Text: Mark 14:36; Galatians 4:4-7 | Listen to Message
The Wonder of Adoption
It almost goes without saying that we humans are not God’s blood relatives. We are not His literal offspring.
And yet, the Bible makes this stunning claim that we can become children of God through faith in Jesus. For example, John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
The right to become children. We have a word for that: adoption.
Adoption lies at the heart of Galatians 4:4-7: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Notice three incredible things this text says you receive through the wonder of adoption:
1. You get access.
Nobody can just run up to the king, crying, “Daddy!” – nobody but the king’s kids, that is. And the Bible says Jesus gives you that kind of access to God. Any time of day or night, you can go running into the King’s presence with your fears and frustrations, your confessions and complaints, your petitions and your praise. In fact, God invites you to come confidently and without hesitation.
2. You get status.
You are no longer a slave – a slave to fear, a slave to your performance, a slave to striving for significance, a slave to masters who manipulate and wreck you. You are a son, a child of God. You are a somebody because you matter you to the King.
3. You get inheritance.
Through faith in Jesus, the Bible calls you an heir of God. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile, black or white, liberal or conservative, rich or poor, rural farmer or urbanite – God says you get the inheritance that only Jesus deserves. And you get something better than stuff; you get God!
Sermon Notes & Application Questions