Adopted By God

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For those of you who may be new our church - you may be visiting this evening - I'll tell you that Sunday nights for us are a special time. Quite different than what we've been doing Sunday morning. It's been our joy for the last two and a half years to go through the great doctrines of the Bible. We find ourselves in the middle of a study of God's amazing redeeming love. And we're taking each element, each act of God, and each expression of faith and repentance that is a part of salvation, and we're looking at each facet, as you would turn a beautiful diamond, to see all that is there. We're doing the same with what God has accomplished in our salvation.

Adoption is a common part of our culture, as it has been in many cultures through the history of the world. But perhaps the most famous adoption of all time occurred in ancient Rome. You may have read of it. Gaius Octavius was the name with which this man was born. But then he was named as the adopted heir of his great uncle in his great uncle's will. His great uncle's name just happened to be Julius Caesar. Octavius changed his name to Julius Caesar Octavianus, or Octavian for short. And Octavian defeated the combined forces of Anthony and Cleopatra in the naval battle of Actium and became the absolute power in Rome. Here, an adopted son, in 27 BC, the Roman Senate added to his adopted name of Caesar the title Augustus, meaning divine or majestic. Of course, this is not other than Caesar Augustus who became the greatest ruler of Rome. He was a ruthless politician and a soldier, who used his power to restore order and prosperity to Rome with such success that his rule, I should say, came known as the Augustine age. He singlehandedly brought in the era that you probably remember from your history classes as the Pax Romana (the Roman peace).

As amazing as it would have been to have been adopted by Julius Caesar, what the Bible tells us is even more remarkable. According to the New Testament, every one of us who has come to faith in Jesus Christ, has been adopted by God. What an amazing reality!

John Murray, in his little book "Redemption Accomplished and Applied" says, "This is surely the apex of grace and privilege. We would not dare to conceive of such grace, far last to claim it apart from God's own revelation and assurance. It staggers imagination because of its amazing condescension and love." He says, "It is only as there is a conjunction of the witness of revelation (that is the Bible) and the inward witness of the spirit in our hearts, that we are able to scale this pinnacle of faith and say with confidence and love, 'Abba Father'."

It is an amazing reality and one that I don't think we think enough about. And so, I'm excited about the opportunity to do it this evening, to look at this amazing act of God that is part of our salvation.

First of all, let me remind you and for those of you haven't been with us, it was a number of months ago, now, we went through the Scripture and put together an order of salvation or in Latin the ordo salutis. We took various passages of Scripture and married them together to come up with a chronological and logical order of salvation. Let me just remind you that our election occurred in eternally past. God chose us before the foundation of the world for nothing in us but because of His great love. And we've looked at many of these doctrines already.

At the moment of salvation (in time, now) - at the very moment of salvation, these things occurred. There was the effectual call of God on our hearts. There was regeneration. There was faith and repentance. We were positionally sanctified, that is, set apart unto God or definitive sanctification would be another name for it. We were justified - declared righteous by God. And, at that same moment, we were adopted. And then, through the rest of life here on this earth, there is progressive sanctification and perseverance. And then of course, coming yet in the future, is our glorification.

Just to remind you, election is a divine act. It's all one-sided. God chose us. We had nothing to do with it. Also, the effectual calling and regeneration are divine acts. Faith and repentance are both divine acts in that God grants the faith and repentance, and we exercise them. So, they are both divine and human acts. Our positional sanctification, justification, and adoption - again, we're all talking about the moment of salvation all of these things occur. These things are divine acts. Again, one-sided - we had nothing to do with them. They were declarations on the part of God. Progressive sanctification and our perseverance, again, are a combination of our responsibility to act, but in the end, God securing these things through His great grace in our lives, through the work of His Spirit. And then, finally, glorification is a divine act - something that God will do apart from us.

So, we're looking tonight - we're still, as you see here (you follow the little arrow on the screen), we're still looking at the moment of salvation, and we're looking at adoption - the last of those acts of God that occur at the very moment of salvation. This is the end of what happens in a moment that we come to faith in Christ.

