A friend from college just recently adopted a child. I haven’t stopped thinking about what the judge said during the legal process. He declared, “I will order that the relationship of parent and child shall be and hereby established between the plaintiffs and the minor. The child shall hereafter be considered the natural child of the parents.”
I was struck by the words “hereafter be considered the natural child of the parents.”
J. I. Packer wrote in Knowing God, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all...”
Adoption is a legal process however it is so much more meaningful and more significant than just the legal point of view. Adoption represents a covenant relationship between parent(s) and child. There is a huge difference between the legal process and the promise of its application - living it out the vow in the day to day. Where law focuses on legal status, the application is the unconditional gift of love displayed.
Gal 4:4-8 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
Rom 8:14-17 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 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!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
Adoption reveals our lavish spiritual identity as children of God. Brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and joint heirs with him.
Eph 1:5-7 “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
The good news is that our heavenly Father has made us accepted “in the Beloved.” To use the judge's words, we become the natural child of God. The moment you received Him into your life, you were adopted into the family of God, and you are now highly favored in the Beloved. It means that God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, made believers members of his family with all the rights and responsibilities that go with that status.
When we are adopted into a family – we also become co-heirs in the family inheritance. For example, I married a widower that already had an established family. When I married, our legal covenant before God and family/friends, made me legally bound to Jeff and his family. In a nutshell, I was “adopted” into Jeff’s family. His family became my family, and I became part of theirs. The same is true with God. In Romans 8:17 Paul says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…” Did you get that? We are co-heir with Jesus Christ.
All that belongs to Jesus Christ now belong to us, because we are the co-heirs. For example, Jesus’ righteousness becomes our righteousness. Our eternal inheritance as co-heirs with Christ is the result of the amazing grace of God.
It is true that we do not share genetics but that’s the beauty of adoption. The adopted is no less a part of the family as those that share genes. It isn’t how God sees the gospel covenant and it isn’t how we should see it either. When you adopted a child, you live day to day with each other and end up taking on attributes and qualities found in other family members. The same is true with God. As we live out our sonship, we display His character with the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
God’s plan for adoption is prophesied in the OT. Hosea, a book from the Old Testament contains a powerful message of redemption and love. The prophet Hosea speaks of a divine promise: those who were once considered outsiders or unloved will be embraced and cherished. It’s a beautiful expression of God’s grace and compassion and is echoed in Romans 9:25 “As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” Because of God’s redemptive love, we are now called God’s beloved!"
Adoption wasn’t Plan B. He predestined us for adoption. Adoption was Plan A! Adoption isn’t second best. It wasn’t an afterthought. It was planned from the beginning. Because I believe in the sovereignty of God, I know my marriage and "adoption" into my husband's family was predestined. It wasn't Plan B. It was His plan from the beginning.
One more thought for today... Birth vs Adoption – one is not better or worse than the other. Do not rank them. They are equal to each other.
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