Adopted By God, Now His Children

November 27th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 8:14-16 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God…

Observing the verb in v. 14 is crucial to understanding the passage. Those who are “being led by the Spirit of God” are perpetually led, as the Greek present tense indicates. And since the verb is in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon. So, those who are indwelt by the Spirit are not guided by Him; rather, the direction of their entire lives is determined by Him. The former gives the idea that the Spirit merely shows Christians the way, while the latter points more towards the Spirit dragging the Christian by the hand along the Spirit’s predetermined path. Therefore, “you are putting to death the deeds of the body” in v. 13 is simply one benefit of being led by the Spirit explained in v. 14. Albeit, Christians still have to power to resist the Spirit, grieving Him (Eph. 4:30). Though He acts upon them, oftentimes they say no to Him.

To counter this, Christians are to “dwell richly” on Scripture in order to be filled with the Spirit of God (Col. 3:16; cf. Eph. 5:18-21). This produces the display of the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). The Spirit’s leading is a continual action, not a one-time event. He is always prompting His people. This is the evidence of the true “sons of God.” Without the study of Scripture, inspired by the Spirit, it would be difficult to be led by the Spirit, impossible to know God’s will.

The title “Son of God” is used of course for Jesus as the unique Son of God (John 3:16), but “son of God” is also used of Israel in the OT (Deut. 14:1; Isa. 43:6; Hos. 11:1) to denote them as God’s people (cf. Deut. 32:6; Isa. 64:8). Notwithstanding, God’s redeemed children—the “sons of God” (v. 14) are specifically those who are “being led by the Spirit.” So, insofar as individual Jews are in Christ, they are indeed the sons of God. But the sons of God include all nations and tribes who submit to Jesus Christ and are “being led by the Spirit of God.”

In v. 15 the address is to Christians who were delivered out of their slavery to sin and into their adoption as sons of God. The “spirit of slavery” is that which holds man’s flesh in captivity to sin (8:2). In his unbelief, his freewill always chooses sin because he is in bondage to it. But the Spirit of God is the Spirit of adoption, and upon belief in Christ, the sinner is set free from slavery of sin, adopted by God as His own. God’s adopts them and they become “sons of God.” So, v. 14 speaks of the Spirit’s leading, for having been delivered from the slavery of sin, God’s people become slaves to the Spirit who leads them. Now they are slaves of righteousness (6:18).

There is now no fear for the sons of God to fall back into a spirit of slavery, for they “have received”—a once and for all gift—the privilege of crying out to God as Jesus did (Mark 14:36) as their “Father,” as “Abba,” an Aramaic term akin to “Daddy” (v. 15). This intimate closeness like that of father and child, is the Spirit of God within believers that confirms to them in their spirits that they indeed belong to God (v. 16). Though Jews were not in the practice of adopting children, the Romans were. Paul thus used this picture for God’s children, adopted by Him to be indwelt with His Spirit—who confirms to the believer that they belong to God. The fruit that the Spirit produces (Gal. 5:22-23) is the valid witness attesting to them that they belong to God.

Food for Thought

I knew a woman who told me that she had a special affection for her adopted son over her two natural sons because he had been so abused when she adopted him. He held a special place in her heart. I think God feels that way for Christians, having saved us out of the slavery of sin. In our depraved, pathetic state, God showed us mercy, grace, and love. Oh how He loves us!