06/23/2019
Much like a marriage, which begins at betrothal, grows more certain with the wedding ceremony, and is finally made complete by consummation (which is the joining together as one flesh), so will our full adoption as sons and daughters of God not be made complete until Christ returns to claim us, and God announces us as His Children.
“Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
1 John 3:2 ESV
To read scripture regarding our adoption as the children of God, and fully understand it, we must first understand the adoption customs in the time of Jesus. Here is a good description of this process as written by Charles Spurgeon...
“Among the ancient Romans a man might adopt a child and keep the proceeding private for a long time, but there was a second adoption in public. When the child was brought before the governing authorities, its old garments were removed and the adoptive father gave the child clothing suitable to its new position.” - Charles Spurgeon
How similar this sounds to us as the children of God, by our faith we are already children of God , but we are waiting to be brought before all of heaven where standing next to Jesus we will be announced by God as His Children, and dressed in garments appropriate to our new position.
“For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”
2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV
We are in God’s tent, and have been stripped of our earthly garments, but we are not left naked, and are dressed in the first of our heavenly clothing which we will wear as we await Jesus’s return. Do you know what our clothing looks like? This is the adornment spoken of in Colossians 3 where we are told what we wear as we wait for Jesus to return for us... when at last we will become the fully adopted and the new Children of God.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Colossians 3:12-14 ESV
We were also told in Romans 8 that although we have the first fruits of the Spirit and are adopted sons, we still await our new bodies... our new garments that indicate our second adoption...
“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
Romans 8:22-23 ESV
In the scripture below there is a reference to predestination, and this is often thought to mean that our lives as a whole have been predetermined by God, but I offer to you that this speaks specifically of the fact that we are only predestined to be the full and complete Children of God, dressed as Jesus is, when He comes back for us. In other words... once we have received, or been foreknown in Jesus, by the first private adoption, we are predestined in Christ to be adopted again publicly upon His return.
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Romans 8:29 ESV
So by our faith in Jesus we are foreknown, and predestined, and will be conformed to the image of Christ... but not until His return will we receive this public announcement of adoption... and our new adornment.
We yearn for the return of Jesus, and we long to become the publicly adopted Children of God; to become as Christ is... the Son of God. Yet, as we wait we are not naked. We have been dressed in compassion and all the various garments of God’s love. We have put on Christ, and we go about living our faith and watching for the clouds to part, and we anticipate with great anxiousness the day when our Father will dress us anew as the bride, and as the heirs and joint heirs with Jesus.
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”
Revelation 19:7-8 ESV
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who is our brother, and we thank you for the coming day when we will stand with Him before you as you announce us to all of creation as your adopted Children, and dress us in the white robes of purity. Until that day, we pray for strength and perseverance to live lives of faith, to be righteous in your eyes, obedient to your will, and holy for your use. Help us Father, give us courage to face each day in the full knowledge that you are with us, and that you will never abandon us. Give us peace in understanding that through Christ you foreknown us and that we are predestined to be your Children. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God and Father, who dresses us, and calls us His own. Great is your love and mercy which sustains us as we await the return of Jesus. All glory is yours Heavenly Father as your grace through Jesus is made perfect in us. Hear our voices as we worship you, hear our spirits as they cry out to you, and have mercy on us always.
Rich Forbes