ADOPTED AS GOD'S CHILDREN

Background Passage: ROMANS 8:15-27

Lesson Passage:ROMANS 8:15-27

BIBLICAL TRUTH: CHRISTIANS CAN BE ENCOURAGED ABOUT LIVING IN A CORRUPT WORLD BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL PRIVILEGES THEY HAVE AS GOD'S ADOPTED CHILDREN.

KEY BIBLE VERSE: ROMANS 8:16

Eddie rarely got discouraged about anything. And he had been through plenty of ups and downs in his life. In fact, he had many more downs than ups, and he could have grown discouraged as he tried to work through them. Yet he always seemed to be positive and optimistic as he faced the difficult struggles that came his way.

One of Eddie's friends in his Sunday School class asked him how he was able to be optimistic all the time. Eddie responded with what he called an old saying: “I don't spend my time trying to have what I want. Instead I try to want what I have.”

Being a Christian in the world today is tough. It's a difficult place, full of struggles that can get the best of us. It's a setting in which we can easily focus on what we need instead of what we have already received.

In this session we encounter a section in Paul's letter to the Roman Christians in which he encourages us as Christians to want what we have received. What do we have in our relationship with Christ that encourages us? Paul showed us the unique privileges we enjoy because we are believers. As you study them, you will find plenty of reasons to praise God for giving you what you have in Christ.

BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW

When we received Christ, we were liberated from spiritual slavery. That's when we left fear behind, and we embraced an intimate relationship with God as His adopted children. The Holy Spirit confirms this unique status with God that we enjoy. Because we are God's adopted children, we can expect to share the inheritance God has in mind for His Son, Jesus Christ. Right now we share in His suffering. But one day we will share in His glory.

Instead of focusing attention on our struggles now, we do well to think about the glory to come. Creation joins us as we wait with eagerness for the day of our glorification. When we are set free, all creation will be liberated too. Until then, creation will continue to endure the bondage of death and decay with groaning that will intensify with the passing of time. And we will too.

We are absolutely certain that the day of our glorification will come. Our certainty about the future can be traced all the way back to the day we were saved. No, we have not been able to see our glorification yet. But our hope rests in what we have not seen yet. We know for certain that we will be glorified one day. The hope within us makes us eager as well as patient as we think about the future.

We can trust the Holy Spirit to help us as we wait for our glorification. All of us experience some moments of weakness that stem from not knowing how we should pray. In those moments, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit speaks on our behalf to God. And God reads our hearts and listens to the language of the Spirit. He knows that what the Holy Spirit says on our behalf is going to be consistent with God's will for our lives.

STUDY QUESTIONS 1.What did Paul mean when he referred to Christians as heirs? (8:17)
2.Why did Paul say that creation was groaning? (8:20-22)
3.How did Paul associate hope with our salvation? (8:24)
4. Why might we experience weakness when we pray? (8:26)

OUR SPECIAL STATUS (ROMANS 8:15-17)

Romans 8
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

VERSE 15 ~ In this portion of Paul's letter to Roman Christians, he reminded them of what they had received when they became Christians. When they received Christ, they were adopted into God's family. Because of their special status, they could face their world and its struggles in a victorious way. God didn't intend for them to live in fear. Instead, His Spirit assured them that they could cry out to Him as little children who reach out to a loving and caring Father.

VERSE 16 ~ A marriage certificate testifies that a man and a woman were married at a particular time and place. Similarly, the Spirit testifies that we became God's children when He saved us. When we think about a Christian being a child of God in personal terms, an assortment of ideas about our relationship with Him comes to mind. For instance, we think about being helpless and about God being able to help us. Or we think about being eager to serve God and pleasing Him with our service.

VERSE 17 ~ But when we think about being a child of God in legal terms, what comes to mind is that we have been adopted into God's family and that we have received many wonderful blessings because of our relationship with Him. At the top of the list is the glad reality that we are heirs. We will receive a priceless inheritance from God Himself. (See study question 1.) In Paul's day, children who were adopted were given the same rights and privileges as natural children. In the same way, God's adopted children can look forward to the same inheritance as Christ, God's only begotten Son.

As co-heirs, believers share the present and the future with Christ. Now we share with Him in the suffering that's a part of living for Him in a sinful world. But His Spirit affirms that one day in the future we will share with Him in glory.

OUR FUTURE GLORY (ROMANS 8:18-23)

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. .

VERSE 18 ~ Notice that Paul called attention to the future glory instead of the sufferings that he and the Roman Christians were enduring at the moment. He wanted the Roman Christians to know that suffering would last only a little while, but the glory to come would last forever. For that reason he encouraged them to think about the glory that would be revealed to them. One day they would see it with their own eyes.

VERSE 19 ~ A sense of anticipation was added to Paul's description as he linked god's people with God's creation. Believers join with creation in looking forward to the glory ahead. Creation waits anxiously for us to be glorified. One day we will be set free from this world of suffering. When our liberation takes place, creation will be set free too. That's why creation waits eagerly for the day of our glorification.

VERSES 20-22 ~ Creation has been groaning because of the futility to which it has been subjected. God judged Adam and Eve because of their sin, but He didn't stop with them. He cursed the ground too (Gen 3:17). Because of His curse, everything in creation eventually faces death and decay. The groans of creation in bondage to God's curse have been like labor pains, more intense as the actual moment of birth gets closer. (See Study Question 2).

VERSE 23 ~ Like creation, Christians groan for the day that we are set free too. Right now we have the Spirit as a guarantee— or first fruits—of our liberation that's on the way. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives gives us complete confidence about the future. The Spirit is only a down payment on the best that is yet to come. One day we will receive our full inheritance as God's adopted children. In particular, we look forward to what God is going to do with our bodies. They will be set free.

OUR CERTAIN HOPE (ROMANS 8:24-25)

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

VERSE 24 ~ Creation lives in the hope of being set free one day (8:20-21) So do Christians. We share the certain hope with creation that the Lord will glorify us. In particular, we have complete confidence that our bodies will be glorified. Our hope settles us and makes us wait patiently for God's promise to us to come true.

As Paul reminded us, believers embrace the hope of being glorified one day, even though so far our glorification has been kept from view. This kind of hope is a distinctive feature of our walk with the Lord. In fact, we can trace it all the way back to the day we were saved. (See Study Question3.).

The hope of our salvation compels us to think about what will happen in the future as well as what's occurring in the present. Right now we know that we are saved, and we cling to the Lord as we face the daily and ongoing struggles of living for Him. But we are certain that a better day awaits us in the future. We are sure of it, even though we have not been able to see it yet.

VERSE 25 ~ Our hope prompts us to look with anticipation for that day to arrive. Like children who can hardly wait for Christmas morning to dawn, we eagerly look forward to our glorification. The longer we walk with God, especially if we suffer for Him in the process, the more eager we become as we think about the day when He will come for us. At the same time, we are also characterized by patience as we wait. Because we are patient, we are not perplexed, confused, bewildered, or disillusioned by the fact that He hasn't come for us yet We know for certain that it's only a matter of time. Our hope settles us so we can be eager and patient at the same time. One day we will be glorified. We are certain of it.

OUR UNIQUE HELP (ROMANS 8:26-27)

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

VERSE 26 ~ While we wait patiently but eagerly for our glorification, God intends for us to devote ourselves to prayer. When we pray, we can sense His direction and His strength as we follow His leadership. The primary reason that our prayers are effective is because the Holy Spirit is at work in us as we pray.

We can be confident that the Holy Spirit joins us as we pray, especially when we face moments of weakness in prayer. At times, even the most seasoned Christians face struggles as they pray. And the struggles weaken them. In times of extreme weakness, we don't know what to pray for when we talk to God. (See study question 4). In those moments, we can trust the Holy Spirit to intercede for us.

The language of the Spirit as He speaks to the Father on our behalf is described by Paul as unspoken groaning s. In a way, the Holy Spirit is our translator as we pray. He translates our concerns to the Father when we can't express them ourselves.

VERSE 27 ~ We know about couples who share such an intimate relationship with one another that often they can “read each others' minds.” While that kind of intimacy is a blessing, it pales in comparison to the treasure that's ours in our relationship with God. He not only reads our minds, but He also reads our hearts. He listens for the language of the spirit, who intercedes for us. And He knows that what the Spirit says on our behalf is in keeping with God's will for us. For that reason, we too can trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pray.

Paul's remarks do not answer every question about the Spirit's intercession for us in prayer. But what he said about the Spirit's work in our lives encourages us. We know for certain that the Holy Spirit helps us as we pray.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Now that you've studied the privileges of being a Christian, what's your response? If you are like other believers, you respond to this portion of Paul's letter by praising God. We are privileged to be children of God because in His grace, He accepts us as belonging to Him.

How can you express your praise to the Lord for adopting you as one of His children? First, tell God why you praise Him. When you pray, spend some time praising Him for the privileges you enjoy before you talk to Him about what you need. Praise helps us to put everything else in our lives, even the struggles, in a helpful perspective.

Second, tell other people why you praise God. When you bear witness to the blessings associated with receiving Christ, you may be making an eternal difference in the person listening to you. And you will grow more confident in the Lord as you talk with others about being His child.

Third, tell yourself why you praise God. As you remind yourself of what you have in Christ, you will become more reassured as you deal with what you don't have in this world. Reminding yourself of the glory to come enables you to work through the struggles here and now on earth.