The Spirit Of Adoption

Children’s Bible Page 1229.

Every once in a while when I am interacting with other people I will say something in a way that immediately makes me think of my dad.

My dad passed away back in 2019, so none of you got to meet him, but if you did know him, you would see that some of my mannerisms and ways of speaking, I got from him.

You know, the truth for all of us is, we are heavily influenced by our fathers.

Whether your father was a wonderful dad and a huge part of your life, or whether you never even met your biological father, your relationship or lack of relationship with your dad has a profound impact on you.

Whether your father was someone you would like to emulate, or whether you want to be nothing like your father, no doubt, your father has a great influence on you.

If you want to know something meaningful about a person that you are getting to know, get to know a bit about their relationship with their father.

It is a reminder to us men who are fathers or serve as father figures, that we have a profound influence on others’ lives.

J.I. Packer, a Christian theologian who wrote the classic book “Knowing God” made these statements about God as Father:

“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 Father.”

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as His Father.”

Throughout our study of the book of Romans, we spent weeks on the truths about our sinful rebellion against our Creator God, and then we spent weeks about the great love of God for us in that while we were still sinners, God sent His son Jesus to die in our place for our sins in order to give all who repent and believe perfectly right standing before God.

This is called justification by faith alone.

Upon placing faith in Jesus’ work of taking the punishment for your sin on the cross and rising again to defeat your sin, you are declared right with God.

Justified. Not only just as if you had never sinned, but also just as if you have always obeyed.

This is your legal standing before God if you are in Christ.

Not based on anything you have done or have not done, but based on what Jesus has done in your place.

Then, from there, we have seen that while we are saved from God’s wrath and declared right with God at the moment of faith, we now have two natures, the new nature of the Spirit that desires the things of God, and the old nature of the flesh that still desires sin.

So, we have walked through what it means to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Then, in our last sermon, where we began Romans 8, we considered how the Spirit of God within us frees us from condemnation, sets our minds on things of life and peace, and will finally give glorified resurrection life to our bodies.

As if it is not enough gloriously good news that your sins are forgiven, you - a rebellious sinner - have been made right with God, and you have been born again to new spiritual life through the Holy Spirit of God within you that has sealed your destiny of eternal life with him, Paul now goes on to tell us of yet another reality of our salvation which is incredibly wonderful - our adoption as children of God.

Romans 8:12–17 ESV

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 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.

1. The Spirit Of Adoption Leads To Life As You Put To Death The Deeds Of The Body

You see, God has done so much more through the gospel than to declare you legally right with Himself.

God has gone so far as to adopt you into His family.

You are not simply a servant of God, you are a beloved child of God.

Let’s walk through how this text reveals this truth to us.

There is a reason that Christians call one another brothers and sisters, because we are all adopted by our Father God.

Here, Paul addresses his readers as brothers and tells them we are not debtors to the flesh in order to live according to the flesh.

Remember, the flesh is how Paul talks about our old sinful nature that is still tempted toward sin and rebellion against God.

And while we drag around this fleshly nature as long as we live this life between the day of our salvation and the day we see Jesus face to face,

Paul makes clear, we are not debtors to our flesh.

We owe our flesh nothing.

Think about it: when you owe someone something, they have an authority over you in some way.

You must seek to placate them and give in to their demands.

But, in Christ, no matter how much your sinful flesh tempts, and screams, and begs, and wails for your attention, you owe your flesh nothing.

And your sinful flesh holds no authority over you.

For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

See, when sin had authority over us when we were lost, it always wanted more and more like a harsh taskmaster, and even when you fed your flesh, it was never satisfied, and demanded more.

But, on the cross, Jesus paid the full debt of punishment you owed, so sin holds no authority over you any longer.

When you were dead in your trespasses and sins, you had no choice. You were chained to sin.

But, now that your spirit is alive by the Spirit of God, you owe sin nothing, and you can choose to tell sin “no.”

Verse 13 - For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Now remember, this does not mean a genuine Christian will never sin or give into their flesh. Far from it.

But, it does mean that the core of your being is no longer dead and living according to the flesh completely deprived of God or His Spirit.

But, if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

God’s Spirit put to death the authority sin had over you at the moment of your salvation, and now, God by His Spirit is empowering you to progressively put to death the deeds of the body, and this is evidence that you have the eternal life of Christ in you.

So, listen, if you are here today, and your life and heart are completely centered on sin and self, and you have no evidence of a desire for God or the things of God, you have every reason to believe that you are separated from God and being led toward an eternal punishment apart from the presence of God.

