When my children were
small we used to watch the Stuart Little films together. They tell of the
adventures of a mouse – Stuart Little – who is chosen for adoption by a human
family.
The films begin as the
family walk around the orphanage; among all the cute and gifted children is
Stuart Little who has given up hope of getting a family,
“Let’s face it” Stuart
responds to their question on why he’s been in the orphanage so long “not
everyone wants to adopt someone…like me”
Their son, to say
nothing of the cute, but venomous cat, are not thrilled at the prospect of
Stuart, a mouse! Joining the family.
Have you ever been
chosen for something? Chosen for a team, for a university, for a marriage…
Being chosen for something gives us a great sense of worth and joy. Whether or
not you’ve ever been chosen for anything, if you’re a Christian, God has chosen
to adopt you as His very own child!
J. I. Packer, in his
book Knowing God says, ‘What is a Christian? The question can be
answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one
who has God as a Father.’
Adoption is something we can know on two levels:
i) What the bible
says.
The bible is your adoption certificate – believe what it says! Agree and rejoice with John as he writes,
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)
ii) The immediate
testimony of the Holy Spirit:
The Apostle Paul says about the Spirit and adoption,
Romans 8:15-16 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.
‘In using the verb
‘crying out,’ Paul stresses that our awareness of God as Father comes not from
rational consideration nor from external testimony alone but from a truth
deeply felt and intensely experienced. If some Christians err in basing their
assurance of salvation on feelings alone, many others err in basing it on facts
and arguments alone. Indeed, what Paul says here calls into question whether
one can have a genuine experience of God’s Spirit of adoption without its
affecting the emotions.’ (Douglas
J. Moo)
A couple of great quotes
‘We may define adoption as follows:
Adoption is an act of God whereby he makes us members of his family.’ (Wayne
Grudem)
‘In regeneration God gives us new
spiritual life within. In justification God gives us legal standing before him.
But in adoption God makes us members of his family…adoption focuses much more
on the personal relationships that salvation gives us with God and with his
people.’ (Wayne Grudem)
To memorise/meditate upon
Romans 8:15-16 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.
Galatians 4:4-7 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born
of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive
the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the
Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer
a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
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