Born to Give Adoption

So good to be in the house of God with all of you. I’m so thankful for this powerful time of worship the Lord is giving to us. We’re so grateful that God has given us one more day to come into His holy presence and to worship His holy name. We’re so grateful for God’s protection and care upon each one of your lives. Especially a warm welcome to all the guests who are worshiping with us this morning. We’re so grateful that you are here. We pray that God will bless you as you worship with us this morning. We had a powerful Encounter meeting last night, thankful for everyone who came out. 

Just a couple of quick announcements: 

– We’ll have our holiday get-together next Sunday evening at 6:30. 

– We have a musical night on the 23rd, and I think today or tomorrow is going to be kind of the last day to give your names for the program. So make sure that you do that on a timely basis. 

We started a new series last week and we’ll be going through for the next three weeks through this series “Born to Give”. We talked last week about the fact that Jesus came into this world, born as a baby, and lived as a man and died for us to give us light that no one else could give in a world that is filled with darkness. We focus on the fact that he is the only true light who can truly bring a difference into the darkness of our lives. 

Let’s turn our Bibles this morning to the Gospel of John 1:10-12. The word of God reads like this: 

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. To those who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” 

What I’ll be focusing on this morning is that Jesus was born to give us adoption. Born to give light this week, born to give adoption. It was J.I. Packer who famously wrote in his book, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as his father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.” And I completely agree with that. Foundational to who we are is this idea that God has become our father and that we have become the children of God. 

This afternoon, as we come to worship our God, that is the most important part of our relationship with God. This basic understanding of God becoming our father and us being the children of God. As you turn to God’s word in John 1:11, the Apostle John, very quickly (I don’t have much time this morning), will go through this. The Apostle Paul reminded them that Jesus came to that which is his own, talking about the Jewish people, his own people. But his own, as you very well know, did not receive him. They did not understand him, they did not recognize him. Even though all their writings and their prophets and for thousands of years they’ve been waiting for this Messiah, when he actually showed up, they had absolutely no idea who he was. In fact, they thought he was a hypocrite. They thought he was a man who was lying to them and they did not completely recognize him. And then John, writing many years later, tells us something we already know – that his own people did not receive him. 

And here, he came to that which was his own, but his own did not recognize him. In verse 10, the Bible says to us that he created the whole world, but yet when he came into the world that he had created, the creation did not understand the creator was walking among them. If the Bible had ended in verse 11, that would be such a tragedy. That Jesus came to his own and his own did not receive him. But verse 12 gives us that great transition, “Yet to all who did receive him,” –  in the midst of his own people rejecting him and not receiving him and not understanding him, here is the good news of the Gospel. To all, not only his people but all, anyone, and the invitation here is the same as what we find in John 3:16. God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever, “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” He gave the right to become children of God. 

In contrast to an entire group of people who had been waiting for him, who did not recognize him, and missed out on the greatest blessings of their life, to people who were not waiting on him generally, who did not have any understanding about the promised Messiah, but because of the grace of God, because he came as love, even today they received him and believe in his name. Even this very minute, he gives them the right to be known as children of God. 

What do we get by having this title known as children of God? The first thing that we receive from the Lord when we get this title of children of God is this: we get a new name. We get a new name when we become children of God. There are a lot of names by which you were known before, that God changes, and he gives you a new identity. In fact, if I were to stand before you and call you some of the names that God used to call you by, you would kick me out of the church. But the Bible tells us that very clearly. Look at Ephesians 2:19. You were a foreigner in the sight of God, you were a stranger in the sight of God. You did not belong to him, you did not belong in this country, you did not belong to his kingdom. You were a stranger to the promises of God. But because we have become children, what have we become? Those who were foreigners have now become fellow citizens with God’s people. Not only that, those who were strangers to God have become members of his own household. Talk about a complete transfer and a transition that you cannot even explain away other than by the grace of God. People who were foreigners are becoming citizens. People who were strangers who were not known to God are now not only known to God but also members of the household of God. Oh, the grace of God that came into each one of our lives.

And if you thought that if I was to call you a stranger, a citizen was bad enough, look at Romans 5:10. Not the way you are known. If while we were God’s enemies, it’s bad enough to call you a stranger. It is bad enough to call you a foreigner. God’s word even goes further: when you did not know God, when you were alien to Him, you were an enemy of the Cross, you were an enemy of God. If you were to ask the people of the world, they will never say that they are enemies of God. Even people that don’t believe in the God of the Bible would never admit to being His enemies. They’re like, “I don’t really care.” That’s the common response that we’ll get in this generation. But in God’s word, there are only two options that are given to us. You are either a child of God or you are an enemy of God. There is no middle ground that we find in God’s word. And the word of God says, while we were God’s enemies, all of us, we were reconciled to Him. The gap that existed between us and God, God takes it away and He reconciles us. It’s only enemies that need to be reconciled, and God reconciles us back to Him. How? Through the death of His son. He reconciles us to Him. 

