We Are Family — By Adoption

 

In an ideal family, there is a father, a mother, sons, and daughters. Children may become members of a family by birth or descent, but they may also become members through adoption.

What qualifies you and me to become part of God's family?

Our key passage is Ephesians 1:3–5:

“Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will...” (NIV).

The central message is simple: We are part of God's family by adoption. You and I are not part of the family of God by birth but by adoption. Praise the Lord!

 

Understanding Spiritual Adoption

Adoption is the act of God's grace by which He places us as sons and daughters in His family, the ones who receive Jesus Christ and confer on them or give to them all the rights and duties of son ship. It is an act of God's grace.

Imagine children who lose their parents and are taken in by another family. Before they enter their new home, an elder advises them:

“Remember, you are not like the children of that house. When you are hungry, don't simply open the refrigerator and take food. If gifts are brought and you receive nothing, don't complain. Be careful because you don't have the same rights as the children who were born there.”

Such children would enter the home fearful and cautious, constantly reminding themselves:

“I don't really belong here.”

Many believers relate to God in the same way. They have been adopted, yet they continue to live with an orphan mentality. They approach God fearfully, doubt whether He hears their prayers, feel permanently condemned by past sins, and remain uncertain about their position in His family.

And yet we are born again. We have been adopted. True adoption equalizes you to the same level as the one who has been born in that family. Genuine adoption changes everything

Adoption gives the adopted child the status of a son or daughter.

 

Biblical Pictures of Adoption

The Bible gives us several examples that help us understand adoption.

Moses

Moses was born a Hebrew during a dangerous period in Israel's history. His mother placed him in a basket on the Nile to save his life. Pharaoh's daughter found him and eventually raised him as her son (Exodus 2: 1-10).

His position changed through adoption.

Esther

Esther was raised by Mordecai after losing her parents (Esther 2:7). Her story also provides a picture of someone being received and cared for within another household.

Israel

God also described Israel in family language. He identified Himself as their Father and treated them as His children.

These examples help us understand the spiritual truth of adoption: someone who was previously outside is brought into a family and given a new identity and position.

Ephesians develops this idea powerfully. Three major truths emerge.

 

1. Adoption Is God's Idea

Ephesians 1:4–5 tells us:

“Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ... God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (NLT)

Notice who initiates the process.

God loved us. God chose us. God decided to adopt us.

We did not initiate God's plan of adoption.

Think about ordinary adoption. A young child usually does not search for parents, hire lawyers, complete paperwork, and begin the legal adoption process. The prospective parents initiate the process.

Similarly, our spiritual adoption begins with God.

Adoption Is an Act of Grace. We did not persuade God to love us. We did not earn our position in His family. God's adoption of us flows from His love and grace.

Our response is to believe and receive what God has done through Christ.

Ephesians 1:13 explains that after hearing the Good News and believing in Christ, believers are identified as belonging to God through the promised Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the Christian life should not be lived constantly wondering: “Does God really love me?”

The message of Ephesians is that bringing us into His family was God's idea from the beginning.

 

2. Jesus Christ Is the Means of Our Adoption

Ephesians 1:5 says that God adopted us:

“...by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.”

This is extremely important. Our relationship with God is based on what Christ has accomplished, not on our ability to make ourselves worthy.

Sometimes Christians unconsciously think: “Christ has done His part, but I must add something.”

We may begin to believe that fasting, sacrifice, long prayers, religious activities, or other spiritual disciplines are what finally make us acceptable to God.

These practices can have an important place in Christian growth and devotion, but they are not the basis of our adoption. Our adoption comes through Jesus Christ.

Jesus declared: “It is finished.”

His work is sufficient.

This means that a Christian should not measure his or her status as God's child by comparing spiritual activities with those of another believer.

The person who fasts for many days is not God's child because of the fasting. The person who spends hours praying is not God's child because of the length of the prayer. We become members of God's family through Christ.

Stop Living Under Condemnation. Some believers continually question their position before God because they remain focused on their failures.

But Scripture directs our attention toward Christ.

If you are struggling with condemnation or uncertainty about your relationship with God, remember: Christ's work on your behalf is complete.

