Holy spirit and adoption

HOLY SPIRIT AND ADOPTION
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Romans 8:15
For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Galatians 4:5
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
• Only one specific term for adoption used in the Bible, huiothesia. This term is found five
times, all in Paul
• Rom. 8:15, “Spirit of adoption”
• Rom. 8:23, “adoption of the body”
• Rom. 9:4, “to whom is the adoption”
• Gal. 4:5, “receive the adoption”
• Eph. 1:5, “predestined us to be adopted”
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
Question: "What is the Spirit of adoption? What is the meaning of Romans 8:15?"
Answer: Romans 8:15 says, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (KJV). This verse
contrasts two spirits: an impersonal “spirit of bondage” or “spirit of slavery” and the Holy Spirit,
called here “the Spirit of adoption.” Other translations render the phrase the Spirit of adoption as
“God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (NLT), “the Spirit makes you God’s
children” (GNT), or “a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children” (CEB).
Two different spirits. Two different mindsets that we can have in our approach to God: we can
approach Him as slaves in bondage, or we can approach Him as adopted children. The Bible
presents a high view of adoption and uses it to parallel the relationship God wants to have with
us. The spirit of slavery views God has a slave owner and we His trembling subjects. The spirit
of adoption views God as a loving Father and we His beloved sons and daughters.

A spirit of slavery is manifested in legalistic religion. Many cults and even some Christian
denominations put such emphasis on rule-keeping that they instill fear and a sense of dread in
their members. God is presented as a taskmaster who is never quite satisfied with anything we
do. The bar is always set a bit too high, so people find religious activities to keep themselves
busy in the hope that God will accept them for their effort. Even those who have been born again
through faith in Christ’s sacrifice for their sin (John 3:3) can cling to a spirit of slavery, never
realizing the freedom that is theirs with the Spirit of adoption.
This spirit of slavery was rampant within the Jewish culture when Jesus came to earth. He
soundly rebuked the religious leaders for instilling such legalism in people with whom God
desired to have a loving relationship (Mark 7:7–9; Matthew 23:15–16). Paul cautioned the early
churches to be watchful for the return of that spirit of slavery. In Galatians 5:1 he wrote, “It is for
freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery.”
In startling contrast is the Spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit of God who brings us into God’s
family. Jesus invited believers to address God as “our Father” (Matthew 6:8–9). God explained
His desire to treat His people as sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). God has made this
spiritual adoption possible through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16–18;
1:12; 14:6; Romans 8:14). Based on our faith and confession of allegiance (Romans 10:9–10),
God adopts us into His eternal family. He makes us joint heirs together with Jesus Christ
(Romans 8:17). We receive the Spirit of adoption when we accept, by faith, the grace that has
been offered to us in Christ (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:23; Luke 10:27). It is the Spirit of
adoption who teaches us to call out to God as our “Abba, Father.”
There is a vast difference between the way sons serve their fathers and the way slaves serve their
masters. Slaves may perform duties; sons perform acts of love. Slaves dutifully obey; sons gladly
obey. Slaves are motivated by fear of punishment; sons are motivated by love of relationship.
Slaves ask, “What is required?” Sons ask, “What else can I do for you?” The Spirit of adoption
changes us from fearful slaves to joyful sons and daughters. The Spirit of adoption allows us to
“come boldly before the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) as a beloved child runs to his father in
times of trouble. Because of the Spirit of adoption, we can enjoy serving God without fear or
obligation. Serving in our Father’s kingdom becomes life’s highest ambition (2 Corinthians
5:20).
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
Question: "What does it mean that Christians are adopted by God?"
Answer: To adopt someone is to make that person a legal son or daughter. Adoption is one of the
metaphors used in the Bible to explain how Christians are brought into the family of God. Jesus

came “that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:5), and He was successful: “You
received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (Romans 8:15, NLT).
The Bible also uses the metaphor of being “born again” into God’s family (John 3:3), which
seems to be at odds with the concept of adoption because, normally, either a person is born into a
family or adopted, not both. We shouldn’t make too much of the difference, however, because
both of these concepts are metaphors and should not be played against each other.
Adoption was not common in the Jewish world. A person’s standing was based on his birth. This
is the reason that, if a man died, his brother was supposed to marry the widow. The first son to be
born of the new marriage would be legally considered the son of the dead brother so that his
family line would continue. There was never any thought of the widow adopting a son to carry
on the family name. In John 3, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, and He uses the
Jewish concept of being born again (or born from above) to explain how one is brought into
God’s family.
In the Roman world, adoption was a significant and common practice. Today, we can write a
will and leave our wealth and property to anyone we want, male or female. In the Roman world,
with few exceptions, a man had to pass his wealth on to his son(s). If a man had no sons or if he
felt that his sons were incapable of managing his wealth or were unworthy of it, he would have
to adopt someone who would make a worthy son. These adoptions were not infant adoptions as
is common today. Older boys and adult men were normally adopted. In some cases, the adoptee
might even be older than the man who was adopting him. When the adoption was legally
approved, the adoptee would have all his debts cancelled and he would receive a new name. He
would be the legal son of his adoptive father and entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son. A
father could disown his natural-born son, but an adoption was irreversible.
In the book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and the movie starring Charleton Heston, we see a
vivid portrayal of Roman adoption. In the movie, Judah Ben-Hur (a Jew) has been imprisoned on
a Roman galley ship as a rower. When the ship sinks in battle, Judah escapes and saves the life
of a Roman commander, Arrius. Arrius’s only son has been killed, and he ultimately adopts
Judah, who is pardoned for his supposed crimes. He is also given a new name, “young Arrius,”
and has all the rights of inheritance. In the scene where the adoption is announced, Arrius takes
off his ancestral signet ring and gives it to young Arrius. Young Arrius says that he has received
“a new life, a new home, a new father.”
Paul, writing to Roman audiences, uses the metaphor of adoption, which a Roman audience
would have understood. Galatians 4:3–7 says, “So also, when we were children, we were
enslaved under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His
Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might
receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our
hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a

son, you are also an heir through God.” In this passage, Christians are born enslaved, but Jesus
buys them out of slavery and they are adopted by the Father and given the Spirit, so now they are
heirs.
Some have objected to the language that refers to our adoption as “sons.” What about the
daughters? In the Roman world, daughters could not normally receive an inheritance. Paul,
writing to male and female believers, says that both genders have been adopted so as to receive
full legal rights that sons receive. Rather than diminishing the status of women, this wording
elevates it. A woman may not be able to be an heir of a Roman father, but a believing woman is
an heir of God.
When we come to faith in Christ, our debts are cancelled, we are given a new name, and we are
given all the rights that heirs of God possess. One difference from Roman adoption is that
Christians are not adopted because God thinks they will make worthy heirs. God adopts people
who are completely unworthy, because He adopts on the basis of His grace.
So, Christians have been born into God’s family (using a Jewish metaphor) and adopted into
God’s family (using a Roman metaphor). The end result is the same; Christians are a forever part
of God’s family.
ABIDEINCHRIST.COM
ADOPTION
The word "adoption" (huiothesias) means the placement of a son to one to whom it does not
naturally belong. By law the adopted person has the same privileges, benefits, position,
responsibilities and obligations as a natural born son.
The word is found in Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5). Believers in Jesus
Christ are adopted sons (Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5), not slaves of fear (Gal. 4:7).
"You have received a spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15). Jesus Christ has redeemed us "that we
might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:5). It is part of the blessings of salvation, the
now and the yet to be, because we have received our adoption, yet "even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Romans
8:23). It is part of "our blessed hope" (Rom. 8:24-25). God the Father "in love . . . predestined us
to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention (lit. good
pleasure) of His will" (Ephesians 1:5). This is not the same doctrine as regeneration or being
born spiritually.

The apostle Paul drew an illustration from the Roman law of adoption. The modern laws of
adoption are based on this very serious legal act before the principal Roman magistrates which
enabled a person to take into his own family a child not his own with the intent of treating the
child as his own with all the privileges and responsibilities of that new family. This is a very
important law because the adopted child had all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family
and at the same time absolutely lost all rights and responsibilities in his old family. He was
treated like a new person. All of his old debts and obligations connected with the old family were
abolished as if they never existed. On the other hand, he now by right of the law stood as an heir
to all of the inheritance of his new father. It was carried out in the presence of seven witnesses to
make it official.
The adopted sons enjoyed the same privileges as natural born sons. According to the Roman law
the adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate son in
his new family. He got a new father and he became the heir of his new father's estate. He was
inalienably co-heir with the other sons in the family. In law, the old life was completely wiped
out. All debts were cancelled, and he was absolutely the son of his new father.
The apostle Paul tells us that this is what God has done for us. This is now how He treats the
believer in Jesus Christ. We were members of old Adam’s family with all of the effects of the
power of sin and guilt. We were held responsible as members of that family. God took us out of
that family and adopted us into His new family. We have been completely released of all
responsibility and debts of sin because Jesus paid the debt in full. We have a new position before
God with all the legal rights. (cf. Romans 5:12-21)
As children of the heavenly Father we have been given full legal status and inheritance rights (1
John 3:1; Romans 8:23, 14-15; Revelation 21:7). We have been raised to the status of adult sons.
We as believers are the absolute possession of the Father. He has absolute right over us.
The apostle Paul uses this well known custom in the Roman Empire to state the great gospel
truth that the LORD God has given the believing sinner, who is not His natural child, an
unchanging eternal position as His adult child in His family. This is now our new legal position
before God the Father.
The Holy Spirit places believing sinners in the family of God as adult sons (Romans 8:15;
Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5). Even though we are already adult members, by adoption, in the
family, it is only when our mortal bodies have been glorified at the coming of Christ that we will
take full possession of all that our sonship involves (Rom. 8:23).
The apostle Paul uses the same word "adoption" in Rom. 8:15, 23, but with a different emphasis.
In v.15 he is referring to the present life of the believer, whereas in v. 23 he is eschatological,
looking forward to our final full acceptance into the family of God.

