Adopted
Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
When my sister was about six months old, my parents adopted her. My folks were good to always communicate to my sister that she was adopted, chosen by my parents. Years later, thanks to DNA breakthroughs, my sister was able to connect with her half-brothers. Her birth mother had already passed, but it was an important day when my sister connected with her birth family. But she was part of our family, an heir of my parents’ estate just as I was. I can appreciate the significance of being adopted.
Paul, writing to the Galatian churches, informed them that they also had been adopted as sons of God. Paul was still in the throes of dealing with the Jewish teachers who would follow him and confuse the people. These teachers were the ones telling the Gentile converts of Galatia that they needed to keep the Jewish law in order to be saved. And Paul called these false teachers out. Those under the law were servants of God, but those who had received Christ by faith were redeemed or bought back so they might be adopted as sons into God’s family.
Being adopted by God is such a good deal. Being adopted as sons means that God has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and witness to our hearts that we are part of God’s family. Abba Father is similar to a child crying out Daddy. It’s a family term of intimacy. And because of what Jesus has done for us, we are no longer slaves. We are sons and heirs of God. The term heir can be used to designate offspring. We are God’s offspring through Christ. An heir also has a legal right to the inheritance of the Father. Slaves were not typically heirs; that distinction belonged to the sons.
One of the biggest benefits of being sons of God and heirs through Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Under the Old Covenant, that these Jewish teachers were trying to lead the Galatians into, only a few individuals had access to the Holy Spirit. But for all the sons, male and female, the Holy Spirit was now imparted to all. Not just the prophet, priests, and kings, but all those adopted into God’s family. The Spirit of His Son was sent into our hearts revealing our family relationship as sons. What a blessing! What an advantage! What a better deal than anything these law preaching Jewish teachers could offer. No wonder Paul was so frustrated. He knew the difference between slaves and those adopted as sons.
Prayer
Father, thank You that I can call You Father. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit into my heart. Thank You for adopting me as a son of Yours in Christ!