I want to begin by looking at the need for adoption. Why do we even need to talk about this? As I mentioned last Sunday morning, there is a sense in which God can be called the Father of all men. After all, He created them all. Paul refers to this in Acts 17:25-29. He says we're all the offspring of God, speaking to pagan philosophers there on Mars Hill. We can all - all people can, in some sense, be called the children of God in the sense that He made them. There are also references to this in Hebrews 12:9 and James 1:18. But with those few exceptions, the term "Father", used of God, is reserved for those who have come to a true relationship with Him through His Son. And it's in that sense, that Scripture assigns us as the children of God, and most of mankind to a different family and to a different father.

In Ephesians 2:2-3 Paul writes, "...you formerly walked according to the course of this world [you walked 'in step with' may be a good way to translate this], according to the prince of the power of the air [that's Satan], of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." Paul says, before our conversion we were associated with a different group. Satan was the one we were in step with, and we were called sons of disobedience as were the rest and we were called children of wrath. In other words, wrath on us was as certain as if it were our middle name. That's a Hebrew expression - "children of wrath". It means it's an absolute certainty. I may as well call you the children of wrath because you're getting it. That's what we were. That's what most of mankind is. Ephesians 5:6: "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon [there it is again] the sons of disobedience."

But nowhere is it more clear than in John 8. Turn with me to John 8:42. Every time I read these words I think of how they must have stung the religious leaders and the Jews of Jesus' time. In verse 41 He says, "'You are doing the deeds of your father.' They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication [an implicit sort of stab at Jesus implying that it was unclear who his father really was]; we have one Father [and that Father is]: God." They were quick to grab on to the reality that God was their father. "Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father [and the clear implication is: He's not], you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot [you do not the ability] hear My word [to understand it, to grasp it].'" It reminds us of 1 Corinthians 2, doesn't it - that the natural man does not have the capacity to receive the things of God? Then He says this in verse 44: "[Let me tell you who your father is. You're not of God]. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

The reason we needed to be adopted is because our family gives new definition to dysfunctional. Satan is our father, and we are brothers and sisters of those who can be called the sons of disobedience, and we are all called children of wrath. Not a very good family to grow up in, but that's the reality. That's what the Bible teaches. Everyone, who is not in Christ, is of his father the devil and wants to do the deeds and desires of his father. This is where we were. This is what we were. And this is why we so desperately needed to be adopted.

Now, let's look at the meaning of adoption. What exactly are we talking about here? Let me give you a little background starting with the Old Testament. Adoption was common in other nations in Old Testament times, for example, in Egypt and in Persia. But in the Old Testament, there are no laws (and this is interesting) - there are no laws regarding adoption. And there are only four recorded examples of adoption, and one of those is questionable. There's the example of Moses in Exodus 2:10 - adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, by Hatshepsut - a powerful queen of Egypt. And then, you have Ephraim and Manasseh in (that should say Genesis 48:5) - they're adopted, potentially adopted, by Jacob. This is the questionable one. It may be that Jacob is just saying that "I'm going to treat them specially because they are your sons, Joseph". But it may also have been that he was saying that he was in a technical way adopting them; it's unclear. In 1 Kings 11:20, there's another mention of an adoption. And then Esther. In Esther 2:7, 15 - those are the only biblical examples in the Old Testament of adoption.

What's remarkable about those four examples, is that they all occurred outside of Israel. None of them happened within the borders of Israel. Now, when you think about the Old Testament, however, it's not that the concept isn't there. In fact, Israel is called God's son in several passages in the Old Testament - Exodus 4:22 and so forth. Israel is referred to as God's son or God's child. According to Paul, in Romans 9:4, Israel was adopted by God, probably at the exodus when He brought her out "on eagle's wings", as the text says. And the concept of God as Father of Israel is in the Old Testament. For example, in these three passages. Deuteronomy 32:6 refers to God as the "Father who has bought you". Psalm 103:13 likens God to a father who has compassion on His children, and he has it on you the Psalmist says. Isaiah 63:16: "For You are our Father...You, O LORD, are our Father, Our Redeemer from of old is Your name." So, the concept of God as a father, in the sense of a father of Israel, is there. But the fact that there are so few examples, and this basically exhausts the Old Testament references to God as a father - the fact that there are so few examples makes it clear that this is not the primary way that Old Testament believers thought of God or called out to Him. Our first response is to say "Father"; that would not have been theirs.

