What does it mean that Christians are adopted by God?

Response

To adopt someone is to legally make that person a son or daughter. Adoption is a metaphor in the Bible to illustrate how Christians are welcomed into God’s family. Jesus came “so that we might receive adoption to sonship” “to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”, (Galatians 4:5), and He succeeded: “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”, (Romans 8:15, NLT).

The Bible also refers to being “born again” into God’s family “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”, (John 3:3), which may seem contradictory to adoption since typically a person is either born into a family or adopted, not both. However, we should not dwell too much on this distinction because both are metaphors and should not be pitted against each other.

Adoption was uncommon in the Jewish culture where a person’s status was determined by birth. This is why if a man passed away, his brother was expected to marry the widow. The first son from this union would be legally regarded as the son of the deceased brother to carry on the family line. There was no consideration of the widow adopting a son to preserve the family name. In John 3, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, and uses the Jewish idea of being born again (or born from above) to clarify how one enters God’s family.

Family.

In the Roman world, adoption was a significant and common practice. Nowadays, we can draft a will and designate our wealth and property to any individual, regardless of gender. In ancient Rome, with a few exceptions, a man was required to pass down his wealth to his son(s). If a man had no sons or believed that his sons were incapable of managing his wealth or were undeserving of it, he would need to adopt someone who would be a suitable heir. These adoptions differed from the infant adoptions that are prevalent today. Typically, older boys and adult men were the ones being adopted. In certain instances, the adoptee might even be older than the man adopting him. Once the adoption was legally sanctioned, the adoptee’s debts would be forgiven, and he would be given a new name. He would then become the lawful son of his adoptive father, entitled to all the privileges and benefits of a son. While a father could disown his biological son, an adoption was permanent.

In the book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and the film featuring Charlton Heston, we witness a vivid depiction of Roman adoption. In the movie, Judah Ben-Hur (a Jew) is imprisoned as a rower on a Roman galley ship. Following the ship’s destruction in battle, Judah escapes and rescues the life of a Roman commander, Arrius. Since Arrius’s only son has died, he decides to adopt Judah, who is pardoned for his alleged crimes. Additionally, Judah is bestowed with a new name, “young Arrius,” and is granted full inheritance rights. During the adoption announcement scene, Arrius removes his ancestral signet ring and presents it to young Arrius. The latter expresses gratitude for receiving “a new life, a new home, a new father.”

Paul, in his letters to Roman audiences, employs the analogy of adoption, a concept familiar to a Roman audience. Galatians 4:3–7 states, “So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And be

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.” In this passage, Christians are born enslaved, but Jesus redeems them from slavery, and they are adopted by the Father and given the Spirit. Therefore, they are now heirs.

When we come to faith in Christ, our debts are canceled, we are given a new identity, and we receive all the privileges that heirs of God enjoy. One distinction from Roman adoption is that Christians are not adopted because God deems them worthy heirs. God adopts individuals who are entirely unworthy because He chooses based on His grace.

Hence, Christians are born into God’s family (using a Jewish analogy) and adopted into God’s family (using a Roman analogy). The ultimate outcome is identical; Christians are eternally part of God’s family.