Topical Bible: Adoption: should Produce Child-Like Confidence in God

◄ Adoption: should Produce Child-Like Confidence in God ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

Adoption, in the biblical context, refers to the gracious act of God by which believers are received into His family as His children. This spiritual adoption is a profound truth that carries significant implications for the believer's relationship with God, particularly in fostering a child-like confidence in Him.

The Apostle Paul, in his epistles, provides a foundational understanding of this concept. In Romans 8:15, Paul writes, "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father!'" . This verse highlights the transformation from a state of fear and bondage to one of intimate relationship and trust. The term "Abba" is an Aramaic word that conveys a deep sense of intimacy and trust, akin to a child's address to their loving father. This relationship is not based on fear but on the assurance of God's love and care.

Furthermore, in Galatians 4:4-7, Paul elaborates on the privileges of adoption: "But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God" . This passage underscores the believer's new identity and inheritance as children of God, which should naturally lead to a confident reliance on Him.

The concept of child-like confidence is further illustrated by Jesus Himself. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus states, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" . Here, Jesus emphasizes the importance of adopting a child-like disposition characterized by trust, humility, and dependence on God. This attitude is not one of naivety but of profound faith and assurance in God's goodness and sovereignty.

The assurance of God's fatherly care is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. In Psalm 103:13, it is written, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him" . This verse reassures believers of God's tender care and compassion, encouraging them to trust Him as a child trusts a loving parent.

Moreover, the security of this relationship is affirmed in John 1:12-13: "But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God" . This divine adoption is not based on human effort or merit but is a sovereign act of God's grace, providing believers with a secure and unshakeable identity as His children.

In summary, the biblical doctrine of adoption should inspire believers to approach God with the confidence and trust of a child. This relationship, marked by intimacy and assurance, is a testament to the transformative power of God's grace and love, inviting believers to rest in the security of their identity as His beloved children.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Doctrines of Salvation A. Repentance. B. Faith. C. ...
... Justification with our standing, and Adoption with our ... even your sanctification,
that ye should abstain from ... ofttimes is intended to "produce the peaceable ...
/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrines of salvation a.htm

They Shall be Called the Children of God
... in the world, yet by virtue of his adoption he is ... melted into tears; the clouds of
desertion produce spiritual rain ... He not only teaches us what we should do but ...
/.../the beatitudes an exposition of matthew 51-12/19 they shall be called.htm

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
... not received it again, that is, after the Spirit, as a spirit of adoption, is come ...
sin (John 16:8,9). For it cannot be that the Spirit of God should convince us ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a treatise of the fear.htm

Alive or Dead --Which?
... the Spirit, godly fear, the spirit of adoption, brotherly love ... life; and even if
that life should be somewhat ... he has no inward life to produce these priceless ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 13 1867/alive or deadwhich.htm

The Gentle Boy
... yet within a week after his adoption of Ilbrahim ... were brooding within him when they
should naturally have ... of his kindness to Ilbrahim was to produce a softened ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the gentle boy.htm

The Christ of the Gospels. By Rev. Professor Schaff.
... The annals of history produce no other example of such ... of God only by derivation
or adoption, after a ... poets of classic Greece and Rome, should have composed ...
/.../the christ of the gospels.htm

The Close of the Theban Empire --(Continued)
... of the highest types which Egyptian art could produce at its ... relationship to the
sun made its adoption a duty ... this favour to those whom they should deem worthy ...
/.../chapter ithe close of the.htm

Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of ...
... of doctrine, but it has been through the adoption of his ... could put us in sympathy
with him, produce the effect ... It was only natural that he should obtain the ...
/.../introduction chapter i the life and.htm

part i
... He wishes that we should always belong to Him ... moments must proceed from the being
that works against God, for the same cause cannot produce opposite actions ...
//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/my life in christ/part i.htm

part ii
... interests of the soul require that we should oftener rise ... Our Lord God is pleased
with us for our ... alms of us"even with poor children, whose confidence in men ...
//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/my life in christ/part ii.htm