Sinclair Ferguson, in his little book "The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction" writes, "Even at their highest, the saints in the Old Testament never rose to a settled personal relationship to God, defined and enjoyed in terms of individual sonship and personal fatherhood." It wasn't what they knew; wasn't how they interacted with God. Wayne Grudem writes in his systematic theology, "Even though there was a consciousness of God as father to the people of Israel, the full benefits and privileges of membership in God's family and the full realization of that membership did not come until Christ came, and the spirit of the Son of God was poured out into our hearts, bearing witness with our spirit, that we were God's children." That's exactly right. They understood that there was some sense in which God could be described as father but that is not how they primarily related to God. That's the Old Testament.

Now, when you come to the New Testament, the New Testament is filled with such references, but the word group referring to adoption is exclusively used by the apostle Paul. However, the concept of adoption, is throughout the Old Testament, I'm sorry, throughout the New Testament. It's filled with the language of adoption. There are four word groups that provide the evidence for this concept.

The first is the word "son". It's used in several references where we are called the "sons of God". Also, the word "child" is used a number of times. We are "God's children". We are a "child of God". In other places, a Greek word that means a little child is used to refer to us.

And then, finally, there's the word "adoption" itself. This Greek word does not appear in the Septuagint - in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. And it's only in the New Testament that we begin to see this truth unfolded. Let's look at these four passages. This word "adoption" only occurs in these four key passages, in terms of Christian adoption; the Romans 9:4 refers to Israel's adoption. So, in terms of us as believers being adopted, it's these four passages. Let's look at them together.

Let's start with Romans 8:14 - Romans 8:14. Well, let me give you the context here. Beginning in verse 12 of Romans 8 and running all the way down through verse 27, Paul is presenting all that it means to have the Holy Spirit and specifically to have the Holy Spirit as the spirit of adoption. And notice what he writes in verse 14: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God [sons of God]. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God..."

Here you have the Father sending the Holy Spirit, here called the "spirit of adoption", to assure the believer that he is the child of God. He says in verse 15, "...you have received a [the] spirit of adoption", that is the Holy Spirit, and that spirit enables us to cry out "Abba! Father!". So, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to assure us that we are in fact children of His.

Look down at verse 23, the second passage - just outside of the context but related to it. Verse 23: "And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly [here's our word again] for our adoption as sons, [that is] the redemption of our body..." So, there's a sense in which we have already been adopted and yet there's another sense in which the full fruition of that adoption is not yet come about. The believer waits for the final stage of his adoption, which is the redemption of his body.

Now let's look over at Galatians 4. We'll put all of this together in a moment; I just want to give you sort of a sweeping overview of these passages. Galatians 4. Galatians 4:4: "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law [that's us], that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."

The Father is here described as sending Christ to accomplish salvation and, in that salvation, to move His people from a sort of elemental approach contained in the Mosaic covenant, under which the adopted children used to live, to the status of mature sons and daughters. You see that in verses 1 and 2 of Galatians 4. This passage here describes the new status the Father has accomplished through what Christ called the "New Covenant".

And then in Ephesians 1 - turn over just a couple of pages. Ephesians 1:4: "In love [you notice at the end of verse 4, in love] He [God] predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved."

As Murray says, "God... (excuse me) Paul here points out the ultimate root of our salvation lies in predestination. God predestined us. God decided, in eternity past, to adopt you as His child." And Paul also tells us that the highest human end of our salvation is our sonship. This is what it was about. He predestined us to adoption as sons. And, ultimately, that was to redound, as verse 6 says, to His glory as we saw this morning.

So, if we put what we can glean from these verses together, what we learn is this: that in eternity past, God decided to adopt us, that Christ was sent to accomplish it through His death, that at conversion we were adopted and the Spirit was sent to convince us of that adoption, and there is still a final stage to our adoption in the future and that is the redemption of our bodies, when our bodies are glorified. That's how this word is used in the New Testament.

Now, with that background, let's see if we can come up with some definitions, as we always like to do. I don't think there's a better way to put it than Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:19: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and [you] are of God's household..." (Excuse me). You're of God's household. You're of God's family.

Robert Raymond, in his systematic theology, puts it this way: "God legally constitutes the believer as His child and adopts him into His family." That's what adoption is. God makes a legal decision to constitute you as His child and to adopt you into His family. Wayne Grudem says, "It's an act of God whereby He makes us members of His family." The Shorter Catechism puts it this way: "Adoption is an act of God's free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God."

