Adopted Heirs

Father God, it is a delight to be here tonight to worship you, to open your word together, and we ask now that you would speak. Lord, my words make no difference. We are here to hear your voice, and we trust as you promise that you will speak through the reading and the preaching of your word. So give us ears to hear. Fix our eyes, our hearts, our minds, our wills on Jesus Christ, and may you alone be glorified. In your name we pray.

Amen. Tonight we are going to consider the biblical doctrine of adoption. It's sometimes an overlooked doctrine, and it's overlooked to our detriment.

I'm sad to say this is the first time I've preached on the doctrine of adoption. J. I. Packer has said of it, adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel, higher even than justification. That's quite a statement because we know how important justification is, and to understand why Packer might say that it is that important. Let's consider just for a moment the definition of justification alongside the definition of adoption. In justification, what we mean by that is having right legal standing before God. Justification comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and it includes two things.

One is the forgiveness of all of our sins, and two, the transferral of Christ's righteousness to us. Justification is a glorious thing. So how in the world can a great theologian like J. I. Packer say, adoption is even a higher privilege? Let's consider the definition of adoption. There's many ways we could put it.

I'll put it very simply. Adoption is an act whereby God makes us members of His family. Now this is why Packer says adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel.

Consider, the traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. You see, to be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater still. Now I want us to consider something objectively about adoption from these few verses in Galatians 4, and then we're going to look at some of the subjective realities of it, how it works out and what it means to us. The objective thing I want us to consider is this, is that the entire Godhead participates in our doctrine, in the process of our adoption.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, all three members of the Trinity are involved in our adoption. If you look at verses 4 to 7 in Galatians 4, we see the word sent used twice. And this word sent is important because sent is used referring to the members of the Trinity accomplishing a mission.

The sending is meant to actually accomplish something. And so we read, God the Father sent forth the Son. The Son, as other scripture passages tell us, joyfully goes on this mission.

Why? In order to redeem us so that we can be adopted as sons. Now here's why this was notable to the Galatian Christian readers. In the Roman world, adoption was a significant practice. Today we can write a will and we can leave our wealth and property to anyone we want, male or female. In the Roman world, with very few exceptions, a man had to pass his wealth onto his sons. So if a man had no sons, or as would happen sometimes, he felt that his sons were either incapable of managing his wealth or that they were unworthy of it, he would adopt someone he considered would make a worthy son. Now these adoptions were not the infant adoptions that are common today.

They were typically older boys or even men. In some cases, the adoptee might even be older than the man who was adopting him. And when the adoption was legally approved, the adoptee would have all of his debts cancelled because typically the one who was adopted was a slave. And so the one adopting the slave would pay for all of his outstanding debts and that slave would receive the family name. He would now be the legal son of his adoptive father and he was entitled to all the rights and all the benefits of a first born son.

And this is what's interesting and what I think is one of the things that stood out to the Galatians. A father could disown, in Roman culture, his natural born son. So if that son was unworthy or had done something, he could disown his son or all of his sons. However, an adoption was completely irreversible.

Once you were adopted, there was nothing that could revoke that adoption. And quick side note here, because sometimes I like the fact that the ESV uses just the word sons. Some translations will use sons and daughters. The Greek is just sons and that's important. Paul is not being sexist in using just the word sons here. As I said, at that time, the family inheritance was only available for sons. And when the women who heard this and read this letter of Paul's, this would not have been taken as a negative thing, in fact, just the opposite.

They would have received it with joy and delight and being elevated. Because what Paul is saying is that God, by adopting anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, male or female, as a son, what it means is that all God's children are fully included in God's will and testament. And it's irrevocable. Women were elevated by this doctrine of adoption. And to do this in Roman culture was an incredibly costly thing. The man who was adopting a slave had to pay off all the debts of that slave in order to bring this man into his household. Modern adoptions can be quite costly. But think about this. What did it cost God to adopt you and me into his family?

Yeah. It took nothing less than the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. And when this passage tells us God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption to sons, the father sent the son on a mission. The son accomplishes his mission of redemption. He became one of us. And he had all the weight of the law and all the obligation of the law placed on him.

