Adoption in Christ
A Sermon on Adoption from Ephesians 1:5
Originally preached Nov. 28, 1954
Scripture
5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Sermon Description
Christians are adopted by God because He chose them. With careful attention to the details of Paul’s letters, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores the purpose of salvation and the implications of being adopted into God’s family. To help grasp the significance of this doctrine, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the term “adoption” emphasizes the standing and rank of the chosen child. In this sermon on adoption from Ephesians 1:5, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that regeneration addresses the Christian’s nature, whereas adoption is about the legal standing of the child. Adoption is the highest expression of God’s love towards His chosen people. It is the love of a Father for His child, the love of God for His creation. Children of God must live holy lives in keeping with their identity. The privileges of God’s household are found throughout Paul’s letters. Christians are His sons and daughters and, as the Scriptures say, heirs with Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is Ephesians 1:5 which reads "having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will".
- The sermon begins by providing context for Ephesians 1:5 by reviewing Ephesians 1:3-4. These verses establish that God has blessed us with spiritual blessings and chosen us to be holy.
- Ephesians 1:5 introduces the new concept of predestination unto adoption. Predestination refers to God's plan, while choosing refers to how God accomplished that plan.
- Adoption was a Roman legal concept where an adopted child gained the rights and privileges of a natural child. They gained rights to the family name and inheritance.
- Adoption is a legal and relational term, not a natural one. It establishes our standing and position as sons, not our nature. Our nature as new creations comes through regeneration.
- Adoption conveys the highest privileges including:
- The right to God's name as His children
- The gift of the Spirit of Christ which was in Jesus
- The status of heirs and joint-heirs with Christ
- The hope of final redemption and resurrection of the body
- The privilege of judging the world and angels
- We should contemplate these great privileges of adoption and not focus so much on worldly honors and positions.
- We can test if we have the spirit of adoption by whether we are being led by the Spirit. Those led by the Spirit are the sons of God.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Adoption
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the difference between "predestination" and "choosing" in Ephesians 1:5?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, there is a clear distinction between these terms. He explains: "To predestinate means to determine beforehand, to declare, to determine beforehand. And what the apostle tells us here is that this was God's ultimate plan. Predestination refers to the plan itself. Choosing emphasizes the way or the means or the method or the mode by which that plan has been put into operation and has been accomplished." Predestination focuses on God's original plan, while choosing relates to the execution of that plan.
What does the term "adoption" mean in the biblical context according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that adoption is a legal or forensic term borrowed from Roman law. He states: "In Roman law, adoption secured for the adopted child a right to the name and to the property of the person by whom he had been adopted." The technical meaning is "the placing as a son." It emphasizes relationship, standing, rank, and privilege rather than nature. It defines our legal position as sons of God with all the rights and privileges that come with that status.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones differentiate between adoption and regeneration?
According to the sermon, regeneration relates to our nature as Christians, while adoption relates to our position and status. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "The nature of the Christian as a new man in Christ is determined not by adoption, but by regeneration. You see, we are children of God in two senses." Through regeneration, we receive God's nature by being born again. Through adoption, we receive legal standing and privileges as sons in God's family. Adoption "puts it entirely upon the legal standing, upon the rank, the position, and all the privileges that follow from that position."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the ultimate purpose of God's predestination?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies sonship as God's ultimate purpose in predestination. He states: "Before the very foundation of the world, it was God's plan and purpose that certain members of the fallen race of Adam... God planned and purposed and decided and determined that certain members of that fallen, damned, doomed race should become his sons." He emphasizes that this was "God's original purpose and plan in redemption" - not merely to save people from sin but to elevate them to the status of sons.
What privileges do believers receive through adoption according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones lists several privileges of adoption: 1. We bear the name of God - "We are the children of God. We are members of his family." 2. We receive the Spirit of the Son - "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 3. We become heirs of God - "Because you're a child of God, you're an heir of God... and joint heirs with Christ." 4. We have certainty of our final redemption - "It is because I am a son of God that I can be certain that a day is coming when even my body shall be redeemed." 5. We will judge the world and angels - "Know ye not that you shall judge the world... know ye not that you shall judge angels."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say adoption is the highest expression of God's love?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that adoption is "the highest expression even of God's love" and that "even the love of Almighty God can do no more for us than this." He quotes 1 John to support this: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. What is it? Well, here it is. That we should be called the sons of God." He explains that this privilege exceeds all worldly honors and positions, as it gives us an eternal standing and relationship with God himself that will never fade away.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the logical order of God's salvation plan?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that God's plan has a logical order: "The original predetermination, the original decision, sonship. Now what is absolutely essential to that is holiness." God's ultimate purpose was sonship, but to achieve this, He needed to make us holy first. This is why Paul mentions being chosen for holiness before mentioning adoption - because "from the experimental standpoint, from our end and from our angle, the choosing unto holiness comes before the adoption as sons." We must be made holy to qualify for the position of sons.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the problem with superficial Bible reading?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against "a general, superficial knowledge of the whole of the Bible" and instead advocates for "a detailed, thorough understanding of any one part of the Bible." He states that "the gravest danger confronting certain Christians is that they're content with a mere knowledge of the letter of the scripture and have never really gone to its principles and to its doctrines." He emphasizes the importance of stopping to analyze and contemplate each statement deeply rather than rushing through the text, saying we should "stand and gaze upon it, and allow its rich and its mighty message to come into our minds and into our hearts."
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.