Thursday, Dec. 18th

To listen to the audio version, click here.

Thursday, December 18

Romans 8:14-16

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

There are two ways to join a family.

You can be born into that family; that is, you can have a biological relationship to your family; or, you can be adopted into a family with whom you have no biological connection.

One of the things we often miss in the story of Jesus’ birth is that the whole thing is about adoption!

Think about it:

The Bible says that Mary was with child “by the Holy Spirit,” which means, among other things, that Joseph was an adoptive father. Jesus was not his biological son.

That also means Jesus grew up in a blended family. Scripture indicates that Mary and Joseph went on to have other biological children after they were married, and those children would have been technically Jesus’ step- brothers and sisters.

But beyond all of that, the Bible tells us that Jesus came so that we could be adopted into God’s family.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul uses adoption to explain salvation.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

To understand the power of Paul’s thought here we must understand something of the nature of adoption in the ancient Roman world.

First of all, there was a fundamental distinction in that society between those considered Roman citizens and those considered slaves. Slaves were men and women from the lower class who were regarded as the property of the families they served, and had little or no protection under the law.

However, it was quite common for affluent but childless Roman families to adopt a slave, most often a post-pubescent male, to carry on the family name. The process of adoption included the cancellation of any and all debts of the slave being adopted, as well as a complete change of identity. The slave now become son would also receive a full share of the family inheritance. Once adopted the bond  established could not be broken.

Paul is saying that through faith we are all adopted children of God! Through faith in Christ we are no longer slaves to sin and the fear of condemnation, but are now sons and daughters of a new Father. Furthermore, our new position is confirmed by the Holy Spirit who reminds us that we belong to God.

Not only do we belong to God, we have also been promised an inheritance. Paul goes on to say:

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)

I was not raised in an adoptive family; and I have never adopted a child. But I have known many adoptive parents over the years and have come to see the beauty of adoption as a picture of the gospel.

An adoptive parent is not obliged to adopt a child, yet chooses to do so.

An adoptive parent is not obliged to sacrifice in order to provide for a child yet chooses to do so.

An adoptive parent is not obliged to open his or her heart to love and care for a child yet chooses to do so.

In the same way God was not obliged to reach down to us; to love and care for us; or to sacrifice himself on our behalf, yet he chose to do so in Jesus.

Now the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.


Pastor Brian Coffey