When we put our faith in Christ we received a "spirit of adoption" that set us free from a servile
fear of God. We do not have to shrink in fear from God, but now have "access" into His holy
presence. The Holy Spirit places believers as adult sons in a legal standing before God. M. R.
Vincent says our adoption should serve to impress upon us "the assurance that the adopted son of
God becomes in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father." The Holy Spirit
enables the believer to call God, "Father" (Romans 8:15). No Jewish person would ever have
done that before Jesus, the Son of God, taught His disciples this truth. The Holy Spirit bears
testimony to our human spirit that we are children of God. Our own spirit, prompted by the Holy
Spirit, tells us we are God's children.
The Spirit that God has given the believer does not make you a slave, but one of His children.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the means through which believers become conscious of their
sonship (Romans 8:15). There is a close relation between our adoption and the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
Before becoming God's children we were slaves living in fear of a righteous God, but now God's
Spirit has released us from that fear so we can enjoy our new relationship with Him. We do not
have a heart like a slave living in fear of a tyrant, but the heart of a son responding to a loving
Father. What a privilege to call God our Father.
Galatians 4:4-5 reads, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we
might receive the adoption as sons." The Holy Spirit is sent into "our hearts," i.e., the center of
our intellect, moral, and spiritual life. It is from the heart that the Spirit cries out, "Father, my
Father." It is a loud earnest cry, even a public cry. Paul says it is an intense cry from the Spirit
within the believer. The Spirit cries from within the believer's heart giving witness of saving
faith.
Abiding Principles and Practical Applications
1. Since believers are adopted and placed as full grown adult children (sons) into God's family
we are no longer slaves to sin (Gal. 4:7). We can now approach the Father in an intimate way
calling Him, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15).
2. We are God's children in two ways: (a) As adopted sons of our heavenly Father we are full
heirs and co-heirs along with His own unique Son, Jesus Christ (John 17:24; 1 Cor. 3:21-23; Gal.
4:7). (b) We are also His children as "born ones" by the new birth (John 1:1; 3:5; 1 John 3:1-3).
Both actions are the result of the Holy Spirit.
3. As children of our heavenly Father we are the recipients of all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3) in
this life, and we will "share in His glory" in the future (2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Peter 4:13; 5:10).

4. As co-heirs with Christ we also "share in His sufferings" (John 15:20; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 3:12;
1 Pet. 4:12).
5. The Holy Spirit can empower us to obey Christ, therefore enabling us to be more like Christ.
THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE AND ADOPTION NO. 1759
A SERMON DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN
TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God.” Romans 8:15, 16.
THESE two verses are full of the word “spirit,” and they are also full of spiritual truth. We have
read in previous verses about the flesh and of the result that comes of minding it, namely, death.
But now, in this verse, we get away from the flesh and think only of the work of the Holy Spirit
upon our spirits, and of the blessed privilege which comes of it—“that we should be called the
sons of God.” We cannot enter into this except by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the spiritual
truth must be spiritually discerned, our eyes need God’s light, and our spirits need the Holy
Spirit’s quickening. We breathe our prayer to the Great Spirit that He would make us feel the full
meaning of His word. I think that I see in the text the fourfold work of the Spirit, first, the spirit
of bondage, secondly, the spirit of adoption. Thirdly, the spirit of prayer—here it is, “Whereby
we cry.” And fourthly, the spirit of witness, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God.” I. Consider, first of all, THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE. Much of the
bondage in which we are plunged by our fallen nature is not the work of the Spirit of God at all.
Bondage under sin, bondage under the flesh, bondage to the fashions and customs of the world,
bondage under the fear of man—this is carnal bondage, the work of the flesh, of sin, and of the
devil. But there is a sense of bondage, to which, I think, the apostle here mainly alludes, which is
of the Spirit of God. Before the Spirit of God within us becomes the Spirit of liberty, He is, first
of all, the Spirit of bondage. The Spirit is not first a quickening Spirit to us, but a withering
Spirit—“The grass withers, the flower fades: because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it: surely
the people is grass.” The divine Spirit wounds before He heals, He kills before He makes alive.
We usually draw a distinction between law-work and gospel-work, but law-work is the work of
the Spirit of God, and is so far a true gospel-work that it is a frequent preliminary to the joy and
peace of the gospel. The law is the needle which draws after it the silken thread of blessing, and
you cannot get the thread into the stuff without the needle, men do not receive the liberty
wherewith Christ makes them free till, first of all, they have felt bondage within their own spirit
driving them to cry for liberty to the great Emancipator, the Lord Jesus Christ. This sense or
Spirit of bondage works for our salvation by leading us to cry for mercy. Let us notice that there
is a kind of bondage which is, in part at least, the work of the Spirit of God, although it is often
darkened, blackened, and made legal in a great measure by other agencies which do not aim at
our benefit. That part of the bondage which I shall now describe is altogether the work of the

Spirit of God. That is, first, when men are brought into bondage through being convinced of sin.
This bondage is not the work of nature, certainly, never the work of the devil. It is not the work
of human oratory, or of human reason; it is the work of the Spirit of God, as it is written, “When
the Spirit of truth is come, He shall convince the world of sin.” It needs a miracle to make a man
know that he is in very deed a sinner. He will not admit it. He kicks against it. Even when he
confesses the outward transgression, he does not know or feel the inward heinousness of his
guilt, so as in his soul to be stunned, and confounded, and humbled, by the fact that he is a rebel
against his God. Now, no man can ever know a Savior without knowing himself a sinner, even as
no man can value a physician while he is ignorant of
2 The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption Sermon #1759
2 Tell someone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 30
the existence and evil of disease. By the killing sentence of the law we are bruised, and broken,
and crushed to atoms, as to all comeliness and self-righteousness. This, I say, is the work of the
Spirit of God. He works a necessary sense of bondage within us by putting us under a sense of
sin. The Spirit of God is always the Spirit of truth, and therefore He only convinces men of that
which is true. He puts them into no false, or fanciful, or needless bondage. “When the Spirit of
truth is come, He shall convince the world of sin”—because it is sinful. When the Spirit puts
men into bondage because they are sinners, He only puts them into their right place. When He
came to some of us by the law He made us feel what we were by nature, and what we felt and
saw was the truth. He made us see things as they really were. Until He came, we put bitter for
sweet and sweet for bitter, darkness for light and light for darkness, but when the Spirit of truth
was come, then sin appeared as sin. Then we were in bondage, and it was no fancied slavery, but
the very truth. The Spirit of God also brought us farther into bondage when He made us feel the
assurance that punishment must follow upon sin, when He made us know that God can by no
means clear the guilty, and that He was not playing with us when He said, “The soul that sins, it
shall die.” We were made to feel the sentence of death in ourselves that we might not trust in
ourselves. At that time we trembled on the brink of fate. We wondered that we were not already
in hell. We were so convinced of sin that it was a matter of astonishment to us that the sentence
did not immediately take place upon us. We were speechless before God, as to excuse or
justification. We could not offer anything by which we could turn away the edge of justice,
though we saw it like a glittering sword stripped of the scabbard of almighty patience. Do you
know what this means? I can hardly hope that you will prize the atonement, or feel the sweetness
of the expiation by blood, unless, first of all, you have felt that your soul’s life was due to God
on account of your transgressions. We must know a shutting-up under the sentence of the law, or
we shall never rejoice in the liberty which comes to us by grace through the blood of the Lamb
of God. Blessed be the Spirit of God for working in us this double sense of bondage, first making
us to know that we are guilty, and secondly, making us feel that the justice of God must punish
us for sin. And then, further, the Spirit of God operates as a Spirit of bondage upon the hearts of
those whom God will save, by bringing them to feel the bitter impossibility of their hoping to
clear themselves by the works of the law. We heard this sentence thundered in our soul—“By the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of
sin.” We could not meet our God under the law, we looked up to Sinai’s fiery summit, where the
Lord revealed Himself, and we felt that its crags were too steep for our tottering feet to climb.
Even if the way were smooth, how could we dare to pass through the thick darkness, and hold
communion with Jehovah, who is a consuming fire? The Spirit of God once and for all weaned

