ANSW. Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his
only Son Jesus Christ; whereby all those that are justified, are
received into the number of his children, have his name put upon
them, the Spirit of his Son given to them, are under his fatherly
care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges
of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs
with Christ in glory.
In speaking to this answer we shall consider,
I. The various senses in which persons are the sons of God; and
particularly, how they are so called by adoption.
II. The difference between adoption as used by men, and as it is applied
in this answer to God’s taking persons into this relation, as his
children; from whence it will appear to be an act of his free grace.
III. We shall consider the reference the sonship of believers has to the
superior and more glorious Sonship of Jesus Christ; and how it is said
to be for his sake.
IV. The privileges conferred on, or reserved for them, who are the sons
of God by adoption.
I. We shall consider the various senses in which persons are called the
sons of God.
1. Some are called the sons of God, as they are invested with many
honours or prerogatives from God, as a branch of his image: thus
magistrates are called the _children of the Most High_, Psal. lxxxii. 6.
2. Others are called God’s children, by an external federal relation, as
members of the visible church; in which sense we are to understand that
scripture; wherein it is said, _The sons of God saw the daughters of
men_, &c. Gen. vi. 2. And when Moses went into Pharaoh, to demand
liberty for the Israelites, he was ordered to say, _Israel is my son,
even my first-born_, Exod. iv. 22. This privilege, though it be high and
honourable, by which the church is distinguished from the world; yet it
is not inseparably connected with salvation; for God says, concerning
Israel, when revolting, and backsliding from him, _I have nourished and
brought up children; and they have rebelled against me_, Isa. i. 2. and
many of those who are called the _children of the kingdom shall be cast
into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth_,
Matt. viii. 12.
3. The word is sometimes taken in a more large sense, as applicable to
all mankind: thus the prophet says, _Have we not all one father, hath
not God created us?_ Mal. ii. 10. And the apostle Paul, when disputing
with the Athenians, speaks in their own language, and quotes a saying
taken from one of their poets, which he applies to the great God, as
_giving to all life and breath, and all things_; upon which account men
are called his _off-spring_, Acts xvii. 25. compared with 28.
4. They are called the sons of God, who are endowed with his
supernatural image, and admitted to the highest honours and privileges
conferred upon creatures: thus the angels are called the _sons of God_,
Job xxxviii. 7.
5. Our Lord Jesus Christ is called the Son of God, in a sense not
applicable to any other; as his Sonship includes in it his deity, and
his having, in his human nature, received a commission from the Father,
to engage in the great work of our redemption, as becoming surety for
us; which is the foundation of all those saving blessings which we enjoy
or hope for.
6. Believers are called the sons of God, by a special adoption; which is
farther to be considered, as being the subject-matter of this answer.
Adoption is a word taken from the civil law; and it was much in use
among the Romans, in the apostles time, in which it was a custom for
persons, who had no children of their own, and were possessed of an
estate, to prevent its being divided or descending to strangers, to make
choice of such who were agreeable to them, and beloved by them, whom
they took into this political relation of children; obliging them to
take their name upon them, and to pay respect to them, as though they
were their natural parents; and engaging to deal with them as though
they had been so; and accordingly to give them a right to their estates,
as an inheritance. This new relation, founded in a mutual consent, is a
bond of affection; and the privilege arising from thence is, that he who
is, in this sense, a father, takes care of, and provides for the person
whom he adopts, as though he were his son by nature; and therefore
Civilians calls it an act of legitimation, imitating nature, or
supplying the place of it: and this leads us to consider,
II. The difference between adoption, as used by men, and as it is
applied in this answer, to God’s taking persons into this relation, as
his children.
1. When men adopt, or take persons into the relation of children, they
do it because they are destitute of children of their own to possess
their estates; and therefore they fix their love on strangers: but God
was under no obligation to do this: for if he designed to manifest his
glory to any creatures, the holy angels were subjects capable of
receiving the displays thereof; and his own Son, who had all the
perfections of the divine nature, was infinitely the object of his
delight, and, in all respects, fitted to be as he is styled, _Heir of
all things_, Heb. i. 2.