Then the Apostle Paul, in the same book, in Romans 9:25-26, he quotes from the Prophet Hosea. He says, “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people.” God is saying that a group of people, all of us, who were not God’s people, but because He came, we are going to call them ‘my people’ from now on. “I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one. And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘you are not my people,’ they will be called ‘Children of the Living God.'” The transition that is happening here, in the very place where I said, “I don’t know you, you are not my people,” you’ll be called ‘Children of the Living God.’ 

I hope and pray that this morning you are glad that, because you became a child of God, God has given you a new name. Not a foreigner, not a stranger, not an enemy anymore. You are members of His own household, citizens of heaven, and you are a child of God. I don’t know of any better title you can be known by other than a child of God. So, being a child of God, you get a new name. 

The second thing, being a child of God means you will get a new legal standing before God. You get a new legal standing before God. And the amazing thing about all of these things is that none of us ever deserved any of these things. We were, remember what we were? Strangers, foreigners, enemies. I don’t deserve anything that God has to give to me. But the word of God says, now that you have become a child, guess what? You have a new legal standing before God. Romans 8:14-15 tells us this: “Those who are led by the spirit of God are the children of God.” And how does that happen? You, who were living in darkness, who were enemies of the Cross, now have the Holy Spirit coming and living inside of you. The moment you become a child of God, the born-again experience, from that moment on, the person who is now a child of God is led by the spirit of God. The second thing, the spirit you received does not make you slaves anymore so that you live in fear again. Rather, the spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him, we cry, “Abba, Father.” 

So, it gives you this leading. Not only that, in the moment of your greatest difficulties, you have now this great deal of confidence to call upon the Heavenly Father and you say, “Abba, Father.” You can have a lot of friends in your life, but when you are in an accident, as long as you’re not doing something you’re not supposed to be doing, usually the first people that you would call are your parents. And that is true even after you get a little bit older. The first people you think about calling are your parents. “Dad, Mom, I was in an accident.” Even kids that are not talking to you much will call you when they’re in trouble, when they need something. 

See, that’s kind of the same thing. God’s word is saying you have this automatic inclination to cry out, “Abba, Father.” Where does that come from? Because there’s a relationship between you and God that does not come automatically to the people of the world. But as a child of God, you always have a place that you turn to immediately at the point of your need because He is your father. You are His child, and He is your very present help in the midst of the troubles of your life. Transformed by the power of “I need help, where do I turn to? Abba, Father, help me.” Why? You are my father. I am your child. You know me better than anybody else, and ultimately, you are the only one who can help me. Yes, we get that confidence because we’re adopted as children of God. Why do you pick up the phone and call your parents? There’s a relationship there. There is also an understanding there. No matter what, my daddy and mommy will be there to help me because I am his child, her child, and I have a relationship with them. The same way with your Heavenly Father as well. We cry out to Him, not from a lack of confidence. We come to Him with absolute confidence. Why? Because we have become His children, and we know that our heavenly father cares for us, and He will answer the cries of my heart.

The Spirit does something else. Look at verse 16. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. How do you know that you’re a child of God? A pastor does not need to tell you that. The Holy Spirit will tell you that. The Holy Spirit will tell you that. Where does my confidence, and your confidence, come from? It comes from that fact, that your relationship with God. It doesn’t come from anything external. It comes from the testimony of the Holy Spirit with your own spirit that confirms that fact that you are a child of God. Donald Barnhouse has a great famous quote about this. He says this, “We know that we are passed from death unto life who have the inner conviction that we have become children of God. We find this is what happens: we find something within ourselves that turns outward and upward to God, so we find ourselves crying ‘Abba Father’.”

If you are here this morning and you have that inclination in your heart, the conviction in your heart to turn to the Father in Heaven at the point of your need, that is the testimony of the Spirit of God saying, “You belong to us. We belong to you. We have a relationship.” But where does the legal standing come from? Look at the next verse, verse 17. If we are children, then we are heirs. The Apostle Paul is saying these two things are intrinsically tied to one another. The cause-effect cannot be denied. If you are a child, guess what? You are an heir. It automatically comes as a package. If you are an employee, you will get a salary. If you are an owner, you get to share in the profit. All these things naturally happen. And it’s kind of like the same thing. We are children, we are heirs as well. And not only that, he kind of makes it very clear what heirs he is talking about. He is not talking about the heir of any kingdom here on Earth. Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Hallelujah! If indeed we’re sharing His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory.