us from all thought of a righteousness of our own. We were clean divorced from the legal spirit,
and compelled to abhor the very notion of justifying ourselves in the sight of a pure and holy
God by our works, or feelings, or prayers. This was the work of the Spirit of God. This result is
always produced in every child of God, but not always by the same degree of bondage. Fetters of
different weights are used in this prison, as wisdom and prudence appoint. The Spirit of bondage
comes not to all alike, for some find peace and life in a moment, and come to Calvary as soon as
Sinai begins to thunder. I have known this Spirit of bondage come with great force to men who
have been open transgressors. Others who have been kept by the preventing grace of God from
the extremes of open sin have not felt as much of it. But men that have blasphemed God, broken
the Sabbath, and violated every holy thing— when they are brought before God under a sense of
sin, have frequently had a hard time of it. See how Saul was blinded three days, and did neither
eat nor drink. Read John Bunyan’s “Grace Abounding,” and notice the five years of his
subjection to this Spirit of bondage. It must in Bunyan’s case be noted that his bondage was far
from being altogether the work of the Spirit, for much of it arose from his own unbelief. But still
there was in the core and heart of it, a work of the Spirit of God most wonderfully convincing
him of sin. I would not wonder if some of my hearers, who may have gone far into outward
Sermon #1759 The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption 3
Volume 30 Tell someone today how much you love Jesus Christ. 3
transgression are made to feel, when brought to spiritual life, great grief and humiliation under a
sense of their sin. Such bondage often happens to those who, as the old authors used to say,
were “close sinners”—men who did not even know that they were sinners at all, but, in
consequence of their morality and the strictness of their lives, had a high conceit of their own
excellence in the sight of God. Certain of these people experience most fearful convictions of
sin, as if God would say to each one, “I must rid you of your selfrighteousness. I must cure you
of trusting in your moral life, and therefore I will let you see into the depths of your depravity. I
will discover to you your sins against light and knowledge, your sins against conscience, your
sins against the love of God. You shall be brought into sore bondage, but that bondage shall heal
you of your pride.” I have noticed one thing more, and that is, that those who are in later life to
be greatly useful are often thus dug, and tilled, and fed in order that much fruit may be brought
forth by them in later years. I have had to deal with as many troubled souls as any living man,
and God has greatly used me for their deliverance, but this never could have happened, so far as I
can judge, unless I had myself been the subject of a terrible law-work, convincing me not only of
my actual sin, but of the source of that sin, namely, a deep and bottomless fountain of depravity
in my own nature. When I have met with persons driven to despair and almost ready to destroy
themselves, I have said, “Yes, I understand all that, I have been in those sepulchral chambers,
and can sympathize with those who are chilled by their damps. I know the heart of a stranger, for
I also was a captive in Egypt, and worked at the brick kilns.” In such a case this bondage of spirit
becomes a profitable preparation for later work. The sword that has to cut through coats of mail
must be tempered in many fires. It must endure processes which a common blade escapes. Do
not, therefore, expect that the Spirit of bondage will be seen in all of you to the same degree, for
after all, it is not the Spirit of bondage which is to be desired for its own sake, but that which
comes after it— the Spirit of liberty in Christ Jesus. Our text reminds us that the result of this
Spirit of bondage in the soul is fear—“The Spirit of bondage to fear.” There are five sorts of
fears, and it is always well to distinguish between them. There is the natural fear which the
creature has of its Creator, because of its own insignificance and its Maker’s greatness. From that

we shall never be altogether delivered, for with holy awe we shall bow before the divine majesty,
even when we come to be perfect in glory. Secondly, there is a carnal fear, that is, the fear of
man. May God deliver us from it! May we never cease from duty because we dread the eye of
man! Who are you that you should be afraid of a man that shall die? From this cowardice God’s
Spirit delivers believers. The next fear is a servile fear—the fear of a slave towards his master,
lest he should be beaten when he has offended. That is a fear which should rightly dwell in every
unregenerate heart. Until the slave is turned into a child, he ought to feel that fear which is
suitable to his position. By means of this fear the awakened soul is driven and drawn to Christ,
and learns the perfect love which casts it out. If servile is not cast out it leads to a fourth fear,
namely, a diabolical fear, for we read of devils, that they “believe and tremble.” This is the fear
of a malefactor towards the executioner, such a fear as possesses souls that are shut out forever
from the light of God’s countenance. But, fifthly, there is a filial fear which is never cast out of
the mind. This is to be cultivated. This is “the fear of the Lord” which is “the beginning of
wisdom.” This is a precious gift of grace, “Blessed is the man that fears the Lord.” This makes
the saints fearful of offending, lest they should grieve infinite love. It causes them to walk before
the Lord with the fear of a loving child who would not in anything displease his parent. When
the spirit of bondage is at work upon the heart, there is much of the fourth form of fear, namely,
servile fear, and I tell you that it is the Spirit of truth which brings this to us, because we are in a
condition which demands it. We are slaves until Christ sets us free, and being still under the law,
servile fear is our most natural and proper feeling. Would you have the slave rejoice in a liberty
which he does not
possess? Is he not the more likely to be free if he loathes his slavery? I wish that every man here,
who is not a child of God, would become possessed with servile fear, and tremble before the
Most High. Now, mark that while this fear lasts it is intended to work us toward God. I have
already touched upon that. This bondage, which causes fear, breaks us off from self-
righteousness. It makes us value the righteousness of Christ, and it also puts an end to certain
sins. Many a man, because he is afraid of the consequences, leaves off this and that which would
have ruined him, and so far, the fear is useful to him, and in later life, the sense of the terror
which fear worked in his soul, will keep him nearer to his Lord. How can he return to that evil
thing which once filled his soul with bitterness and grief? But now I want to notice that in due
time we outgrow this bondage, and never receive it again, for “We have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear.” There comes a time when the Spirit of truth no longer causes bondage.
Why not? Because we are not slaves any longer, and therefore there is no bondage for us.
Because we are no longer guilty, having been cleared in the court of God and therefore no sin
should press upon our spirit. Because we are made to be the children of God and God forbid that,
God’s children should tremble like slaves. No, we have not received the spirit of bondage again,
for the Spirit of God has not brought it to us again, and though the devil tries to bring it, we do
not “receive” his goods. And though sometimes the world thinks that we ought to feel it, we are
not of the world, and we will not “receive” the world’s spirit. We are new creatures in Christ
Jesus. We are not under the law, but under grace, and therefore we are free from our former
bondage. “We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.” I know some Christians, or
persons who call themselves so, who often come under this spirit of bondage. They erroneously
say, “If I have sinned I have ceased to be a child of God.” That is the spirit of bondage with a

vengeance. If a servant disobeys he will be sent adrift, but you cannot discharge your child. My
son is my son forever, who denies that? Sonship is a settled fact, and never can be altered under
any possible circumstances, if I am a child of God, who shall separate me from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus my Lord? Some perform all religious actions from a principle of fear and
they abstain from this and that iniquity because of fear. A child of God does not desire to be thus
driven or held back. He works not for reward. He toils not in order to gain salvation. He is saved,
and because God has “worked in him to will and to do of his own good pleasure,” therefore he
works out the salvation which God has already worked in. Blessed is the man who knows that he
is no longer a servant, but has become an heir of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. II. This
brings us to our second head which is, THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. I should require a week to
preach properly upon this blessed theme. Instead of preaching upon it, I will give you hints.
Will you kindly notice that the apostle said, “You have not received the spirit of bondage”? If he
had kept strictly to the language, he would have added, “But you have received the Spirit of”—
what? Why of “liberty.” That is the opposite of bondage. Yes, but our apostle is not to be
hampered by the rigid rules of composition. He has inserted a far greater word—“You have
received the Spirit of adoption.” This leads me to observe that from this mode of putting it, it is
clear that the Spirit of adoption is in the highest sense the Spirit of liberty. If the Son makes you
free, you shall be free indeed. If you become sons through that blessed Son, oh, the freeness of
your spirits! Your soul has nothing to fear, you need not dread the wrath of God, for He has
sworn, “I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.” The believer feels the love of God shed
abroad within him, and therefore he exercises a liberty to draw near to God such as he never had
before. He has access with boldness; he learns to speak with God as a child speaks with his
father. See what a blessed thing is this Spirit of liberty, this Spirit of adoption. Now, the apostle
said, “You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.” What is the opposite of that?
He should have added—should he not?—“but you have received the Spirit of liberty by which
you have confidence.” He has not in so many words expressed himself thus, but he has said all
that and a great deal more by saying, “Whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” This is the highest form
of confidence that can be thought of—that a child of God should be able, even when he is forced
to cry, to cry nothing less than, “Abba, Father.” At his lowest, when he is full of sorrow and
grief, even in his crying
and lamenting, he sticks to “Abba, Father.” This is a joyous confidence indeed! Oh, that God
may give it to you, dearly beloved, to the very fullest! Thus it is clear that the Spirit of adoption
is a spirit of liberty and a spirit of confidence. As a child is sure that its father will love him, feed
him, clothe him, teach him, and do all that is good for him, so are we sure that “No good thing
will be withheld from them that walk uprightly,” but He will make all things to “work together
for good to them that love God.” The spirit of bondage made us fear, but the Spirit of adoption
gives us full assurance. That fear which distrusts God—that fear which doubts whether He will
remain a loving and merciful God—that fear which makes us think that all His love will come to
an end—that is gone, for we cry, “Abba, Father,” and that cry is the death of doubting and
fearing. We sing to brave music, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is
able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.” The Spirit of adoption, moreover, is a
spirit of gratitude. Oh, that ever the Lord should put me among the children! Why should He do
this? He did not need children that He should adopt me. The First-born alone was enough to fill

