9. The Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8:15)
This sermon was preached on 23/12/2009
Adoption is a doctrine that is not appreciated as it should be by Christians. It describes a greater blessing than even justification because while the latter explains how we become right with God, the former is concerned with becoming members of his family. Obviously both doctrines are very important and it may be that justification is often in our thoughts because it is often preached about. Yet from a theoretical point of view, we can see how a sinner could be justified and not receive the further blessing of adoption. There was no obligation on God to adopt saved sinners into his family, but the reality that he did so is a reminder of his amazing grace.
It does seem to be the case that awareness of adoption is one of the privileges of New Testament believers. Old Testament believers were in the family of God, but how well they realised this relationship cannot really be discovered because we would have to be one in order to know what they thought. They looked forward to the coming of the Saviour, but their understanding of his achievements was limited, which is not surprising since they lived before he came. This explains why there is little reference in the Old Testament to membership of the family of God.
In justification, God functions as a judge who passes sentence on sinners who have rebelled against him. His verdict is that our debt has been paid by Jesus on the cross and our life of obedience to his law provided for us by Jesus in his life of obedience. In adoption, God functions as a father who adopts the forgiven rebel into his family. We can imagine a judge in the ancient world, after releasing a man whose friend had paid his debt, deciding to adopt the released man. If he adopted him before the debt was paid, he would have adopted a person who was unsuitable for his family, which would have been against the custom of adoption at that time. Sometimes we give the impression that God adopts sinners who have not been made suitable for his family. Yet we should remember that he only adopts those who have already been forgiven when they were justified by him.
Adoption has many privileges, not least that his sons have received the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption. We noticed in our previous study that it was likely that the phrase ‘the Spirit of slavery’ probably referred to the way the Holy Spirit worked during the Old Testament dispensation. It can be described as ‘slavery’ because of the contrast with the liberty that has been given by the Spirit to believers since the glorification of Jesus. We noted how the Old Testament ritual, although given by God, was burdensome; we saw also how much of the meaning of the Old Testament was hidden from God’s people, even from his official servants the prophets.
Since the ‘Spirit of bondage’ refers to the Spirit’s work in the Mosaic economy, the phrase ‘Spirit of adoption’ must refer to his work in the New Testament dispensation. Although the phrases are set in contrast, we are not to think of one as wrong and the other as right. Rather the contrast points out the difference or progression that has come since Jesus was glorified. The contrast particularly concerns how we respond to God. The result of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament seems to have been fear of God, whereas the climax of the Spirit’s work in the New Testament is the cry ‘Abba, Father.’ This does not mean that the New Testament believer does not fear God; rather it means that the believer realises that the God he fears is also his Father. There has been progression in understanding and in experience.
We can see this harmony of reverential fear and awareness of sonship displayed in perfect balance in the attitude of Jesus. We are told by some that the meaning of ‘Abba’ is the childish term ‘Daddy’. It is the case that a Jewish child would use the word when addressing his parent. But so also would a Jewish adult when addressing his father. The Jewish adult was not saying, ‘Daddy.’ What he was doing was affirming his father’s role, status and authority. When we think of Jesus addressing the Father, we should note the adjectives he uses. The most common one is ‘heavenly’, but in John 17 he also uses terms such as ‘holy’ and ‘righteous’. In Matthew 11:25, Jesus calls him, ‘Father, Lord of heaven and earth.’ There is a combination of reverence and sense of sonship.
And we can see the proper attitude in Paul, a disciple who attempted to follow closely the example of Jesus, when he writes in Ephesians 3:14: ‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.’ Again we see a combination of reverence and awareness of sonship.
As is often the case in Christian experience, we are people of extremes. We look at some Christian groups and they seem to have no sense of the fatherhood of God but have a strong sense of reverence; we look at others and they have a strong sense of being God’s children but seemingly little awareness of reverence. We may be tempted to say that we would rather be with those who stress the reverence. But that would only be choosing the better of two wrongs. The true response is to have both elements in our outlook. A mature Christian will call God his heavenly Father in a reverential manner.
