Let me guess what you talked about at the office water cooler this week. You probably talked about the weather, sports, your kids, politics (if you’re brave), and the Trinity. Wait….what!?!?!?! The Trinity!?!?! Ok, so maybe you didn’t talk about the Trinity. Granted, it doesn’t really belong in the “Things I Usually Talk About At The Office Water Cooler” list.
So if the Trinity isn’t really one of the so-called practical subjects, and only ivory tower, seminary-types seem to talk about it, what does it have to do with our Adoption in Christ? The answer is…
Only Everything.
The idea that the Christian God is One God in Three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) has been a basic, bedrock staple in the doctrine of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Mainstream Protestant Churches for thousands of years. Matthew 28:19-20 states that the Trinitarian name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the name into which we are to baptize. Without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you don’t have the Christian God.
The New Testament explicitly teaches that each Person of the Trinity plays a vital role in our Adoption.
Ephesians 1:4-5 states that the Father predestines us to the Adoption as sons before the foundation of the world for His own glory.
Galatians 4:4-6 states that the Son of God was born of woman and under the law to redeem us that we might receive the Adoption as sons and join His cry of “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 states that we have been given the Spirit of Adoption. This same Spirit is the One Who applies the benefits of our Adoption to us and is the Pledge that our full inheritance is coming.
This plan of Adoption began before the foundation of the world. Each person of the Trinity covenanted with the others to do His part in bringing many sons to glory. And Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all succeeded.
Think about this: before any creature was around, before God was Creator, Ruler, or Judge, He was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always enjoyed the unbroken and perfect fellowship and communion of love with each other. And the reason the Godhead created man was not out of any need, but rather to share this beautiful communion of love with those made in God’s image.
Without the Trinity, we have a needy deity who creates out of a need to rule, judge, and govern. But it is not so with the God of the Bible. Instead, we have 1 God in 3 Persons who shares perfect, amazing love with His sons. And we have the privilege and joy, because of the work of our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to call this God “Father.”
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Other posts on the Trinity that might interest you:
A God-Centered Approach to Orphan Care (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4)
Registration for Our Conference for Pastors & Adoption/Orphan Care Ministry Leaders is Now Open!
Join Hope for Orphans, White Horse Inn, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary October 4-5 in Louisville, Kentucky for our first annual Together for Adoption Conference for Pastors and Adoption | Orphan Care Ministry Leaders. Our hope for this unique conference is to contribute to the recovery of the theology of Adoption within the Church.
Why is the recovery of Adoption within the Church important?
- Adoption’s recovery would enable us to express the forensic character of the Gospel (i.e. we are declared righteous through faith in Christ) without neglecting its familialcharacter (i.e. we are loved by the Father in the Beloved Son). In Adoption the forensic and familial elements of the Gospel ‘live and move and have [their] being’ together.
- Adoption showcases both what we have been saved from and what we saved to. Once we were “sons of disobedience” and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3), but now we are sons by Adoption (Ephesians 1:4-5). Although we were once the lost sons of Adam and under the just wrath of God, we are now in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6) with a future as marvelous and as sure as the incarnate Son’s (Romans 8:12-30). Scripture’s teaching on Adoption enables us to better articulate both what we were in Adam and what we are now in Christ. The more we embrace and proclaim what the theology of Adoption teaches about what we were and what we are now as sons in the Son, the more our experience of the gospel will be revolutionized within our churches.
- We also believe that nothing can mobilize churches to carry out the practice of true religion (“visit orphans and widows in their affliction” – James 1:27) like a robust understanding of our Adoption through Christ. Scripture’s story of Adoption is the story of God visiting us in our affliction (Romans 8:3-4, 18-23)—like He visited His son Israel in his affliction (Exodus 4:31)—in order to deliver us from it. Therefore, ultimately, we visit orphans and widows in their affliction because God first visited us in ours. If any group of people should be passionate about visiting orphans in their affliction, it should be the children of God. There is no other group of people that should be more easily mobilized to care for orphans. Period. Visiting orphans in their distress mirrors what God has done for us in ours.
If you are a pastor, pastor’s wife, seminarian, or a church adoption and orphan care ministry leader, consider joining us for this unique conference as we work toward the recovery of Adoption and explore its implications for church life and practice.
Registration
Early Bird Regular: $89 per person
Spouse: $49
Seminarian/Student: $49
Learn more about the conference. Make sure you take a look at the excellent breakout sessions we are offering!
Join us September 14-15 in Atlanta. Visit our conference pages for more information.
Kaleb Scharmahorn, my friend and Together for Adoption’s worship leader, is in the middle of cycling 700 miles in 7 days for his family’s adoption. The effort he put in to train for this ride was no small thing. Check out his blog to “follow” him on his journey this week.
“We were once orphans but God has adopted us. We are now his children.”
“God adopted us when we were orphans and without hope and home.”
“We are no longer orphans! God the Father has adopted us into His family!”
I would guess that most of us have said some variation of the above statements at one time or another. Each of them communicate something of the beauty and wonder of the Gospel. They declare heart-winning truth to us! When we were destitute and without hope and home, God came to us in the Person of His Son to bring us into His love. That is astoundingly good news for us!
