Sermons

The Spirit Bears Witness of our Adoption

Galatians 4:3-7; Romans 8:15-17

Let’s turn to Galatians 4.  If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring one to you.  Galatians 4 is on page 974 in these Bibles.

This morning I want to talk about adoption.  The Bible says that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be adopted by God and know and experience Him as our loving, affectionate, strong, wise, providing, forgiving, comforting Father.

But when we hear the word “adoption” we all have different pictures of what that means.  Jan and I adopted both of our children: Anna when she was 1 day old, Brad when he was 2 weeks old.  And so I have a picture of adoption from the perspective of the adopting father – and the love and care I feel for Anna and Brad.

But when the Bible talks about adoption, we aren’t the adopting parent; we are the adopted children.  And I heard a story by C. J. Mahaney that helped me feel adoption from the child’s perspective.

Russell and Maria Moore traveled to Russia to adopt 2 boys from an orphanage.  Don’t picture clean cribs and smiling nurses and fun toys.  When Russell and Maria walked into the orphanage, and were led to the two boys chosen for them by the courts, they almost threw up because of the stench and squalor.  The boys lived there among dozens of young children, kept in cribs, in rooms with no light, sitting or lying in their own waste, constantly hungry, constantly crying.

And Russell and his wife picked up these two boys and held them and loved them.  I imagine that this was the first time these boys had ever been in the presence of someone who loved them, or been held by someone who cared for them.

But then it was time for Russell and Maria leave and return to America and wait for the legalities to get worked out.  But as Russell walked away, he was so devastated seeing the boys standing, crying, stretching their arms through the cribs, that he had to go back.  And he put his hands on their heads, and prayed for them, and said what Jesus said to his disciples: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come back for you.”

Weeks later the legalities were finished, and Russell and Maria returned.  Can you imagine how the boys felt when they saw them walk back into the orphanage, lovingly pick them up from those cribs, and carry them out of that place?  That’s adoption.

If you are trusting Jesus, then you have been adopted.  So what does that mean?  What does it mean to be adopted?  Look at what Paul says in Galatians 4:3-7 –

3              In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

4              But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

5              to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

6              And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

7              So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

In these verses I see three truths crucial to understanding adoption.

First, we used to be slaves of sin facing God’s judgment.  You can see that in v.3 –

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

You can also see that at the beginning of v.7 --

So you are no longer a slave, but a son …

All of us by nature and choice have rebelled against God.  That’s sin.  So we have all been slaves of sin facing God’s judgment.  So it’s not true that everyone by birth is a child of God.  None of us by birth were children of God.  We were slaves of sin facing God’s judgment.

But second, with great love and compassion, God paid the price to adopt us.  You can see that in Galatians 4:4-5 --

4              But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

5              to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Underline that word “redeem.”  Back in Roman culture, if a man wanted to free a slave and adopt him so he became his son, the man would need to pay the price for that slave.  In our case, the price that needed to be paid was the punishment we owed for our sin.  But God paid that price, by sending His own Son, Jesus, fully God and fully man, to be punished in our place for our sins.  That’s what God did.  But we are not adopted yet.  One more thing has to happen …

Third, the moment you repent of sin and trust Jesus God adopts you as his son or daughter.  Picture those two Russian boys.  At one moment they are in their cribs, with no father.  But then Russell and Maria walk in, the boys put out their arms, Russell and Maria pick them up and take them away.  At that moment everything changes.  Their lives will never be the same.  They have been adopted.

That’s what happened to us.  Look again at Galatians 4:7 --

So you are no longer a slave, but a son [or daughter] …

Because of Jesus’ death on the Cross, the moment you trust Jesus everything changes.  God becomes your father.  You become His son; His daughter. 

So what does this mean for you?  That’s what this book explains.  This book is full of what God promises to do for you as your Father.  But for this morning I’ll mention four:

First, because you are adopted, as your Father God loves you individually and deeply.  Some of you had fathers who didn’t do a very good job loving you.  And that is tragic.  Heart-breaking.  But there’s good news.  Your earthly father was never supposed to be your ultimate father.  God created you so He could be your ultimate father.  So your well-being does not depend on having had a loving earthly father.  Your well-being depends only on having God as your loving heavenly father.

And if you are trusting Jesus, then you now have God as your loving Father.  The best earthly father doesn’t even start to compare to the love God has for you.  Because of Jesus God’s heart towards you is love – he feels affection for you, he cares for you, he is full of goodness and kindness towards you – He loves you.

Second, because you are adopted, as your Father God teaches and guides you.  Children don’t know much.  Children need to be taught.  And good fathers teach their children.  And God, being the best father by far, will teach you what you need to know.  That’s why He has given us the Bible.  Now this will take some study.  But He will help us as we do this, and teach us what we need to know.

And God will guide you in decisions you have to make.  Some of you are facing tough decisions right now.  Wouldn’t it be great if you had a Father who would tell you what you should do?  You do have such a father: God.  He will guide you as you think, as you pray, as you seek counsel from others, as you read His Word, as He speaks to you by His Spirit.  You have a Father who teaches and guides you.

Third, because you are adopted, as your Father God provides for you.  Right now jobs are being lost, salaries are being cut, and investments are losing value.  So it’s easy to feel fear and anxiety.  But remember: you’ve been adopted by God.  He has promised to take care of all your financial needs.

Russell Moore said that it took these two Russian boys a long time to stop hiding food in their high chairs, because they had never experienced having enough food.  But why should they hide food?  They now have a father who will provide everything for them.  That’s true of us as well. 

