About our Father by Hildegard und Heinrich Becker

Author:Hildegard und Heinrich Becker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Books on Demand
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Adoption

We tend to emphasize that we are justified before our Father through Jesus and that is right. However the adoption through Jesus' Father is the culmination of our salvation in the Bible.

We have been adopted by our Father!

Paul speaks of this four times in his letters.105

We don't really think of this as something sensational. It's just the opposite: adoption is a second-class relationship, the own biological children will always have the first-class relationship.

But Paul used this example because he knew the rights of Roman citizens since he was one himself.106

The letters in which he wrote about adoption were written to churches in the Roman Empire, for the recipients knew about the process of an adoption according to Roman laws.

Jesus talked also about our Father's acceptance of us, but he did not use the word adoption. Why not? Adoption was not a part of the Jewish laws and to make comparisons with the Romans was not such a wise thing to do, as the Romans would not have accepted it.

What makes these laws of adoption107, which Paul uses as an example, so special? It is far from our adoption laws of today in Germany, even though ours are based upon the Roman laws of adoption.

Let us take a look at the rights of biologically born children: According to Roman law, the father had the right of disposal over his children. He had the right to dispel them, sell them into slavery, even to kill them, which often happened if daughters were born. The biological children in a family were not at all in a secure position. This was the same in the Greek culture. Contrary to our understanding and the administration of justice in Germany.

Now to adopted sons ( we'll handle daughters later):

The process of adoption was complicated and encompassed many different factors in which the original family of the child, the health, height, bodily strength, character and education played a decisive role.

Usually the reason for adoption was that there was no suitable male offspring for the continuation of the family or the business. Adoption is a legal process with rules to be exactly followed. In contrast to salvation, which was a term used in the healing arts. Here we are talking about adoption as a legal process which had to exactly fulfill legal laws.

Paul gives us an important statement about the process of selection by his Father:

Eph 1,14: „For he (our Father) chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.“ (Luther translation 84)

The process of selection made by our Father was finished before he created the world. That is incomprehensible! The plan for our adoption had always been a part of the plans of creation! Before we were born, our Father already wanted to adopt us! We ARE holy and blameless before Him! We passed our selection procedure!

We passed it before we were even born!

What a Father!

Ephesians 1, 4b + 5:

In love he predestined us for adoption to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

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