Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Galatians: A Grace-full Life

The Grace of Adoption (Pt3)

Sermon Series: Galatians: A Grace-full Life

Title: : The Grace of Adoption (Pt3) Text: Galatians 4:1-7

Introduction:  If you died today:

·       Would your family be financially secure without you?

·       Would your spouse be able to pay the bills and debts you left behind?

·       Would your spouse be able to care for your children until they were old enough to care for themselves?

These are all questions that a life insurance agent or financial planner might ask when helping you plan for the future. And they’re good questions. But it makes me wonder what sort of premium we would be willing to pay in order to have the peace of mind security brings.

In his great grace, God has provided for us an inheritance that  assures us the security of eternal life, and a full life here. And Jesus paid our premium in full for us when He died on the cross! How’s that for an insurance policy?

Transition: Open your Bibles to Galatians 4:4 (pg. 888 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we will conclude our study ‘The grace of adoption.’

II. Galatians 4:4-7      But God...

Read: Galatians 4:4-7

‘That we might receive the full rights as sons’ (NIV)

‘That we might receive adoption as sons.’ (ESV)

The NIV actually explains what the ESV says. We are adopted by God...but we receive the same benefits as if we were sons of God by blood, so to speak.

To say ‘That we might receive the full rights or (adoption) as sons’ means that God does not consider us His illegitimate children. We are considered His full sons and daughters.

Why is this important? Because I would venture to say that all of us here this morning are Gentiles by birth...not Jews. And to the Jews (remember the context of this passage) we could never truly be children of God because they believed that only the Jews were God’s people. So, at best we might hope to receive the scraps from God’s table as His illegitimate children... but even then we would need to keep the Law of Moses and live like a Jew.

Paul is assuring each Gentile Christian in the Galatian churches of his day, and all of us here today, that we are legitimate sons and daughters of God, deserving of all the benefits and blessings God has promised to His children. There are no second class Christians in God’s family.

Adoption as God’s children is the direct result of God’s grace. We don’t deserve a thing from God and we had nothing to do with the adoption process. We are sons and daughters of God...by His wonderful, matchless, and amazing grace.

Transition: And to make our adoption secure, God gave us something special.   

‘Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts...’

ILL: A 4 year old boy was visiting his aunt who was pregnant with her first child. She allowed him to place his hand on her belly and feel the baby kick. His little face scrunched and said, “How does the baby get out of there?”  She wanted to keep it simple so she said, “The doctor will help.” His eyes widened in amazement as he exclaimed, “You got a doctor in there, too?” (Jeff Strite)

 

We know she didn’t have a doctor inside her. But she would need help getting the baby out of her belly. With all that needs to be done to have a baby, it would be easier if there was a doctor in there....am I right ladies?

In a similar way, our text reveals that God knew our lives as Christians would be so much easier, if He were inside us, helping us out.

‘Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, ’

When you become a Christian, God places His Spirit inside your heart. You don’t have to go to a special place to be in God’s presence.  When you need Him, He’s always right here inside you.

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:16 ‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?’

We are the temple of God. He’s always with us (in us) whether we’re at home, at work or at play. He’s always here. And that’s not all.

Read: Ephesians 1:11-14

Christian, you have been marked by God. You have been sealed by God. God placed His Holy Spirit inside you to say: this man, this woman belongs to Me!

And that’s not all...His Spirit inside you is also His promise that He’s coming back for you.

 

Read: Ephesians 1:14 ‘who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession...’

As a Christian, God marked you, He sealed you, you belong to Him, you are His possession. And His Spirit is His Guarantee that, when He comes back, He’s coming back...for you.

 

ILL: A wealthy man called his faithful assistant into his office and said, ‘I’ve put you name in my will, and you will get $10,000 when I die. Since it may be some time before you get that inheritance, I want to give you some piece of mind by paying you each year the legal interest on that amount. Here is a check for $600 as a starter.’ The assistance was doubly thankful. The promise of the inheritance was good news, and the money he received in advance assured him of the reality of his hope for the future.