Paul also seems to indicate here that this cry is a corporate cry when he uses the plural pronouns ‘you’ and ‘we’. Obviously there is a sense in which this relationship is an individual one and I don’t mean to minimise this aspect at all. This is only a suggestion, but the occasions when the Old Testament ritual system can be seen as ‘slavery’ are public events such as worship in the temple or when people gathered to hear God’s word being taught. We know that it was possible for individuals, such as David, to see more than other Israelites understood. But in the main, their public meetings, as we look back to them, did not have the light that we have. I suspect Paul is here contrasting the Old Testament experience with those of Christians as they drew near to God in a public manner.
This suggestion can draw support from the verb Paul uses, which is krazw, a strong word that suggests enthusiastic, buoyant calling upon God. While it obviously includes the internal feelings and confidence a person has when stating that God is his Father, it also points to vocal utterances, and normally they would be made in the presence of other believers.
This is a reminder that the church, from a biblical perspective, is a family gathering. The church meets as children of God. I think this is an aspect that we often fail to appreciate. Now we know that unconverted people come to church services. Yet we are to keep a biblical perspective when we think of the church. In any given locality, it should be a gathering of those who profess to be God’s children. So what features of church life lead to profound experiences of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption, experiences that enhance our awareness of our relationship with God?
The prophetic office of Jesus
As God’s children gather together, they are educated by the Son about the Father. It was predicted of Jesus, in Psalm 22, that he would declare the Father’s name to his brothers. Jesus is our prophet who instructs us in the things of God. He teaches us through his servants when they interpret his Word, or he teaches us through personal meditation on the Bible. We are in the best school, with the best Teacher who is our Elder Brother.
What are some of the details he tells us about the Father? First, he tells us that the Father has a purpose. This purpose is eternal, which means it is as old as God. The details of this purpose express both the wisdom and the power of God’s abilities. The Father’s plan is the best plan because he is the wisest of beings, and he can accomplish it because he has the power to achieve it. God’s wisdom cannot conceive a plan that he is unable to perform. His power is never left with nothing to do. All his attributes work together and bring about his will.
Jesus also tells us that it is a plan of love on the Father’s part. The Elder Brother tells us that in eternity he lovingly received a gift of love from his Father. This gift was his people, which he accepted gladly. But they were given to him as sinners, so unlike himself. They were accepted in the knowledge that the Father’s will was that his Son should suffer and redeem them. At great cost to himself, the Father revealed his love.
The Son tells us that the Father, in order to bring about the salvation of those sinners, prepared a body for his Son. In that body he was to live a life that pleased the Father. But our Teacher tells us that in that body he would also die, undergoing the Father’s wrath. The Father would abandon him in order that the future sons would not be. Of course, Jesus goes on to tell us, he was raised from the dead by the Father, and then ascended back to the Father where he was enthroned at the Father’s side. In a real sense, the contents of the Bible are all about the will of the Father, and Jesus teaches us about what his Father planned. After such an education, we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’
The effects of the indwelling Spirit
Not only are we educated by the Son as we gather together, we are also empowered by the Spirit to worship in exultation. Within our hearts, their arises a great sense of thankfulness, of joy. This comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit who has liberated us in order to express our love to God, who directs us to show our delight in the Father. In his presence, as the Spirit applies to our minds and hearts the education of the Son, we exult with praise that is marked by fullness of glory. As the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 43:4: ‘Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.’ We say with Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:15: ‘Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!’ We join Paul and say, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ (Eph. 1:3). We cry strongly, ‘Abba, Father.’
As we listen to the great things that God has done, as the Spirit empowers us to praise him with enthusiasm, we learn to pray to the Father in expectation of an answer. There should be an element of confidence and anticipation, combined with a sense of submission. The Father has given us great and precious promises, and as we scan the dimensions of them we should cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ Our submission to his will is not because we imagine he may deprive us of something we need, but because we know he both withholds and gives for our good. But as we experience his answers throughout our wilderness journey, we gladly say as we meet again to pray, ‘Abba, Father.’
