Our Adoption; Galatians 3:26-4:7

Introduction

The book of Galatians is a great letter

the imagery of Paul defending the gospel to those in Jerusalem

standing up to Peter in Antioch and telling him that he is living hypocritically

but in all of that we can lose a couple main points

The gospel has never changed

the gospel that we are justified by faith, not of works

the gospel fulfills the promise to Abraham

Galatians 3:26–4:7 (CSB)

26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

1 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.

2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.

4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

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

6 And because you are sons, God 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 God has made you an heir.

David Platt on Adoption

I heard a pastor talk once about their adoption experiences

he talked about the questions or comments people would ask

I don’t know if I could love an adopted child like a biological child

what about their heritage

meaning it is not with their family

that they are somehow separate, different not really a member, or only partially a member

for foster kids it is a little different, yet the same

how long will you keep them, questions about their family background

but the similarity is the love that the parents have for them

and grandparents

God’s plan has always been to adopt you, call you his own and send his Spirit into your life to lead you to a closer relationship with him.

An Adoption Plan

I love the idea of God adopting us, one of the most beautiful things in all of scripture

that he looked on us with compassion, chose us in him

and said I want them

I cannot imagine if I would still love it as much if he had to do it

if it would have been, “I didn’t pick you, you picked me and I had to take you…”

like we became a part of the family on a technicality

but God had a plan that we talked about last week

a promise to Abraham and all who have faith in Christ Jesus are seeds of Abraham

Galatians 3:26–29 (CSB)

26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

All the children of Abraham

reminder of the promise found in Gen 12 and 15.

the whole world will be blessed

how, not that the Jewish people, the chosen people would be in control

salvation would come, not only to the Jewish people but also the gentiles

“through faith you are all sons…”

this was not the thought of the Jewish people

the Gentiles were dirty people and would make the Jews “unclean”

the Jews would not be able to worship in the temple

Now salvation has come

Who are Abraham’s offspring

those with Faith in Christ

it is not based on ethnicity, social status or sex

all of the things that people use to divide themselves, are not a part of God’s plan for salvation

those baptized into Christ

what is the act of baptism

has replaced the act of circumcision

is not replacing to create a new law

outward demonstration of what has happened in your heart already

dying to our old self and raising new in Christ

This is all according the promise of God

this has not changed over time

God planned all along that the gentiles would also be saved by faith in the one who would come and smash the head of the serpent

but more than simply saved, believer, you are a son of God

An Adoption Purpose

Sometimes we just want to ask God why he does the things he does

we can get a low view of ourselves and think why would God want me

this comes from a low self esteem many times

we think little of ourselves, or we do not like things about ourselves and think surely God would not like them either

this is not far from the truth however

not that we are unlovable, but there was nothing in us that made him choose us

meaning who we were before Christ is not the ideal group of people to say, yeah, I want that one

Galatians 4:1–3 (CSB)

1 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.

2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.

3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.

Explain heirs in this culture

underage kids, heirs, had no rights

they did not have rights to anything that they were to inherit

no financial advice to dad about where to invest the money so that Jr. could have a better inheritance

sheep market is going down dad, maybe not so many next year and more wheat, prices are going up there

they were seen close to property like a slave

would have a guardian

guardian would have been another slave that was tasked with protecting and being over the child until the date the father determined

something that would be set to show us the way, protect them from themselves

imagine a young person knowing the fortune they are going to receive,

the arrogance he would have

the things that they would do

When we were children we were like this

children is translated a couple different ways in the NT

actual baby, small child

spiritually immature

we were like slaves, under the law, not knowing the grace of God

can you imagine our depraved minds knowing that we would be saved one day given the full grace of God

how much we would try to get away with to test the boundaries of that grace

Russell Moore illustration

Imagine for a moment that you’re adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you’re told that this 12-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things, and attempting repeatedly to skin animals alive. He “acts out sexually,” the social worker says, although she doesn’t really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. This boy’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended their own lives. Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn’t you watch nervously as he played with your other children?