And he was the only one who ever met it perfectly. And then when he died on the cross and his blood was shed, he was the only worthy sacrifice. And when he did that, the shedding of his blood, that was the price of our redemption.

You see, our adoption is the most costly adoption in the world because it took the perfect life and the ultimate death of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The father in love sent his son. And the son joyfully went on this mission. But it doesn't stop there because we see in verses 6 and 7 that the spirit also, here's the second word, sent. 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. Okay, Jesus' mission was to redeem us. What is the mission of Holy Spirit then? The mission of Holy Spirit is to confirm the fact of our adoption to us. That's why the spirit is sent, to confirm to us the reality that we are adopted as sons of the Almighty. You see, God so wants us to know and experience the reality of being his own children that he sends his own spirit to indwell our hearts.

Why would he do this? I think in part is that it is so easy for us to forget. I can easily forget the status of my adoption as a child of the King. And when I do, you know what I do?

I start living like an orphan again. Believers everywhere can easily forget the reality of who they are in Jesus Christ. Let me use John Wesley as an example of this.

I'm familiar with this. Wesley was an honored graduate of Oxford, ordained clergy in the Church of England, Orthodox in his theology, engaged in all kinds of good works. He would visit prisoners. He would give food to the needy. He set up orphanages.

He was incredibly generous with his money. And he spent years as a missionary in Savannah, Georgia, sharing the gospel with Native Americans there. Surely, John Wesley is somebody filled with the Holy Spirit.

And yet listen to what he writes. He says, I who went to America to convert others was never converted to God. I had the faith of a servant of a slave, not the faith of a son. You see, Wesley's experience typifies so many people in churches around the world. He did everything he could in his own power to live an acceptable life before a holy God. But it was much later, after he returned from America back to England at a society meeting on Aldersgate Street, he didn't even want to go.

One of his friends talked him into attending. And as he walked in, somebody was reading the preface to Martin Luther's commentary to the Book of Romans that night. And as John Wesley sat there, this is what he writes. That night I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation. And an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

You see, that was the night for John Wesley that he went from being a slave to an adopted son. And he had the spirit's confirmation of that in his heart. God sends his spirit because he wants us to know our status as members of his family, his adopted sons. Paul says this even stronger in Romans 8.

This is verses 15 and 16. 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. All three persons of the Holy Trinity are involved in this mission to redeem us and then to confirm the status of our redemption as adopted children. Okay, that's some of the objective teaching of Galatians 4. Let's talk about some of the subjective reality of what that means.

The first thing I want us to consider is this. In adoption, we are put into a new relationship of love with the Father. Verses 6 and 7, 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. That word crying, I cannot overemphasize how strong it is. It is calling out loudly. And it's typically associated with calling out in great passion with prayer. Jews did not pray this way. They did not call out to God, Abba, Father.

Do you know who did? Yeah. It's like Sunday school. You can't go wrong if you answer Jesus.

Come on. Jesus, do you remember where Jesus cried out? Yeah, he taught his disciples to pray, our Father. But when did Jesus cry out, Abba, Father? On the cross? Even before that, the Garden of Gethsemane. Right.

Remember? Mark tells us this in Mark 14. He's in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus cries out with a loud voice, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.

Remove this cup from me. Yet not my will, but your will be done. The disciples had never heard someone call out to God this way. Abba, Father. This is the word Jesus uses to teach the adopted sons of God how to pray, what kind of relationship we have with the Father.

And you know this if you've been in church. The word Abba is the word a very young child would use. Daddy.

Papa. But it doesn't stop there. It was the word of young Jews who spoke Aramaic. It's also the word Abba of a fully grown son still living with his father, and he would call out Abba. It's a term of many years of deep intimacy, fellowship, knowing and being known, and it evokes a sense of full communion. You see, it's both the cry of a young child first learning how to talk, Daddy, Daddy. And it's also the statement of a fully grown man, Papa.

There is such richness in this word. You know, young children instinctively know a parent's love for them. And without stretched arms, what, Dad, when they're a little boy or a little girl, Daddy, what are you going to do? Turn and walk away?

Say, not right now? No, you're going to scoop your child up. Yes, dear.