I often tell you this, and I’ll repeat it one more time. No preacher in the world can adequately explain Romans chapter 8:17. You know why? Because no preacher in the world, even the Apostle Paul, does not have a clear understanding of what it means to describe the riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the word of God says to us that if you are a child of God, you are heir, a co-heir with Christ. Wow! Can you explain that? Can you explain that? No one can. My goodness, those riches! The Apostle Paul was saying in Ephesians are the unsearchable riches that are in the Lord Jesus Christ that has become ours. We have a new legal standing before Him.

Thirdly, if we are children, here’s what we get: We get a new family. We get a new family. In the early part in Ephesians 2, we already kind of mentioned it, the fact that we have become members of the household of God. Today, this morning, we call each other brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Where did that happen? I’m not related to you. I’m not related to most of you here. I don’t think I have blood relation with anyone sitting here. Maybe a little bit with a mama sitting over there, kind of a distant, you know, a little bit of a blood relation, but other than that, we have no relation like that. But we are still brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because we are all born into the same family. And we have a new family because we have become children of God. In this world, your family may not be big. But in Christ, Lord, your family is so big. It is a universal family of God. It is a universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your family. People from every nation, tribe, language, all kinds of background, are family members to you.

Look at Hebrews 2:11, both the one who makes people holy, that is talking about God who sanctifies us, those who are made holy, are of the same family. This is the reason why we are in the family of God. The one who makes us holy, that is God, the one who is made holy, that’s what we are. We belong to the same family. And because of that, Jesus, oh, look at this, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Who are we? Foreigners, strangers, enemies. Jesus – by His coming, by His salvation, by the new birth that He gives to us, by His grace – now calls us brothers and sisters.

Who is calling? Brothers and sisters? The God who created everything. The God who holds everything together by the power of His word. The King of Kings, the Lord of lords, whose majesty and greatness no one can describe. The God of the whole universe. Even the whole universe cannot contain Him. He turns to you and me and says, “You are my brother. You are my sister.” Why? You see, it would not have happened other than His righteousness being poured out into our lives. That makes us to be the family of God. I did not look like I could belong in the family of God. But you know what God did? He came and gave me His righteousness. So that now, when I come into fellowship with Him, me and Him kind of look alike. You know why? Not because I have become God, but because His righteousness has covered all the filthiness away from my life. And now, when people look at me, and they say, “They look like brothers,” because the same righteousness is covering both of us. I am still the same human being. But because of the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that is now covering me, I look like Him. And Jesus says, “Oh, I know him. He is my brother. She is my sister.” And He is not ashamed to call us that. Why? We have become children of God.

Fourthly, what do we get by being known as children of God? We get a new nature and a new character because of it, a new nature and a new character. Craig Barnes, the author, whose father was a pastor, shares a story of a time when his father, who was a pastor, brought home a 12-year-old boy by the name of Roger, whose parents had died from a drug overdose. There was no one to care for Roger. So he said, “My folks decided they would raise him as if one of our own, one of our own sons.” At first, it was very difficult for Roger to adjust to his new home, an environment free of heroin-addicted adults. Every day, several times a day, I heard my parents saying to Roger, “No, no, Roger. That’s not how we behave in this family. No, no, Roger. You don’t have to scream or fight or hurt other people to get what you want. No, no, Roger. We expect you to show respect in this family.”

And in time, Roger began to change. Now, did Roger make all the changes in order to become a part of the family? No. He was made part of the family simply by the grace of my father. Understand that. Roger did not completely become all right before he became part of the family of this pastor. By the grace of that pastor, Roger became part of the family. Just like you and I became part of the family of God only by the grace of our heavenly father. But after that, he had to do a lot of hard work to become part of the family.

Yes, just like you and I do. But he was motivated by gratitude for the incredible love he had received. Do you have a lot of work to do? He says that the Spirit has adopted you into God’s family. Certainly, but in order to become a son or a daughter of the Heavenly Father, you did not have to make any changes initially. Every time you want to go back to the old addictions of sin, the Holy Spirit will say to you, “No, no, that is not how we act in the family of God.” See what happens every time you want to go back to that old self? The Holy Spirit comes and says, “Remember who you are. You are a child of God. As such, this is not how children of God act in the family of God.” Remember what the Holy Spirit says? It testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God. Every time your heart wants to wander away to that old self, the Holy Spirit comes and says, “Don’t do that. This is not how God’s children act.” Because now, who are we? We are part of a special family. Yes, you and I did not do anything to earn access to the family of God. Now that we are part of the family of God, we have a new identity, and we have a new way in which we live our life because we want to reflect and make our Heavenly Father proud, who by his grace has made us to be born into the family of God.

