Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2018

As I looked into this little girl’s eyes, I learned a divine lesson on unconditional love. How could I love someone so much this quickly? I would certainly die for and probably kill for this precious baby that I just met. A legal transaction had made me this girl’s father. She had a new last name, which was pretty cool since she would now live at the “White” house. A surreal feeling came over me as they said we were free to leave the office, but not the state, until proper legal agreements between Florida and Texas could be arranged. Still holding my daughter, I reached for our bag, and my mom asked me if I wanted her to carry Rachel. Not appropriately understanding the desires of a first-time “Nana,” I remember distinctly replying with words that have never been truer, “She will never be as safe as she is right now in Daddy’s arms.” Now that she’s a teenager, there are days when I wish we could go back to those “safe” moments. Beyond unconditional love, this life journey taught me practical lessons about the theology of adoption. A legal transaction granted me a forever daughter, just as the legal declaration of justification made by the just Judge of the universe declared me a child of my heavenly Father, forever adopted into the family of God. Neither an orphan nor a slave to my sin, but a son and an heir free to serve my Redeemer. The closer I looked, the more I learned about the cord of adoption woven through the biblical tapestry. The Old Testament displays God’s passion for adoption through his personhood as Father, the adoption of the nation of Israel as His firstborn son (Ex. 4:22), and adoption stories like Moses (Ex. 2:10), Genubath (1 Kings 11:20), and Esther (Est. 2:7). The Old Testament reveals God as Father and contains about 40 references to the “fatherless.” These references include the command to treat the fatherless correctly (Ex. 22:22) and to “bring justice to the fatherless” (Isa. 1:17). Deuteronomy 24:17–21 compares the plight of the fatherless to that of Israel while in Egyptian bondage. The adoption metaphor also extends to the entire nation of Israel, as Moses received instruction to tell Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22). God used Moses, himself rescued through adoption, to speak of God adopting Israel as His firstborn son. You remember the narrative: Pharaoh commanded the death of all children under 2 years old and Jochebed hid Moses in the bulrushes. Pharaoh’s daughter had mercy on this “orphaned” child and eventually reared him in the house of Pharaoh. Moses, saved through adoption, eventually led Israel, the nation saved through adoption, out of slavery in Egypt. The story of Moses and Jesus contain similarities. Both lived when leaders commanded children age 2 and under be killed. Moses came out of Egypt, whereas Jesus fled to and came out of Egypt. Pharaoh’s daughter “adopted” Moses. Joseph adopted Jesus. God used Moses to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, while Jesus rescued mankind from slavery in sin. The analogy breaks down as Moses, a man of the law, could only look into the “Promised Land,” while Joshua (Yeshua in Hebrew, the Old Testament name for Jesus) was the greater Moses and completed the journey across the Jordan. The law only reveals our sinfulness, whereas Jesus brings us safe passage to our heavenly promised land by grace through faith. Turning to the New Testament, we see four passages addressing the theological importance of adoption: Galatians 4:4–7, Romans 8:14–23, Ephesians 1:3–6, and Romans 9:1–4, and two others that mention orphans. These passages could have easily retained the well- established language of the new birth. Instead, the Spirit- inspired Scriptures reveal imagery of adoption, describing in greater detail the fullness of the doctrine of salvation. From these passages, we may draw four conclusions about adoption. FIRST, ADOPTION MAKES SONS OUT OF SLAVES. From Adam’s choice to follow Eve in eating the forbidden fruit rather than follow God, mankind has been born enslaved to sin. Our corrupt nature leads every human to fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Galatians 4 indicates that God sent forth His Son to redeem those in bondage by the law to adoption as sons. Jesus substituted Himself for mankind, As part of salvation, believers receive the Spirit, which confirms newly adopted sons as children of God. 4 | Cedarville Magazine