Adoption is the admittance of a believer into God's family in Christian theology. Adoption is commonly viewed as a stage immediately following justification in the Reformed ordo salutis (“order of salvation”). Adoption, as a theological term, refers to the legal placement of a child with a parent or parents other than those to whom they were born. In the New Testament, there are three allusions to God “adopting” Christians as his own children (Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15, and Ephesians 1:5), and one reference to God “adopting” the “people of Israel” (Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15, and Ephesians 1:5). (Romans 9:4). Adoption, as a theological phrase, adds a relational dimension to salvation's effects.
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Adoption, like redemption and reconciliation, is a theological idea that results from the ‘legal' act of justification.
The account of Mephibosheth, who was included in the Royal inheritance despite not being a member of the Davidic dynasty, is the Old Testament basis for this word (2 Samuel 9:7-13). Article 12 of the Westminster Confession of Faith demonstrates the importance of adoption in Reformation theology:
God bestows the favor of adoption on all those who are justified in and through His only Son Jesus Christ, allowing them to share in the liberties and advantages that come with being a child of God.
The youngster was no different from the slaves of the house until the rite was done. The term ‘adoption' refers to a Christian's position before God rather than their relationship with God. Adoption is a divine act in which God accepts a justified believer as an adult son with all of the rights and obligations that come with being a son of God.
What is the Bible say about adoption?
1:5 (Ephesians) “God chose to adopt us into his family in advance by drawing us to himself via Jesus Christ. This is exactly what he wanted to do, and it made him very happy.” The Bible's tale revolves around adoption. As God's chosen children, we are all adopted into his spiritual family.
What does it mean to adopt a religion?
The adoption of a set of beliefs associated with one religious denomination to the exclusion of others is known as religious conversion. As a result, “religious conversion” refers to the process of departing one denomination and joining another. This could be from one religious denomination to another, such as from Baptist Christianity to Catholic Christianity or from Sunni Islam to Shi'a Islam. Religious conversion “signifies a change in religious identity and is reflected by unique ceremonies” in some circumstances.
Active conversion by free choice owing to a change in beliefs, secondary conversion, deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience, marital conversion, and forced conversion are all reasons why people convert to a different faith.
Proselytism is the endeavor to convert someone from a different faith or belief system through persuasion. Apostate is a phrase used by adherents of a religion or denomination to describe someone who has abandoned their faith.
Is it a sin to adopt a child?
Is it a Sin to Adopt a Child? Finally, deciding on adoption is deciding to give your child a lovely life full of love from you, the adoptive family, and God! Adoption is not considered a sin. It is a personal choice that you must make after carefully weighing your options and praying for guidance from God.
Is adoption God's plan?
We were unsettled when our child through birth was born because we believed adoption was God's Plan B. Despite the fact that we adored and were linked to our first two kids through adoption, we were anxious. Could we think less of them now that we'd given birth to a daughter? Clearly, our conception of adoption as a backup plan was incorrect.
Have you ever thought how Jesus came to be adopted? Yes, Jesus was adopted by his earthly father, Joseph. In reality, the Gospel of Matthew connects Jesus' ancestry through his adopted father, Joseph, rather than his biological mother, Mary. Even though this element can be overlooked as unimportant, it reveals something extraordinary about God's nature. God doesn't make mistakes, and He doesn't require a contingency plan. Adoption was not Plan B for Jesus, as evidenced by this footnote in history.
Through the concept of adoption, God's plan of redemption for an imperfect world was set in action. He not only ordained that his son Jesus be adopted, but He also made adoption the only way for us to join His eternal family. Adopting us was a delight for Him. In fact, it is His preferred method of forming bonds.
For a long time, Renée and I grappled with this understanding since we considered adoption to be the second best option after biological birth, which was our first choice. But how can we read Psalm 113:9 if infertility is seen as a curse and adoption is only a last alternative for people who struggle with infertility?
“He makes the barren woman a happy mother of children in her home.” “All glory to the LORD.” (NIV)
Although it is obviously within God's power, this scripture does not claim that God makes barren women fruitful. “Happy mother” is the important phrase. God's Plan A is a “happy mother.” Unless she adopts, how can a barren lady become a joyful mother? God has predetermined that some couples will become parents through biological birth, and He has also predetermined that certain couples will become parents through the miracle of adoption. We could have avoided a lot of heartache if Renée and I had grasped the full implications of this concept earlier in our quest to start a family.
What God thinks about adoption?
“Out of love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to his pleasure and desire…” We are all equal in God's eyes, and He has called us worthy, according to this idea. Every child who is adopted deserves and is deserving of becoming a member of a family.
What is divine adoption?
The Christian theology of divine filiation states that Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God by nature, and that when Christians are redeemed by Jesus, they are adopted as sons (and daughters) of God. Most Christians believe in this theory, however Catholics use the term “divine filiation” to describe it. Divine sonship is another name for this belief.
The notion of divine filiation is based on other Christian teachings.
God the Son is the Eternal Word spoken by God the Father, according to the Trinity theory.
According to the theology of the Incarnation, God the Son adopted a human nature some 2000 years ago, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) as Jesus of Nazareth.
The central theme of the Gospel, or Good News, is divine filiation: it is the reason for humanity's salvation. This is also the reason for baptism. Divine filiation, according to John Paul II, is “the deepest mystery of the Christian vocation” and “the culminating point of the mystery of our Christian life…we share in salvation, which is not only the deliverance from evil, but first and foremost the fullness of good: of the supreme good of sonship of God.”
“For the Son of God became man so that we could become God,” divine filiation implies. “Through our awareness of him who called us by his own glory and goodness, his divine power has given us everything we need for a holy life. He has given us his most great and precious promises through them, so that you can share in the divine nature while avoiding the contamination in the world caused by bad impulses ” (2 Peter 1:4). “By Baptism, he joins us to his Christ's Body; by the anointing of his Spirit, which flows from the head to the members, he transforms us into other Christs.”
Who was adopted in Bible?
You'll recall Jacob and Rachel's epic love affair. Jacob was so determined to marry Rachel that he agreed to work for her father, Laban, for seven years in exchange for Rachel's hand in marriage. He was, however, duped into marrying Rachel's older sister, Leah. But his love for Rachel persisted, and he consented to seven more years of labor in exchange for Rachel's hand in marriage.
Rachel was childless for many years while Jacob had several children with different women. Rachel eventually gave birth to two sons, one of them was Joseph. Jacob favored Joseph, and his brothers despised him, eventually selling him into slavery. As it goes with all of us through our tribulations in life, Joseph's harrowing experience ended up working in his favor and for the betterment of his entire nation.
Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, was reunited with his family in the end. Joseph's wife had two boys, Manasseh and Ephraim, before he met up with his family in Egypt. Their grandpa, Jacob, was a pious man whose name was changed by the Lord to Israel. Israel adopted both Ephraim and Manasseh in his old age, blessing them as if they were his biological sons (Genesis 48).
Despite the fact that Israel (Jacob) did not raise his two adopted sons, he loved them as much as he loved their father Joseph. As their patriarch, he honored them by placing his hands on their heads and blessing them both temporally and spiritually.