2. When men adopt, they are generally inclined to do it by seeing some
excellency or amiableness in the persons whom they fix their love upon.
Thus Pharaoh’s daughter took up Moses, and nourished him for her own
son, because he was _exceeding fair_, Acts vii. 20, 21. or, it may be,
she was moved hereunto, by a natural compassion she had for him, besides
the motive of his beauty; as it is said, _The babe wept, and she had
compassion on him_, Exod. ii. 6. And Mordecai adopted Esther, or took
her for his own daughter; _for she was his uncle’s daughter, and was
fair and beautiful_, and an orphan, _having neither father nor mother_,
Esther ii. 7. But when God takes any into this relation of children,
they have no beauty or comeliness, and might justly have been for ever
the objects of his abhorrance. Thus he says concerning the church of
Israel, when he first took them into this relation to him, _None eye
pitied thee, but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing
of thy person: and when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine
own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live_, &c.
Ezek. xvi. 5. It might indeed be said concerning man, when admitted to
this favour and privilege, that he was miserable; but misery, how much
soever it may render the soul an object of pity, it could not, properly
speaking, be said to be a motive or inducement from whence the divine
compassion took its first rise, as appears from the account we have of
the mercy of God, as founded only on his sovereign will or pleasure; as
he says, _I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion_, Rom. ix. 15. and also, from
the consideration of man’s being exposed to misery by sin, which
rendered him rather an object of vindictive justice than mercy. This
therefore cannot be the ground of God’s giving him a right to an
inheritance; and consequently adoption is truly said, in this answer, to
be an act of the free grace of God.
3. When men adopt, their taking persons into the relation of children,
is not necessarily attended with any change of disposition or temper in
the persons adopted. A person may be admitted to this privilege, and yet
remain the same, in that respect, as he was before: but when God takes
his people into the relation of children, he gives them, not only those
other privileges which arise from thence, but also that temper and
disposition that becomes those who are thus related to him. This leads
us to consider,
III. The reference which the sonship of believers has to the superior
and more glorious Sonship of Jesus Christ; and how it is said to be for
his sake. Here we must suppose that there is a sense in which Christ is
said to be the Son of God, as the result of the divine decree, which
contains in it an idea very distinct from his being a divine person; for
that was not the result of the will of the Father; whereas it is said
concerning him, _I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee_, Psal. ii. 7. And
elsewhere, _he hath, by inheritance, obtained a more excellent name
than_ the angels; and this is the consequence of God’s saying to him,
_thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee_: and, _I will be to him
a Father, and he shall be to me a Son_, Heb. i. 4, 5. which plainly
refers to Christ as Mediator. Now when we consider this mediatorial
Sonship of Christ, if I may so express it, we are far from asserting,
that Christ’s Sonship, and that of believers, is of the same kind; for,
as much as he exceeds them as Mediator, as to the glory of his person
and office, so much is his Sonship superior to theirs. This being
premised, we may better understand the reference which the sonship of
believers has to Christ’s being the Son of God as Mediator; and
therefore let it be farther considered,[67]
1. That it is a prerogative and glory of Christ, as the Son of God, that
he has all things which relate to the salvation of his elect, put into
his hand; and therefore, whatever the saints enjoy or hope for, which is
sometimes called in scripture their inheritance, agreeably to their
character, as the children of God by adoption; this is considered as
first purchased by Christ, and then put into his hand; in which respect
it is styled his inheritance, he being constituted, pursuant to his
having accomplished the work of redemption, heir of all things; and as
such, has not only a right to his people, but is put in possession of
all those spiritual blessings in heavenly places, wherewith they are
_blessed in him_, Eph. i. 3.