Now, what all these definitions have in common, if you look at them, is that adoption is a legal act, like justification, that happens outside of us. It is an objective declaration God makes. God decides, at the moment of salvation, "I'm adopting you as My own." God actually made that decision in eternity past, but He executes it in time - at the moment of our salvation.

Now, how does adoption relate to the rest of God's works in salvation - the things we've looked at. Well, in justification, which we enjoyed looking at a few weeks ago, God is described as the lawgiver and the judge. And justification deals with the law. In justification, we are declared to be righteous; we gain a new standing before God. In definitive sanctification, which happens at the moment of salvation as well, when we are set apart as holy under God, God is here described as a new master. This deals - definitive sanctification that is - deals with our relation to sin. We are made and declared to be free from sin's slavery. We are no longer the slaves of sin. We receive new power when it comes to sin.

But when we talk about adoption, adoption sees God as Father. It deals with our relationship to God Himself. In adoption, God brings us into His family as sons and daughters. We receive a new relationship. You see how all of these relate but yet are distinct? It's very important that you understand this. God could have regenerated us without adopting us. He could have justified us without adopting us. He could have set us apart from sin without adopting us. We could have merely remained His creatures and have become His slaves. But instead, He made us sons and daughters. It should make our adoption even more amazing and more wonderful. God could have saved you and me without taking this incredible step of making us His own children.

John the Apostle put it this way, in 1 John 3:1. He just stood amazed. John, the Apostle, when he writes this letter - he's near the end of his life, probably in his 70s at least, perhaps in his 80s. And he writes and says, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God..." Does that amaze you? It should. And if it doesn't, you've really not thought about the reality of all that this means. Even the Apostle John, having known the Lord for 60 years, having lived with Christ for three years, having served Him for all of that time, writes near the end of his life absolutely, amazed at the reality, "See how great a love..." "Can you imagine?", he says, how great a love it expresses for God, our maker, the creator, to call us His children. That's what we have in adoption.

Now, let's look for a moment at the components of adoption just briefly - answer a couple of questions. When were we adopted? Well, obviously, as I've mentioned, we were chosen to be adopted in eternity past, as we saw in Ephesians 1. We were actually adopted at the moment of salvation.

In fact, let me just show you this because I didn't really make this point. Turn back to Romans 8. In Romans 8 this becomes clear. If you look at verse 9, Paul says... He's been making this comparison between those whose mind is set on the flesh and those whose mind is set on the Spirit. These are not two Christians he's dealing with here. He's dealing with believers, whose mind is set on the Spirit, and unregenerate people, whose mind is set on the flesh. And he makes that clear in verse 9. He says, "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." He says if you've got the Spirit, then I've been talking about you is the one whose mind is set on the Spirit and who is in the Spirit. "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [Christ]." So, he makes it clear who he's talking about. So, if you've got the Spirit, you're in Christ.

Now, notice verse 16: "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit [now that He's in us] that we are children of God..." It's not something we're waiting for. It's not a reality that comes in eternity. We are the children of God. If we have the Spirit, the Spirit is telling us we are now the children of God. That happened at conversion. And, of course, it will be fully completed at our glorification.

A second question is: why were we adopted? Well, the ultimate cause is nothing but the grace of God. We saw that in Ephesians 1. God did all of this to the praise of His glorious grace. It's God's grace. As I said, He didn't have to adopt us. He could have made a way to forgive our sins and have simply made us His eternal slaves. But, as an act of His grace, He made us sons and He made us daughters. The means He used was the death of Christ. As we saw in Galatians 4, when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son to redeem us, in order that, we might receive the adoption of sons. The only way it could be accomplished was through the redemption that Christ accomplished at the cross. The instrumental cause of our adoption, the instrument through which we receive it, is faith. In John 1:12: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name..." "To receive" is just a synonym for believe. And to those who receive, to those who believe, He gave the right, the authority, to become children of God. That's the instrumental cause. In Galatians 3 he puts it this way: you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Now let me move on and, in the time we have remaining, and look at the sort of implications. What are the consequences of this doctrine? Well, adoption brings with it some amazing privileges. I just want you to see these. I hope that you'll jot these down, that you remember them, that you'll meditate on them. These are the privileges you have because God chose to adopt you.

First of all, God becomes our Father and we can rightfully relate to and think of Him in this way. We've been studying the Lord's Prayer. Jesus taught us. He said, "Now that you're my disciples, now that you've come to know the Father, it's okay for you to pray. In fact, I'm telling you to pray, 'Our Father'. It's okay to address Him that way. He has become our Father and we can think of Him in this way. We can relate to Him in this way."