By giving you His Spirit God is showing you he serious about spending eternity with you in heaven so much so that He has given you a part of it right now. And that’s not all!

‘Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls

out ‘Abba, Father!’’

‘Abba Father’ Here’s a little linguistics lesson. While the NT was written in Greek, the word ‘Abba’ is Aramaic. Why? Because it is the word Jesus spoke time and time again in reference to God the Father.

And because it was used so many times by Jesus, Paul chose to use it rather then the Greek equivalent ,out of respect for the deep intimacy it represented between Jesus and God the Father. Paul wanted us to understand that we can have that kind of deep intimacy with God...because we too are His sons and daughters.

ILL: There was a girl that grew up in Jerusalem. One day, she and her father went shopping in the marketplace. She was holding tight to her daddy’s hand. Well, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a new baby doll. She let her Father’s hand slip out of hers and she ran over to hug the baby doll. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the market, she lost her Father. She looked around and couldn’t see him anywhere. She did the only thing she knew at that moment. She cried out, "ABBA! ABBA!" And as she called for her daddy, he came busting through the crowd like Superman and swooped her up in his arms and carried her for the rest of the day. (Nate Barbour)

‘Abba’ means daddy. It is a term of endearment, of relationship, and of intimacy. Again let’s keep to the context. Remember in verses 1-3 Paul said we were once like a slave under the tutelage of guardians. And as such we called the guardians sir. But, when we were adopted by God, we don’t call Him sir, we call Him, daddy.

While our earthly fathers may not have been much of a ‘daddy’ to us, our Heavenly Father is the One we can come to, jump into His lap and tell Him anything and everything...w/o fear, because we know He loves us.

Transition: If having the privilege of being that intimate with our Creator isn’t great enough, as adopted sons and daughters, God promises us so much more.

‘So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.’

ILL: A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the hospital a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided to ask the pastor if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The pastor went, and gradually led up to the question. The pastor asked the pman what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, ‘I think I would give half of it to the church.’ The preacher dropped dead. (Nathan Johnson)

If you were told that you were going to inherit a vast sum of money, what would you do? What would you think? How would you react?

Read: Ephesians 1:3 ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’

As Christians, we sit on a fortune, yet so often we act like paupers:

·       We still behave with the same poor, old nature.

·       We do not live like we are children of the King.

·       We think in terms of what we owe, instead of what is already bought and paid for.

Jesus paid the price for our redemption.

God the Father has adopted us as His sons and daughters.

We have the full rights as children of God.

And He has given us an inheritance that Scripture says will never spoil, rust or fade...that means it’s eternal.

Conclusion

Paul, in our text, is encouraging us to open our eyes to God’s wonderful grace By telling us that we are no longer slaves:

·       We do not have to be a slave to greed

·       We do not have to be a slave to lust

·       We do not have to be a slave to alcohol or drugs

·       We do not have to be a slave to the Law

·       We do not have to be a slave to anything.

Jesus’ blood has changed our status from slave to son. God the Father has poured His love on us, and His Spirit in us. He has given us His righteousness and the promise His forgiveness.

This time...our lives right now...no matter how difficult things may be, can be a time of ever increasing confidence in the God:

·       who adopted us and made us His children...

·       with full rights as sons and daughters of God,

·       heirs to all the promises of God...today and in heaven.

·       Who can receive hope and renewed strength as members of God’s family.

Do you know anybody who was “adopted” by an earthly family? They’re special! Their parents chose them. My parents didn’t choose me … they got me, whether they liked it or not! I didn’t choose my children. I didn’t pick them out.

But, God chose you! God picked you out. God “adopted” you. Jesus said in John 15:16a ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you...’

Let’s put the doctrine of election aside for a moment. God chose you to be His child. Let that sink in. When you trusted Christ to save you, you were “adopted” into His family. And God opened up His home to you.

The question is: Have you experienced the grace of God’s adoption? And if you have, are you living freely as an heir to the promises of God?