"In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will -- to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves." Eph. 1:5-6
Did you know that in the entire corpus of the Old Testament, God is referred to as "Father" only fourteen times in all of its 39 books? And these references tended more toward the impersonal rather than the deeply personal use of "Abba" [basically "Daddy"] as found in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the term "Father" was used more in reference to the nation of Israel rather than to any specific individual. But when Jesus came on the scene, he addressed God only as Father. The Gospels record Jesus using the term "Father" more than sixty times when referring to God and He never used any other term except when quoting Ps. 22 while on the cross. Kent Hughes asserts that "no one in the entire history of Israel had spoken or prayed like Jesus. No one!" But this amazing fact is only part of the story, because the word Jesus used for Father was not the formal word. It was the common Aramaic word with which a child would address his or her father -- "Abba." Shocking and yet very refreshing.
Even more remarkable, however, is the fact that Abba became both the subconscious and the conscious refrain of the elect, who were "adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ." We find Paul making this point himself when he writes, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" [Rom. 8:15, 16]. He continues, "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" [Gal. 4:6, 7].
Do we [do I?] have a "spirit of adoption"? Do we [do I?] sense that God is our [my] Father? Do we [do I?] think of Him and address Him as our [my] "Dear Father"? If not, we must make sure that He really is our spiritual Father and heed the words of Scripture and receive Him. "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" [John 1:12]. Dr. J.I. Packer considers our grasp of the Fatherhood of God and our adoption as sons and daughters to be of the most essential importance in our spiritual lives. He says, "If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his father. If it is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that make the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. 'Father' is the Christian name for God."
That name, 'Abba, Father,' testifies to the reality of our adoption. The richness of our adoption will also be revealed in a very public way in the future. Paul says, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed" [Rom. 8:19]. The day of our investiture as sons and daughters is coming, but He is our loving Father right now! Our adoption is complete, and we are eternally God's sons and daughters. We were predestined for this before the foundation of the world, "In love ... in accordance with His pleasure and will." This ought to be the melody of our hearts continually.
I have been parked out here in Ephesians 1 and 2 as well as Colossians 1, 2 and 3 the past three weeks or so contemplating just what it means to be "a child of God, hidden with Christ in God, seated in the heavenlies, dead and already resurrected. Putting to death those things belonging to my earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." Once lived or are living? So many mysteries for us to ponder.
And thus, I am also convicted that I too often walk far below my calling. And on top of that I've felt very much like Tevye of Fiddler on the Roof renown ... all too quickly losing my grip on my daughters [like they were mine to hold on to in the first place]. I believe it was John Calvin who said "the human heart is a perpetual factory of idols." Sadly, I've found that all too true in my own life. And even the things that God means for blessing [like children] can all too easily become idols in themselves. For the record, Ashley just married; Alli is very seriously considering a one to two year stint beginning late this summer/early fall as a missionary teacher overseas; and Ariel has accepted a position to spend the summer as a camp counselor for a Christian camp, Camp Living Stones, in Tennessee. A lot for a shell-shocked daddy to process in a less than a month's time. Just call me Tevye!
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