Galatians 4:7: "Therefore you are no longer a slave..." There's a sense, of course, in which we are the voluntary bond slaves, as Paul often says of Christ. But we're not slaves in the negative sense of that word. We are sons and daughters. This means that our new father has compassion on us. I love Psalm 103. Just as we have compassion and our children God, has that same sort of pity, that motion of His heart toward those who are weak and in a desperate situation, that feeling that you have in the middle of the night when your little one is sick and you just want to help, your heart is moved to help. That's the kind of father we have.

It also means that He takes care of us. Matthew 6:32: "...your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." God knows what you need. Your Father understands everything you need. And it's in His heart to do what's best for you, to move, to act on your behalf, to care for you. God gives us good things. Matthew 7:11: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" God is graciously disposed to you as your Father. He wants you to have those things that are truly good for you.

Now, what we think is good for us and what God knows to be good for us are sometimes different, just as it is with our children. But God - He gives us good things. He responds to us as a father, and He loves us. 1 John 3:1: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us..." You can't even get your arms around it. That's what John is saying. It's so great, it's so wide, it's so deep that you can never begin to grasp the love God has for you as your Father. Brings amazing privileges.

Another privilege that comes with our adoption is that Christ becomes our older brother. In Romans 8:17 we're told that if we're children, and we are, then we're fellow heirs with Christ and we get to both suffer with Christ in this life, suffer the reproach that comes on His name, but we'll also be glorified with Him. We're connected because we now are in the family. He is our older brother, and we are intimately connected to Jesus Christ. It means we become a member of God's family. Ephesians 2:19: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and [as I said, you] are of God's household..."

I don't know about you, but in the churches I grew up with in the south, you'd often hear people refer to one another as "Brother Bill" or they'd greet one another with "Hello Brother". Now, we aren't commanded to use that kind of language or refer to each other that way, but the concept that lies behind that kind of greeting is absolutely biblical. Throughout the New Testament, those who have believed in Christ are called brothers and sisters - Romans 1:13, Romans 8:12, 1 Corinthians 1:10, James 1:2. There's this constant reference to other Christians as brothers and sisters. We are to relate to one another as members of a large family.

I grew up in a large family. I'm the last of 10 kids. And I have a large extended family. When we got together a few years ago, just my immediate family and their spouses and their children, there were 50 of us. I know what it's like to have a large family. And that's what Paul is saying. That's what the New Testament is saying. We're a family. Think of other Christians as extended family. You're part of a huge family. We're even to relate to each other that way. Paul puts it this way in 1 Timothy 5:1-2. He's telling Timothy. He says, "[Listen, Timothy, when you go to talk to an older man]: Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father [we're all one family. And] to the younger men's brothers, and the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters..." Relate to one another as if you were in a huge family because you are.

Another privilege that comes with our adoption is that we receive an eternal inheritance. We already read Romans 8:17: "and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..." Heirs! There's a word that should stir your interest. Galatians 4:7 says, "Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir..." 1 Peter 1:4: "to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you..."

You say, "Great! I'm an heir. What do I inherit?" What exactly is it we inherit? This is really amazing. Titus 3:7 says we inherit eternal life. We ought to just stop right there - that's plenty. We inherit eternal life. But Hebrews 1:2 - turn there for a moment. Hebrews 1:2. Remember, now, we are fellow heirs with Jesus Christ. We get everything He gets. Hebrews 1:1: "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir [watch this] of all things [everything]..." There's nothing in the universe that doesn't belong to Jesus Christ. And as joint heirs with Him, as coheirs with them, everything in the universe becomes ours.

But the most amazing thing of all is we inherit God Himself. In Lamentations 3:24, as well as in a number of places in the Psalms... I love Psalm 73 how it comments on this reality as well. The psalmist cries out, "God! You are My portion." You know what that means? You're my inheritance. You're the part I inherit and You're all I want. That's why in Revelation 21:3 we're told that God will become our God and we will become His people. You want to know what you inherit? You inherit eternal life, you inherit everything in the universe, and you inherit God Himself. That's worth waiting for.

