Made New | Adopted | Romans 8:14-15, Ephesians 1:3-7

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen and Adopted into God's Family

Before the world began, God had a plan for you. He chose you, not as an afterthought, but as a deliberate act of love, to be adopted into His family. This adoption is a profound spiritual truth that changes everything about your standing before God. It is a gift of grace, not something you could ever earn. You were selected to carry His name and inherit all the blessings of being His child. This new position is eternal and secure, rooted in the very heart of God. [36:53]

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12, ESV)

Reflection: As you consider the truth that God chose you for adoption before the creation of the world, what specific emotion or thought does that stir in you? How might embracing this truth change the way you see yourself and your purpose this week?

Day 2: From Slavery to Sonship: A New Relationship

The Spirit you received does not make you a slave, leading you back into a life of fear and bondage. Instead, the Spirit confirms your adoption, granting you the full rights of a beloved son or daughter. This new relationship with God is one of intimate closeness, not fearful distance. You are invited to call out to Him with the familiar and trusting term "Abba, Father." This is a relationship built on love and acceptance, not on performance or striving. [41:25]

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15, ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life are you most tempted to live like a slave to fear rather than as a confident child of God? What would it look like to approach God as your "Abba" with that specific worry or need today?

Day 3: Lavished with Grace: Our New Identity in Christ

In Christ, you are not just forgiven; you are completely new. The old life, with its guilt and condemnation, is gone. God sees you as holy and blameless in His sight, not because of your own merit, but because of the boundless, unmeasured grace He has lavished upon you through Jesus. This new identity is a gift of reconciliation, making you an ambassador of His love to the world. You are defined by His love, not your past. [56:56]

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

Reflection: When shame or past mistakes try to define you, which specific truth from 2 Corinthians 5:17 can you hold onto as an anchor? How can you actively "put on" this new identity in your thoughts and actions today?

Day 4: The Secure Inheritance of Being God's Child

Your adoption into God’s family is a legal and permanent standing. Just as a judge’s decree in an earthly court cannot be undone, your place in God’s family is eternally secure. You have the same rights, the same inheritance, and the same place in the family as if you were born into it. No one can take this away. This security provides a foundation of hope and confidence for both your present life and your eternal future. [01:00:30]

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: How does the permanence and security of your adoption provide comfort in the face of life's uncertainties? What is one practical way you can rest in this security instead of striving for approval this week?

Day 5: Living Out Our Adoption: Reflecting the Father's Love

Being a child of God is not just about receiving love; it is about reflecting it. Your new identity compels you to extend the same grace and compassion you have received from your Heavenly Father. This means looking for those who feel unseen, unwanted, or undeserving and showing them the kindness of Christ. You are called to be an agent of reconciliation, breaking cycles of hurt and offering the hope of belonging that you now possess. [01:02:34]

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18, ESV)

Reflection: Who has God placed in your life that feels like an outsider or is difficult to love? What is one tangible step you can take this week to reflect your Father’s love to them, demonstrating the ministry of reconciliation?

Sermon Summary

Adoption in Christ functions as a decisive, legal, and relational act that redefines identity. Scripture in John 1:12 anchors the claim that anyone who receives Christ receives the right to become a child of God, a change that reassigns name, standing, and inheritance. Romans 8 frames that adoption as effected by the Spirit, who ushers believers from slavery and fear into intimate sonship that enables the cry “Abba, Father.” The courtroom image of adoption clarifies how the new status arrives by declaration, not by achievement: past debts cancel, new rights attach, and no power can revoke the legal standing granted by God.

Historical context sharpens the radical nature of divine adoption. Roman adoption typically transferred name, authority, and inheritance to an adopted son; applying “sonship” to all believers, regardless of gender, subverts cultural limits and extends full familial authority and inheritance to everyone in Christ. Ephesians deepens the reality by locating adoption in God’s eternal purpose: chosen before creation, predestined for sonship, and lavished with grace through redemption in Christ. Adoption therefore secures present identity and anchors eternal future.

Adoption also changes practice. The Spirit’s indwelling moves believers from fear into orientation under God’s leadership, producing a life that aims to reflect the Father’s character. Practical implications include addressing wounds from absent or broken earthly fathers by refusing to reproduce those patterns, speaking to God with the familiarity of a child, and exercising the ministry of reconciliation toward others who remain alienated. The invitation sits plainly: faith in Christ effects legal adoption and initiates a transformed life empowered by the Spirit. The narrative closes with a clear call to decide—confession of Jesus as Lord and belief in his resurrection results in entrance to the family and the responsibility to live out that new identity with confidence and compassion.

