God’s Family

Q. 32. What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?

A. They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them.

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, 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. 

… 

30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 

Ro 8:15–17, 30.

Fallen Condition Focus: Helplessness: Our inability to join God’s family in our strength.

I remember walking into the Bellingham airport when I was 6 (a very long time ago). We were driving over with family and friends and we were incredibly excited. Why? Because we were welcoming my little sister Havensong into my family. We adopted her from China, along with my other brother Knox. When I was 15 I was blessed with the opportunity to go to China with my parents. The trip was incredible, but that’s not the main point of the story so I won't tell you about sliding down the Great Wall of China on a slide. But, the important part was when I walked into the hotel lobby and saw my little brother Knox. He spoke not a lick of English, and I spoke not a lick of Mandarin so, I pulled up Subway Surfers on my phone and gave it to him. Ever since those moments, Knox and Havensong have been part of my family. They were helpless to choose a family, yet a family chose them. That’s what we are going to talk about today, how we are deemed worthy to be in God’s family, how we are brought into God’s family, and how we are made like God in his family. So first,

1. How are we deemed worthy to be in God’s family?

Years before I went to China to pick up my brother Knox, or to the airport to meet my little sister Havensong, we chose them to be part of our family. Adoption is a long process. I remember my mother calling my name into the room, and her showing me a Facebook post of an adoption agency saying that the boy on the screen was going to be her son. I didn't believe her but look at us now. She chose him before Knox even knew she existed. Let’s read the text:

“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified.” Rom 8:30 

So, like how my mom chose Knox, God chooses us. But what is this justification aspect of the verse?

Q: Can someone tell me what justification is?

In this context, justification is a legal declaration or legal verdict of righteousness that he gives his people. So, not only does God choose us, but he also declares us righteous. Well, how does that work? How can I be declared righteous when I am a broken sinner? It works through something called imputation.

Q: Who can tell me what imputation is?

The Dictionary of Theological Terms says that imputation is “the reckoning or placing to a person’s account the merit or guilt that belongs to him on the basis of his personal performance.” We are justified because Jesus took our guilt and sin on the cross, and gave us his account of righteousness. Through Jesus paying the debt of our sinful status, and giving us his righteous status. Through justification God gives his people a status, a title, but what are the implications of that? 

To see the implications, I want to walk us through an exercise of us being given a status. I want you guys to fill in the blanks here. Do not say it out loud, but I want you to fill in the blank here with things that you have been repeatedly told that you are by either your parents, friends, family, teachers, people at school, or someone else.

Q: You are ___.

This may be a difficult thing to reflect on, but what I gained from doing this exercise is that I tended to live up to the things that people told me I was. If a parent repeatedly tells their kid that they are selfish and rebellious, they often will fall into being selfish and rebellious. If a parent repeatedly tells their children that they are good kids who are loved and cherished by God, they will often fall into being good kids who love and cherish God. Children need to be reminded that they are loved, and you are greatly loved. We live up to or down to the titles that people give to us. While it is important to know that you are selfish, rebellious, and sinful, our identity has ultimately been determined by God. God, through his son Jesus Christ, has given us the legal declaration of righteousness, so we should live up to that. God has deemed us righteous from the moment he made us his children. So, we have been deemed righteous and made into God’s family, but what do we do to enter into that family? This leads to question two:

2. How are we brought into God’s family?

So we have talked about the qualifications to enter into God’s family, but how are we brought into that family? Let's look at the text. 

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, 17

The text says that believers have received the Spirit of adoption. 

Q: What is the spirit of adoption?

It is the holy spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the spirit of Adoption. The text shows that the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit. We talked about this in our last talk, that the spirit ties the gospel to our hearts: Aka it bears witness to it. So, believers receive the spirit of adoption, and what adoption does is it removes you from the world and gives you a family. When we leave our “old family” (in a sense), we are given a new family. I’d like to tell you a story of when we went with Knox to say goodbye to his foster family in China. 

After we picked up Konx, we went to his foster family in Nanjing. Knox had been with the foster family since he was a child, side note, they were not going to be able to adopt him long-term because he was soon going to age out of foster care and go back to the orphanage. We ate crawdads, drank delicious watermelon juice, and had amazing food, although I had to turn down one of their boiled egg embryos. We celebrated Knox’s 10th birthday party there (fun fact Knox has had two 10th birthday parties a year apart because in China you’re born 1 year old). All the festivities ended and it was time to go, we said goodbye and there was not a dry eye in the entire room. Our guide said it was time to go so we walked back to the bus, and I remember Knox’s old grandma walking after the bus with water pouring down her face. In that moment, Knox forever left his old family. He said goodbye to his family, his way of living, and his culture and drove off with his new family. It was not Knox’s choice for any of this to happen. He had no say in the matter. But now, I have a little brother that I love and adore, and he has a family that loves him to no end. Same with you Havensong, but I didn’t go to China to get you so I have fewer good stories about that. 

When we join God’s family, we leave behind the world. God chooses us and brings us into his family through his spirit of adoption. We shed our allegiance to the world and gain a new family. Now to clarify, Knox’s foster family was not a “bad family”, they loved him dearly. But the world does not love you. It convinces us that we do not need to be adopted into the new family of Christ. If we remain in world, it will lead to destruction and devastation. Yes, today we are in the world, but we are not of it. One day God will come to finally put an end to the world. But we are children of God, so rest confident and assured that you are a child of God. Pray for God’s spirit of adoption to fill your heart. So we’ve talked about how we are brought into God’s family, but what does it look like when we are in the family? What does it look like to shed our old way of living, and culture to be in the new family of Christ? Well, this leads me to my last question; and that is that:

3. How are we made like God in his family?

So we have talked about how we are made righteous in entering God’s family, how God chooses us to join his family, and that it involves shedding our attachments to the world, but what does it look like to be in God’s family? Let’s look at the text:

“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. 

The text reveals some of the attributes of being in God’s family. One of the attributes of being in God’s family is that we are his children, and children become like their fathers. Children become like their fathers and the members of their family. Let me explain. When we adopted Knox he spoke zero English. Zero. He ate a lot differently than we do. In China, it's customary to eat very loudly. In fact, if you eat really loud it's a sign that your food is really good, and it's a compliment to the chef. Additionally, in China, people eat incredibly fast. Now none of these things are necessarily wrong, they are just cultural differences. However, when Knox joined our family, he began to learn English. He eats the “American” way now with American etiquette. When Knox joined our family he grew into it and became like us! The same is for us when we join God’s family. When we join God’s family, we become like him. There’s a name for this in the Christian faith.

Q: What is the name for the process of being made holy and like God?

Sanctification. When you join God’s family, you become like him, and it is not an immediate thing. We are all growing in sanctification, but the point is that if you are a Child of God, you will be sanctified and grow into the culture of Christ. The text also shows that we will suffer. It is difficult to separate yourself from the family of the world. You will be hated. You will be made fun of. You will be cursed at. But know that someone has already taken all the suffering for you. Jesus Christ has taken your suffering on the cross. Why? Because of his love of you and so that you may be glorified with him. It is nothing that you have done, but because of Jesus that you enter into God’s family. And it is a good family. One full of love, and joy, but one also filled with sorrow and hardship like any other family. But one day, Jesus will come again and establish his kingdom on earth and take all the pain away.