the Father’s heart throughout eternity. And yet the Lord puts us among the children. Blessed be
His name forever and ever! “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God!” The Spirit of adoption is a spirit of child-likeness. It is
pretty, though sometimes sad, to see how children imitate their parents. How much the little man
is like his father! Have you not noticed it? Do you not like to see it, too? You know you do. Yes,
and when God gives the Spirit of adoption, there begins in us, poor fallen creatures as we are,
some little likeness to Himself, and that will grow to His perfect image. We cannot become God,
but we have the privilege and the power to become the sons of God. “Even to as many as believe
on His name” does Jesus give this privilege, and therefore we grow up into Him in all things,
who is our Head, and at the same time the pattern and mirror of what all the children of God are
to be. Thus, dear friends, let us see with great joy that we have not received again the spirit of
bondage. We shall not receive it anymore. The Spirit of God will never come to us in that form
again, for now we have been washed in the blood, we have been taken away from being heirs of
wrath even as others, we have been placed in the family of the Most High, and we feel the Spirit
of adoption within us, whereby we cry, “Abba, Father.” III. Just two or three words only upon
the next spirit, which is THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER. Whenever the Spirit of adoption enters into
a man it sets him praying. He cannot help it. He does not wish to help it— “Prayer is the
Christian’s vital breath, The Christian’s native air. His watchword at the gates of death: He
enters heaven with prayer.” And this praying of the true believer who has the Spirit of adoption
is very earnest praying, for it takes the form of crying. He does not say, “Abba, Father.”
Anybody can say those words. But he cries, “Abba, Father.” Nobody can cry, “Abba, Father,”
but by the Holy Spirit. When those two words, “Abba, Father,” are set to the music of a child’s
cry, there is more power in them than in all the orations of Demosthenes and Cicero. They are
such heavenly sounds as only the twice-born, the true aristocracy of God, can utter, “Abba,
Father.” They even move the heart of the Eternal. But it is also very natural praying, for a child
to say, “Father,” is according to the fitness of things. It is not necessary to send your boys to a
Boarding School to teach them to do that. They cry, “Father,” soon and often. So, when we are
born again, “Our Father, which are in heaven,” is a prayer that is never forced upon us, it rises up
naturally within the new-born nature, and because we are born-again we cry, “Abba, Father.”
When we have lost our Father for a while, we cry after Him in the dark. When He takes the rod
to us we cry, but we cry no other way than this—“Abba, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass
from me.”
It seems to me to be not only an earnest cry and a natural cry, but a very appealing cry. It
touches your heart when your child says, “Don’t hurt me, father. Dear father, by your love to me,
forgive me.” True prayer pleads the fatherhood of God—“My Father, my Father, I am no
stranger, I am no foe, I am Your own dear and well-beloved child. Therefore, like as a father
pities his children, have pity upon me.” The Lord never turns a deaf ear to such pleading. He
says, “I do earnestly remember him still,” and in love He checks his hand. And what a familiar
word it is—“Abba, Father”! They say that slaves were never allowed to call their masters
“Abba.” That was a word for free-born children only; no man can speak with God as God’s
children may. I have heard critics say sometimes of our prayers, “How familiar that man is with
God,” and one adds, “I do not like such boldness.” No, you slaves, of course you cannot speak
with God as a child can, and it would not be right that you should! It befits you to fear, and

crouch, and like miserable sinners, to keep yourselves a long way off from God. Distance is the
slave’s place, only the child may draw near. But if you are children, then you may say, “Lord,
You have had mercy upon me, miserable sinner as I was, and You have cleansed me, and I am
Yours, therefore deal with me according to the riches of Your grace. My soul delights herself in
You, for You are my God and my exceeding joy.” Who but a true-born child of God can
understand those words—“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of
yours heart”? I do not know any more delightful expression towards God than to say to Him,
“Abba, Father.” It is as much as to say—“My heart knows that You are my Father. I am as sure
of it as I am sure I am the child of my earthly father, and I am more sure that You would deal
more tenderly with me than that my earthly father would.” Paul hints at this when he reminds us
that our fathers, verily, chastened us after their own pleasure, but the Lord always chastens us for
our profit. The heavenly Father’s heart is never angry so as to smite in wrath, but in pity, and
gentleness, and tenderness, He afflicts His sons and daughters. “You in faithfulness have
afflicted me.” See what a blessed state this is to be brought into, to be made children of God, and
then in our prayers to be praying, not like serfs and servants, but as children who cry, “Abba,
Father.” IV. Now, the last thing is, THE SPIRIT OF WITNESS—“The Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” There are two witnesses to the
adoption of every child of God. Two is a legal number; in the mouth of two witnesses the whole
shall be established. The first witness is the man’s own spirit. His spirit says, “Yes, yes, yes, I am
a child of God. I feel those drawings towards God, I feel that delight in Him, I feel that love to
Him, and I feel that wish to obey Him, which I never would have felt if I were not His child.
Moreover, God’s own word declares, ‘To as many as received Him’—that is Christ—‘to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.’ Now, I have
received Christ, and I believe on His name, therefore I have the evidence of God’s written word
that I am one of the sons of God. I have the right, the permission, and the authority, to be one of
the sons of God. That is the witness of my spirit, I believe and therefore I am a child.” Now
comes in the witness of the Holy Spirit. Nobody can question His veracity, but how does the
Spirit of God witness to our sonship? First, He witnesses it, as I have already said, through the
Word of God of which He is the Author. The word contained in Scripture is quite enough for us
if we have a saving faith. We accept it and believe it. The Spirit of God thus witnesses through
the Word, and that is the surest medium. “We have a more sure word of testimony,” said Peter.
That is a wonderful declaration of the apostle. Peter had spoken about seeing Christ transfigured
on the holy mountain. Was not that sure? Yes, it was, but he, in effect, says—we have a more
sure word of testimony than all the sights that we have seen, therefore we do well if we take
heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place. Next, the Spirit of God bears witness by His
work in us. He works in us that which proves us to be the children of God. And what is that?
The first thing is that He works in us great love to God. None love God but those that are born
of Him. There is no true love to God in Christ Jesus except in those that have been begotten
again by God’s own Spirit, so that our love to God is the witness of the Spirit that we are the
children of God. Furthermore, He works in us veneration for God. We fear before Him with a
childlike reverence, everything that has to do with God, becomes sacred to us when He
communes with us. Yes, if He only met us in a dream we would say, “How wonderful is this
place! It is none other than the house of God and it is the very gate of heaven.” The place of His

feet is glorious in our eyes. The lowest of His chosen are honorable in our esteem. This holy awe
of believers is a proof of their being God’s children. If He is their Father, they will reverence
Him, for we know that when we had fathers of our flesh, they corrected us, and we gave them
reverence, for it was due them. Shall we not be in subjection to the Father of our spirits? That
subjection is the surest evidence that we are indeed the sons of God. In addition to this, the
Spirit of God works in us a holy confidence. By His grace we feel in days of trouble that we can
rest in God. When we cannot see our way we go on joyfully without seeing. What is the good of
seeing with our own eyes when the eyes of the Lord are running to and fro in the earth to show
Himself strong on the behalf of all them that trust in Him? Our faith feels a joy in believing
seeming contradictions, a delight in accepting apparent impossibilities. We have a belief in
God’s veracity so sure and steadfast that if all the angels in heaven were to deny the truth of God,
we would laugh them to scorn. He must be true, and we know it, every word in His book is as
certainly true to us as if we had seen the thing with our own eyes—yes, and truer, still, for eyes
deceive, and mislead, but God never can. Wherever there is this blessed child-like trust, there is
the Spirit’s witness that we are the children of God. And then, again, when the Spirit of God
works sanctification in us, that becomes a further witness of our sonship. When He makes us
hate sin, when He makes us love everything that is pure and good, when He helps us to conquer
ourselves, when He leads us to love our fellow men, when He fashions us like Christ, this is the
witness of the Spirit with our spirit that we are the children of God. Oh, to have more and more
of it! Besides which, I believe that there is a voice unheard in the outward ear, which drops in
silence on the spirit of man, and lets him know that he has, indeed, passed from death unto life.
This also is the seal of the Spirit to the truth our adoption. Now let us begin at the beginning,
and bless Him that He has made us feel the bondage of sin. Let us bless Him that He made us
fear and tremble, and fly to Jesus. Let us bless Him that He has brought us into the adoption of
children. Let us bless Him that He helps us to cry, “Abba, Father,” and lastly, let us bless Him
that tonight He bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Dear friend, do
you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, all the privileges of an heir of God are yours. If you
do not believe in Christ, the Spirit of God will never bear witness to a lie, and tell you that you
are saved when you are not. If you are not saved and not yet a believer in Jesus, I tell you that
you are like a blank document to which the Spirit of God will never set His hand and seal, for He
is never so unwise as to sign a blank paper. If you have believed, you are a child of God, and the
Spirit of God sets His seal to your adoption. Go in peace, and rejoice in the Lord forever!— “Nor
fret, nor doubt, nor suffer slavish fear: Your spirit is released, your path is clear. Let praise fill
up your day and evermore Live to love, to copy and adore.”
Gainesville Presbyterian Church: Gainesville, VA
The Holy Spirit #9: The Spirit of Adoption
The Holy Spirit #9: The Spirit of Adoption
After talking about who the Holy Spirit is and what His coming at Pentecost was all about, we
have begun to talk about the ministry that the Spirit has in the lives of believers today. We have
talked about the Spirit’s role as glorifying Christ to us, as the sanctifier of our souls and as our
Helper, our Paraclete. In this article we will focus on the Spirit’s role as the Spirit of adoption,

