Topic: Adopted
Galatians 3:29-4:2, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world.”
In verse 29, Paul said that those who receive Jesus as Savior are heirs to God’s kingdom. He then entered into a discourse about the state of an heir, applicable in his historical context. He stated how a male heir, while he was still a child, was considered no different than a slave (v. 1). Paul was speaking of sonship in ancient Rome. In Roman law, sons were raised under their father’s power which was known as “patria potestas,” which was the father’s power of absolute possession and control over a family member.
Back in Galatians 3:24, Paul stated that God’s children (the Jewish people) were all placed under a tutor, which he noted was the law. The law that Paul referred to was the Law of Moses, which included the Ten Commandments and numerous other Levitical rules and regulations.
In Christ believers are adopted by God (4:4-5), “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, was born of a woman, meaning that God came down in the form of a man to dwell on this earth for a short time among human beings. He was born under the law to redeem those, or rather liberate those, who were held captive under the law.
In ancient Rome a father adopted a child by paying for him. The price for our adoption was paid in full with Jesus’ death on the cross. Once a father chose to adopt a child there followed a ceremony called “vindicatio.” The adopting father went to one of the Roman magistrates and presented a legal case for the transfer of the person to be adopted into his own household. After the vindicatio ceremony was over, the adoption was complete.
What English word does vindicatio sound like? It sounds like “vindication.” The American Heritage Dictionary says that the word “vindicate” means “to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof.” If we choose to follow God through His Son, Jesus Christ, then we will be cleared of any accusation of sin that has been placed on us, and we will be cleared of the accompanying consequence of sin–eternal death (Romans 6:23).
Paul said that our sonship with God is similar to being adopted out of the household of one father and into the household of another father, and becoming part of his own family. If we do not know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we are not a part of God’s family; but rather, we are part of the family of the elements of this world. When Paul spoke of the elements of this world, back in verse 3, he was referring to the realm of Satan; for Jesus identified the devil as the ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).
If we will receive Jesus Christ into our heart then we will be redeemed from subjection to the laws of men, and we will be adopted as sons of the living God!
In Roman law, there were four main benefits of adoption:
1.The adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family. In the most binding legal way, he received a new father.
2. It followed that he became heir to his new father’s estate. Even if other sons were afterwards born, it did not affect his rights. He was inalienably co-heir with them.
3.In law, the old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out. For instance, all debts were canceled. He was regarded as a new person entering into a new life with which the past had nothing to do.
4. In the eyes of the law he was absolutely the son of his new father.
(William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977), p. 106.)
William Barclay says that once we are adopted by God, after receiving His Son, Jesus, into our heart, “we begin a new life with God and become an heir of all His riches.” If that is so, we become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, God’s own Son.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem