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Chapter 12 of the Second London 
Baptist Confession of Faith, there deals with the doctrine 
of adoption. Having finished the doctrine 
of justification in chapter 11, the confession not haphazardly, 
but quite naturally then flows into and arrives now at the doctrine 
of adoption. There's only one paragraph. but the size of the chapter is 
not necessarily proportionate to the glory of the doctrine. 
So I'll read paragraph 1 of chapter 12, and then we'll have a look 
at the doctrine of adoption. All those that are justified, 
God vouchsafed, in and for the sake of His only Son, Jesus Christ, 
to make partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are 
taken into the number and enjoy the liberties and privileges 
of the children of God, have his name put upon them, receive 
the spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace 
with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, 
protected, provided for, and chastened by him as by a father, 
yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption and 
inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation. Amen. Wonderful stuff in that small 
little chapter. What we'll do is introduce this 
particular doctrine for about the first 15 minutes and then 
we'll have a look specifically at five things with regards to 
the doctrine of adoption as we see those five things in this 
particular paragraph. First off, simply a definition 
of adoption, not the doctrine itself but largely what adoption 
is. And adoption is the giving of 
anyone the name, the place, and the privileges of sons who are 
not sons by birth. Adoption, again, is the giving 
to anyone the name and place and privileges of a son who is 
not a son by birth. So it is distinct from a human 
paternal relationship, we might say, a biological fatherhood. in that one who is not a son 
by birth or by blood is nevertheless given the name of the family, 
the place of that family, and the privileges of being a part 
of that family. Moving then to the theological 
definition of it, we have in the shorter catechism question 
34. What is adoption? The answer 
given is adoption is an act of God's free grace whereby we are 
received into the number and have a right to all the privileges 
of the sons of God. Again, as in question 33, where 
justification is an act of God's free grace, of course, adoption 
is as well. And we'll look at that in more 
detail later. Adoption is as well an act of God's free grace. Some, maybe two key texts or 
two important texts that speak to the doctrine of adoption, 
Ephesians 1, 4, and 5. There we read, in love, having 
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, 
according to the according to the good pleasure of his will 
Galatians for the four to six remember what we read there with 
regards to the coming of Christ and the redemptive benefits wrought 
by him at his coming by virtue of his coming we read when the 
fullness of the times had come God sent forth his son born of 
a woman born under the law that he might redeem those who were 
under the law that we might receive what the adoption as sons. And 
so the author there, the Apostle Paul to the churches of Galatia, 
connects the doctrine of adoption. The blessing of Christian sonship 
to God connects it to the perfect redeeming work of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Now, when we come to the doctrine 
of adoption, we come to a discussion of the Christian's sonship to 
God and God's fatherhood over the Christian. As we've done 
in times prior, we look at some types of fatherhood in the Bible 
before arriving at the fatherhood in view in the doctrine of adoption. So the types of fatherhood in 
the Bible, and there are, we could say, seven of them. First, 
we have inter-Trinitarian fatherhood. don't we? The fatherhood of God 
the Father to God the Son. This fatherhood is not one of 
in time generation. It is not a fatherhood like human 
fatherhood is. It pertains to the reality that 
the son is eternally begotten of the father. The father eternally 
begets the son. The keyword, or of course, at 
least one of the keywords there is eternally. The son is not 
begotten in time. He is not a creature. He is not 
created. But rather, he is eternally begotten 
of the father. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three subsistences, the father, the word or son, 
and the Holy Spirit, all having the same power, same substance, 
all having the essence, the essence undivided. And their peculiar 
properties and relations are such that the father eternally 
begets the son, the son is eternally begotten of the father. And of 
course, with respect to the spirit, both the father and the son spirate 
the spirit or the spirit is proceeding from father and son eternally. 