moving us to cry out to God, "Abba, Father." And of all the features of the Spirit’s work, I don’t
know that there is anything as precious to God’s people as this ministry of creating a sense of
"Abba Father" in our hearts.
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit
of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 8:15-16)
Let’s look at three aspects of this passage:
The Spirit of adoption
Crying out "Abba, Father"
The Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God
The Spirit of Adoption
Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God... Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows
where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it
is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." When Jesus spoke about being born of the
Spirit, He was speaking about the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption. Regeneration (which
means being born again) is something that the Spirit does. (It is not something that man does.)
He is the One who brings us forth. He is the One who gives us new birth. He is the One who
makes us the children of God. He is the author of adoption.
Of course, in the original Greek, there was no capitalization whatsoever. So how can we be sure
that Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:15 when he says the "spirit of adoption?"
The next verse makes it clear: it is the Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God (i.e. the Spirit of God works to convince our spirits that we are God’s children).
Crying out "Abba Father"
God is referred to as Father only rarely in the OT (I’ve only found 11 times: Exod. 4:22; Deut
32:6; Ps 103:13; Is. 1:2; 63:16; Jer 3:4, 19; 31:9, 20; Hos 11:1; Mal 1:6). In fact, in Gal.4:1-7 —
the only other passage that talks about us being moved by the Spirit to cry out "Abba, Father" to
God — Paul says that before Christ, though believers were actually sons, they related to God as
if they were slaves, much as a very young child is treated like a slave, in being disciplined and
told everything he is supposed to do, etc.
But when Jesus comes on the scene, He does something radical. Not only does He pray to God as
His father, but He uses this child-like intimate term "Abba" in order to do so, something that had
never been done in the OT or in any of the ancient Hebrew Rabbinic writings. Mark 14:36
records Him as saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from
Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." ABBA was an expression of intimacy used by
children toward their fathers. The typical, more formal way of addressing one’s father was the
word ABI. But ABBA is the more intimate, affectionate way that a young child would address
his father, not dissimilar to "Daddy" in our language.
This intimate language used by Jesus was remarkable, but reflected the close relationship that
existed between the Son and His Father. But then an even more remarkable thing happens. When

Christ departs and sends His Holy Spirit upon His people at Pentecost, He invites His people to
use the same language that He used to communicate with the Father. In other words, in sending
the Holy Spirit God was saying to His people, "You can call Me ‘Daddy.’"And He not only
invites His people to use this intimate term to call out to God, but also moves them by His Spirit
more and more to come to God in this spirit of a child, stirring up and enhancing this intimacy
with God the Father.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit
of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying,
"Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:6)
What is involved in this cry of "Abba Father"? It is a cry of need, a cry of confidence in His help,
a cry of love, an expression of intimacy. It is the Spirit that produces in us a child-like love for
God our Father. It is the Spirit that works in us the confidence that God looks with tender
compassionate love upon His beloved children. It’s the Spirit that moves us, in confidence of His
love, to cast our cares upon Him (1Pet5:7).
It is such a deeply ingrained impulse for a child to look to parents for help and comfort,
sometimes children call out "Daddy" or "Mommy" even when they are unconscious. Well, the
Spirit works to produce this kind of deep impulse in us of thinking of God as our Daddy,
inclining us to run to Him for safety, to call to Him in trouble, to think of Him as our security.
Now someone might ask, "Isn’t it from the Scriptures that we know of God’s fatherly love?"
That is absolutely true. But just because the Bible teaches us this doesn’t mean that it can
actually get into our hearts apart from the Holy Spirit doing His work in us, opening, softening,
changing, rearranging. It isn’t the information that comes from the Spirit in our hearts, it is the
embracing of that information which the Spirit accomplishes in us. Remember, it is not natural
for man to reach out to God. That is something only the Holy Spirit can produce in a person’s
heart. And presumably this Abba-cry grows stronger as the Spirit works more and more in us.
Now, notice that it is the Spirit of God’s Son who has been sent into our hearts to cry out "Abba,
Father." This kind of relationship to God can only come through Jesus Christ. It is on the basis of
His Sonship that we can enjoy this kind of sonship with God. We call God Father only through
His Son. Only because we have the Spirit of His Son can we do so. Jesus calls us to enjoy
something of the intimacy that He had with His Father, to enter into His relationship with God
His Father. And He has given us His Spirit in order to work in us toward this end, to inspire us,
to produce in us this affectionate longing, this sense of intimate connection with the Father.
Adoption means sharing in the love that God has for His only begotten Son. It is by faith that we
become united with Christ and receive the benefits of the Son of God. And one of the primary
benefits is to share in the love that God has for His Son. In giving His disciples the authorization
to address God in this "Abba Father" way, Jesus was giving them a share in His relationship with
the Father. It is as if Jesus, through the Spirit, comes down and leads us in prayer to His Father.
This Abba-cry must be distinguished from a natural yearning that most non-believers have to
think that there is someone bigger and stronger than them that is favorably disposed toward
them. This is something that is not from within us, but from without us. It is a gift given to us by
God. It is His Holy Spirit. And it is only through Christ that it can come.
This notion of the Holy Spirit moving us in our souls to cry out to God obviously has a lot to do
with prayer. And it begins to help us understand what the Bible means when it talks about

praying in the Spirit, e.g. Eph. 6:18 "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit..."
(Jude 20 also talks about praying in the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit is our Helper. How does He
help? He helps us in our weakness in prayer. He moves us to cry out "Abba, Father."
It is very possible to pray in the flesh, to pray according to our own fleshly desires, not as
humble children before their father, but as spoiled children — or to pray to God as if He is our
slave and not our Father. We have mention of this in James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." Praying in the
Spirit is praying with a proper, Spirit-produced attitude of humility and love and intimacy. And
we are often so weak or so confused that we don’t know how to pray. Well, the Holy Spirit also
helps us in our weakness, when we do not know how to pray. He leads us to lift up prayers that
are too deep for words, that are a cry of the heart to God, a groaning that goes forth to our Abba
Father who hears hearts and not just words (Romans 8:26).
When "Abba, Father" is our cry, we’re right where we’re supposed to be. And more and more
the Holy Spirit moves us to yearn for the consummation of our adoption, when Christ returns
again in glory. I believe that this is why Revelation 22:17 says, "The Spirit and the bride say,
‘Come.’" (see also Romans 8:23).
The fact that God has invited us, through the Spirit of His Son, to address Him in this intimate
way, tells us a lot about His intentions for His children. This invitation is a sign and
demonstration of His great love and of His desire to have an intimate personal relationship with
each one of His children. It is a promise of fatherly care. It is a foretaste of the glory that is to
come, when we shall receive the full measure of all that God has prepared for His children, the
inheritance we shall receive as His sons. It is also certainly a promise of Fatherly instruction and
loving discipline, in order to conform us to the image of His only begotten Son.
The Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God
Not only does this verse tell us about prayer and intimacy with God, it also tells us about
assurance of salvation. Is a Christian supposed to know for sure that he is saved? Is it possible
for people to know that they are going to heaven? Well, the Bible makes it clear that God wants
those who believe in the name of the Son of God to know that they have eternal life (1John
5:13). And the Bible gives us two ways whereby we might obtain assurance of our salvation.
One is subjective and one is objective. That is, one is something we feel and one is something
that we see. But both are produced by the Holy Spirit.
The one that is mentioned in Rom.8:16 is the subjective basis for assurance: "The Spirit Himself
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." The Spirit in us crying out Abba
Father gives us assurance that we are true believers in Christ. This seems to be what John also
has in mind in when he says in 1John 3:24b: "We know by this that He abides in us: by the Spirit
whom He has given us." (And also 1John 4:13.)
The objective basis for assurance is Spirit-produced faithfulness and Christlikeness, the Spirit
producing in us the life of Christ:
1John 2:3- "And by this we know that we have come to know Him: if we keep His
commandments."
1John 2:5b-6- "By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought
himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."

