By: The Rev. Ron McKeon
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption…”
The apostle Paul in this passage uses adoption to illustrate the believer’s new relationship with God. In Roman culture, the adopted person lost all rights in their old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in the new family, becoming a full heir. Likewise when a person becomes a Christian, they gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of those outstanding privileges is being led by the Holy Spirit (see Gal 4:5-6). We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love (Rom 5:5).
The idea of adoption does not appear in the Old Testament legal system, and Paul seems to have borrowed this apt concept from Roman law, filling it out with the biblical theology of God’s fatherhood over His people.
As believers we are the adopted children of God. Through our common relationship with God and expressed in commitment to one another, mutual concern, concerted action and harmony within the believing community we find a distinguishing characteristic, the unity of the children of God. However, bitterness and strife often put a damper on the flame of unity within the believing community.