Key Takeaways

1. Adoption grants legal family standing Adoption functions as a courtroom verdict: a legal change that confers name, rights, and inheritance without regard to prior status. This declaration annuls former debts and positions the adopted as full heirs with the same privileges as biological children, securing both present dignity and future hope. [36:09]
2. The Spirit seals freedom and sonship The Spirit moves believers from fear and slavery into life characterized by intimate relationship and freedom to obey. That indwelling presence testifies to adoption, empowers resistance to bondage, and enables the cry “Abba,” shaping identity from the inside out. [40:51]
3. Adoption overturns cultural limits Applying “sonship” to all believers upends Roman norms that reserved inheritance and authority for males, thereby offering full familial authority and belonging to every follower of Christ. This theological move equalizes access to God’s inheritance and exposes how grace transcends social boundaries. [43:30]
4. Live as an adopted child Adoption calls for confident relationship, responsible conduct, and compassionate witness: approach God with childlike access, refuse to pass on generational hurts, and extend reconciliation to the marginalized. The practical outworking of identity proves the adoption claim and advances God’s reconciling work in the world. [62:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:15] - With Hope introduction
[27:54] - Prayer for With Hope
[28:46] - Offering & Imagine campaign
[30:33] - Series: Made New
[32:17] - Defining spiritual adoption
[36:09] - Adoption: new legal position
[40:51] - Spirit, freedom, and sonship
[43:30] - Roman adoption context explained
[55:04] - Ephesians: predestined adoption
[59:41] - Invitation to be adopted
[62:06] - Live out adoption practically

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon summary and transcript provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading
John 1:12 (ESV)
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Romans 8:14-17 (ESV)
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Observation questions

According to John 1:12, what is given to those who receive and believe in Jesus?
In Romans 8:15, what two contrasting "spirits" does Paul mention, and what does the Spirit of adoption enable us to cry out?
What does Ephesians 1:4-5 reveal about the timing and motivation behind God's plan for our adoption?
The sermon described a legal adoption as a moment where a child is given a new name, home, and future that cannot be taken away. [33:19] What parallels does this have to our spiritual adoption?

Interpretation questions

In the Roman world, adoption was primarily for males to carry on a name and inheritance. [43:30] How does Paul's application of "sonship" to all believers, regardless of gender, radically redefine family, inheritance, and status within God's family?
The Spirit we receive moves us from a spirit of slavery and fear into one of adoption. [40:51] What kinds of "slavery" and "fear" might someone experience before knowing Christ, and how does the Spirit's testimony change their internal reality?
Adoption is described as a legal declaration, not something earned. [33:44] How does this truth challenge the natural human tendency to try and earn God's love or favor through performance?
Being an adopted child means we have the same rights and inheritance as Jesus. [36:09] What does it mean practically for a believer to be an "heir of God and fellow heir with Christ" (Romans 8:17) in their daily life?

Application questions

The Spirit enables us to cry "Abba, Father," an intimate term like "Dad." [46:48] What emotions does addressing God as a loving, perfect "Dad" stir in you? How can you practice approaching Him with this kind of intimate confidence this week, rather than with distance or fear?
Adoption means your past debts are canceled and your past no longer defines you. [37:48] When shame or old memories try to remind you of who you were, what is one practical way you can "remind yourself of whose you are" and walk in the confidence of your new identity?
For those who have experienced wounding or absence from an earthly father, there is an invitation to refuse to reproduce those patterns. [01:01:18] Is there a specific hurt or pattern from your past that you need God's power to stop with you, so it is not passed on to the next generation?
As adopted children, we are given the ministry of reconciliation to show God's love to others. [01:02:34] Who in your life feels unseen, unloved, or even "does not deserve love" from your perspective? What is one tangible step you can take this week to reflect your Father's love to them?
The legal standing of adoption means no one can undo it or take it away. [33:19] How can resting in this security change the way you face a current challenge, failure, or season of doubt?
Adoption was God's purposeful choice made before creation. [55:04] How might living with the daily awareness that you were specifically chosen and wanted by God impact your sense of purpose and self-worth?

Sermon Clips

52s

#SonshipForEveryone

“In many cases, wealthy families or powerful leaders would adopt grown sons. They did this because they wanted somebody to carry forth their name and their inheritance and their authority. One famous example is Julius Caesar. Before his death, he legally adopted a young man by the name of Augustus as his son. And Augustus had not been born into Caesar's family, but when Caesar adopted him, everything changed. His old identity was gone. He received a new name. He inherited Caesar's wealth and authority and position. And eventually, that adopted son became the first emperor of Rome. And in Roman law, adoption was so complete that the adopted son lost all the rights of his old family and he gave full rights of the new one. Even so, his past debts were completely canceled. And now he took on his new father's name and inheritance became his own.”

51s

#ChosenBeforeCreation

“See, women in in Roman culture were totally oppressed, and they weren't allowed to ever be heirs. Men were the only ones that could carry on the inheritance. And so sonship in the culture meant power, authority, and Paul took a word that had a very specific meaning in the Roman world, and he turns and puts it on all Christians, male and female. And for this culture, you gotta understand, he was being very radical. But he was being subversive. He's saying when it comes to God, he does not recognize gender differences to the power and the inheritance that he gives to all of his children. So when he calls everybody his son, lady, ladies, don't get upset with that. Any more than us men might get upset when we read that Jesus Christ calls us his bride. That's a little odd as well, isn't it?”

Ask a question about this sermon

Friends Church This sermon · AI assistant

How does adoption secure our eternal future?

Why did Paul use sonship for all believers?

How should believers approach God as Father?

Made New | Adopted | Romans 8:14-15, Ephesians 1:3-7 | Matthew Cork