Adoption in Christ
He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will
Ephesians 3:5
In Ephesians 1, Paul lays out God’s immense glory that He shows in our salvation. In verse 5, in particular, there is a lot to unpack. First of all, Paul points out that God has chosen us for adoption. God bringing us into His family is an incredible honor. With it comes all the rights and benefits of an heir (v. 3). The Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We should feel awe when we realize that God wanted us to be a part of His family and share in everything that includes.
It is more impressive when we realize what caused our estrangement. Like the prodigal son(Luke 15:11ff), we started as children of God. Yet, due to our arrogance, we struck out against Him. We choose the things of the world instead of a relationship with Him. While God allowed us to leave, there were consequences to our actions. We were no longer a part of His kingdom, and we had squandered the inheritance awaiting us. Even worse, there was nothing we could do to repair the relationship.
Thankfully, God devised a plan that could lead to our reconciliation. It involved sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross. Our adoption came at great cost because of the sins that we committed. Yet God was will to pay that price because of how much he loved us. He wanted us to return to Him so badly that Jesus died on the cross. It is for this reason that we observe the Lord’s Supper. It reminds us that God was willing to do so much to have us as His own.
It also is a reminder of the grim fate that awaited us before our adoption. We had no inheritance. Through our own choice, we had removed ourselves from God’s family. We were without our Father and our inheritance. We could not look forward to all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. God saved us from that with His Son.
Paul also tells us that we were adopted “to the purpose of His will”. Being a part of God’s family comes with expectations. Our Father expects us to live and act a certain way. He did not bring us into His inheritance just so that we could waste it away again. Instead, He wants us to live according to His laws and His plans. As we see how much our adoption costs, how could we not want to be pleasing to Him?
He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will
Ephesians 3:5