(See also 1John 1:6-7; 2:4-5a, 9-11, 15b, 19, 29b; 3:6-10, 14-15, 17-20, 3:24; 4:7-8, 12, 17a, 20;
5:18.)
Conclusion
What a privilege "Abba Father" is! How we see God’s love in it! How we receive God’s help by
it! How else could we survive? When the load gets heavy, when it is painful to keep pouring out
our lives, when we taste the grief of dying to ourselves, what would we do if we could not cry
out to our Father in heaven? When we begin to feel overwhelmed with anxieties, when pressures
mount, this is our source of strength and comfort. Giving us the Holy Spirit was a better gift than
if He had given us the whole world!
The Spirit of Adoption
James Smith
"You have received the Spirit of adoption." Romans 8:15
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In
love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his
pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he
loves!" Ephesians 1:4-6
Adoption is an act of God, whereby he takes sinners, who were enemies to him and rebels
against him—and constitutes them his children. It is an act of grace—of free and sovereign
grace; for there was nothing in them, done by them, or expected from them, that could form a
reason why this favor should be conferred upon them. It was in the mind of God from eternity!
"He predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born
among many brethren." The Father chose his people in Jesus, he appointed them to the adoption
of children, he gave them into the hands of his Son, and all this before the foundation of the
world. What love! What free love!
According to divine appointment, the children are brought into being at different periods, in
different places, and in different circumstances. They are regenerated or born again by the power
of the Holy Spirit. But while they remain under the legal covenant, or look to God, in whole or
part, through the medium of his law—they are in bondage. Fear rules the heart; doubt agitates the
spirit; conscience annoys or terrifies by its accusations. The soul pines for something it has not,
though perhaps it scarcely knows what that is. It wants liberty. Freedom from the servant's yoke.
It was formed for freedom, to enjoy a divine relationship. For this it pines, and pants, and sighs.
When it hears others call God Father—it sighs out "O that he was my Father!" When it hears
others talk of liberty, access to God, confidence in God, and boldness before God—it groans
with strong desire to enjoy the same; but it is sometimes long before the Spirit of adoption is
received and enjoyed. But until then, the quickened soul will struggle, groan, pray, aspire, and
hope that the day of its freedom may come, that the trumpet of Jubilee may be heard within; and
the spirit of a slave be exchanged for the spirit of a child.
Sometimes the "Spirit of adoption," almost imperceptibly glides into the soul. All is calm, still,
and quiet. The chains of sin are knocked off without any noise. The burden falls from the

shoulders, and the yoke is destroyed. The blood of atonement silences the accusations of
conscience; some precious word or sweet view of Jesus quells our doubts, removes our fear, and
melts down our hearts. God is stripped of all his fearful attributes, and appears before us a "God
merciful and gracious," "ready to pardon;" rejoicing to do us good, whose terrors will not make
us afraid, neither will his hand be heavy upon us.
His love is sweetly shed abroad in our hearts, and we feel that we love him, can be confident
before him, and boldly plead with him. The most pleasing sensations are awakened in the mind,
and almost unconsciously we look up and cry "Abba, Father!" We wonder at our own
boldness—and yet the very word "Father" sounds like music in the soul. Satan for a time
withdraws his accusations and ceases to tempt. We are left to enjoy the pleasing scene alone. Our
Father seems to press us to his bosom, and we feel a little heaven while reclining there. We can
now pray and praise with freedom, love, and joy. "Old things are passed away, and behold all
things are become new!"
This is the joy of heart—which a stranger cannot begin to understand. This is that "oil of joy"
which glides sweetly into the soul, softening, perfuming, and elevating as it goes. It follows the
mourning for sin, the sighing for freedom, the groaning for the enjoyment of paternal love. It is a
sure evidence of adoption, the proof that we are the sons of God.
In other instances, the entrance of "the Spirit of adoption" is more sudden, startling, and striking.
Up to a particular time all has been gloom, guilt, darkness, bondage, fear of death, and dread of
eternal banishment from God. The soul has been contracted, the heart hard, the conscience
restless, and the whole inner man bound hand and foot. Satan has harassed with a thousand
temptations. Past sins, present guilt, and future punishment, have been the subjects that have
filled the meditations and harassed the soul.
Under these circumstances, when despair has been brooding over the spirit, in a moment—a
change has been experienced. Some portion of God's word, some view of Jesus, some ray of
light from God's countenance, or some sweet inward whisper—has effected an instantaneous and
wondrous change. The chains of guilt have fallen off, darkness has fled, confidence has sprung
up, joy has flowed in, and the soul has been almost bewildered with the ravishing enjoyment.
"God is my Father!" is the secret exclamation. "My fears are all groundless! My sins are
pardoned! My soul is saved! Heaven and all its glories are mine!" are the thoughts which now fill
the bosom.
Little is left to pray for—but the happy Christian wants to be freed from every engagement and
encumbrance, that it may praise, bless, and adore its gracious God. How empty and worthless, do
earthly things appear now! How surprised the emancipated soul is to see professors so taken up
with and concerned about temporal things. It is now "abundantly satisfied with the fatness of
God's house," and is drinking large draughts of the river of his pleasures! O the sweet peace, the
ravishing joys, the ecstatic delights that are now experienced!
These things are not commonly enjoyed for long; for if they were—we would be unfit for
business, or any of the duties of the present life. But who can forget the season? How sweet at
times to look back upon it, and draw encouraging inferences from it. Years after we seem to have
the scenes of it return, when we look back and seem to enter into all the pleasing circumstances
again. A lodging place in the wilderness to spend the time in sweet communion with God,
unterrupted and undisturbed; or the wings of a dove to fly up to Jehovah's bright abode—are all
that the soul now seems to long for.

"The Spirit of adoption" keeps God's paternal character more or less before us, and enables us to
believe the astonishing love that he has to us. Under its influence and teaching—we learn to trust
his promises, watch his providence, wait at his throne, and expect to receive good things from
him. The world is our Father's world. The church is our Father's family. Heaven is our Father's
house. Our feelings are filial. We view God so differently to what we did before, that our
feelings toward him are completely changed! True we have to endure the inward conflict, to
battle with doubts and fears, to be teazed and tormented with worldly cares: yet in proportion as
we live up to our privilege and walk with God in humility, peace, and fellowship—we rise above
them or overcome them. No life is to be compared to the life of the Christian, while he lives and
walks, and works under the influence of the "Spirit of adoption."
The blessed Spirit who reveals the divine relationship to us at first, witnesses to it afterwards.
Yes, he is himself the witness; not only so—but the pledge of our future inheritance. Hence the
Apostle writes to the Ephesians, "After you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory."
Beloved, have you received "the Spirit of adoption?" Does he dwell, and work, and witness in
your heart—that you are a child of God? Do you live realizing that God is your Father, and do
you love him, trust him, obey him, and worship him as such?
"The Spirit of adoption" is a loving spirit, and while He fills your heart with love to God—He
will fill your heart with love to all God's children too. "Everyone who loves the Father—also
loves the one born of Him." "We know that we are passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren: he who loves not his brother abides in death."
May "the Spirit of adoption" work more powerfully in all our hearts, and fill us with filial love to
God, and fraternal love to all the saints. His presence and power in the heart, will keep piety
alive there—not only so—but will make us happy, holy and useful in our day and generation.
God loves to hear us call him Father, and, act toward him as loving children. There is no relation
so frequently brought before us in his word as this, nor is there any relation more fraught with
comfort and consolation. What a mercy to have God for my Father, and to know that he will do a
Father's part by me in all the trials, troubles, and perplexities of this mortal life. Holy and ever
blessed God, let your love be daily shed abroad in my heart, and to you draw out and fix my love
upon yourself continually! O that I could, and did, love you with all my heart, mind, soul, and
strength, every moment, and for evermore! To this end take a full, entire, and immediate
possession of me, and rule in my heart, the Lord of every emotion!"
Question: "What is the Spirit of adoption? What is the meaning of Romans 8:15?"
Answer: Romans 8:15 says, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (KJV). This verse
contrasts two spirits: an impersonal “spirit of bondage” or “spirit of slavery” and the Holy Spirit,
called here “the Spirit of adoption.” Other translations render the phrase the Spirit of adoption as

“God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (NLT), “the Spirit makes you God’s
children” (GNT), or “a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children” (CEB).
Two different spirits. Two different mindsets that we can have in our approach to God: we can
approach Him as slaves in bondage, or we can approach Him as adopted children. The Bible
presents a high view of adoption and uses it to parallel the relationship God wants to have with
us. The spirit of slavery views God has a slave owner and we His trembling subjects. The spirit
of adoption views God as a loving Father and we His beloved sons and daughters.
A spirit of slavery is manifested in legalistic religion. Many cults and even some Christian
denominations put such emphasis on rule-keeping that they instill fear and a sense of dread in
their members. God is presented as a taskmaster who is never quite satisfied with anything we
do. The bar is always set a bit too high, so people find religious activities to keep themselves
busy in the hope that God will accept them for their effort. Even those who have been born again
through faith in Christ’s sacrifice for their sin (John 3:3) can cling to a spirit of slavery, never
realizing the freedom that is theirs with the Spirit of adoption.
This spirit of slavery was rampant within the Jewish culture when Jesus came to earth. He
soundly rebuked the religious leaders for instilling such legalism in people with whom God
desired to have a loving relationship (Mark 7:7–9; Matthew 23:15–16). Paul cautioned the early
churches to be watchful for the return of that spirit of slavery. In Galatians 5:1 he wrote, “It is for
freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery.”
In startling contrast is the Spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit of God who brings us into God’s
family. Jesus invited believers to address God as “our Father” (Matthew 6:8–9). God explained
His desire to treat His people as sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). God has made this
spiritual adoption possible through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16–18;
1:12; 14:6; Romans 8:14). Based on our faith and confession of allegiance (Romans 10:9–10),
God adopts us into His eternal family. He makes us joint heirs together with Jesus Christ
(Romans 8:17). We receive the Spirit of adoption when we accept, by faith, the grace that has
been offered to us in Christ (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:23; Luke 10:27). It is the Spirit of
adoption who teaches us to call out to God as our “Abba, Father.”
There is a vast difference between the way sons serve their fathers and the way slaves serve their
masters. Slaves may perform duties; sons perform acts of love. Slaves dutifully obey; sons gladly
obey. Slaves are motivated by fear of punishment; sons are motivated by love of relationship.
Slaves ask, “What is required?” Sons ask, “What else can I do for you?” The Spirit of adoption
changes us from fearful slaves to joyful sons and daughters. The Spirit of adoption allows us to
“come boldly before the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) as a beloved child runs to his father in
times of trouble. Because of the Spirit of adoption, we can enjoy serving God without fear or
obligation. Serving in our Father’s kingdom becomes life’s highest ambition (2 Corinthians
5:20).
Happy Father’s Day! Do you remember calling out to your dad for help? Seemed dad always had
the answer, and he could fix anything! We have the same privilege to call upon our Heavenly

Father with whatever trials or difficulties we face in this life. This gift has been afforded to us by
the indwelling of God’s Spirit.
• Mortification – The insistent, continual, putting to death of your sinful nature
• Adoption – The positional transmutation to become a member of God’s family
• Glorification – The participation, in resurrection, of the enjoyment and worship of God,
without a sinful nature
Romans 8:12-13
Therefore, brother, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live
according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the
Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live
Romans 8:14-16
Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a
spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by
him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are
God’s children.
Hebrews 2:14-15
“14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death
he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free
those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Galatians 4:4-6
“4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are
his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:17
Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if
indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
• Mortification Romans 8:18-22
• Adoption Romans 8:23
• Glorification Romans 8:24-25
Conclusion
#1 – Act like a member of God’s family,
#2 – Because you are a member of God’s family, and
#3 – One day you will share in the glory of God’s family?
Application
1. Ask God for “help” – “Abba, Father”
2. Wait patiently with confident hope!