But . . .
as wonderful and encouraging as those thoughts are, is the orphan/adoption metaphor really what Paul is using in his adoption texts (Eph. 1:4-5; Gal. 4:4-6; Rom. 8:14-15, 23; 9:4)? I believe it’s clear from the two texts below that Paul is using a slave/adoption metaphor, not an orphan/adoption one (notice the words in bold below).
Galatians 3:23-4:9
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. [24] So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, [26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
[4:1] I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, [2] but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. [3] In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. [4] But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
[8] Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. [9] But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
Romans 8:12-23
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
[18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [23] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
So, here’s my question: if Paul uses the slave/adoption metaphor, shouldn’t it be the metaphor we primarily use? I am convinced it should be. As I will show in future posts, the slave/adoption metaphor actually has more to say about how we approach the global orphan crisis than the orphan/adoption metaphor.
What do you think might be some of the strengths of the slave/adoption metaphor in addressing the global orphan crisis?
Phoenix has some great Christian hip-hop artists and I feel especially honored to be able to fellowship with the guys at iSix:5. I love their heart for the hip hop community and their love for sound Biblical teaching…add in their talent and it makes for a great combination.
J. Miles, an artist on iSix:5, has a new album out (Slave Trade) and there is an incredible song called “Adopted” featuring Barabbas Da Rebel, and J Paul. I am confident you will love this song and want to listen to it several times in a row so you can soak up every word (regardless of your interest in hip hop). It had me in tears worshiping the Lord for the precious gift of adoption. What a merciful God we can call “Father.”
Looking forward to seeing more of what my Phoenix brothers put out. Check out the song and then download it on iTunes.
If you wish to join us this Saturday in Winston-Salem for our first regional conference, register by tomorrow (Friday) night. Registration is only $29 per person. Learn more about the conference.
See our conference program (it lists our breakout sessions and exhibitors).
Twenty-two people joined us this past weekend for the first Together for Adoption Theological Boot Camp. Jason Cornwell and I have both agreed that it was our richest T4A experience to date. Such a spiritually refreshing time in the good news of our adoption in Christ. We are very grateful to everyone who joined us for those two days. Some new friendships were forged!
Next boot camp? Wednesday, May 2nd at Saddleback Church. Christian Alliance for Orphans recently interviewed Jason Cornwell about our upcoming pre-Summit boot camp.
Matthew Sims at Grace for Sinners recently wrote a response to a response to a response. Is your head spinning yet? If so, let me give you a little context.
As should happen with any movement, the theological foundations of the evangelical adoption/orphan care movement are being thoroughly examined. I’m very grateful for this critique of our theological foundations because constructive critique is essential to the theological health and growth of any movement. We must continue to think hard and long about the theology of adoption and its implications for how the evangelical adoption/orphan care movement can best serve orphaned and vulnerable children. It’s within this larger context that Matthew Sims wrote (“Adoption: Secrecy and Lies? A Response to a Response to a Response”).
Our Winston-Salem regional conference is just 2 1/2 weeks away! If you wish to be renewed afresh by the good news of the Father’s delight in you, join us April 28th for our one-day conference in Winston-Salem, NC. It often seems absolutely too good to be true, but it is true: if you are a Christian, God the Father looks at you, and says, “You are my dearly loved child. I delight in you!” The story of Adoption is that Jesus lived for us and in our place as the True Son become man in order to recreate our lives and transform them into his Story. This is the Story that the Gospel tells us each day. Our adoption in Christ is able to empower us for daily Christian living and to mobilize us for orphan care.
Join the T4A team, ABBA Fund, and Burk Parsons (author of Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace) on April 28th at Calvary Baptist Church (West Campus) in Winston-Salem, NC. Visit our conference page for event details.
Conference Schedule:
8:00am – Doors Open (Check-in & Registration)
9:00am – Main Session 1 - Abba, Father for Us (Galatians 4:4-6) | Dan Cruver
10:30 am – Breakout Session 1
1 Orphan Care 101 – John Raymer, Deep Springs Baptist Church
2 Foster Care 101 – Tamarian McIntyre, Forsyth County DSS
3 Adoption 101 – Jim Woodward, Christian Adoption Services
4 Transracial Adoption – Jena Penner, The Mighty River Project
5 Adopting Older Children – Jodi Jackson and Agnes Tucker, Christian Alliance for Orphans
6 How to Choose an Adoption Agency – Dave Wood, Lifeline Children’s Services
7 Trafficking and the Orphan – Morgan from Save Our Sisters
11:30 am – Lunch & Networking
1:00 pm – Main Session 2 - Eating at the King’s Table | Burk Parsons
2:00 pm – Breakout Session 2
1 Being a Church That Cares for the Orphan – Matt Capps, Calvary West
2 After Adoption: Unique Challenges & Joys – Shelly Roberts, ABBA Fund
3 Funding Your Adoption – Dwain Gullion, ABBA Fund
4 Special Needs Adoption – Nikki Esquivel
5 HIV / AIDS Orphan Care and Adoptions – Deanna Jones, Project Hopeful
6 Foster Care as a Demonstration of the Gospel: Reconciliation & Adoption – Jon Bolin, Piedmont Int’l University
7 Worship and Social Justice – Jake France, Salem Chapel
3:15 pm – Main Session 3 - Adoption Forms Our Suffering (Romans 8:18-31) | Jason Cornwell
4:15pm – Close & Networking
