“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5, ESV)
Many people are very interested in their ancestry or genealogy. I have dabbled into it on occasion because it seemed a good thing to understand our family history. However, I have not dug in the way other families have done so. There are companies who will do a complete family search, but I question the validity of such a search since older historical records are slim.
Well, because I was interested, I asked my mother about this before she died. She gave me a rundown on as much as she knew. The big discovery was that my great-grandfather was an adopted child. At that time his last name was changed. I know his original name, but have never found or taken sufficient time to find anything about his birth parents.
So, the big thing is that at the time of my great-grandfather, we inherited a new name. It is this name that has defined our family ever since.
Paul, in writing to the Galatians regarding the freedom that they have by God’s grace through faith, presented another key thought. Under grace, they have been adopted as sons into a new family. They have been made sons of God. As sons, they have been made heirs to tremendous blessings.
Connecting this thought to the idea of the nation of Israel being enslaved under the law, those who believed in Jesus were freed from this slavery. They were set free from the law and adopted into the family of God. As such they were full heirs as adopted children. Moreover, because they were God’s children, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son” into their hearts.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in them was a tremendous blessing that saved, empowered, and vitally connected them to the glory of heaven. The presence of the Spirit gave them the confidence to cry out “Abba! Father!” This expression indicated that God was not some distant and untouchable entity. No, He was their loving Father who was intimately engaged in their lives. Moreover, the Holy Spirit was given as a guarantee of the permanence of their position as adopted sons. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
“And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22, ESV)
And again, to the Ephesians,
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV) What does this mean to us? It means that we have been given this great blessing of sonship by God’s grace through faith. By this we are heirs as sons and daughters. Moreover, this new position that we have obtained through the Father adopting us guarantees our future. His work of adoption is irrevocable as guaranteed by the Holy Spirit who He sent into our hearts.
Renewing the Heart 