[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

[pickledilly]

I am eternally grateful that my relationship as a child of the heavenly Father is not by chance or accident in any way. His love for me existed before I ever existed. He chose to provide the way for my sin to be overcome so that I would be acceptable and restored to Him. When I received that Way as my own, He deliberately chose to adopt me and fully integrate me into His family. I didn't do anything to deserve such lavish favor. It was all His doing. From what I know of adoption of a child by human parents, that is pretty much the same. Those parents provide the way to take a child not naturally born to them as their own for no other reason than they intentionally choose to out of love. It doesn't generate from the adopted child, but from the adoptive parents. (For us, the LORD maintains our right to choose, and will not enact adoption proceedings or force us to receive His goodwill without our agreement to His plan.)

This truly is an encouraging concept. Again, it doesn't depend on me. And thank goodness it doesn't! I would never be able to make myself acceptable to God on my own. Only His loving grace accomplishes that. Nothing else could ever make me feel so special or give me such a sense of valued worth as being specifically chosen by the very Creator of all things. Oh, that I could truly receive and grasp such life-changing truth! It is humanly impossible for me to envision or imagine all the rights, privileges, and resources that are mine because I have been given His name, legally sealed as His own, and made His heir. This gives me supreme encouragement and confidence and strength and hope to live like His child instead of an orphan. In this, my future is filled with promise and purpose - and secure joy.

Also, I never have to experience any loneliness or seclusion of being an "only child". I am part of an incredible family of "siblings" in Christ. We are all equipped to be a support structure for each other. We are all to be a fountain of life and love to each other and with each other to the world's lost waifs. We are all eternally united together in one Spirit that supercedes our differences. What a tremendous family gathering awaits us one day in our Father's house as we're reunited with those we've known and introduced to all our "distant" relatives we never got to meet on earth!

[KathyK]

Pastor Ralph, on Aug 24 2006, 08:49 PM, said:

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

I must admit I am having a little trouble with this question...this is why...

In Psalm 82.6 "I said 'You are sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."

this comes from Exodus 9:16 on what God instructs Moses to tell Pharoah
"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

God has raised them up too..and Jesus says in John 10:34
"Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, I have said you are gods? If he called them 'gods', to whom the word of God came-and the Scripture cannot be broken-what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?...that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father."

This was to answer them when when he claims God as his father.

So this is what I am seeing...adoption as sons...through Jesus Christ...that makes us different.

John 15:4a "Remain in me, and I will remain in you."

This son, Jesus Christ is different...there is a direct link to the Father and through him, we have a direct link to God through the son of the Most High, Jesus Christ, by adoption. By grace.

Of course this is all so much bigger than I can comprehend.
I'm not even sure if I am getting this right??

[JCSupSvc]

When someone is adopted, they begin life anew. They have a clean slate so too speak. Their past is wiped out, the records are sealed and they begin life all over, with new parents. They become part of the family and have all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of the other children in the family.

When we repented and turned to God, the same thing happened. The slate was was wiped clean and we became part of God's family and heirs to the Kingdom.

[sandralee]

In a spiritual sense, by the Holy Spirit's action, ALL of me is in Christ and ALL of Him is in me. We are One in the Spirit of God, joined together at the Heart, the Spirit, nothing can ever seperate this union. What is true of Christ is now also true of me in the Spirit. His blessings are now my blessings and His glory is now my glory ( and on and on), not because of anything I did or thought, not by any choice but solely and wholly by the Grace of God.

[KBB]

Pickledilly,

Your thoughts really helped me see how amazing it is that God has adopted me, and THAT I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! I spoke with some friends last night who have taken in a 13-yr old girl. They did it because they wanted to help her, not because she was deserving (she's actually really rough around the edges). God's love is really mindboggling.