There are many other features that should mark our lives as those who have ‘the Spirit of adoption’. For example, our evangelistic witness should include references to the Father. But I will conclude by mentioning that the Spirit creates within us as a body a longing for the Father’s inheritance. And before we will receive that marvellous kingdom, which will be the Father’s good pleasure to give us, we will enjoy the Father’s welcome to the Father’s house as we will stand in the presence of Jesus and hear him say to the Father, ‘Look, I and the children you gave me.’ Then we will say together, ‘Abba, Father.’
It does seem to be the case that awareness of adoption is one of the privileges of New Testament believers. Old Testament believers were in the family of God, but how well they realised this relationship cannot really be discovered because we would have to be one in order to know what they thought. They looked forward to the coming of the Saviour, but their understanding of his achievements was limited, which is not surprising since they lived before he came. This explains why there is little reference in the Old Testament to membership of the family of God.
In justification, God functions as a judge who passes sentence on sinners who have rebelled against him. His verdict is that our debt has been paid by Jesus on the cross and our life of obedience to his law provided for us by Jesus in his life of obedience. In adoption, God functions as a father who adopts the forgiven rebel into his family. We can imagine a judge in the ancient world, after releasing a man whose friend had paid his debt, deciding to adopt the released man. If he adopted him before the debt was paid, he would have adopted a person who was unsuitable for his family, which would have been against the custom of adoption at that time. Sometimes we give the impression that God adopts sinners who have not been made suitable for his family. Yet we should remember that he only adopts those who have already been forgiven when they were justified by him.
Adoption has many privileges, not least that his sons have received the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption. We noticed in our previous study that it was likely that the phrase ‘the Spirit of slavery’ probably referred to the way the Holy Spirit worked during the Old Testament dispensation. It can be described as ‘slavery’ because of the contrast with the liberty that has been given by the Spirit to believers since the glorification of Jesus. We noted how the Old Testament ritual, although given by God, was burdensome; we saw also how much of the meaning of the Old Testament was hidden from God’s people, even from his official servants the prophets.
Since the ‘Spirit of bondage’ refers to the Spirit’s work in the Mosaic economy, the phrase ‘Spirit of adoption’ must refer to his work in the New Testament dispensation. Although the phrases are set in contrast, we are not to think of one as wrong and the other as right. Rather the contrast points out the difference or progression that has come since Jesus was glorified. The contrast particularly concerns how we respond to God. The result of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament seems to have been fear of God, whereas the climax of the Spirit’s work in the New Testament is the cry ‘Abba, Father.’ This does not mean that the New Testament believer does not fear God; rather it means that the believer realises that the God he fears is also his Father. There has been progression in understanding and in experience.
We can see this harmony of reverential fear and awareness of sonship displayed in perfect balance in the attitude of Jesus. We are told by some that the meaning of ‘Abba’ is the childish term ‘Daddy’. It is the case that a Jewish child would use the word when addressing his parent. But so also would a Jewish adult when addressing his father. The Jewish adult was not saying, ‘Daddy.’ What he was doing was affirming his father’s role, status and authority. When we think of Jesus addressing the Father, we should note the adjectives he uses. The most common one is ‘heavenly’, but in John 17 he also uses terms such as ‘holy’ and ‘righteous’. In Matthew 11:25, Jesus calls him, ‘Father, Lord of heaven and earth.’ There is a combination of reverence and sense of sonship.
And we can see the proper attitude in Paul, a disciple who attempted to follow closely the example of Jesus, when he writes in Ephesians 3:14: ‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.’ Again we see a combination of reverence and awareness of sonship.
As is often the case in Christian experience, we are people of extremes. We look at some Christian groups and they seem to have no sense of the fatherhood of God but have a strong sense of reverence; we look at others and they have a strong sense of being God’s children but seemingly little awareness of reverence. We may be tempted to say that we would rather be with those who stress the reverence. But that would only be choosing the better of two wrongs. The true response is to have both elements in our outlook. A mature Christian will call God his heavenly Father in a reverential manner.
Paul also seems to indicate here that this cry is a corporate cry when he uses the plural pronouns ‘you’ and ‘we’. Obviously there is a sense in which this relationship is an individual one and I don’t mean to minimise this aspect at all. This is only a suggestion, but the occasions when the Old Testament ritual system can be seen as ‘slavery’ are public events such as worship in the temple or when people gathered to hear God’s word being taught. We know that it was possible for individuals, such as David, to see more than other Israelites understood. But in the main, their public meetings, as we look back to them, did not have the light that we have. I suspect Paul is here contrasting the Old Testament experience with those of Christians as they drew near to God in a public manner.