Another privilege of our adoption is we receive the Holy Spirit. We saw that in Romans 8. And the Holy Spirit does some interesting things. First of all, the Holy Spirit gives us confidence of God's love for us. Turn to Romans 5, Romans 5:5. Paul is here dealing with the results of our justification. And one of those results is that we bask in God's love. He says this hope, that proven character produces (verse 5), that hope doesn't disappoint us. And the reason it doesn't disappoint us, is because of God's love for us. Because the love of God, that is, the knowledge of God's love for us has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Now, how do I know we're talking about God's love for us and not our love for God? Well, notice he goes on to describe God's love for us in verses 6 through 8. So, you know what Paul is saying? He's saying when we get the Spirit and the Spirit comes, as we saw in Romans 8 as part of our adoption (He's called the spirit of adoption), when the Spirit comes, He gives us the confidence of God's love for us. He teaches us that God really does love us. It's amazing. But He also, when He comes, gives us an assurance of our adoption. Romans 8 - we saw it there: you haven't received the spirit of slavery, but you've received this spirit of adoption. And by that spirit of adoption, that is the Holy Spirit, we cry out 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifying with our spirit that we are children of God.

You know, what's very interesting to me? I've read this verse countless times as I'm sure you have. But I've never really looked at the word "cry" before. We cry, "Abba! Father!" Both here and in Galatians 4:6, the word for crying is not a pleasant word. It's a loud kind of cry often associated with a cry of anguish. It's the word used of Christ on the cross. It's the word used in Revelation 12:2 of a woman in labor. Sinclair Ferguson puts it this way: "The picture is not that of the believer resting quietly in his father's arms in childlike faith but of the child who has tripped and fallen, crying out in pain. That cry "Father!" is the mark of the presence of the spirit of adoption not least because it shows that, in time of need, it is towards our Father in heaven that we look."

We know what this is like - you have children, or perhaps, you remember to your own childhood. What happens when you find yourself in desperate need and you find yourself having exhausted all of your resources? You cry out first, "Mother!" But if the problem really is desperate and big and there's a big person involved, what do you do? "Daddy, Daddy!" That's what this is saying. We've received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry out, "Dearest Father, I'm in trouble!"

Notice verse 16 says, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God..." So, what exactly is this witness or this testimony of the Holy Spirit? Well, first of all, let me tell you it is not a mystical inner voice. That may be the pizza you had but it's not God. Nor is it merely the Scripture. Some commentators say this is just the Scripture - the Spirit using the Scripture. I don't think that's true. I think it's the Spirit bearing witness, through His work in this passage. If you look again at Romans 8:14, notice that to be led by the Spirit of God - compare that with verse 13 - is to be putting to death the deeds of the body. If you and I are actively engaged in putting to death the deeds that are associated with our old life, that is the Spirit's testimony to our hearts that we are His because no unbeliever does that.

There's another testimony here; it's the one we just touched on in Romans 8:15 - crying out. Crying out, in the point of our need, "Abba! Father!" You see, the Spirit bears witness through our putting to death of our sin and our calling out to the Father when we're in need. That's how He bears witness. When those things are true in our lives, the Spirit's bearing witness that we belong to God. Now, why is this so important? Because being legally adopted, and feeling like you're a part of the family, are two entirely different things. And the Spirit has been given to help us sense the reality that has already occurred.

Two more benefits or two more privileges connected with the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry, one more connected with the Holy Spirit and then one more benefit in addition. He leads us. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, leads us. Romans 8:14: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." Again, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit? This isn't some feeling in your gut. This isn't some - the Spirit telling you what job to take. I don't think I can put it any better than Wayne Grudem puts it: "Being led by the Spirit is a moral benefit whereby the Holy Spirit puts in us desires to obey God and live according to His will. And He gives this as the reason that Christians should put to death the deeds of the body." Being led by the Spirit means the Spirit puts into a new set of desires to go the other way from sin. What a wonderful thing in the spirit of adoption.

One last benefit we receive - this should actually be with a red dot for those of you taking notes. It's in addition to "we receive the Holy Spirit". We benefit from the Father's discipline. Now, that doesn't sound like a great privilege on the face of it. But the writer of Hebrews says it is. Turn to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12:5: "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? [There's a rebuke to some Christian fathers]. But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." He says, listen, this is a benefit that comes with being a son. If you have a father, that father loves you enough to discipline you, to put you back on the path that leads to life and to safety.