Yes, loved one. Daddy? What one instinctively knows is the cry of a little child. Daddy, I want you.

Daddy, I need you. And Jesus is saying, this is the kind of relationship you have with My Father because I have redeemed you and brought you into the family. It was interesting. Brian Chappell actually wrote about this this week in his devotional in By Faith. He said, long ago I read the account of a Christian who did not fully grasp the meaning of this verse until visiting a busy market in Israel. And there a lost child ran through the crowd seeking his father by crying out, Abba, Abba.

Chappell writes, the account echoed sweetly from my own heart. Years later as I followed Jesus' route to the cross to the streets of Jerusalem, crowds pressed upon our tour group, an Israeli child pushed past me at knee level calling out to the father who had gone ahead of him, Abba, Abba. The ancient endearment for Daddy.

Chappell writes, is used today as it was in Christ's day and it signals love. Obviously, one of the subjective realities of being an adopted son of the King of Kings is God loves you more than you can possibly imagine. Consider this. This may seem like an extreme statement.

It's not. The degree of Abba's love for you is in direct proportion to his love for Jesus Christ himself. Think about that. The father loves you and me, adopted children with the exact same love, degree, passion, fervency with which he loves Jesus himself. Jesus actually testifies to this. At the end of his high priestly prayer in John 17, these are his last words of that prayer because he wants us to know the deep, deep love of his father for all of his adopted children. Jesus prays, and he's actually speaking about those who will believe in the future.

That's you and me and so many others. Jesus prays, I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them. Jesus himself says, the depth and the degree to which the father loves me, that's how much he loves you. Any adoptive parent knows this truth. You don't love your biological child any more than your adoptive child. The adoptive child isn't lesser.

It's the same. So let me ask you, this week have you doubted God's love for you? Have you felt the need to try and prove yourself to him, make it right with him?

We so easily forget, don't we? Don't doubt God's love. You already have it if you are in Jesus Christ. You see, this isn't the universal love of God for every human being on the planet. It's only available to those who by faith trust in Jesus Christ.

Those are the adopted children of God. And if that is you, Abba loves you perfectly, completely, passionately, and that will never change. It's as Pastor Eugene read right before communion this morning. These words from Romans 8.

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The degree of Abba's love for you is in direct proportion to the love of Jesus himself. Just call out. You can call out Abba.

It almost sounds too familiar, doesn't it? You can actually say, Daddy. Jesus says it's okay. And when you reach out calling to him, he will embrace you in his loving arms. What a blessing it is to be adopted into the family of God. We're put into a new relationship of love with the Father. Second, we are given a new family, and I'll do these last two very quickly. We're given a new family with new priorities and values.

Take a moment and just look around the room. Maybe if you're married, even beyond your spouse. You know what we are in this room tonight? Family. We are all brothers and sisters in common union with Jesus our older brother, with God as our Father. We are put into a new family, the family of God.

And it's all made possible by adoption. You see, in this family it transcends sex, race, even biological family. This family is the real deal. This is the family we're committed to. This is the family God has placed us into.

And my prayer for the church is that we would never be just coolly cordial to each other, keeping each other at arm's length, avoiding the people who kind of irritate us. You know what? That stuff is garbage.

It's garbage. It's the way the world works. We are one in Jesus Christ. And there are to be no barriers between our love for one another. And as part of the family of God, you know what we have?

We have new values and priorities. In Romans 8, right before those verses about adoption, Paul writes this. If you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You see, one of the ways we know that we are a child of God is the Holy Spirit leads us along the paths of the Father.

What does that mean? It means we start loving the way the Father loves. It means we start forgiving the way the Father forgives. It means we start showing grace to each other the way the Father has shown grace to us. You see, we are part of God's family, and we take on and live out the values and the priorities of the family.

You see, our Father has a family business. We need to redeem, to call all those He has chosen unto Himself, and we're part of that family business. It's why we share the Gospel. It's why we love and forgive and show grace and talk about the glory and the beauty of Jesus Christ, our older brother who made it all possible. The Gospel is not about get yourself a little cleaned up and then you're acceptable. The Gospel is, you know what? The Bible is hopeless, dead, and this is what Christ has done. We want to do the will of our Father, not because we're scared of Him, but because of His great love for us.