Now this doesn’t mean we will become millionaires.  It means God will provide everything we need to fulfill His will for us.  That might mean lots.  Or it might mean little.  But it will always mean enough.  So don’t worry.  Because you are adopted, God your Father will provide for you.

Fourth, because you are adopted, God protects you from all harm.  Now let me explain this very carefully.  How many times does a trial or problem come our way and we say: “I thought God loved me.”  Can you see what’s behind that?  It’s the idea that God’s love means you won’t face trials; you won’t suffer.

But that’s not true.  To see this, look at what Paul says in Romans 8:16-17 (p.944) --

16            The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17            and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

So every child of God, every adopted child of God, will suffer.  Not because we need to pay for our sin.  No.  Jesus paid for all our sin.  But because in God’s love and wisdom He brings suffering into our lives which will bring us even closer to Him.

Now that’s not a happy-face picture of God’s love.  But it’s the true picture of God’s love.  And it’s the best picture of God’s love.  Because the greatest joy God has to give us is Himself.  And God uses trials to bring us more of Himself.  And He protects us from anything that would take us from Himself.

We were slaves of sin facing God’s wrath.  We did not have God has Father; we knew God only as judge.  But because of Jesus, when we repented of our sins and trusted Jesus, God adopted us – He adopted you as His son, He adopted you as His daughter.  So now you know God as Father, who loves you, teaches you, guides you, provides for you, protects you.

So that’s what adoption means.  But there’s a second question – How can we know this is real, and that it’s happened to us?  How can we know that there is a God who adopts us and becomes a Father to us?  How can we know that we have been adopted in this way by God?  To answer this, turn to Romans 8:15-16 (page 944 in the Bibles we passed out).  Look at what Paul says --

15           For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

16            The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God …

In v.15 Paul says that when you are saved God gives you the Spirit of adoption as sons  by whom we cry “Abba! Father!”  That means we not only believe the truth that we are adopted, as important as that is; it means the Holy Spirit enables us to experience our adoption.  As Paul says in v.16, the Holy Spirit actually bears witness with us that we are children of God.

See, there’s a big difference between adoption as a truth you believe, and adoption as a reality you experience.  Let’s say Brad wants to know if I’ve really adopted him.  It’s one thing for me to show him the legal papers.  That’s important, and it’s helpful.  But there’s another way I can show him.  By doing what Jan and I always used to do with our kids – and make a Brad sandwich where we could put him between us and hug him until he cried “uncle.” 

One way we know we are adopted is because we are trusting Jesus, and the Bible says that if we are trusting Jesus, then we are adopted.  That’s crucial.  But there’s another way God wants to show us – an even more powerful way.  And it’s by the Holy Spirit making our adoption real in our experience. 

And how does He do this?  By pouring His love into our hearts.  Turn to Romans 5:3-5 --

3              More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

4              and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

5              and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

God wants to pour His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  What this means is that there will be times that as we read the truth of God’s love for us, as we sing the truth of God’s love, or talk about the truth of God’s love – the Holy Spirit will enable us to feel and experience the very love of God.

And when we feel God’s very love pouring into our hearts, the Spirit makes our adoption real to us, he is bearing witness to us that we are children of God, and we cry “Abba! Father!”  “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “daddy.”  It expresses intimacy, affection, dependence, security, joy, honor.  That’s what we feel when the Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts.

This is not something we feel all the time.  And when we don’t feel this, it’s not that we’ve stopped being adopted.  There’s lots of times where we set our hearts on Jesus and trust Jesus and know God loves us not because we feel it but because we read it.

But God doesn’t want us just to read the facts of God’s love.  God also wants us to experience the feeling of God’s love.  God wants to pour His love into our hearts so we feel it and experience it first-hand. 

Here’s an example from the life of Howell Harris, who was powerfully used by God to bring the gospel to Wales in the 1700’s.

June 18, 1735.  When I was praying alone, I suddenly felt my heart melting within me, like wax before the fire, with love to God my Savior.  I felt not only love and peace, but longing to be with Christ.  Then there rose up a cry in my heart which I had never known before -- "Abba!  Father!"  I knew that I was His child, and that He loved me, and heard me.  The love of God was poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit.  I was entirely freed from all fears, and found uninterrupted rest in the love and faithfulness of God my Savior.  (adapted from Howell Harris: His Own Story pp.17-18)

Now it’s not always going to be this intense.  There will be many times when it’s less intense than this.  But whenever God pours His love into your heart so you feel it – it’s awesome:

It purifies your heart – there is nothing like beholding a God like this.

It fills you with security – the almighty, sovereign God loves me.

It strengthens your faith – God will fulfill all His promises to me.

It frees you from sin – why pursue sin’s measly pleasures when I can taste of God’s love?

It comforts you in trials – if He loves me this much, I have nothing to fear.

It gives you love for others – when you know God’s love, you long that others will know His love.

It makes you bold for mission – if you have God as your loving Father, you can risk everything to tell others about Him.

So what does this mean for us?  Two things.

One: if you are trusting Jesus, then you are adopted by God and He is your loving Father.  No matter how you feel, this is true because you are trusting Jesus.  So rest in this.  Be encouraged by this.  Be comforted by this.

But two: God wants you to have times where you don’t just know this is true logically, but where you feel this is true experientially.  God wants God wants you to have frequent times when you experience being adopted.  So seek Him for this.  Ask Him for this.  Don’t let sin get in the way of this.  Spend time thinking prayerfully over the truth of God’s Word.  Be here Sundays as we worship and open up God’s Word.  Be at home group where you share together God’s Word.

And as you do this, I promise you, based on God’s Word, that you will have times where God so pours His love into your heart that you will know by experience that you are adopted – that He is your loving Father.

Questions?