gives great confidence. He is going to be the judge. God appointed him the judge, and on the day when we appear before him, who will we face? Who will the judge be? Our older brother, man! And you will not be judged. You will be acquitted, because the one who judges is your older brother who died for your sins and was raised for your justification. It is not that he doesn't want to judge you because he loves you. No. There is a legal basis for our justification.
Think about these many blessings of adoption. I didn't take time to explain every aspect, but meditate upon these, because there are rich, variegated, multi-faceted blessings from this amazing apex of redemptive blessing called adoption.

Heavenly Father, we pray that you help us to think carefully about what you have done for us. We were children of the devil. We were strictly obeying our father the devil, the spirit that was directing us as it is stated in Ephesians 2. We were doing his will and his desires. We were rebels against God. We were lost. We were dead. We had no connection to the heavenly family. But, O God, we thank you for lavishing upon us the infinity of your love. You came in Jesus Christ to our hell, and you lifted us out of the sphere of hell and death and damnation and doom and evil and poverty and lack of dignity. You lifted us up, up, up and brought us into the very home of God.

O Lord, we are reminded of the prodigal son. He was out there in the pig's pen. He was baptized in stench, without food, without dignity, and without anything. He was lost. But there was a father who was thinking about him, and we read that he finally came to his senses. All of a sudden God did something in his life and he began to think differently. He began to repent and so he went home in all his filthiness, lostness and misery. His father said, "This my son was dead but now he is alive; he was lost but now he is found. Let's rejoice!" Oh, there is embrace. There is love. There is affection. There is installation as son. No, you are not servant; you will be son. Give him a new robe, a new ring and a new pair of shoes. Let him eat with me. Hallelujah!
Help us, O God, to enjoy this wonderful relationship. Help us to sit with you and feast with you. Help us to talk to you and embrace you. May we live our lives in the light of this relationship and the love that is accrued to us as a result of it. It's wonderful to know that you care for us and that you are thinking about us all the time. Even before we think about ourselves, you think about us. You already have opened a way for us, so we trust in you. May this doctrine of adoption be a source of great blessing to us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

"NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.

Grace and Glory features Biblical teachings of the Christian faith with P.G. Mathew, Bible teacher and former professor in Greek and theology. Audio cassettes are available for $3.00.

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