Doctrine: Adoption

If adoption is about anything then it is about God as Father playing centerstage in his family.

The doctrine of adoption is not taught as much as it should be today.  It is crucial for the believer to understand that if it wasn’t for the goodness of God in saving sinners nobody would be adopted into God’s family and seen by God as a ‘son.’  We use the word ‘son’ because of the intentional language of the biblical authors when referring to Israel in its entity as God’s ‘son,’ as well as the intentional language we find in the New Testament and theological understanding of Jesus Christ being the ‘new Israel’ and the Son of God.  When we are brought into God’s family, we (men and women) are adopted and referred to as sons.  Romans 8:14-15 makes this truth clear:  ”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!”  

Before God adopts us as sons we cry out nothing.  Our spirit groans within us for our true Father.  Through the blood of Jesus, God brings us into his family through repentance and faith and adopts us his sons, by whom we now cry out, “Abba!  Father!”  

 Simply stated, adoption is what happens to believers when God chooses to bring us into his family through repentance and faith to have access to the throne of grace, through the blood of Jesus, as we have redemption in Jesus, to be co-heirs with Jesus.