We are that 12 year old child who struggles mentally, burning things down, killing each other and other things, immersed in sexual sin and constantly destroying ourselves

yet this is who God chose to adopt, bring into his family

not with a constant eye on us waiting to make sure that we would mess us

but with a constant arms stretched out to us desiring to pour out his grace

This is the purpose of the adoption

not to increase the value of his family by adding people who are great

to bring those who were enemies with God and make them his own

those who were slaves and set them free

slaves to the law

slaves to sin

An Adoption Process

The adoption process is a very tedious thing

I remember asking Kaitlynn as they were walking through the process of foster care

when are you done, when are kids coming, I am sure I was as annoying as could be

there were classes to take, background checks to be done, home interviews and inspections

it was a long process and I remember asking, if there are so many foster care kids that need homes how is this not a faster process

Galatians 4:4–7 (CSB)

4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

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

6 And because you are sons, God 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 God has made you an heir.

David Platt said of the adoption process

Adoption takes three things

Right timing -

everything has to line up to have the parents ready and gone through all the steps when the baby is born and ready to adopt

Right qualifications -

screening, classes, background checks, and home studies -

Jesus fit all the qualifications to set our adoption in place, fully God, fully man; sinless

Right Resolve -

you do not accidentally adopt, you adopt purposefully

Jesus did not simply come at a random time, not knowing why he was here

God is not random

details matter when it comes to what we believe theologically

God sent his son at the perfect time

the timing is amazing the hunger for God at the time,

the way that the world had changed with the Roman empire and the ability to travel easier with a road system

God sent his son born of a woman

the virgin birth is important, this is not just a side note, it is not meant to amaze in the sense of, “Of course the son of God would come in a miraculous way.”

born of a virgin means he was not born into sin

God sent his son born under the law

he had to be born under the law… if he was not born under the law, he could not fulfill the law and be the perfect sacrifice

these details matter in order to get to the rest of this passage

many just believe that Jesus existed… and died

Thomas Jefferson - wrote basically a synoptic gospel

it left out the virgin birth and the resurrection

God has orchestrated all of these details

not so that you would be amazed

we should be, this is why we should be singing praises every day

this is why we should sing praises to him in here on Sunday mornings

so that you would be adopted as a son

language matters

we have had a battle in our country over terms being changed over the last several years

you have to ask, what do you mean when you say…

Paul uses the word son here for a very specific reason

Paul is not chauvinistic, just a few verses earlier, he said there was not male or female

that the gospel is not based on ethnicity, social status or sex

the time at which he is writing, the daughters had no rights when it came to inheritance

everything went to the sons

Paul is saying that everyone, male and female are adopted as sons!

all believers get the inheritance as sons!

The question is what do we inherit

We have talked about this incorrectly in the past I believe

I have even phrased the question wrong when evangelizing

If you were to die tonight are you confident that you would go to heaven

as if heaven and all of the things that come to mind when we think of heaven is the goal

streets of gold, pearly gates, my loved ones, my pets that have passed away

that we will not have pain or grief

the arguing over that stuff, what will and wont be there takes our mind off of what the actual inheritance is

we’ve made a destination the important part of this

instead of where or what do we inherit, the question is who

v6, “because you are sons God sent the spirit”

the question is not what do we get but who do we get and what does the spirit do for us

The Spirit leads us to a more intimate relationship with the father

the spirit is in our hearts crying out Abba Father.

term is one of intimacy, daddy, papa

the jewish people saw God as creator and judge

which he is

but was a radical thought that you could relate to him as father

that is what Jesus taught, “Our Father in Heaven…”

This relationship is the most beautiful thing that God does for us

yes, more than the justification itself

J.I. Packer says our adoption is a greater blessing than even our justification

justification makes us righteous before the judge. But in the doctrine of adoption, we are loved by God the Father.

You have been loved so much that the creator God has chosen you to adopt as his son

so that you would believe in his son, be filled with his Spirit and know him as your loving father.

this is what the fulfilled promise to Abraham is…

Do you know him

are you growing in your relationship with him

he has not gone from you or removed his spirit from you

Discussion Questions

Exalting Jesus in Galatians Reflect and Discuss

1. What’s the difference between being justified and being adopted?

2. What does the timing of Christ’s coming teach you about God’s providence in the world and in redemption? Did Jesus come at just the right time? Explain.

3. Could anyone other than Jesus have reconciled us to God? Explain your answer.

4. How might seeing one’s fundamental identity as biological undermine the gospel? Why would this have been a strong temptation for Jews in Paul’s day?

5. Identify the problem with the following statement: “God adopts us because we deserve a better life.”

6. How should the new identity of a follower of Christ affect his or her battle with sin? What about fear? Covetousness? Divisiveness? Why should the doctrine of adoption inspire greater prayer and deeper worship?

7. How would you respond to someone who said that God is the Father of everyone, regardless of their faith?

8. Does intimacy with God as your Father naturally lead to a low or irreverent view of God? Explain.

9. How should the doctrine of adoption impact the way we view others in the church? Do you think most people in your church view the church as a family, an event, or a building? Why?

10. Paul speaks of the inheritance believers receive by virtue of their adoption. List some of these privileges.