This suggestion can draw support from the verb Paul uses, which is krazw, a strong word that suggests enthusiastic, buoyant calling upon God. While it obviously includes the internal feelings and confidence a person has when stating that God is his Father, it also points to vocal utterances, and normally they would be made in the presence of other believers.
This is a reminder that the church, from a biblical perspective, is a family gathering. The church meets as children of God. I think this is an aspect that we often fail to appreciate. Now we know that unconverted people come to church services. Yet we are to keep a biblical perspective when we think of the church. In any given locality, it should be a gathering of those who profess to be God’s children. So what features of church life lead to profound experiences of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption, experiences that enhance our awareness of our relationship with God?
The prophetic office of Jesus
As God’s children gather together, they are educated by the Son about the Father. It was predicted of Jesus, in Psalm 22, that he would declare the Father’s name to his brothers. Jesus is our prophet who instructs us in the things of God. He teaches us through his servants when they interpret his Word, or he teaches us through personal meditation on the Bible. We are in the best school, with the best Teacher who is our Elder Brother.
What are some of the details he tells us about the Father? First, he tells us that the Father has a purpose. This purpose is eternal, which means it is as old as God. The details of this purpose express both the wisdom and the power of God’s abilities. The Father’s plan is the best plan because he is the wisest of beings, and he can accomplish it because he has the power to achieve it. God’s wisdom cannot conceive a plan that he is unable to perform. His power is never left with nothing to do. All his attributes work together and bring about his will.
Jesus also tells us that it is a plan of love on the Father’s part. The Elder Brother tells us that in eternity he lovingly received a gift of love from his Father. This gift was his people, which he accepted gladly. But they were given to him as sinners, so unlike himself. They were accepted in the knowledge that the Father’s will was that his Son should suffer and redeem them. At great cost to himself, the Father revealed his love.
The Son tells us that the Father, in order to bring about the salvation of those sinners, prepared a body for his Son. In that body he was to live a life that pleased the Father. But our Teacher tells us that in that body he would also die, undergoing the Father’s wrath. The Father would abandon him in order that the future sons would not be. Of course, Jesus goes on to tell us, he was raised from the dead by the Father, and then ascended back to the Father where he was enthroned at the Father’s side. In a real sense, the contents of the Bible are all about the will of the Father, and Jesus teaches us about what his Father planned. After such an education, we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’
The effects of the indwelling Spirit
Not only are we educated by the Son as we gather together, we are also empowered by the Spirit to worship in exultation. Within our hearts, their arises a great sense of thankfulness, of joy. This comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit who has liberated us in order to express our love to God, who directs us to show our delight in the Father. In his presence, as the Spirit applies to our minds and hearts the education of the Son, we exult with praise that is marked by fullness of glory. As the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 43:4: ‘Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.’ We say with Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:15: ‘Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!’ We join Paul and say, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ (Eph. 1:3). We cry strongly, ‘Abba, Father.’
As we listen to the great things that God has done, as the Spirit empowers us to praise him with enthusiasm, we learn to pray to the Father in expectation of an answer. There should be an element of confidence and anticipation, combined with a sense of submission. The Father has given us great and precious promises, and as we scan the dimensions of them we should cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ Our submission to his will is not because we imagine he may deprive us of something we need, but because we know he both withholds and gives for our good. But as we experience his answers throughout our wilderness journey, we gladly say as we meet again to pray, ‘Abba, Father.’
There are many other features that should mark our lives as those who have ‘the Spirit of adoption’. For example, our evangelistic witness should include references to the Father. But I will conclude by mentioning that the Spirit creates within us as a body a longing for the Father’s inheritance. And before we will receive that marvellous kingdom, which will be the Father’s good pleasure to give us, we will enjoy the Father’s welcome to the Father’s house as we will stand in the presence of Jesus and hear him say to the Father, ‘Look, I and the children you gave me.’ Then we will say together, ‘Abba, Father.’
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