THE ADOPTION

This brings us to the two key passages of the good news of the gospel of Christ. "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the divine intention of His will..." "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He (Christ) might be the firstborn of many brethren, and whom He predestined, these He also... called... justified... and glorified..." (Ephesians 1:5) (Romans 8:29-30) Look at these words again! He foreknew... He predestined... He called... He justified... He glorified. He did it all!

A more literal Greek translation makes it clearer. "Predestined" could better be translated "foreordained". "FOREORDAINED" means God has already done it by divine decree. Through a divine decree of God, we are conformed to the image of His Son through adoption, "...foreordained conformed to the image of His Son..." It's an adoption decree!

Get It? The Father has only one son. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) Jesus alone passed the test. Without this blessed passage, the kingdom of God would have only one resident! The good news of the gospel hinges right here. Eternal life is in the kingdom, and to get into the kingdom, we must get into the family of Christ, and ADOPTION is our way into his family. "For there is no other name... by which we must be saved."

First century adoption was an absolutely binding legal transactionperformed personally and individually one at a time only when the adopted was old enough to understand and agree. When the adoption was agreed to by both parties, it was a done deal! The adopted person's prior family ties (to the family of Adam) are completely severed. The adopted person is now legally bound to his new family (Christ's family).

That's the good news of the gospel! That's the good news that sets us free from the endless struggle to try to muster up something from within ourselves that will somehow please God enough to earn his favor. Legally, the adopted child has all the blessings of the natural child, no difference. That's good news! The adopted child has absolute unconditional love and acceptance. That's very good news! The adopted child is freed from condemnation and can seek to please his father out of love not fear. That's very, very good news!

"For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15) "But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that He might redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying Abba! Father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Gaiatians 4:4-7) "...predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..." See it now?

"Joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us (through adoption) to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colosstans 1:12-14) Eternal life is in the kingdom, and we get into the kingdom as sons through adoption.

When an adoption is finalized, a new birth certificate is issued. Legally the child is BORN AGAIN into the new family. As a born again child in the family of Christ, the Father chooses not to judge us by our pre-adoption sinful life. Instead, the Father chooses to judge us by the sinless life of Christ.

There is no room for PRIDE, when we are judged by the sinless life of Christ