The following sermon was preached at Farmdale Baptist Church on Sunday, August 2, 2009.Audio available
here.
Russell Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Louisville, KY. A bout seven years ago, he had his wife adopted two boys from
Russia. At the Russian airport an American lady asked the question, “But are they brothers?” To
which Dr. Moore replied slightly irritated, “Well, they are now.” She then said, “Well, yes, but I
mean, are they really brothers?” To which Dr. Moore replied, “Yes, now they are really
brothers!” She said, “You know what I mean.” What she meant was do they share the same
DNA, do they share the same genetic material, do they share the same blood-type? These are the
things which she thought really mattered. Are they really brothers?
This morning’s text begins with the Apostle Paul addressing the Roman Christians to whom he
wrote this epistle, “brethren.” How can Paul call this mix of Jewish and Gentile Christians whom
he had never met his brothers? It is because he knew that these Christians had received the Spirit
of adoption when they believed the gospel. Therefore these Christians were the children of God
and thus his brothers in Christ. We are brothers and sisters today because of the Spirit of
Adoption!
The Holy Spirit, who is called the “Spirit of Adoption” is this passage, is prominent in Romans
8. In the first seven chapters of Romans the Holy Spirit has only been mentioned two or three
times. In Romans 8 alone, the Holy Spirit is mentioned twenty times!
In this morning’s text the apostle Paul highlights four important functions of the “Spirit of
Adoption” in our lives as Christians. The Spirit of adoption assists our sanctification, issues our
sonship, assures our spirits and ensures our salvation.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (17) And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we
may be also glorified together. Romans 8:12-17
I. The Spirit of Adoption Assists our Sanctification, vv. 12-14.
This is accomplished as the Holy Spirit aids the believer in the putting to death of the deeds of
the body. This was the focus of last week’s post. I won’t say much more about it today, but it is
our responsibility as those alive in the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body (v. 12). It is
also evidence of our relationship with the Father (v. 14). To summarize, it is those who are led
by the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body who prove to be the Sons of God!
II. The Spirit of Adoption Issues our Sonship, v. 15.
The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Adoption”. It is the Holy Spirit of God that makes us the sons of
God. We have “received the Spirit of Adoption” as opposed to “the spirit of bondage again to
fear”. We have not received the law again (an instrument of bondage and fear) but a relationship
with a Father! In a parallel passage found in Galatians 4:1-7, Paul explains in more detail this
process:
Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though
he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if
a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
We’re familiar with adoption today in which a couple unable to have children naturally may
adopt a child as part of their family. That’s a wonderful picture, but there’s more to our adoption
as sons of God than this. In the first century an adopted son was a son who was deliberately
chosen by his adoptive father to continue his name and inherit his estate. He was not in the least
way inferior in status to a natural born son. But our adoption is even better than that. In the first
century an adoptive father could only give an adopted son his name and inheritance. But the
Spirit of Adoption gives believers a new nature! And this new nature results in a heart-cry,
“Abba, Father!”
A lot has been made of the Aramaic term Abba being a more personal term than the Greek term
Pater (translated “Father”). However, both these terms imply an intimate relationship with no
discernable difference in meaning. I believe the real significance of the repetition of the Aramaic
and Greek words for Father is to show that both Jews and Gentiles are now able to approach God
as their Father. This is why Paul can address this mixed group as brothers. He and the Roman
Christians have the same Father! Remember how Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father .
. .” This has been called by some the sweet “Our” of prayer. We approach God together with our
brothers and sisters in Christ! This was made possible by the death of Christ on the cross. After
His work of redemption was complete following the resurrection, Jesus told Mary Magdalene to
“go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my
God, and your God.” John 20:17
III. The Spirit of Adoption Assures our Spirits, v. 16.
The text says that the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness together or alongside our renewed spirit,
both testify that we are the children of God! In Hebrew culture the testimony of two witnesses
was required to establish a truth, and here we have two witnesses: that of our innermost being
which is crying out “ABBA, FATHER”, and that of the Holy Spirit. What a double testimony!
Do we need this testimony? We certainly do! Remember that Jesus Christ Himself was not
exempt from Satan questioning His sonship. In Matthew 4:6 the devil said to Jesus, “If thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down.” If the devil tried to get Jesus to question his sonship, how
much more will he try to get you and I to question our sonship! But we have the double witness
of our spirit and the Holy Spirit to answer back to Satan that we are the children of God!
Note the shift in Greek terms from huios “sons” in vv. 14 & 15 to teknon “children” in vv. 16 &
17. This is a shift of emphasis from privilege to relationship. Not only do we have a privileged
position as legal heirs but we also have an intimate relationship as children.
What is the significance of being called the sons or children of God?
In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is called the son of God. In Exodus 4:22 it states,
“Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” In Hosea 11:1 the Lord God says,
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” These same words
are applied to Christ in Matthew 2:14-15,

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
And now we as New Covenant believers are also called the sons of God! As John wrote in 1
John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God”!
How is this possible? Jesus Christ was the true seed of Abraham, the real Israel, the Son of God!
We are united to Christ by faith, therefore we become the true seed of Abraham, the real Israel,
the sons of God! As Paul states it in Galatians 3:26-29,
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have
been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
What a privilege! What a position! What a relationship! With the Creator of the universe!
IV. The Spirit of Adoption Ensures our (Final) Salvation, v. 17.
Just as Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham had an inheritance. We also as the spiritual
descendants of Abraham have an inheritance! Abraham was promised a land and a people! We
also have been promised a land (heaven) and we are called by the Apostle Peter a “holy nation”
(1 Peter 2:9-10).
But what specifically is our inheritance in this text? Glorification – the final stage in our
salvation. This is how the Spirit of adoption ensures our salvation. He guarantees the completion
of our salvation, the redemption of our bodies!
This inheritance is only for those who suffer. But I have good news for you (or bad depending on
your perspective). All Christians are called to suffer! As Philippians 1:29 states “For unto you it
is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” In
other words all who have been given the gift of faith have also been given the gift of suffering.
Therefore if you are a true believer in Christ you qualify for this inheritance of glory because you
have suffered, are suffering or will suffer in this life. There is no glory without suffering. No
crown without a cross. But one day we will see Him (Jesus) and be like Him!
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1
John 3:2
“It doth not yet appear what we shall be”! We may not look like much now, but it doth not yet
appear what we shall be! A fuzzy caterpillar may not look like much now, but soon he will soar
effortlessly through the sky on multi-colored wings. An acorn may not look like much now, but
before too long it will grow into a mighty oak where birds may nest and animal and human life
may find shade under its branches. You don’t look like much right now, but if you are a child of
God through faith in Christ Jesus, you will soon be like Him! No, “it doth not yet appear what
we shall be”! Likewise Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21,
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his
glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself.