Hebrews describes Christ as having offered one sacrifice for sins and then sitting down. The picture is of completed work.

Our confidence, therefore, is not: “Look at everything I have done for God.”

It is: “Look at what Christ has done for me.”

 

3. Adoption Comes With Benefits

Being adopted into God's family is not merely receiving a new title. It comes with extraordinary privileges.

Ephesians 1:3 says:

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” (NLT)

Throughout Ephesians, Paul describes some of these blessings.

We Have Redemption and Forgiveness. Ephesians 1:7 teaches that in Christ we have redemption and forgiveness.

Our past no longer has to define our relationship with God.

We Can Approach God With Confidence. Ephesians 3:12 teaches that through Christ we can approach God with freedom and confidence.

An adopted child does not have to remain permanently outside the father's door wondering:

“Am I allowed to enter?”

We belong to the family.

We Have the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 describes believers as being sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

God has not left His children alone. His Spirit is with us.

We Can Know God. Adoption brings us into a relationship in which we can grow in our knowledge of God and His purposes.

We Have Spiritual Power. Ephesians 3:16 speaks about being strengthened with power through God's Spirit in our inner being.

The Christian life is therefore not simply about surviving until heaven. It is about living now as a member of God's family.

 

The Cruise-Ship Illustration

Imagine a man who desperately wants to travel on a cruise ship.

He saves money for years until he finally has exactly enough to buy a ticket. After purchasing it, he has only a little money left, so he buys biscuits, popcorn, and water.

He boards the ship and spends most of the journey sitting outside.

Every day, other passengers enjoy wonderful meals, comfortable rooms, entertainment, and all the facilities of the ship.

But the man remains outside eating his biscuits.

Eventually, the captain approaches him. “Sir, is something wrong? Is the food bad? Is your room uncomfortable? Why haven't you been using the facilities?”

The man is surprised. “I only paid for transportation,” he explains. “I didn't have enough money for all those other things.”

The captain looks at him and says: “Sir, everything is included in your ticket.”

The man had spent almost the entire journey possessing benefits he never enjoyed because he did not know they belonged to him.

Many Christians live the same way. We have been adopted into God's family, but we live on the balcony of salvation, saying: “As long as I eventually get to heaven, that is enough.”

Yet Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

God wants His children to understand who they are and what they have received through Christ.

 

Stop Living like an Outsider

If you have been adopted into God's family, you do not have to spend your Christian life behaving like an unwanted visitor.

You can pray with confidence, approach God boldly, trust His love, enjoy fellowship with Him, and listen for His guidance through the Holy Spirit.

You can live knowing that you belong.

When Christ died, the veil of the temple was torn. Access to God was opened.

Therefore, we do not approach God merely as frightened outsiders. We approach Him as sons and daughters.

 

Can God Really Love Someone Like Me?

Sometimes the greatest obstacle is not understanding the doctrine of adoption but believing that it could actually apply to us.

We look at our history, weaknesses, mistakes, and sins and ask: “Can a God like that truly love someone like me?”

The answer of the Gospel is found in the familiar words: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...” (John 3:16)

Adoption begins with God's love, not our perfection.

The adopted child does not create the father's love through personal effort. He receives the relationship that has been offered to him. The same principle applies spiritually.

 

Three Truths to Remember

1. Adoption Was God's Idea

God loved us and chose to bring us into His family. Our adoption originates in His grace and love.

2. Adoption Comes Through Jesus Christ

We cannot earn our place in God's family through religious works. Christ is the means through which God brings us to Himself.

3. Adoption Comes With Benefits

In Christ we have redemption, forgiveness, access to God, the Holy Spirit, spiritual strength, and the privilege of living as God's children.

 

Conclusion: Know Who You Are

The Christian should not live like an orphan inside the Father's house.

You have been invited into the family. You have been given a new identity. You have access to the Father. You have the Holy Spirit. You have been given spiritual blessings in Christ.

You do not have to spend your life wondering whether you belong. The message of Ephesians is clear: God wanted you in His family and He made the way through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, believe Him, receive what He has provided, and learn to live with the confidence of a son or daughter.

We are God's family—not by natural birth, but by adoption through Jesus Christ.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” — Ephesians 1:5