/kbb

pickledilly, on Sep 16 2006, 03:33 PM, said:

I am eternally grateful that my relationship as a child of the heavenly Father is not by chance or accident in any way. His love for me existed before I ever existed. He chose to provide the way for my sin to be overcome so that I would be acceptable and restored to Him. When I received that Way as my own, He deliberately chose to adopt me and fully integrate me into His family. I didn't do anything to deserve such lavish favor. It was all His doing. From what I know of adoption of a child by human parents, that is pretty much the same. Those parents provide the way to take a child not naturally born to them as their own for no other reason than they intentionally choose to out of love. It doesn't generate from the adopted child, but from the adoptive parents.

This truly is an encouraging concept. Again, it doesn't depend on me. And thank goodness it doesn't! I would never be able to make myself acceptable to God on my own. Only His loving grace accomplishes that. Nothing else could ever make me feel so special or give me such a sense of valued worth as being specifically chosen by the very Creator of all things. Oh, that I could truly receive and grasp such life-changing truth! It is humanly impossible for me to envision or imagine all the rights, privileges, and resources that are mine because I have been given His name, legally sealed as His own, and made His heir. This gives me supreme encouragement and confidence and strength and hope to live like His child instead of an orphan. In this, my future is filled with promise and purpose - and secure joy.

Also, I never have to experience any loneliness or seclusion of being an "only child". I am part of an incredible family of "siblings" in Christ. We are all equipped to be a support structure for each other. We are all to be a fountain of life and love to each other and with each other to the world's lost waifs. We are all eternally united together in one Spirit that supercedes our differences. What a tremendous family gathering awaits us one day in our Father's house as we're reunited with those we've known and introduced to all our "distant" relatives we never got to meet on earth!

[Ken7]

John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."

When we abide in Christ, He lives through us. We are one with Him, when we believe with a living, abiding faith.
I have adopted children and they are the very best. This adoption can never be broken, in the same way our new life with Christ cannot be broken by anything we do. We are secure in Him. Encouraging!!

[jules]

Adoption complements predestination and God's will. You could look at it as an illustration of both of them. Both involve conscious deliberate choice, planning, preparation and anticipation. Even when the adoptee/electee is not a polished gem. Both include all the privelges and responsibilities of being included or involved in the purpose that one is chosen or elected for.

The concept of adoption is encouraging because it does represent a new beginning with a new inheritance. It is also a "come as you are" party...God chose me and accepts me with all the "rough edges". That's the best part for me...He loves me anyway!!

[Gail Francis]

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Pastor Ralph, on Aug 24 2006, 08:49 PM, said:

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

Well, when you are adopted, you are usually in bad situation or not cared for by others and you come into a family that really love you and wants better things for you, i think that is how is is with God he loves us, and wants better things for us, we are in His family and He will take care of us and give us all His love and protection. We are free from harm and safe in Him. Praise God


He know what we need and how we are doing and He know all our weakness and he wants to make us strong, he knows our sins and wants us to be freed from them, and He gave His only Son to take the cross and die for us. We neede to give it all to Him

Gail

[Kay71]

Adoption occurs when a person chooses to become responsible for someone else and to provide them with all the benefits they would provide to a biological child. God chose all of us has his children and provided us with love and support.

[Jezemeg]

I am eternally grateful to God for adopting me as His daughter, because despite knowing all my faults, all my flaws in my character, He chose me as His beloved adopted daughter. The concept of adoption is encouraging because it means that no one is beyond God's redemption, that no one need be frozen from His Kingdom. Even someone who has committed the most obscene of offenses in this world, after there is sincere repentance by that individual and salvation granted by God's grace, becomes equal to everyone else whose an adopted son or daughter of God

[TennLady01]

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us?

We have a relationship with God our creator and the one that made all things. He loves us so much he wants us to be his children and he wants to bless and take care of us as we would our own children. God is our Father and he is the one that will never leave us or forsake us. He has made us heirs with Jesus his only begotten son. What more could one ask for in a relationship with the Almighty. To be adopted is to be one that is chosen. The parents of an adopted put forth the effort to select that child. To be born into a family we get what ever is there we did not chose that child. God has chose us we are blessed to be adopted by the Lord. Rom 8:17 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.

Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?
We are not outside looking in we are part of the family. God is the Father and we are the brothers and sisters with Jesus. When they said to him your mother and brothers want to talk to you he looked around and said these are my mothers and my brothers. Jesus excepts us and we are his adopted brothers and sister. What a blessing and what a privilege to be one with him. Our Big Brother. Hallelujah

[EdW]

Becasue adoption means that God "chose" us. Being a natural child is a consequence of a man and a woman coming together in union with a resulting offspring. Being an adopted child means that you are selected, as is, to being incorporated into the family of the adopting parents. God chooses us, just as we are, to be members of His family. This is most encouraging as it means He went out of His way to make me, all believers, members of His family. One must be encouraged when this is considered.

[steve ring]

Pastor Ralph, on Aug 24 2006, 09:49 PM, said:

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

As a man and women adopt a child, it is by choice. They choose the child to be part of their family. This is the way the Lord is, he choose's us to be part of His family. From birth we are chosen to join Him with the family of Christ. I am encouraged because, even though I have a earthly family (I was not adopted) I also have a heavenly family. I have this family because the Lord chose to adopt me as part of His family. The only true family to be part of. For me life wasn't always this good. When I was younger I strayed away from Him, like some children do. But because of His love for me, He never gave up on me. And now He has welcomed me back in His arms as though nothing ever happened. What a truly loving Father.

[Commissioned]

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship with us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

I am not personally acquainted with an adopted child, but, I can assume that children waiting to be adopted are especially happy knowing that out of all those waiting to be adopted the parents chose them. Indeed, this must make that child feel very special and the parents equally honored for having the opportunity to select a child.

The apostle Paul in chosing this illustration wanted to stress the fact that, those in Christ, who were once filthy and steeped in sin are - now - according to God's good pleasure equal with Christ. No matter what we were before coming to Christ we can be encouraged that, that was the past, now in Christ we are heirs with Him.

[Tscone]

its an awesome feeling to know that I was chosen by God to be adopted into his family to inherit the kingdom of heaven

[Sgt_Z_Squad]

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us?

Q4a.) Because we were slaves to sin, but through God's grace, we have been redeemed through Jesus Christ. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

Q4b.) Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

Q4b.) Because we need not be related by blood, just washed in the Blood.

[Lisa Rupert]

Q4. (Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship to us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?
Because God adopted us we are now heirs. He made us holy and blameless before him so we could be with him. He loves us so much and blessed us by including us in his family. God loves us so much that he did what we couldn't do so that we could be with him in his kingdom.

[Linda Stanley]

Adoption: Illustration of Gods relationship:
I believe know mater who we are, or where we come from, we are all equal as Gods adopted children.As adopted children of God,we share with Jesus all rights to Gods resorces,which shows us how much God loves us.
It is encouraging to know ,as Gods heirs,we can claim what he has provided for us,our full identity as his children.
Through Jesus Christ,God graciously accepts us, (though we don't deserve it),now that we belong to his dearly loved Son.
Paul uses this term"adoption"to show how strong our relationship to God is.He is telling us to enter into this loving relationship with God.Amen.

[Helenmm]

(Ephesians 1:5-6) Why is adoption a particularly apt illustration of God's relationship with us? Why is the concept of adoption encouraging to us?

We are all born in the sin of Adam to the father of lies. Praise Yeshua that He has authority over that father of lies, and has retrieved us from his family into the family of God. This He calls adoption - formal removal from one family to another with all rights and hopes of a true child. How blessed we are to be the recipients of such adoption! Amazingly we have all the privileges of sonship as Yeshua Himself, through the power of His Name. How honoured we are, and how we honour Him.

To know we have all the privileges and powers of the sons of God because of our adoption encourages us to live powerfully, in the purity of that family relationship, strengthening ourselves in Yeshua and walking in the works God has prepared for us to walk in, for so we reflect His image and His glory, walking on the earth as heavenly creatures as was originally intended. Praise our Father for so great a salvation!.