And he puts it in very clear terms in verse 9: "Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us [I can testify Amen to that], and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them..." There's could be arbitrary. They didn't have perfect insight. "...but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness." It's a benefit, alright, because He has a great purpose in mind that we might share in His holiness. "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." This is a benefit, a privilege that comes with sonship.

Now, very quickly, let's look at our responsibilities. Not only... I'm just going to give you a couple. Not only does our adoption come with privileges, it does come with some responsibilities. You're in a family. You probably tell your children what I tell mine. In this family, we share responsibilities. There are jobs, there are duties, there are chores that come with membership in the family. In the family of God, there are responsibilities as well.

First of all, we are compelled to love the Father. In John 14:31, Jesus tells us that He loves the Father. And we are now His younger sons and daughters. I'm sorry, His younger brothers and sisters. And we also are to love the Father. 1 Corinthians 8:3 makes the same point. But 1 John 2:15 says that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. In other words, we're not Christians. If we have attached ourselves as permanent lovers of the world, then a true love for God is not in our hearts. The implication is: to be a believer, is to love God.

We are also to love and care for other members of the family. Turn to 1 John. Let's look at this one together. 1 John 4:19: "We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." Verse 5... or verse 1 of chapter 5: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him." We are to love and care for other members of the family. We're in a family now and we have a responsibility, not merely to ourselves, not merely to our Father, but to the other members of the family. By the way, there's a lesson here in competition. We are not in competition with other true Christians or with other true churches where the Word is taught.

Thirdly, we are to imitate our Father's actions. Ephesians 5:1, Paul writes, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children..." Just as our children love to imitate us, they want to be like us... When they're younger, you know, their great aspiration in life is to be just like us when they grow up. That's what Paul says. You're in the family now. Your desire ought to be just like your Father when you grow up. Imitate Him. Act as He acts.

In 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 1:14-16: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.' If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth..." Imitate your Father. If He's holy, then you be holy too. We're to bring glory to our Father. We saw that this morning, but in Matthew 5:16 we're to so live that others look at our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. Same point - Philippians 2:15 and 1 John 3:10.

And, finally, we're to pursue personal purity. I want you to turn to 1 John, 1 John 3. I read the first part of this passage earlier tonight, but I saved the last part for this. John, overwhelmed with the love of God in making us children of God to "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are." [He's still amazed by it]. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." We're going to bear the family image. "And everyone [verse 3] who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." With the privilege of adoption comes the responsibility to live up to the family name.

When I was growing up, I can't tell you how many times... My father was older. My mother was 46 when I was born (some of you ladies are wincing at the very thought), the last of ten had individually over many years. My Dad was a couple of years older than my mom. And so, I really grew up, in a sense, as the product of the last generation. My Dad was the age of most people's grandfathers - most of my peers' grandfathers. And so, I got a taste of what life in that generation was like. And I can't tell you how many times I heard my Dad say something like this: "Son, that's not how we behave in this family." He was reminding me, you see, that I bore the family name. That as much as I might want to get away from it, Pennington would always be attached to everything I did and every mess I made. And he was reminding me of that responsibility - that with the privilege of being in the Pennington family, there came great responsibility not to dirty or sully the family name.

That's exactly what the New Testament teaches - that we are to walk in a way worthy of the standing, the amazing privilege of having been adopted by God. I wish I could make you think of that in a fresh way. I wish there were some way to open up your head and let you see, as if you'd seen it for the very first time that God, the eternal God of heaven, the maker of heaven and earth, your creator, the sustainer of all life, the God of eternity, in eternity past chose to adopt you. And at the moment of your salvation, when he gave you the faith and repentance to believe, He made you His own child. He legally adopted you. And He thinks of you as his child. And He encourages you to think of Him as your father. What amazing love!

Let's pray together.

Our Father we are overwhelmed by the reality that we studied tonight. We understand why the apostle John, after all of those years, was overwhelmed with the thought. Father don't let us ever get over Your amazing love toward us. Don't let us ever forget that You didn't have to adopt us, that You didn't have to make us your children. And yet, for reasons we'll never understand, You did. Lord help us to live in a way that's worthy of the family name. Lord don't let us do anything that sullies Your reputation, Your character. Help us to live in a way that honors You, our great Father. It's in the name of Your unique Son and our older Brother and our Lord Jesus Christ that we pray, Amen!