Bible Readings:
Matthew 5:1 – 16, Galatians 6:1 – 18
Sermon Outline:
Galatians 4:4–7 (NKJV)
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
I It is the Father who adopts
Ephesians 1:3–5 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
II God the Son is the Agent of Adoption
“We cannot think of adoption apart from union with Christ… Union with Christ reaches its zenith in adoption and adoption has its orbit in union with Christ.
Murray, J. (1955). Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (p. 170). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
III it is the Holy Spirit who assures believers that they are the children of God – the Spirit of Adoption