1. Adoption Is a Gracious Act of God the Father
Adoption is not earned or deserved. Fallen sinners are by nature children of wrath, not children of God. But God, in His great love, predestined believers to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. This is a free act of grace, not a right of birth. To all who received Christ, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
2. Adoption Is a Distinct Blessing from Justification and Regeneration
Justification declares the sinner righteous. Regeneration gives the sinner new life. Adoption gives the sinner a new family. These blessings are inseparable, yet distinct. Through justification, the believer is acquitted. Through regeneration, the believer is made alive. Through adoption, the believer is made a son. All three come together at salvation, but adoption speaks specifically of the believer’s relationship to God as Father.
3. Adoption Was Predestined in Christ Before the Foundation of the World
God predestined believers to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself. This was not an afterthought. Before the foundation of the world, God chose a people to be His children. In love, He marked them out for this great privilege. Adoption is therefore rooted in eternity, not in human decision or merit.
4. Adoption Is Received Through Faith in Jesus Christ
To as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. Adoption is not universal. Only those who are united to Christ by faith receive the status of sons. Outside of Christ, no one is a child of God. In Christ, every believer is a son or daughter of the Almighty.
5. The Spirit of Adoption Testifies That Believers Are God’s Children
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Believers have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear, but they have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom they cry, “Abba, Father.” The Holy Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are children of God. This is an inward, experiential assurance. The believer no longer approaches God as a slave in terror but as a child with confident, affectionate access.
6. Adoption Brings All the Privileges of Sonship
If children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. The believer is no longer a stranger or foreigner but a fellow citizen with the saints and a member of the household of God. As a son, the believer has access to the Father in prayer, receives the Father’s discipline (which is proof of sonship), and enjoys the Father’s provision, protection, and compassion. God is not merely a King to be obeyed but a Father to be loved.
7. Adoption Includes Suffering and Discipline as Marks of Sonship
If children, then heirs; but heirs with Christ, if indeed they suffer with Him, that they may also be glorified together. The Father disciplines every son whom He receives. No legitimate child is without discipline. Suffering is not a sign that God has abandoned His child; it is proof that He is treating the believer as a son. The world may not recognize believers as God’s children, but the Father’s loving correction confirms the relationship.
8. Adoption Will Be Consummated at the Resurrection
The creation itself eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. Believers themselves groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of their bodies. Adoption is already true in the present, but it is not yet fully manifested. At the resurrection, the children of God will be revealed in glory, conformed to the image of the firstborn Son, Jesus Christ. Then the full inheritance will be received.
Conclusion
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon believers, that they should be called the children of God. This is not a title; it is a reality. The believer is no longer an orphan, no longer an enemy, no longer a stranger. He is a son. And because he is a son, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into his heart, crying, “Abba, Father.”