058 Adoption

Hello Kitchen Table Theology Family! Today we are continuing our study of understanding our identity in Christ. In previous podcasts we’ve talked about the believer’s position in Christ, and the doctrines of justification, sanctification, glorification, and regeneration. And on today’s podcast we’re going to talk about the doctrine of adoption.

[01:34] The Meaning of Adoption   

• The graceful and merciful right bestowed upon sinners through which a person is given admission into God’s family
• How regeneration, adoption and justification are tied together 

[07:58] Adoption In the Bible    

• Redemptive adoption in the NT 
• The concept of the word adoption is more Greco-Roman than it is Hebrew
• See Scripture listed below 

[11:24] The Role of the Trinity In Adoption

• The Father is the divine lover who predestined us for adoption
• The Son is our redeemer who saved us from death 
• The Holy Spirit enables us to cry out to God as Father and assures us within that we are God’s children

[13:03] So What? 

• God uses the biblical teaching on sonship to minister to us and through us to others. 
• How we can share the gospel with someone using the doctrine of adoption

[16:43] Closing Segment         

• Resources to take a deeper dive into this doctrine (links below) 
• Final words and announcements from Pastor Jeff and Jen 

Tweetable Quotes:

“When we come to Christ, as part of our salvation, we become a part of God’s family; Sons and daughters.” - Jen Denton 

“The Godhead, the Trinity, loves us dearly and planned our adoption, accomplished the work of redemption necessary to adopt us, and applied adoption to us as God’s sons and daughters.” - Pastor Jeff Cranston

Bible Verses Mentioned: 

• Titus 3:7
• Romans 8:14-17, 23, 29
• Galatians 3:25-4:7
• John 1:12
• 1 John 3:1
• Romans 8:15, 23
• Galatians 4:5
• Ephesians 1:5
• Romans 8:15-16
• 1 John 4:16

Resources Mentioned/ Footnotes:

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer
• Trevor Burke’s Adopted into God’s Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor
• Children of the Living God: Sinclair B. Ferguson
• Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children Book by Robert A. Peterson

Join the Conversation

We love your feedback! If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review. If you have any questions or comments on today’s episode, email me at pastorjeff@lowcountrycc.org

Visit my website jeffcranston.com and subscribe to my newsletter. Join me on Sunday mornings at LowCountry Community Church. 

Check-in with us on Facebook or Instagram @pastorjeffcranston.

Remember, the real power of theology is not only knowing it but applying it. Thanks for listening!

Transcript

Series: Your Position in Christ
Podcast 058

Adoption

ADOPTION

Jen: Hello again, fellow Kitchen Table Theologians, and welcome to Kitchen Table Theology. I’m your host Jen Denton and, along with Pastor Jeff Cranston, we’re discovering what the Scripture teaches regarding doctrine and theology; y’know things that a lot of Christians think are too difficult to tackle, too hard-to-understand, and too out-of-reach. And we’re always attempting to do this in a way that is applicable to the lives we live.

We do this because we agree with what C. S. Lewis once said: “You must not do - you must not even try to do - the will of the Father unless you are prepared to know the doctrine.” We want to help you know the doctrines of the Bible, and so, here at KTT, we want to help you to be strong in your faith, knowledgeable in and of the Word, and growing in your love for Jesus.

Today, we are continuing our study of understanding who we are in Christ. In previous podcasts we’ve talked about the believer’s position in Christ, and the doctrines of justification, sanctification, glorification, and regeneration. And on today’s podcast we’re going to talk about the doctrine of adoption. 

In his classic book Knowing God, J. I. Packer wrote: “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all …  “Father” is the Christian name for God.”

Any comments on that you want to make…

Jeff: Hi again, KTTians… I think we all know families who are adoptive families. I’m sure there are many of you, our KTT community, who have adopted children into your home. I know quite a few adoptive families and have always been amazed at their love and desire for their adopted children. And once they are theirs, they’re not just “my adopted daughter” or “my adopted son,”; it’s “my daughter”; “my son.”

As we look into this beautiful doctrine of adoption, we see that every person who has become a follower of Jesus Christ is told that he or she has now been adopted into the very family of God. And so, the simple definition of this doctrine is that, “Adoption is the graceful and merciful right bestowed upon unworthy sinner through which a person is given admission into God’s very own family - with all the rights and responsibilities that go with that status.”

Jen: So, when we come to Christ, as part of our salvation, we become a part of God’s family? Sons and daughters?

Jeff: Right. Remember that this particular podcast series is about who are in Christ; our identity in Christ. And if we go back to that definition of adoption, it is a “right” which we inherit because of our salvation.

This right is given only to those whom God has justified by faith and has caused to be born again. God, for reasons known only to Himself and for the purpose of bringing Himself glory, sovereignly chose from eternity past to miraculously and eternally save those who are by nature children of wrath and makes them His very own children and co-heirs with His own Son, Jesus Christ. 

Jen: We see that this is tied into the new birth – which we talked about on our last podcast when we spoke of regeneration – so how does all of this – regeneration and adoption – tie in together?

Jeff: And let’s go one step further: it’s also tied into justification which we examined in podcast #54.

Just like today, the doctrine of adoption is a legal transaction in which God the Father allows those whom He regenerates and justifies to be allowed into His eternal family. Titus 3:7 says, “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” An  eternal family we were not a part of prior to our adoption. 