There's actually a whole section here I'd encourage you to consider and think about. Sanctification actually happens by virtue of being loved by God and being part of His family. We grow more as we experience His love than by trying to live under the law. That's part of what Paul's talking about in this whole section. My four daughters are adopted, and they're shaped by being part of my family. We are shaped by being part of the family of God. That's why fellowship is so important.

You and I are meant to help each other see and experience the reality of the Gospel in this place. One of my seminary professors was a guy named Sinclair Ferguson. I'll never forget him in class one day. I wish I remembered which queen he was talking about. He told the story of one of the queens of England whose kids were going out into public one day. All she said to them was, stop, remember children, royal children, royal manners.

She was reminding her kids of who you are, and now that you remember who you are, let that impact how you live. Being adopted of the family of God is meant to do the same thing. We're adopted into a royal family. You and I are a royal priesthood. It's meant to shape us. We are part of an even greater royal family.

That's why we start hating the things of the world and loving the things of God. So we are put into a new relationship of love with the Father. We're put into a new family with new priorities and values. Thirdly, we are given a new identity and a glorious future. When my daughters came into our home, they all took on the name Harper, whether they liked it or not.

They have beautiful Chinese names, but now they're all Harper. That has become part of their identity. So many people can be defined by many things in life, even Christians. So we can forget our identity as adopted children of the King, and we can start seeking out our identity like an orphan, in a career, in being a great parent, in achieving success or wealth.

Some people even let their failures become their defining attribute in life for them. None of that is true in God's family, not in Christ. Who are you? You're children of the King. You are royalty.

That's your identity. In Roman culture, the servant who was adopted was no longer a slave. And if you read the verses right before the ones I read tonight, it actually talks about how people were enslaved to the elemental forces of the world. It even says the law is one of those elemental things enslaving people. You're not enslaved.

The Roman who was adopted, no longer a slave, a full son, and more importantly, an heir, an heir of the one who adopted him. You know, when Anne and I die, our daughters will inherit whatever we have. By some measures, it will be a paltry amount. But our daughters will get it.

It will be fully theirs to do with as they please. The apostle Paul says this, that the blessings we have in Christ, part of the riches of our inheritance, is this. They are the, in Christ, the unfathomable riches of Christ.

That word unfathomable, I can't pronounce it. But beyond that, what it means is past finding out, unsearchable, cannot be tracked out as to its extent. You see, the idea is that the believers' blessings and inheritance in Christ are too deep ever to be measured. We are the children of the Lord Almighty and share the eternal riches of Christ.

And you know this by experience. We've already experienced that in part. We're given eternal life.

We experience the kingdom of God, the indwelling of His Spirit, intimacy of relationship with Him, access in prayer. We have it now, but not fully. Because the full inheritance is coming. More is to come. Fullness is coming to all the adopted sons of God. And what a glorious future that is. This is when Jesus talks about, and you read about these things, a day is coming when sin will be no more, where every tear from our eyes will be wiped away, where we receive resurrection bodies just like the body that Jesus Christ has right now, where we are reunited with all those who have gone before us, will never more be in a separation of communion with God. And we will rule with Christ. That's what's coming for all who are adopted sons of God.

I think what Paul is trying to get at in this passage is that God was not content to leave us in the orphanage of the world. As an adopted child, we are blessed richly, perfectly loved in a new family, values and priorities, a royal identity, and nothing, nothing in heaven or on earth can ever change that. You and I are irrevocably sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that I would live in that reality daily. I wouldn't live so much like an orphan. May we all appropriate the glories, the beauty, the wonder of what it means to be adopted children of the King. Father, there is no way to truly do justice to this concept, to the reality of what it means to be adopted, loved by you, to be made your children and your heirs. Lord, this changes our outlook on life if we let it. It changes our dealing with suffering because nothing can separate us from you and all suffering will be turned into joy one day. For those of us who have had hard relationships with other family members, it gives us great hope and a reality. Father, I pray that you would let us know and experience by the power of your spirit what it means to be your loved children. For the glory of Jesus our King, we pray. Amen.