“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son ... to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5).
God saved us “so that we might receive adoption.” Yes, he also granted us forgiveness of sins and redeemed us, reconciled us to himself and saved us from hell, but all of that was a means to an end, namely adoption. God’s plan was for us “to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29). JI Packer says, if he had to sum the gospel up in three words, he would say it is “adoption through propitiation.”1 Because we are united with Christ, we too are children of God.
We talk about, even sing about, being children of God, but I’m not sure we always get just how amazing that is. We creatures rebelled against our creator. We didn’t just wander off but took every opportunity to spit in his face. God would have been just to have turned our ancestors to ash; instead he redeemed fallen humans from the consequences of their actions at the cost of his own Son. If a human king had that kind of mercy on rebels, it would be grace for him to make them the lowest slaves in his house. It would beggar the imagination for him to treat them as friends. What king would adopt these traitors as his own children? But that is what God has done.
According to Packer, in the ancient Roman world, adoption was the way in which the childless rich found heirs. They would adopt young men who were respectable and responsible and would carry on the family name well. “In this case, however, God adopts us out of free love not because our character and record show us worthy to bear his name, but despite the fact that they show the very opposite.”1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God'' (1John 3:1)!
But aren’t all human beings children of God? No. Paul, preaching in Athens, quoted a pagan philosopher to say that all are God’s “offspring” (Acts 17:28). But this same Paul emphasizes again and again that only God’s redeemed can call him “Father” (cf, Rom 8:12-17). As Boice says, God is creator of all and sustainer of all, so humans can be said to be God’s “offspring”, but “there are no privileges attached to this more general ‘fatherhood.’”2
What privileges do Christians have? First, we can call God “Father”:
“[Y]ou sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. ... For everything that Christ taught, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God.”1
Because we are given the right to call God “Father”, we approach him in prayer not as supplicants but as children (Matt 6:9, Rom 8:15-16). And we are now “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17) and have been given the Holy Spirit as a “guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph 1:13).
Also, he disciplines us (Heb 12:5-11). That may seem like an odd privilege, but heirs are raised with discipline; it is the illegitimate son that the king would spoil. Heirs undergo extra training to forge them into the rulers they will need to be; so it is with God’s adopted children.
We should live out the Christian life in light of this adoption. Like loving children, we should seek to imitate our Father. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). “Follow God’s example ... as dearly loved children” (Eph 5:1). “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1Pet 1:14-16). We should do this to honor our Father: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16).
And we should see our fellow believers as brothers and sisters. “He 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: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1John 4:20-21).
So, as Packer says, our Father wants us to “act up to our position as royal children by manifesting the family likeness (conforming to Christ), furthering the family welfare (loving the brethren) and maintaining the family honor (seeking God’s glory). This is his work of sanctification.”1 (A topic we’ll return to.)
If you only read one thing I recommend, make it JI Packer’s writing on adoption, “Sons of God” in Knowing God.
1 JI Packer, Knowing God
2 James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith
Part of Christianity 101
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