The DNA of What is a Christian #3
Wednesday Mid Week Study
The DNA of What is a Christian #3
26th September 2012
“Adoption”
Being accepted in the family of God:
We know that we don’t enter into God’s family by adoption but by birth (regeneration).
Jhn 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
You must be born into God’s family in order to possess God’s nature.
2Pe 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption [that is] in the world through lust.
We have already learnt how important it is for us as God’s children that we are partakers of the divine nature…because we cannot be conformed to the image of Christ if we don’t have His life and nature within us!
What is this adoption then?
Read text – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:14-17
Definition – adoption is the act of God whereby He gives each of His children and “adult standing in the family of God!”
The moment you were born into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ, God began to deal with you as an adult, not an infant; and that “adult standing” will never diminish, change or be removed.
So no matter how long we have been in God’s family, our heavenly Father treats us like adults.
Which means that none of God’s children can make excuses for not growing and becoming more like Jesus Christ – why – because each of us has the same spiritual privileges.
Now in terms of experience you may have been a child of God for only a short time; but in terms of standing, you have the same spiritual resources and privileges as the most mature saint!
So in a nutshell, adoption is God’s way of saying we are His children, have everything we need to become mature Christians.
Now let’s look at these spiritual privileges that we all have as a result of this adoption:
THE PRIVILEGE OF ASSURANCE
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Because of adoption, we know we are God’s children!
No new baby as far as we know, knows that he or she is a baby or is a human being.
Children, as they grow, are dependent for many years, then gradually mature and then are expected to be equipped to go out on their own and start the cycle all over.
But what the natural child learns gradually, the child of God discovers very quickly through the witness of the Holy Spirit of God.
Let me explain – the witness of the Spirit is not necessarily a highly emotional experience; it is primarily a quiet confidence in your heart that God is your Father and you are His child.
How does this witness occur?
It comes to us in many ways but primarily it is through the Word of God.
Even before they can understand what their parents are saying, natural children hear their parents talk to them and assure them of their love. Some doctors even encourage parents to talk to their child before they are born.
Now God talks to us through His Word, and the Holy Spirit illumines that Word and teaches it to us. (The penny drops in other words)
But people who do not belong to God’s family simply don’t understand the Word of God and can’t hear the Father’s voice speaking through it.
The witness of the Spirit of God within us and the witness of the Word of God before us compromise our you may say, “birth certificate” as the children of God.
These two bear witness that we have been born again.
The Apostle John explained it this way:
1 John 5:9-12 – Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
When you are in church or Bible study with God’s people and worshiping the Lord, the Holy Spirit witnesses to you, and you find yourself saying, “this is where I belong!” “My heart responds to this!”
It’s the same when you see a brother or sister in need, your heart reaches out with God’s love and you practically seek out to help them.
Listen carefully – this is not humanitarian sympathy or emotion – it is the love of Jesus Christ over flowing within you.
On the flip side, if you disobey the Lord, the Spirit of God convicts your conscience; and you find yourself broken and repentant before your Father, and you find yourself asking Him for His forgiveness.
When the opportune arises for you to be able to share the gospel with a lost soul, the Spirit gives you the power you need to present Jesus Christ – It is in these ways primarily that the Holy Spirit bears witness that you are in the family of God!
THE PRIVILEGE OF FREEDOM
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Verse 14.
Before birth, a child has no freedom because he is safely placed in his mother’s womb.
Even after birth the baby does not enjoy much freedom as they are carried, lifted and placed.
But as the child develops, crawling, walking even then they have mobility but not freedom.
They are “jailed” from playpen to cot and harnessed on outings.
The verb in Romans 8:14 is literally willingly led.
This peaks of the freedom we have in Christ to know God’s will and obey it.
NB Paul’s wording here, sons not “children”.
When we willingly follow God’s leading, by His Spirit, we are behaving like sons, that is mature children of God.
Little kids are often rewarded or punished in order to get them to obey their parents.
But MATURE sons and daughters obey because they know it is right and because they love their parents.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
Now if a child was to walk immediately after birth, the medical world would be in awe.
But because of adoption, God’s children have the privilege of walking with the Lord and following the leading of the Spirit of God as He teaches us the Word.
Therefore, because of adoption, no child of God can successfully defend disobedience by arguing, “But Father I have only been saved six months and so surely You cannot expect me to be obedient already!”
One evidence that we are truly God’s children is that we do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit – Romans 8:4.
So if we want adult privileges, we must accept adult responsibilities.
All parents goal is to see their children mature and free, able to handle the responsibilities of life and to play a part in the welfare of society.
Our heavenly Father’s goal for His children is to use freedom responsibly for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
THE PRIVILEGE OF CONFIDENCE
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
I think it is a good thing that most of us don’t remember the first few years of life, because the universe of infants must be filled with a multitude of fears: fear of falling, fear of being left alone, fear of the dark, fear of loud noises, fear of pain.
Now adults have the same fears but they are now able to identify them and to a large degree control their responses.
God adopts is and treats us like adults in order to take away our fears.
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Have you ever noticed how many “fear not’s” there are in the Bible?
It is these promises in these very verses that our heavenly Father wants us to hear and understand what He is saying because we have an adult standing in the family.
But there is more to this….
Not only can the Father speak to us, we can SPEAK TO OUR FATHER!
We cry out, Abba Father…
Can you imagine a newborn babe in the crying room doing that?
We know our Father!
In the Aramaic language that Jesus would have spoken, the word Abba was the word equivalent to our English word Papa or Daddy, a term of endearment that is used by little children.
We find this word also in Mark 14:36 and Galatians 4:6.
Father expresses our understanding of the relationship we have with the God who gave us life, while Abba speaks of the intimate affection we have for true worship.
THE PRIVILEGE OF INHERITANCE
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ
No matter how rich their parents are, children cannot inherit the family wealth until they reach the age stated in the will.
Hear Paul’s words in Galatians 4:1-7
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
In this long but super important passage, Paul makes it crystal clear that two factors are involved in receiving and inheritance;
You must be a son of the testator
And you must be named as the legal heir
I am sure Paul had Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael in the background here.
Abraham’s first son was Ishmael, a son born out of the will of God – Gen 16
But though he was firstborn, Ishmael did not receive the inheritance.
Isaac did, because he was the one named by God in the will – Gen 15:1-6, 17:20-21
So as God’s children we have a twofold claim to our inheritance:
We have the nature of God because we have been born into His family
And we have been adopted by God, so we cannot be treated as children who are too young to receive the inheritance.
Ishmael the slave was born poor, but Isaac was born rich ands so is every child of God.
The Bible you hold in your hand is the “will” that tells us how rich you are in Christ.
You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing – Eph 1:3, which include s the riches of God’s mercy – Eph 2:4 and the riches of God’s grace – Eph 2:7.
These are so many more….Eph 3:8, Eph 3:16, Phil 4:19
THE PRIVILEGE OF SUFFERING
if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together – verse 17
Most people will do all they can to shield their children from suffering which is only natural.
But God has ordained that suffering for the name of Christ is a normal part of the Christian life.
Jesus told His disciples, Jhn 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Paul also reminded us of this as well, Acts 14:22 “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
Suffering comes early in the Christian life to “test the reality of our faith”.
The person whose heart is shallow and whose faith has no roots Mat 13:21 “yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
But suffering also “strengthens our faith” – 1Pe 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle [you].
The only way to become a mature established Christian is to endure suffering.
There are no shortcuts!
Suffering for the name of Christ isn’t easy or enjoyable; but when God puts His children into the furnace, He always keeps His eye on the clock, and His hand on the thermostat