Gifted with Adoption
Maybe you don’t think you need this one or that it could possibly apply to you. Maybe you were one of the fortunate ones who was never abandoned by either of your birth parents. That’s a good beginning, but it sure isn’t the end of the story. The truth is you were abandoned long ago and the consequences have been showing up painfully in your life ever since. Our Father has the perfect remedy, but first you have to recognize the disease.
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!" Romans 8:15
All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.
Abandoned and Left for Dead
Most of us probably think that everyone is a child of God. Not the Bible. Scriptures paint a different picture. God the Father is indeed Father of all living creatures.[1] Our natural life comes 
from Him. However, we were created to have a spiritual life directly united to Him as His children. When the Fall happened through Adam and Eve, we fell so far! We lost the most important relationship in our lives: God could still see us and know us; but we could no longer see Him or know Him. According to Jesus, Satan became our “father”, ruling over us under his dominion, the kingdom of darkness, and enslaving us to his sinful ways.[2] Like orphaned infants we barely had any sense that something had gone wrong!
In a sense, Adam and Eve abandoned us to the enemy when they chose to sin.[3] This made us orphans of God, not by His choice, but by theirs. To see this better consider how grandparents “lose” their grandchildren when the birth parents abandon their infants as orphans, giving them away to someone else. The grandparents often have no choice in the matter and it can be heart-breaking for them to never have a relationship with those “lost” grandchildren. It was truly heart-rending for Father God to have to “stand by” as Adam and Eve consigned their entire line of descendants to the predatory influence of the enemy. All of us died![4]
Our Inheritance Restored by Adoption
Since then none of us have ever been born into our proper inheritance in the Lord—not by natural birth. That’s where the Adoption comes in! God the Father saw that we had been abandoned by our natural parents (Adam and Eve) and has freely chosen to adopt us into His Family, restoring us to the full inheritance we had always been intended to enjoy.[5] But first He had to break the “spell” of the evil one which held us all imprisoned in the delusion that it was normal for us to be orphans of God, not knowing our Father or our true position in His Family.[6]
As we receive faith in what Jesus has done for us, we are restored at last to our true inheritance as His beloved children. Scripture says that we are placed “in Christ” and now are qualified to receive everything that is His.[7] We are adopted as God’s sons through faith in Jesus Christ. OK, we can say with the apostle John that we all (men and women, boys and girls) have become God’s children.[8] Strictly speaking, however, we are raised into the Sonship of Jesus.[9] We inherit through Him, thereby becoming sons through Him. If that sounds weird to women, consider how men are asked to think of themselves as the Bride of Christ who is now our Husband and you will see (with a wink) that God is having fun with us, even as He works out the deadly serious issues of our eternal salvation.
Next "Free Gift" to Open
Gifted with Forgiveness This is usually the first, the biggest and the most desperately needed gift of all—apart from the never-ending wonder of discovering that Jesus is alive and well, Risen from the dead and Ruler of the universe. You can’t really top that one! But being forgiven comes close.
Free Downloads
pdf Saved by the Free Gifts (eBook) (847 KB)
pdf Gifted with Adoption (this article) (311 KB)
Adoption Scriptures
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!" 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, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:15-17
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Romans 9:4
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7
In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:4-6
Endnotes
[1] God is called the “Father of spirits” which includes angels, human beings and animals, since all have spirits: Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? Hebrews 12:9
[2] You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
[3] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. Romans 5:12
[4] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
[5] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
[6] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
[7] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
[8] See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 1 John 3:1
[9] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:25-26