GRATITUDE FOR BEING GOD’S CHILDREN
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves.
Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.
Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit
to affirm that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:15-16 (NLT)
Have you ever thought of what an honor it is to be a child of God? We call Jesus “Lord” which He is (Philippians 2:9-11), but at the same time we are adopted by God the Father. Charles Swindoll explains this concept well:
God purchased us. The payment was His Son’s death. While He had every right to own us as slaves, He tore the bill of sale into shreds and drafted a new document: adoption papers! He is not merely a kinder, gentler Master; He is our “Abba.” That’s the Aramaic term of endearment for one’s father. The closest word we have to it is the name Daddy. Intimacy with the almighty Creator of the universe! What an awesome thought.
Charles R. Swindoll, Romans, vol. 6, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2016), 174.
The book of Ephesians also references the fact that God chose to adopt us:
Ephesians 1:5-6 In love, He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
Charles Swindoll had an excellent commentary on these verses as well:
. . . we praise God because He adopted us (1:5–6). The Greek term proorizō [4309], “to predestine,” means “to foreordain” or “to determine in advance.” To what, though, did God predestine believers? To adoption as sons through Jesus Christ (1:5). Under Roman law, which served as a backdrop for Paul’s writing, adopted children enjoyed precisely the same rights and privileges as natural children. In the same way, the intimate “Abba” relationship Christ has with the Father by nature is extended to believers by grace. Think of it! Like penniless paupers rescued from the slums and adopted into a king’s family, we have been adopted into the family of God.
Ephesians, Living Insights Commentary by Charles R. Swindoll.
Not only do we enjoy the inheritance due to God’s children, but we also enjoy the intimacy of a perfect Father who delights in us, enjoys “familyship” with us, and empowers us to do His will. He has “freely given” us His glorious grace. The Greek word translated “freely given” in the Berean Standard Bible has a deeper connotation than the English words convey as seen in the definition found in The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament:
G5487. charitóō; contracted charitṓ, fut. charitṓsō, from cháris (5485), grace. To grace, highly honor or greatly favor. In the NT spoken only of the divine favor, as to the virgin Mary in Luke 1:28, kecharitōménē, the perf. pass. part. sing. fem. The verb charitóō declares the virgin Mary to be highly favored, approved of God to conceive the Son of God through the Holy Spirit. The only other use of charitóō is in Eph. 1:6 where believers are said to be “accepted in the beloved,” i.e., objects of grace. (See huiothesía [5206], adoption, occurring in Eph. 1:5) In charitóō there is not only the impartation of God’s grace, but also the adoption into God’s family in imparting special favor in distinction to charízomai (5483), to give grace, to remit, forgive.
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament edited by Spiros Zodhiates
David A. Holland explains the full meaning of the Greek word in a manner that is easy to understand:
The phrase “freely bestowed” is the Greek word charitóō. It has the same root as the words charis and charisma—which are usually translated “grace”—and it appears in only one other place in the entire New Testament. When the angelic messenger first appeared to Mary to let her know she was about to conceive the Messiah, he greeted her by calling her charitóō (see Luke 1:28)! What does this unusual Greek word mean? Charitóō means “compassed, or surrounded, with favor.” Paul declares that if you are in the Beloved, then you are constantly encircled by God’s favor, just as Mary the mother of Jesus was when she was selected for the greatest honor ever extended to a human being.
Praying Grace by David A Holland
As God’s children, we are continually surrounded by His favor! How often do we thank God for the privilege of calling Him “Father”? We have the intimate relationship with God as Father that enables us to go boldly to His throne in prayer, be absolutely honest with Him (He knows everything anyway), and bring our needs to Him.
Father, we are thankful to be adopted into Your forever family. We are blessed to experience not only Your mercy in forgiving our sins, but Your glorious grace in blessing us far beyond what we could ever deserve!
Worship with Zach Williams singing “No Longer Slaves”: