The Holy Spirit Makes You His Family

Hey, did you know this?

When the apostle Paul wrote about the Holy Spirit’s adoptive work in Romans 8, it wasn’t a nod to Jewish customs but a reference to Roman laws regarding adoption. This makes historical sense, I suppose, because this letter was sent to Christians living in Rome, and that was something they’d find familiar. But to say that God adopts in a way similar to the legal standards of Rome carries some important implications for you and me.

Consider:

• According to Roman law, adoption marked a complete change in status for the person who was adopted.
• There was no age limit for adoption, nor a race barrier, nor a gender obstacle, nor a social prerequisite.
• Roman law dictated that all debts were cancelled when a person was adopted.
• The adopted person was thereafter to be known everywhere as a full family member, as if born by blood.
• The adopted person was entitled to all privileges enjoyed by that family, including property, social status, and Roman citizenship.
• The adopted person was granted full inheritance rights to share in any inheritance of assets within the family.
• The adopted person was thereafter to live under the authority of the adopter, which could include surrendering choice of career, living location, daily activities, and so on.
• The adopter took full responsibility to provide safety, well-being, and family support for the rest of the adopted person’s life.

Are you beginning to glimpse the incredible, excessive, absolutely unnecessary generosity of this work that God has done in you? Does it start to take your breath away? Holy Spirit adoption into God’s family is no inconsequential thing!

Because God chooses to make you His family…

…you can now be completely changed for the better (see 2 Corinthians 5:17);

…your age, race, gender, and so on cannot prevent you from joining God’s family (Galatians 3:28);

…your grievous debt over sin has been cancelled (Colossians 2:13–14);

…you can now be fully known in heaven and on Earth as a member of God’s household (Ephesians 2:18–19);

…you now have access to all the privileges of being family with God (2 Peter 1:3–4);

…you’ve been granted full inheritance rights with Christ himself (Galatians 4:7);

…you can trust in God’s loving direction and oversight of your daily life (Psalm 32:8);

…and God has taken full responsibility for your well-being—now and through eternity (Philippians 4:19).

Whew.

Somebody say Amen!