This is our inheritance! A glorified resurrection body like that of our Savior’s! On that day, there
will be no doubt that we are really brothers! Not because we came out of the same mother’s
womb, but because we will all be conformed to the image of our elder brother, the Lord Jesus
Christ!
Spirit of Adoption (Part 1) (Romans 8; Galatians 4)
By
Kathy L. McFarland
12/13/2012
Romans 8:15 – “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
1. The Spirit of Bondage leads to fear.
2. At some point, the people Paul is speaking to possess the Spirit of Bondage and fear; this is
expressed with the word “again.”
3. The Spirit of Adoption does not lead to fear; rather, when it is received, it changes feelings of
fear to feelings of belonging.
4. Once people receive the Spirit of Adoption, they no longer have the Spirit of Bondage.
5. The Spirit of Adoption allows the receiver to cry for the LORD God as “Abba, Father”
6. The Greek word δουλεία (douleia) is used for the word “bondage.” It creates the condition of
slavery and subservience.[1]
7. The Greek word υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) is used for the word “adoption.” It means to place
someone in the position of, and give full inheritance rights, as the original children of a parent.
This feminine noun is descriptive and inclusive of both sons and daughters of God.[2]
8. Scripture reflects the Greek word for bondage in this manner also in Romans 8:21, Galatians
4:24, Galatians 5:1, and Hebrews 2:15.[3]
8a. Romans 8:20, 21 – “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
(1) Corruption delivers people into bondage
(2) Bondage and liberty are exact opposite words
(3) Corruption is vanity and liberty is glorious
aa. The Greek word ματαιότης (mataiotēs) is represented by the word “vanity.” It means
emptiness, nothingness, futility.[4]
bb. The Greek word φθορά (phthora) is the word “corruption.” It means rot, decay, and
perishableness which is reflected in moral corruption, depravity.[5]

cc. The Greek word ἐλευθερία (eleutheria) uses the word “liberty” in its translation. It means
freedom, which is the usual definition for liberty.[6]
dd. The Greek word δόξα (doxa) is translated “glorious.” It portrays the state of being
wonderful.[7]
(4) Children of God receive glorious liberty from Him; thus they have a wonderful freedom in
life. They are not restrained by corruption. Their lives have meaning with the ability to produce
splendorous things that reflect their Father God.
(5) People not of God do not have liberty; thus they are slaves to corruption. They do not have
freedom. They are unable to produce lasting things. It is because of their immorality and
depravity that they reflect nothingness from their empty lives.
8b. Galatians 4:24 – “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the
other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the
freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.”
(1) Abraham has a son with bondmaid Agar (Hagar) named Ishmael.
(2) Hagar, the bondwoman, is born after the flesh.
aa. The Greek word παιδίσκη (paidiskē) is represented by the words “bondmaid” and
bondwoman. It means female servant (slave girl).[8]
bb. The Greek word σάρξ (sarx) uses the English word “flesh.” Flesh describes the physical
human nature of a person that develops naturally.[9]
(3) Hagar is an allegory for the Covenant made with Moses by the LORD God at Sinai.
aa. The Greek word for “allegory” is ἀλληγορέω (allēgoreō). It means “to talk figuratively.”
bb. Paul connects the making of the Covenant to Moses by God with fleshly bondage.
cc. Figuratively, this states that the Covenant of God that He made with His Chosen people at
Mt. Sinai, when He established the nation of Israel with compulsory servitude through the
keeping of His Law. This agreement is based upon bondage requiring them to obey His voice
without question (Exodus 19:5).
(4) The “freewoman” in Galatians 4:24 is identified as Sarah, the wife of Abraham, that gives
birth to Isaac. Their son leads to the line of David, which eventually brings the birth of the Lord
Jesus Christ, from the line of Abraham (Genesis 17, 21).
(5) The Sinaitic Covenant – The Sinaitic Covenant is one of at least seven Covenants that God
has made between Himself and human beings. Basically, the conditional Sinaitic Covenant
includes the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant that promises Abraham and His Chosen People
the Promised Land with generations of Abraham to serve Him (Genesis 15 and 17). But, the
Sinaitic Covenant goes beyond the Abrahamic Covenant by addressing specific obligations that
demands consistent obedience to God’s law, and adds nationalism into the mix and amplifies the
laws of God.[10]
The Sinaitic Covenant, also called the Mosaic Covenant, does not void the Abrahamic Covenant
(Galatians 3:17). It is a sovereign-vassal treaty that establishes the relationship between King
(God) and His servants (Israel)[11] (Exodus 19:1-24:18, 34:10-27). Attached to this Covenant
are the tables of stone, a law, and commandments that God writes with His finger and gives to

Moses to teach Israel. These stone tablets are placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holiest of
Holies room inside the Tabernacle. It was this place, at this time that God’s presence came to the
Ark, and He dwells with Israel and is ministered to by Priests.
Dispensationalists claim the Sinaitic Covenant to be a different covenant from the Abrahamic
Covenant in essence and form, but, Reformists like L. Berkhof claims[12] it to be mostly the
same.[13] Regardless, mention of the Sinaitic Covenant in Galatians 4:24 demands we address
the differences between Covenant made between God and Moses at Mt. Sinai and the New
Covenant that comes to men through Christ’s fulfillment of God’s plan. It should also be noted
that the comparison with Abraham’s Sarah and Hagar makes it likely that God’s Covenant with
Abraham would be linked; since it is not, and the Sinaitic Covenant becomes the important
allegory connection, we must assume that it is a separate Covenant that contains significant
details to guide understanding to the depth the allegorical reference requires.
It has the nature of a national covenant where the Church and State become one; to leave the
Church is to leave the nation. It evolves into a covenant of works, i.e. obeying the law of God
stringently, in contrast to the covenant of Grace which approaches God with faith alone. Before
the Sinaitic Covenant, God’s people live upon the promises of God reflected through the
Covenant of Abraham; though there are sacrifices, they are obligatory.[14] After the Sinaitic
Covenant, sacrifices are demanded by God and strict adherence to His laws enforced with
rewards for obedience, and punishment in response to disobedience (Deuteronomy 6).
Of course, God, in His omniscience, is fully aware of the impossibility for humans to follow His
laws. He establishes rigid rules for sacrifices to teach His Chosen People and to bring awareness
to their shortcomings in their attempts; thus, sacrifice is implemented with ceremonial laws, with
an element of grace contained within them, a familiar motif later when Christ sacrifices his life
for sinners and belief alone in Him brings full grace of God and salvation to eternal life.[15]
(6) The New Covenant – The New Covenant, explicitly described in Jeremiah 31:31-34, is
initiated with the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(7) Understanding of the two different Covenants, both the Sinaitic made with Moses and the
New Covenant established with Christ allows for a deeper understanding of the allegorical
comparison of Hagar and Sarah.
(8) Bondage makes God’s people subservient to the law under His Covenant made with Moses
and His chosen people. Everything the Israelites did physically is based strictly on God’s law,
and they had no freedom to do anything but obey the law of God. Thus, the children of God, the
Israelites, were under the Spirit of Bondage because the law spoken by God controlled their
lives, and they had no freedom to deviate from that.
(9) Hagar represents this fleshly bondage as a slave woman to Abraham. She had no choice but
to allow Abraham to plant his semen in her to create an offspring. She was not free to say no.
Her flesh is in bondage to Abraham. Thus, Ishmael is born into bondage.[16]
(10) Abraham has a son with freewoman Sarah named Isaac. This represents the freedom that
will one day come to the Israelites upon the arrival of the Messiah, Lord Jesus Christ. But, it is
important to note that Jews remain bonded to the Laws of God until Christ’s arrival. But, in the
sense that one day the Jews could receive freedom through their acceptance of the Son of God as
Messiah and the offspring of Ishmael would not be free because of their position as servants
based upon the allegory of Hagar and Sarah.

This becomes very significant in modern times. Today, there are Jews that convert to Christianity
and place their faith in Christ, there are Jews that deny Jesus Christ is the resurrected Messiah
and Son of God and follow only the laws of God taught through Prophet Moses, and there are
Muslims, as descendants of Ishmael, that are required to pray seven times a day, bow upon their
heads and knees in subservient fashion, and follow the religion developed by their Prophet
Muhammed through the offspring of the bondwoman Hagar. Converted Jews are made free by
God through their faith in Christ. Blind Jews that fail to perceive Christ as Messiah remain slaves
to the law with requirements of obedience reflected in the Sinai Covenant with His Chosen
people Israel, as do Muslims who are servants of God based upon strict adherence to the laws of
Islam.
(Historical Note) When Christ is made human and walks upon this earth, there are several groups
of people that touch his ministry and are influenced by Him. The legalistic, slaves to the laws of
God, reject Christ’s presence; they are known as the “Pharisees” in Scripture. Those Jews alive
in His time that argues against the miracles that Christ performs, as well as His Resurrection, are
called the “Sadducees” in Scripture. But, there are also Jewish converts; the Apostle Peter is
assigned to teach them the things of Christ, while the Apostle Paul is assigned to the non-Jews,
usually referred to as the “Gentiles” in Scripture.
These “Gentiles” receive the Spirit of Adoption because they are not part of the Chosen people
of God known as the Jews that fall under the Covenant made at Sinai; rather, they become sons
and daughters of God through accepting Christ as their Savior. Thus, the Spirit of Adoption
includes Gentile Believers into the family of God, giving each full rights and inheritance with
their born again Jewish brothers and sisters."
Conclusion
The Spirit of Adoption confirms followers of Christ as children of the LORD God's with full
rights of inheritance bestowed upon them from His graciousness. In our study, we have learned
some of the extra benefits that come to believers when they are infused with the Spirit of
Adoption as one of the six Spirits given to all Christians through their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Some of the benefits of the Spirit of Adoption dwelling within believers include:
1. Replacement of fear of punishment by God to feelings of belonging to Him (Study of Romans
8:15)
2. Gives right of believers to call the LORD God “Abba, Father” (Study of Romans 8:15)
3. Gives followers of Christ the full inheritance rights of God (Study of Romans 8:15)
4. Removes believers from bondage and servitude of the Law of God (Study of Romans 8:15)
5. Gives glorious liberty and freedom to live the lives chosen by the believers (Study of Romans
8:20-21)
6. Removes restraint of moral corruption from believers; they cannot be enslaved again by the
things of immoral depravity that leads to a nothingness of lives. (Study of Romans 8:20-21)
7. Receive full rights under the promised New Covenant made by the LORD God through His
Son Jesus Christ that brings salvation to believers by faith alone (Study of Galatians 4:24)

Holy spirit and adoption

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Similar to Holy spirit and adoption

Similar to Holy spirit and adoption (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Holy spirit and adoption