Regeneration and justification secure our salvation from sin and death; adoption establishes our relationship as a beloved child to and with God the Father.

Jen: When you really stop to think about, that is so incredible, isn’t it? God could’ve just left it at regeneration and justification. We would still be saved. But He didn’t leave us there – He brought us into relationship. And not only any relationship, but a relationship whereby He calls us His own sons and daughters. 

Jen: I think we’ve got a pretty decent handle on what the doctrine of adoption means. Where is it most prominently taught in the Bible?

Jeff: Paul teaches it in many places in, but especially in Romans 8 and Galatians 3 (Romans 8:14-17, 23, 29 and Galatians 3:25-4:7). And I think a case can also be made that John also teaches it in John 1:12 and 1 John 3:1.

Y’know, while we’re on this, I think the word “adoption” itself is a very interesting one. The word occurs five times in the NT, all used by Paul, four of which refer to redemptive adoption alone. 

“…you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons…” (Rom. 8:15). 

“…we ourselves … groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons…” (Rom. 8:23); “…so that we might receive adoption as sons…:” (Gal. 4:5); and, 

“He predestined us to adoption as sons…” (Eph. 1:5)

Adoption is one of the few words in the NT where the flavor of the word – the concepts behind the word – is more Greco-Roman than it is Hebrew. In the OT, we don’t find much in terms of adoption as an option to infertile couples. There are some references but they are outside of the Mosaic Law because the Law made no such specific provision of the adoption of children due to sterility within the marriage relationship.

In the Galatians verse, “…so that we might receive adoption as sons…”,  the contrast is between a minor heir and one treated as a full son. Eph. 1:5, “He predestined us to adoption as sons…”, seems to depict someone of another family being legally adopted and given the full rights and privileges of a new family, but not before being born again into God’s family. 

Jen: Let’s take a look from another vantage point. And that’s the role of the Trininty. We have studied and talked about the Trininty a great deal here at KTT, and I’m wondering what, if any, role the Trininty plays in the adoption of God’s chidren?

Jeff: That’s a great question with a great answer. The Godhead – the Trinity - loves us dearly and planned our adoption, accomplished the work of redemption necessary to adopt us, and applied adoption to us as God’s sons and daughters. Think about it:

The Father is the divine lover who predestined us for adoption and sent his Son to rescue us. The Son is our redeemer who loved us and redeemed us from the law’s threat of punishment by becoming a curse for us. “The Spirit of his [the Father’s] Son” (Gal. 4:6), “the Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15) enabled us to cry out to God as Father for salvation (Rom. 8:15) and assures us within that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:16).

Jen: So, let me ask my question: So what? How do we see the doctrine of adoption be of practical value?

Jeff: I think, once understood, many believers are drawn to this beautiful doctrine because of a lack in our own relationships with their own fathers. God uses the biblical teaching on sonship to minister to us and through us to others. In union with Christ, the unique Son of God, we find acceptance by the Father, a new family in heaven and on earth, incentive to live for God, and bright hope for tomorrow. 

The doctrine of adoption is as warm and as nourishing as the Bible gets. I can hardly think of anything more comforting, more nurturing, more uplifting than the glorious truth that when we trust in Christ, we are made into the sons and daughters of the Creator God.

Jen: Any comments you want to make on the back of that… then “How would you share the gospel with someone using the doctrine of adoption?” 

Jeff: The Bible actually does that very thing. In the first place, our need for salvation is portrayed in the Bible as having to do with our status as slaves to Satan and sin. Christ the redeemer gave himself for us slaves and lawbreakers because he loved us. He took the curse (the punishment) of the law that by rights should have fallen on us, not him. Through Christ’s work, we have gone from being slaves to sons.

Just like regeneration and justification, adoption is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We trust Christ as redeemer in order to be included in God’s family. The results are incredible, including assurance and paternal discipline. By God’s grace, the teaching on adoption enables us to do what it difficult for some of us—to believe that God truly loves us. 1 John 4:16 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.” How does that happen? Because of the doctrine and the work of adoption in our hearts by the Trinity.

Jen: I know this is landing for many of us. We are loving what we’re hearing and it’s sort of a new concept for many of our listeners. Are there any resources you could recommend if we want to take a deeper dive into this doctrine?
Jeff: Absolutely. A good book from a more academic perspective is Trevor Burke’s Adopted into God’s Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor. From a more pastoral point-of-view on this, check out Sinclair Ferguson’s Children of the Living God and Robert Peterson’s Adopted By God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children. We inclide links to all three of those books in the episode notes.

Jen: Comments. That’s about all we have time for today, KTT fam. If you’d like us, subscribe, leave a rating and a review, we’d appreciate it. Check out today’s show notes for more resources about today’s topic. And don’t forget to head over to jeffcranston.com where you may freely access our podcast archives, and all of our resources like Pastor Jeff’s sermons, books, and blog. 

We have another Q&A coming up soon so drop us a question via email to pastorjeff@lowcountrycc.org or watch Pastor Jeff’s IG at pastorjeffcranston where we’ll be asking for your questions. 

We’ve got something we think you will enjoy on our next podcast. We’ll be doing an interview with Dr. Dave Park. Dave has been teaching and writing on the believer’s identity in Christ internationally for over 35 years. He’s not only knowledgeable, he’s a hoot! That’s next time right here on KTT. See you soon!