A term used in Scripture in connection with Israel (Rom. 9:4) and the Church (Rom. 8:14-15, 23; Gal. 4:5-7; Eph. 1:5), but in vastly different ways. In connection with Israel, “adoption” refers to them being set in a privileged place in relation to God among the nations of the earth (Ex. 4:22). But in the Christian sense, “adoption” has to do with a child of God in the family of God being set in the favoured place of the Son Himself, through possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit. It goes beyond that of acceptance to take in the believer’s sharing in the privileges and the liberty that only a son could have in the presence of God.
The word “adoption” in the Greek literally means “son-place.” (The J. N. Darby Translation footnote on Romans 8:15 states, “Adoption is the same word as ‘sonship’ in Galatians 4:5.”) "Sonship" is a distinctly Christian blessing. That is, it is a special blessing that God has reserved for Christians only. Others in His family—Old Testament saints, the coming Jewish remnant, redeemed Israelites from the ten tribes, converted Gentiles in the Millennium, etc.—are not in this favoured place before God. All such are children in the family of God, but in the dispensation of grace only Christians have the place of sons.
Sonship is the highest position of blessing that a creature can have in relation to God the Father. Angels were called “the sons of God” in the Old Testament (Gen. 6:2; Job 1:6), but since Christ rose from the dead and ascended on high, taking Manhood to the place in which He Himself stands before God, they no longer have that appellative. “The sons of God” (Rom. 8:14) is now a term that is reserved exclusively for Christians, for they have a superior place of blessing and privilege before God above all other blessed creatures. God could have put us in the place of the elect angels, or even lifted us to the lofty position of an archangel—and we would have been thankful for it. But He did something far greater and more blessed than that—He has set us in His own Son’s place, with all the favour and privileges that come with having that place!
The amazing thing about it is that God planned this great blessing for Christians “before the foundation of the world,” and it is “according to the good pleasure of His will” to bring it to pass (Eph. 1:3-6). It actually brings joy and satisfaction to His heart to have a company of sons before Him in the very place of His own Son! As “sons of God” we share:
• The Son’s place—acceptance (Eph. 1:6).
• The Son’s life—eternal life (John 17:2).
• The Son’s liberty before the Father (Rom. 8:14-16).
• The Son’s inheritance (Rom. 8:17).
• The Son’s glory (Rom. 8:18; John 17:22).
It is commonly thought that “adoption” is an action of God that brings a person into His family. However, this is not what Scripture teaches. There is only one way into God’s family; it is by new birth (being born again). The adoption of “sonship” has to do with one who has been born again (and thus is a child of God in the family of God) being elevated or upgraded to a special place of privilege and distinction within the family. As mentioned, it is to be placed in the very position that the Son of God Himself has before God! This occurs when a person believes the gospel of his salvation and is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). Hence, a person becomes a child of God in the family of God when he is born again, but when He receives the Spirit by believing the gospel, he is placed as a son (the adoption of “sonship”) in the family.
People with a Jewish background would probably understand the way in which adoption is used in Scripture more readily than those who come from a Gentile background. In a Jewish family, when a boy reaches the age of 13, his parents have a "Bar mitzvah" for him, at which time he is formally upgraded from being a child in the family to that of a son. Thereafter he enjoys greater liberties and privileges in the household. The "Bar mitzvah" does not bring the boy into the family, but upgrades him to a favoured place in it. It is likewise with adoption of the Spirit in God’s family.
The Apostle Paul teaches this in Galatians 4:1-7. He differentiates between "children" and "sons" in God’s family, using a Jewish household to illustrate it. Children, in the sense in which he uses the term in this passage, are viewed as having a diminutive place in the family. He correlates it with the place that believers had in Old Testament times. But with the coming of Christ to accomplish redemption and the sending of the Holy Spirit, believers in that old economy who received Him as Saviour received “the adoption of sons” and thus were upgraded or elevated to the Christian position of "sonship." They left the position of a minor, and came into the favoured place of “sons” in the family of God. (The Apostle John, however, does not use the word “children” in the same diminutive sense as Paul does in Galatians. In John’s writings, children are viewed as having the Holy Spirit and therefore in the full Christian position – 1 John 2:20; 3:24; 4:13. Even those whom John designates as “little children,” which are new converts, are seen in that place – 1 John 2:18. John calls them children because the emphasis in his epistles is on eternal life and the relationship that we have with the Father in affection, which “children” portrays. Thus, Christians are viewed in Scripture as both children and sons. Occasionally, the KJV erroneously translates “children” as “sons” in John’s writings, and this can be confusing—e.g. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1).
While God blesses all who are in His family, He is sovereign and can bestow special favour on some in His family above others, if He chooses. This is what He has done in choosing believers from this present dispensation (Christians) for sonship. There are four main places in Scripture where sonship is mentioned; each reference focuses on a different aspect of this great Christian blessing:
• Galatians 4:1-7 emphasizes the privileged position we have that is above the other blessed persons in God’s family.
• Romans 8:14-15 emphasizes the special liberty we have before God, having access into His presence at any time and being able to address Him as our Father, with an intimacy that no other blessed creature had ever known—crying, “Abba, Father.”
• Ephesians 1:3-10 emphasizes the superior blessings and intelligence in the purpose of God that we have, which until this present day, has been held a secret in “the Mystery.”
• Hebrews 2:10-13 emphasizes the dignity that we have through being identified with Christ as His “brethren” in the new creation race—Christ being the Head of the race as the “Firstborn” (Rev. 3:14; Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18).