Taco’s Aren’t Awesome. Adoption Is.
Words That Lost Their Wonder
Paraphrasing C.S. Lewis,1 do not say something is awesome, unless it really is, else when something that is truly awesome comes along, you will have no word to describe it.
We can be quick to waste words, diluting them of their marvel. The word awesome is first found in the Oxford English dictionary in 1598, it meant the feeling of awe.
We use it to describe tacos. “Dude, I had an awesome taco.” Really? The taco filled you with awe and wonder?
Words of deep meaning cheapened by frivolity.
Here is a word worthy of the mantle of awesome: adoption.
Adoption in the Ancient World
Adoption was a practice in the ancient world.2 Roman adoption could take place at any age,3 and would often cancel all previous debts, defining the new son or daughter totally in terms of his or her relationship with their new father. It didn't matter how wealthy the father might be, his son, adopted or not, could not enjoy his father’s wealth till he came of age. Once adopted the new son or daughter (if they had been a servant) had the privilege of addressing their former master by the title of Father.
Perhaps most striking, once adopted, a child could not be disowned. A natural born child could be, but not an adopted child.4
Sons, Not Slaves
On the biblical idea of Adoption, St. Paul writes,
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.5
This parallels the culture of first century adoption. The child is no different than the slave or servant. He is under a guardian. Who is this guardian? It’s the law.
St. Paul in the next few verses goes on:
In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 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.6
He starts by saying we were children, but ends by saying we are sons. These are not the same. Like in the Roman world, a child was under a guardian, we were also under a guardian, the law, but Christ set us free from our guardian through the cross.
The New Testament word for adoption means, “to place as an adult son.”7 It has to do with our standing in the family of God: meaning we are not little children, but adult sons and daughters who have all the privileges of sonship. In adoption God is doing something awesome. We are no longer under the burden of the law, but under the One whose burden is light.
St. Paul makes another shift related to those who are not firstborns. Israel shared a common practice with their Greco-Roman neighbors: the first-born son was the heir. But we find this in Galatians:
For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.8
Throughout history the first-born was at the center. Not only that, it was about the male firstborn in a well to do family. But in the theology of adoption, God doesn’t adopt His children based on birth order, all can find a plate at His kitchen table.
Abba, Father
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”9
St. Paul says, “Abba, Father.” Jesus, the night before the cross cries out, “Abba, Father.” The Apostle Paul parallels Jesus’ cry with our spirits' cry for the Father. The Aramaic word “Abba” is a term of close relationship. It indicates warmth as well as confidence. Like when your child calls you dad or daddy, they call out because you are safe and good. To call on our Abba, is to call on God as a father who is able and ready to help.
Paraphrasing Martin Luther, he said this about the word Abba: “This word surpasses all eloquence and combats the cruel teaching that we should feel uncertain concerning our status with God.” Justin Holcomb takes it even further, “Abba summarizes the message on every page of Scripture: that God is merciful, loving, and patient…and keeps His promises.”10
The Privileges of Adoption
The entire Christian life can be understood in view of adoption. Our adoption as sons and daughters of God reveals the great love God has for us. Adoption by its very nature is an act of free love to the person adopted. The Father freely chooses to adopt us, when we come to him. He loves to hear His sons and daughters calling out to Him, “Abba, Father.”
Because of adoption we are able to speak honestly and intimately to our heavenly Father. God is a king, but we are not peasants, we are sons and daughters of the Father of lights.
God offers us a home. We are not adopted as only children, but brought into His ever-growing family.
As sons and daughters there is no wrath over us. We can live in peace, hope, and joy knowing we have been justified through Jesus and adopted by the Father.
A servant has a master, a son has a father.
A servant obeys out of fear, a son out of love.
A servant is poor, a son is rich.
A servant has no future, a son has an inheritance.
J.I. Packer said you can essentially sum up the whole of the New Testament like this: it is about knowledge of God as one’s Father.11
Theology doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The Theology Made Simple Course will show you how to make complicated ideas about God simple, practical, and life-giving.
Lewis, C. S. (1985). Letters to children (L. W. Dorsett & M. L. Mead, Eds.). Touchstone.
Bradley, K. R. (1991). Discovering the Roman Family: Studies in Roman Social History. Oxford University Press.
As an example: Julius Caesar’s adoption of Octavian (later Augustus) is recorded by Suetonius (Divus Julius 83).
Ramsay, W. (1894). A manual of Roman antiquities. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
Galatians 4:1
Galatians 4:3-5
υἱοθεσία
Galatians 3:28
Galatians 4:6
Holcomb, J. (2012, July 8). Our Father of Fathers. The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/our-father-of-fathers/
Packer, J. I. (1973). Knowing God. InterVarsity Press.