Colossians 3:9-10, after telling a lot of things by which we should not live, he says this, “Do not lie to each other. He says since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its creator.” That’s what’s happening today. We are children of God who are daily becoming more and more like our Heavenly Father and our older brother, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Galatians chapter 4 verse 9, the context here is not living according to the law again, but you ask a very pointed question. Now that you know God, now that I know God, or rather we are known by God. Remember, we are in the family of God. We are children of God. The Father knows us. How is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? This context is talking about the weak and miserable forces of the law that could never make anyone righteous. But I would say that any force or temptation of the devil, of the evil one, is weak and miserable when measured against the strength the Holy Spirit is willing to give to you. And the question God’s word is asking is this: How can we submit to weak and miserable forces again when we have been bought for such greater things? We don’t need to be enslaved by them anymore because we are children of God. We have a new character, and we have a new identity in the Lord.

So, remember the things that we received because we are children of God. We got a new name. We got a new legal standing. We have a new family, and we have a new nature and a character. All of this came because he was born to give us adoption into the family of God. In Galatians 4:4-7, God’s word says this, “When the set 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 adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, the spirit who calls out Abba Father. You are no longer a slave but God’s child. And since you are his child, God has also made you an heir.”

I have a cousin who’s adopted seven children, and many of you know his story. Seven children belonging to one family, one mother, scattered all over Texas, he adopted them. I could never even imagine something like that, but he did. But you know what my cousin could never give to those children? A part of himself. He can raise them, he can instill Christian values in them, and raise them in the fear of the Lord, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Tremendous job. The children are growing up to be great men and women by the grace of God. But my cousin could never put a part of himself into these adopted kids. They will always have someone else’s DNA inside of them. No matter how much you love them, no matter how much you raise them. You know what God did when he saved us? He not only adopted us to be children of God. The Bible says God puts Holy Spirit into the life of those who receive him by his name. In a way, what is that? It is the DNA of God coming to live in the soul of man. God’s adoption of us into the family of God is much greater and more wonderful than any adoption in this world. Because all the adopted parents could do give them a loving home and raise them up in the best way they know how. The God of the universe, born again into the family of God by placing a part of himself into you, the mystical union between the church and the Lord Jesus Christ, to show to us how intimate the relationship is. The Bible says he’s the head; we are the body. Such a connection between the two, you cannot distinguish the two because the head is always connected to the body. The body is always connected to the head. How did all that happen? It’s only because he came and adopted us into the family of God.

Adoption can change everything. Very quickly, my time is almost up. I’ll end with this. The story is told of a young boy who was born to a wedlock situation. His mom had him when she was not married. He had no idea who his father was, but for years he avoided people. As the boy grew up, when he would go to church, he was the first one to leave because he never wanted anyone to ask, “Who’s your daddy?” Because he had no idea who his father was, so he would run out of church. But he would go to church. He said when he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to the church. This boy would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, “Who’s your daddy?” But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, “Son, who is your daddy?” The whole church got quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, “Who is your daddy?” The new preacher, though, sensing the situation around him and using discernment the Holy Spirit could give to him, said the following to the scared little boy. He said, “Wait a minute. I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. Boy, you got a great inheritance. Go and claim it. You are a child of God.”

With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door, a changed person. He was never the same again. When he was asked, and everybody asked him from that point on, “Who’s your daddy?” He would just tell them, “I am a child of God.” That changed the course of his life. This man would become governor of Tennessee, Ben Hooper. Knowing who you belong to, knowing what family you belong to, can change the trajectory of your life. Your greatest identity this morning is not some family name from Kerala that I cannot pronounce; it’s that God adopted you to be a child of God. With a name that will never change, an identity that will never change, heir to a kingdom that will last forever, and a legal standing before him that no one can take away. It is all because he was born to give us adoption as children of God. This morning, as we now enter into the time of entering into the table of the Lord, why do we celebrate week after week? Because it is because Jesus came and Jesus died on the cross that we became children of God. He paid for our sins, and these elements that we take part in this morning commemorate the fact that his body was broken for us, the blood was shed for us. By his death on the cross, he has bought our salvation and made us to be children of God. Now we will sing unto the Lord and worship him. At that time, may we prepare our hearts to enter into this time of taking part in the table of the Lord.