2. From hence it follows, that the sonship of believers, and their right
to that inheritance, which God has reserved for them, depends upon the
sonship of Christ, which is infinitely more glorious and excellent. As
God’s adopted sons, they have the honour conferred upon them, of being
_made kings and priests_ to him, Rev. i. 6. These honours are conferred
by Christ; and, in order thereunto, they are first given to him to
bestow upon them: thus he says, _I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my
Father hath appointed unto me_, Luke xxii. 29. Christ is first appointed
heir of all things, as Mediator; and then his people, or his children,
are considered as _heirs of God_, as the apostle expresses it; _and
joint heirs with Christ_, Rom. viii. 17. Not that they have any share in
his personal or mediatorial glory; but when they are styled
_joint-heirs_ with him, we must consider them as having a right to that
inheritance, which he is possessed of in their name as Mediator: and in
this sense we are to understand those scriptures that speak of God’s
being first the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and then, to wit, in
him our Father; accordingly he says, _I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father, and to my God, and your God_, John xx. 17. And elsewhere, God is
styled _the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ_, and then _the Father of
mercies_, or, our merciful Father, 2 Cor. i. 3. And elsewhere the
apostle says, _Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in
Christ; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus
Christ, to himself_, Eph. i. 3. compared with 5. and inasmuch as he
designed to _bring many sons to glory_, as being _made meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light_; he first _made the
captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings_, Heb. ii. 10.
compared with Col. i. 12. In this respect our right to the inheritance
of children, is founded in the eternal purpose of God, relating
hereunto, and the purchase of Christ, as having obtained this
inheritance for us.
IV. We are now to consider the privileges conferred on, or reserved for
them who are the sons of God by adoption. These are summed up in a very
comprehensive expression, which contains an amazing display of divine
grace; as it is said, _He that overcometh, shall inherit all things; and
I will be his God, and he shall be my son_, Rev. xxi. 7. It is a very
large grant that God is pleased to make to them; they shall inherit all
things. God is not ashamed to be called their God; and in having him,
they are said to possess all things, which are eminently and
transcendently in him; they have a right to all the blessings which he
had designed for, and which have a tendency to make them completely
happy: in this sense we are to understand our Saviour’s words in the
parable; _Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine_,
Luke xv. 31. Nothing greater than this can be desired or enjoyed by
creatures, whom the Lord delights to honour. But, that we may be a
little more particular in considering the privileges which God confers
on, or has reserved for his children, it may be farther observed,
1. That they are all emancipated, or freed from the slavery which they
were before under, either to sin or Satan; they who were once the
_servants of sin, are_ hereby _made free from sin, and become the
servants of righteousness_, or become _servants to God_, Rom. vi. 17,
18, 22. _have their fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life;
the Son makes them free_; and therefore _they are free indeed_, John
viii. 36. Before this they are described as _serving divers lusts and
pleasures_, Tit. iii. 3. and are said to be _of their father the devil_,
and to _do his works_, or follow his suggestions, John viii. 44.
ensnared, and _taken captive by him at his will_, 2 Tim. ii. 26. and, as
the consequence hereof, are in perpetual bondage, arising from a dread
of the wrath of God, and that _fear of death_ impressed on their
spirits, by him, who is said to have the _power of death_, Heb. ii. 14.
this they are delivered from, which cannot but be reckoned a glorious
privilege.
2. They have God’s name put upon them, and accordingly are described as
_his people called by his name_, 2 Chron. vii. 14. This is an high and
honourable character, denoting their relation to him as a peculiar
people; and it is what belongs to them alone. Thus the church says, _We
are thine; thou never bearest rule over them_, Isa. lxiii. 19. namely,
thine adversaries; _they were not called by thy name_. They have also
Christ’s name put on them, _of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named_, Eph. iii. 15. which not only signifies that propriety which
he has in them as Mediator, but their relation to him as the ransomed of
the Lord, his sheep, whom he leads and feeds like a shepherd; and they
are also styled his children, _Behold I and the children which God hath
given me_, Heb. ii. 13. and indeed, when he is called a surety, or an
advocate, or said to execute certain offices as a Saviour or Redeemer;
these are all relative terms; and whatever he does therein, is in their
name, and for their advantage; as it is said, _of him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption_, 1 Cor. i. 31.
