Our Adoption Assures Us

Our Adoption Assures Us

by Kathy Collard Miller

God Adopted Us as Sons

Let’s concentrate on how Ephesians 1:5 can speak to us to give us a deeper sense of security: he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

Interestingly, in the Roman culture when Paul wrote this Epistle, a Roman father could disinherit a son born into the family. But an adopted child could not be disinherited.

The idea was a father had no choice as to what he received when a baby was born naturally into the family. If the child grew up and disgraced the family, the father could justify disinheriting him by saying, “I didn’t know he had all these flaws, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen him.”

But an adopted child was chosen specifically with full knowledge of his strengths, weaknesses, appearance, and anything else a family considered important.

Therefore, a father could not justify disinheriting him. A father could never say, “I didn’t know what I was getting.”

God’s Adoption Is Forever

Paul’s wording didn’t just say we are sons (or daughters). He included the fact we are adopted.

Paul fully knew the Roman culture—he was Jewish yet had Roman citizenship. His readers knew the significance of not only becoming a son but an adopted son—a position which could not be taken away regardless of performance or flaws.

I hope this speaks to you as much as it speaks to me. God wants us to know we cannot be disinherited—we cannot lose our salvation! He chose us fully knowing we would not be perfect.

But he also wants us to desire to please him out of gratitude for the great salvation he has given us. As we live in that assurance, we’ll give glory to God.

Our Relationship to God Gives Him Glory

When you read through Ephesians 1, it’s striking how often God’s glory is mentioned. You’ll find it in:

• vs. 6: his grace brings him glory
• vs. 12: we are to the praise of his glory
• 
vs. 14: the gift of the Holy Spirit brings praise to his glory
• 
vs. 17: God is the Father of glory
• 
vs. 18: we can know the riches of his glory revealed in our inheritance.

What glorious connections to our inheritance.

If you are a Christian, you are secure. You may not always “feel” it, but you are regardless of your feelings.

As we more fully develop joy and a sense of security we enlarge God’s generosity in the eyes of others.

Our Guest Blogger

Kathy Collard Miller is an award-winning author of over 50 books that include Christian living topics, women’s Bible studies, and Bible commentaries. She is a speaker who has shared in 8 foreign countries and over 30 US states. This guest blog is adapted from Kathy’s book Pure-Hearted: The Blessings of Living Out God’s Glory. Kathy and Larry have been married for 47 years and are the parents of 2 and grandparents of 2. They live in Southern California and often write and speak together. Visit her at www.KathyCollardMiller.com. She would love to hear from you.

www.facebook.com/KathyCollardMillerAuthor
Twitter: @KathyCMiller
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