Because if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But, if you are here today, and you are struggling against your flesh, you know you have sinned, you know you need growth in Christ, you know there is more sin to be put off and obedience to put on in your walk with Jesus, you have every reason to be confident that you have the eternal life of God inside of you.

Because a dead heart would never desire those things.

But what does this have to do with fatherhood and adoption?

2. The Spirit Of Adoption Fills Us With Security As We Cry Out To God As Father

Verse 14 - For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

In the Old Testament, God referred to the people of Israel as His firstborn son.

Exodus 4:22–23 ESV

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

Then, in

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

And in:

John 1:12–13 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

You see, not all people are the children of God.

It is a myth in the world that all people are children of God.

Jesus called those who refused to believe in Him the children of the devil and those who have the devil as their father.

But for all who receive Christ Jesus, they are not only declared right with God, but are adopted as sons and daughters of God.

Snatched away from the world and the devil in order to belong to God alone as His beloved children.

1 John 3:1–2 ESV

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

In the Old Testament, when God led his firstborn son, Israel, out of slavery in Egypt, He loved them, He cared for them, He provided for them, He disciplined them as a good father.

And for all who are Christians now, we have the Holy Spirit of God in us who has not only declared us right with Him, but has adopted us as His children, and we are now being led by Him.

As His child, God loves you, He cares for you, He provides for you, He disciplines you.

Verse 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!”

Remember, after God saved the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, many times they desired to go back.

It was as if they refused to believe that God was completely trustworthy and would continue to provide for them again and again.

The thought was that sure, back in Egypt we were slaves, but at least we knew where our next meal was coming from.

Out here in the wilderness, all we can do it trust that God will provide again and again.

In the same way, so oftentimes we are tempted to fall back into the spirit of slavery and fear.

We know that our sin never ultimately satisfied us.

We know that we were enslaved and sin only demanded more and more and led us toward death.

But living in faith and freedom in Christ means we must constantly be dependent upon God to come through for us again and again.

To have a spirit that trusts God as our good Father.

This is why Paul contrasts the spirit of slavery with the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The cry of Abba! Father! is a cry of intimacy and dependence.

When we were lost and enslaved to sin, we were not crying out to God for help.

We didn’t know we needed help. Enslavement to sin was all we knew.

But, when we received the Spirit of adoption, we came to learn that we have a good father who cares for us and can always be trusted and depended on.

I heard a pastor speak one time about when he and his wife traveled to China to meet the baby that they were about to adopt as their own.

Their host drove them to a large orphanage, and they were so excited to go in and meet their baby.

Now, they had done their research and they knew that this particular orphanage housed hundreds of babies, but when they walked in, the place a eerily quiet.

There was no sounds of activity by the many caretakers, and even more odd, there were no cries of babies to be heard.

The man and his wife quickly turned to the host and asked him why the orphanage was so quiet.

The man explained to the couple that the orphanage was dreadfully understaffed, so when the babies would first arrive, they would cry a lot for the first day or so,

But soon, they would learn that no one was going to come help them when they cried, so they would finally go quiet.

None of these babies got enough attention to believe there was anyone they could depend on to come when they cried, so they just stopped crying.

You see, when your soul is lost and separated from God, you do not cry out to Him or believe that He hears you.

You just live in the tyranny of sin and self not knowing there is any life apart from it.

But, when the Spirit of God convicts your heart of sin, and makes you alive to the gospel through repentance and faith, you are adopted into the family of God and you cry out to Him as Father!

Abba! Father! - It’s an intimate and personal cry of trust. Running into your fathers arms who perfectly loves and cares for you.

Now, I realize that some will say that they cannot conceive of God as father because of what a horrible experience they have had due to their earthly father.

But, does it not make sense that if you have a perception of what a bad father is and does, it is because you can also perceive of what a good father should be?

And that God is the perfect Father that you have always desired and longed for?

You see, we have been seeing throughout Romans 6-8 that the Spirit of God inside of us empowers us to love God and others the way we are meant to.

And, it is the Spirit of God inside of us that trains us to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God.

But, having the Spirit of God in order to put to death the deeds of the body and lead us to obedience is not some formula or magical force in order to conjure up in moments of temptation.

Instead, the Spirit of God is a person who awakes our hearts to intimate relationship with God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

When we are baptized, we are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit because it is representing that we are being brought into the loving community of the family of God.

The apostle Peter will say it this way, “We have become partakers of the divine nature.”

That does not mean that we become divine ourselves, but that we now partake in unhindered and intimate relationship with God the Father, Son, and Spirit.