3. They are taken into God’s family, and dealt with as members thereof;
and accordingly are styled _fellow citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God_, Eph. ii. 19. And as the consequence hereof, they have
protection, provision, and communion with him.
(1.) They have safe protection; as the master of a family thinks himself
obliged to secure and defend from danger, all that are under his roof,
whose house is, as it were, their castle; so Christ is his people’s
defence, concerning whom it is said, _A man shall be as an hiding place
from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a
dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land_, Isa.
xxxii. 2. and, as the consequence hereof, it is added, _My people shall
dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet
resting places_, ver. 18. _They dwell on high; their place of defence is
the munition of rocks_, chap. xxxii. 16. He who has subdued their
enemies, and will in his own time, bruise them under their feet, will
take care that they shall not meet with that disturbance from them,
which may hinder their repose or rest in him, or render their state
unsafe, so as to endanger their perishing or falling from it.
(2.) They enjoy the plentiful provisions of God’s house, and therefore
Christ is called their _shepherd_, Psal. xxiii. 1. not only as leading
and defending them, but as providing for them; _He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd_, Isa. xl. 11. As all grace is treasured up in him, and
there is a fulness thereof, which he has to impart to the heirs of
salvation, that is sufficient to supply all their wants; so they shall
never have a reason to complain that they are straitened in him; the
blessings of his house are not only exhilirating, but satisfying, and
such as have a tendency to make them completely happy.
(3.) They are admitted to the greatest intimacy, and have sweet
communion with Christ; _the secret of the Lord is with them that fear
him_, Psal. xxv. 14. he deals with them as with friends, and in this
instance in particular, (as he tells his disciples,) that _all that he
has heard of the Father_, John xv. 15. that is, whatever he had a
commission to impart for their direction and comfort, he _makes known
unto them_, which must needs be reckoned a very great privilege. As the
queen of Sheba, when beholding the advantages that they who were in
Solomon’s presence enjoyed, could not but with an extasy of admiration,
say, _Happy are thy men; happy are thy servants, which stand continually
before thee, that hear thy wisdom_, 1 Kings x. 8. much more may they be
happy who are admitted into his presence, in whom _are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge_, Col. ii. 3.
(4.) Another privilege which they enjoy, is access to God, as a
reconciled Father, through Christ; they have a liberty to _come boldly
to the throne of grace, that they obtain mercy, and find grace to help
in time of need_, Heb. iv. 18. Whatever their straits and difficulties
are, God holds forth his golden sceptre, invites them to come to him,
asks, What is thy petition? and gives them ground to hope that it shall
be granted, so far as it may redound to his glory and their good. And,
inasmuch as they are often straitened in their spirits, and unprepared
to draw nigh to him; they have the promise of the Spirit to assist them
herein; upon which account he is called the _Spirit of adoption, whereby
they cry Abba Father_, Rom. viii. 15. This privilege is said to be a
consequence of their being sons; _Because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father_, Gal.
iv. 6. By this means they have becoming conceptions of the Divine
Majesty, a reverential fear of, and a love to him, earnest desires of
communion with him, and of being made partakers of what he has to
impart. They have a right to plead the promises; and in so doing, are
encouraged to hope for the blessings contained therein.
