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
Easter 2012 has come and gone. The planning for those big Easter programs has paid off. Perhaps there are some remaining scraps of fake grass, half-eaten chocolate rabbits, and plastic eggs lying around your home or office. Maybe you still have the worship bulletin from your church’s Easter Sunday worship service. Unfortunately, it seems as though the Church often unwittingly treats the Resurrection like an Easter hat: something simply to be put on once a year. But is the Resurrection something only to be celebrated once a year? Furthermore, what does the Resurrection have to do with our Adoption? There is one answer to both of those questions. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul introduces his letter to the Roman church by talking about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1 Paul, a servantof Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Paul says something that at first glance may not seem to unusual to us, but upon further examination raises a few questions in our minds. He says that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, “was declared to be the the Son of God in power…by his resurrection from the dead.” Since historic Christian doctrine states that Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be the Son of God, what could Paul possibly be talking about here?
Yes, Jesus Christ has always been the Son of God. But his sonship must be seen in different ways. When the Son of God became a man, he entered the time of his humiliation. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 27, tells us that time of Christ’s humiliation ran from his birth through His burial. But Jesus Christ didn’t stay humiliated. As Question 28 of the formerly mentioned catechism states, His resurrection was the turning point, the historical event where Jesus Christ went from being humiliated in His incarnation to being exalted in all His sonship. We call this his exaltation.
When Paul says that Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection, he wasn’t saying that Jesus wasn’t the Son of God previously or that Jesus was just then becoming the Son of God. What Paul was definitively saying was that the resurrection event was the full, unmistakeable manifestation of Jesus Christ’s glorious sonship for us and on our behalf. In his humiliation, the Son of God became man that he might restore our lost sonship to God.
Adam was created to be the little “s” son of God (see Luke 3:38). Unfortunately, Adam failed in his sonship by rebelling against God the Father. So what did the Father do? He sent His Son to become man for us that our sonship might be restored (see Galatians 4:4-6). When Jesus (the incarnate Son of God for us) was raised from the dead and entered into his eternal exaltation, the Father declared that Jesus had achieved Adoption for the fallen sons of Adam. What had been lost by sin Jesus had restored through his life, death, and resurrection. Through faith in Christ, then, we become the Adopted children of God.
Here’s what that means for us now in our everyday life.
Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection one day (see Romans 8:11, 23).
Jesus Christ’s incarnate Sonship is the guarantee that we are sons and daughters of the living God. His declaration as the incarnate Son of God is the guarantee that one day God the Father will openly declare that we are His children by Adoption and that He will bring us into the full experience our Adoption.
Jesus Christ’s perfection in humiliation and acknowledgement in glorification is the guarantee that our humiliation is not the end, but that we will one day openly share in his glorification.
Just as Jesus Christ’s body is now perfect after having suffered in the flesh, even so we as sons and daughters will have perfect bodies after having suffered in this flesh.
Just as Jesus Christ as man enjoys all the blessings of God the Father’s presence, even so we who have been Adopted will enjoy in our humanity all the blessings of God the Father’s presence.
So take joy in Christ’s resurrection today, because it is the ground and guarantee that we who are united to Christ by faith will one day experience our full sonship.
In Part 1 of our series on Romans 8:18-30, we talked about how the entirety of the cosmos awaits its freedom from the bondage of the Curse. In Part 2 we talked about how the Apostle Paul equates our Adoption with the redemption of our physical bodies. The fact that we have the Holy Spirit of Adoption given to us is the “appetizer” that guarantees the “main course” and completion of our redemption.
Here in part 3 we find the third “groaner,” who happens to be the Holy Spirit that is given to the sons of God. Part of our suffering and our fallen estate is that we don’t know how to pray as we ought. If you’ve given any time or effort to prayer, you know that it is difficult to keep your attention from wandering and to stay on task. Part of the problem is, as the text states, that we don’t know the content to pray for as we ought to do. But that isn’t cause for despair.
Since we have the Spirit of Adoption granted to us, He knows what to pray for because He knows what the will of the God the Father is. So He prays for us with unutterable groanings. These groanings are what the Spirit uses to intercede on our behalf before God the Father.
In light of that fact that creation groans for our freedom, that we await the redemption of our bodies and that the Spirit prays for us because we don’t know what to pray for, we do know that all of the things God brings about in our lives work together for good. For those whom God has effectively called His children and given His spirit, He is working about their good. In His Fatherly compassionate eyes, His greatest good for them is to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ.
Just as a great artist will chisel a grand masterwork from piece of stone, even so the Father will chisel out and form us as sons into the image of the Son par excellence. That is the end for which God created us and the purpose to which God called us. As a result of many sons being formed into the image of the One-of-a-kind Son, Jesus Christ, he is the first of many more sons to come.
That our sufferings act as formative, redemptive experiences instead of the outpourings of God’s wrath is due to the fact that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, took the ultimate Suffering and bore the wrath and curse of God in behalf of all those God has chosen to be His children. The beauty of this Good News is that, unlike any other story, the Christian Story states God Himself has entered His people’s suffering and now their suffering becomes a means to form them into the image of the very Son of God. This formation into the Son’s image is the end for which they were created.
The Sonship of Christ Himself and the gift of the Holy Spirit of Adoption to us are the guarantee that we will be transformed and restored into the image of the Son and that we will experience the full Fatherly presence of God for now and all eternity.
Take heart as you suffer. Enter into the sufferings of others because you know that Jesus Christ has taken the Ultimate Suffering for us who are the sons and daughters of the living God.
A Critique of the Theological Foundations of the Orphan Care Movement
David Smolin (a professor of law at the Cumberland Law School at Samford University) recently wrote a critique of the theological foundations of the evangelical adoption/orphan care movement (download Smolin’s essay). One reason I am grateful for Smolin’s essay is that it provides us with the opportunity to engage in more self-critical reflection. As you know, the evangelical orphan care movement has experienced exponential growth over the past 5-7 years. We should all be very encouraged by the increased number of churches that are committed to serving orphaned and vulnerable children in tangible and best-practice ways. God has been at work to awaken and mobilize Christians to mirror His heart by caring for the fatherless. However, with the rapid growth of a movement comes a certain amount of theological and practical growing pains. As a movement, then, we must continually strive to mature theologically and practically. In God’s kind providence, Smolin’s essay provides us with encouragement to do just that.
As a way to encourage continued dialogue and discussion, Smolin graciously asked if I would write a response to his essay that would be included in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Christian Legal Thought, published by the Christian Legal Society and Regent University School of Law. I was glad to accept his invitation. Smolin asked several others to write responses as well (read a PDF copy of my response). Due to space limitations, I chose to respond only to Smolin’s understanding of the Apostle Paul’s use of adoption in Romans, Ephesians, and Galatians. I will address more of his concerns as the dialogue continues.
Download: David Smolin’s Essay | My Response (PDF)