You see, when we were lost, we could only understand sin as being a breaking of God’s law,

But for the Christian who is filled with the Spirit of Adoption, we understand sin as being a breaking of God’s heart.

It’s the relationship that makes such a difference and is so powerful.

Consider the difference between the spirit of slavery leading you to fear and the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The spirit of slavery says:

You’re worthless.

You can never make things right.

You might as well just give up now, you are already guilty, you’re already broken, you’re already dirty.

But, your good Father says through the Spirit of adoption:

You are my child.

You are forgiven, you are redeemed, you have been washed clean.

I have set my love on you.

My mercies are new every morning.

The spirit of slavery and fear would say: I’ve sinned and done wrong, I better stay away from dad.

The Spirit of adoption says: I’ve sinned and done wrong, I need to go find dad.

Dependence and trust in God as our good and loving Father.

James tells us that true religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress.

As God has adopted us as his children, He gives us the desire and opportunity to adopt others and to support those who adopt as a picture of God’s great love for us.

Verse 16 - The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

How can we be sure that we are children of God?

Is it because we never sin or mess up? No.

Is it because we know a lot of Scripture and go to church every week? No.

The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God when we feel in ourselves the desire to call out to our good Father for help, for wisdom, for intimacy.

And remember this, the Spirit of God always works in harmony with the word of God.

So, it is believing and receiving the word of God that the Spirit uses to confirm with our spirit that we are children of God.

If you are like me, maybe you have struggled at one time or another about the security of your salvation.

Maybe you sometimes wonder if you are truly saved.

Like, if I was really saved, would I really be struggling this much with sin?

If I was truly saved, surely I would be further along in my spiritual progress by now.

But, I think of my relationship with my own children.

I mean, there is nothing like the love, passion, and compassion that I can feel for my children.

And the last thing I would ever want for my kids is for them to wonder if I loved them or if I was a safe person to come to and would have their best interest in mind.

If I, a sinful imperfect parent can have such a desire for my children to be convinced of my love,

Do you not believe that God’s desire for you to be assured and secure in His love is all the more as your perfect Father?

Verse 16 again and into 17 - The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,

To be heirs of God means to be those to whom God will give an inheritance.

To be fellow heirs with Christ means to be to be those whom share in the inheritance God the Father gives to His son, Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:29 ESV

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

Romans 4:13 ESV

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

The New Testament says we are heirs according to God’s promise.

We are heirs of the world.

We are heirs of the kingdom of God and heirs of eternal life.

Remember at the temptation of Jesus:

Luke 4:5–8 ESV

5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”

Satan had power and authority over a sinful world.

Yet, after Jesus died and rose again, Jesus said that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him.

So, essentially, the temptation Satan was putting before Jesus was that he could have all the authority over the earth without experiencing the suffering of the cross.

Yet, Jesus honored His father God and refused to bow to Satan, because not only did he know he was already promised from his Father to be heir of all things,

But, Jesus knew he was going to die to save you and become a coheir with Him.

In eternity, the kingdom of the world will be changed into the kingdom of God and Christ, and we will reign with Christ in His kingdom forever.

We are fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The question we have all asked ourselves at one time or another is: if I am a child of God and an heir with Christ, then why is life so hard?

Why am I not finding more victory and experiencing more of the abundant life that Jesus promised?

Now, while it is immensely glorious to live be a child of God, adopted by our good Father, in this world of sin and in our battle with the flesh, we suffer.

We suffer in saying “no” to the world and saying “yes” to Christ.

We suffer in putting off the deeds of our body and crying out again and again to our good Father.

We suffer the isolation of refusing to be part of the world’s system and the world’s values.

We suffer in physical bodies that are heading toward death and decay.

We suffer in a world of trouble, of danger, and of temptation.

You know, sometimes in my most discouraging moments, I think, “God, I didn’t know following you was going to be like this.”

I thought it was going to feel better. I thought it was going to be more like victory and less like surrender.

I thought it was going to be more like healing and less like scars.

But, God did not promise that life on this side of eternity would be easy.

He promised there would be trouble.

But, remember, this life is so momentary when compared with eternity.

We suffer with him in order that we may be glorified with Him.

God’s word calls us to put all of our hope in that day that we are glorified with Him, and let that hope fuel us this day.

Peter wrote: set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Glorified with Him.

Satan tempts us to believe that eternity in glory is some kind of static and boring existence, but it is the farthest thing from it.

(Invitation questions)

(Elder at couch)

Pray.