(5.) As God’s children are prone to backslide from him, and so have need
of restoring grace, he will recover and humble them, and thereby prevent
their total apostacy: this he sometimes does by afflictions, which the
apostle calls fatherly chastisements, and reckons them not only
consistent with, but evidences of his love: _Whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth; and if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons_, Heb. xii. 6, 8, 11. The
apostle does not here speak of afflictions as considered absolutely in
themselves, but as proceeding from the love of God, the design whereof
is to do them good; and as they are adapted to this present state, in
which they are training up for the glorious inheritance reserved for
them in heaven, and need some trying dispensations, which may put them
in mind of that state of perfect blessedness which is laid up for them:
and they are rendered subservient to their present and future advantage,
as the afflictions of this present time _bring forth the peaceable
fruits of righteousness_ to them; and when they are, in the end,
perfectly freed from them, will tend to enhance their joy and praise;
which leads us to consider another privilege, which is so great that it
crowns all those that they are now possessed of, namely,
(6.) They shall, at last, be brought into God’s immediate presence, and
satisfied with his likeness. The apostle calls the perfect blessedness
of the saints, when raised from the dead, and so delivered from the
bondage of corruption, and made partakers of the glorious liberty of the
Sons of God, by way of eminency, _the adoption, to wit, the redemption
of their bodies_; which signifies not only the full manifestation of
their adoption, but their taking possession of their inheritance, which
they are now waiting and hoping for, which is too great for the heart of
man to conceive of in this present state; for the apostle says, _Now are
we the sons of God; and it doth not appear what we shall be: but we
know, that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see
him as he is_, 1 John iii. 2. So that all the blessings which we have,
either in hand or hope, the blessings of both worlds, which are
conferred upon us from our first conversion to our glorification: these
are privileges which God bestows on those who are his adopted children.
From what has been said concerning adoption, we may take occasion to
observe, how, in some respects it agrees with, or may indeed, be
reckoned a branch of justification, and in other respects it includes in
it something that is an ingredient in sanctification. We have before
observed, in treating on the former of these, _viz._ justification, that
when God forgives sin, he confers on his people a right to life, or to
all the blessings of the covenant of grace, in which are contained the
promises that belong to the life that now is, and that which is to come.
These are the privileges which God’s adopted children are made partakers
of; and in this respect some divines suppose, that adoption is included
in our justification.[68]
And if justification be explained, as has been before observed, as
denoting an immanent act in God, whereby the elect are considered, in
the covenant between the Father and the Son, as in Christ, their federal
head; so they are considered as the adopted children of God, in Christ,
and accordingly as they are described as chosen in Christ, unto eternal
life, they are said to be _predestinated unto the adoption of children_,
Eph. i. 6. which is a privilege to be obtained by Jesus Christ: in this
respect all the elect are called Christ’s _seed, that shall serve him_,
Psal. xxii. 30. whom he had a special regard to, when he made his soul
an offering for sin, and concerning whom he had this promise made to him
in the covenant, that passed between the Father and him, _that he should
see them, and the pleasure of the Lord_, with respect to their
everlasting salvation, _should prosper in his hand_, Isa. liii. 10. Now
when Christ is considered as the head of the elect, who are in this
sense called his sons, whom he has engaged to bring to glory, faith is
the fruit and consequence of adoption; accordingly the apostle says,
_Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father_, Gal. iv. 6.
But as justification is a declared act, and is said to be by faith, so
adoption agreeing with it, is of the same nature; and accordingly we are
said to be the _children of God by faith_, chap. iii. 26. that is, it is
by faith that we have a right to claim this relation, together with the
privileges which are the result thereof.
Moreover, as adoption includes in it a person’s being made meet for the
inheritance, which God has reserved for him, and so is endowed with the
temper and disposition of his children, consisting in humility,
heavenly-mindedness, love to him, dependence upon him, and a zeal for
his glory, a likeness to Christ; as the same mind is said to be in us,
in some measure as was in him; in this respect adoption agrees with
sanctification, which is what we are next to consider.
Footnote 67:
Vide Vol. I. page 279, in note.
Footnote 68:
_Vid. Turrett. Theol. Elenct. Tom. 2. Loc. 16. § 7._
Quest. LXXV.