So inter-Trinitarian fatherhood, that's of course not the fatherhood 
that's in view with the doctrine of adoption though. There is 
secondly creative fatherhood. This type of fatherhood pertains 
to that which the Godhead has concerning men generally. And 
this actually is not really spoken of a whole lot in the Bible, 
because there is more a repeated emphasis upon redemptive fatherhood. Well, in the Old Covenant, a 
theocratic fatherhood, or national fatherhood, and in the New Testament, 
a redemptive fatherhood. So this creative fatherhood of 
God isn't necessarily spoken of much In the Bible, nevertheless, 
it is true and it is spoken of in Acts 17, 28 and 29. And we could say as well, Hebrews 
12, 9, though some would disagree and 
James 1, 17 and 18. Thirdly, there is theocratic 
fatherhood or we could call this national fatherhood. This concerns 
the prototypical adoption of Israel as God's chosen people. Remember, we have in our Bibles 
that particular reality that the nation of Israel was not 
a natural, if you will, son of God in any sense, but rather 
a theocratic and national adopted son, according to Deuteronomy 
7, 14 and following. We see that God chose them out 
of the nations. He gave them name and place and 
privileges of a son who is not a son necessarily by birth. Fourthly, 
there is human, if you want any biblical text besides Deuteronomy 
7, we have Romans 9.4. where Paul says regarding the 
nation of Israel to whom pertain the adoption. Not redemptive 
adoption, which we'll look at later and which concerns our 
topic this morning, but a national adoption. The fourth fatherhood 
in the Bible is, of course, human paternal. This one's obvious. 
It's all throughout the Bible. You just need to read the genealogies. 
And, of course, there can be both a natural and adoptive fatherhood 
with respect to human a paternity. Fifthly, we have rabbinical fatherhood. This concerns the authoritative 
power over men's consciences often employed in Jewish religion 
in and around the time of Christ and his disciples. It's what's 
in view in Matthew 23, 9 where Christ says, call no one your 
father. There was a traditional, the weight of Jewish traditionalism 
had it that there would be those Jewish rabbis called Abba so-and-so 
or Father so-and-so. And it was such that that religion 
was marked by this, the authoritative power over men's consciences 
often employed, a teacher to student. Sixthly, we have evangelical 
fatherhood. We could call that spiritual 
fatherhood. This pertains to what has also 
been called spiritual fatherhood, the begetting of a son or daughter 
through the preaching of the gospel. The Apostle Paul calls 
Timothy his son. In 1 Corinthians 4, 15 to 17, 
Paul speaks with respect to the Corinthian Christians as sons. And in fact, that evangelical 
fatherhood is quite clear there, that one begets another, if you 
will, by the preaching of the gospel. Notice in 1 Corinthians 
4. In 1 Corinthians 4, beginning 
in verse 15. For though you might have 10,000 
instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For 
in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. So, evangelical 
or spiritual fatherhood, again, pertaining to begetting, the 
begetting of a son or daughter through the preaching of the 
gospel. Of course, the ultimate begetting is the begetting from 
on high, God being the one who causes a son or daughter to be 
born again. They are brought forth by the 
word of truth. The means, however, is through 
the preaching of the word. And then lastly, and of course, 
the type of fatherhood that's in view in the doctrine of adoption 
is redemptive fatherhood. This is the peculiar joy of the 
elect of God, those who are called and justified and being sanctified, 
those who are Christians. Creative and theocratic fatherhood 
serve this one. The persons of the first type 
of fatherhood, covenanted together in eternity past, a pre-creation 
to bring it about, The theocratic being prototypical of it has 
this in view as a terminus or finishing point or at least the 
redemptive act that secured the reality of redemptive adoption. 
A creative fatherhood serves to populate the stage in the 
theater of redemption whereby the blessing of redemptive fatherhood 
comes into view and focus. And so redemptive fatherhood 
is what is in view as we look at the doctrine of adoption now 
and will do so under five headings. It's origin and cause. It's procurator. It's the guarantor and testifier, 
the recipients and the nature of it. So first off, its origin 
and cause. It is divine action and it flows 
entirely from God's eternal loving kindness and his eternal decree. And again, we see that in the 
confession of faith here. Notice again the language, all 
those that are justified, God vouchsafed in and for the sake 
of his only son, Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace 
of adoption. Vouchsafed simply means there, 
we could reread that, as all those that are justified, God 
graciously bestowed upon, or God graciously gave, God graciously 
endowed, Vouchsafe means a gracious giving from one to another. And again, this is divine action 
adoption. It flows entirely from God's 
eternal loving kindness. Turn with me to the book of Ephesians 
again. We made a, or not again, turn 
to me there now. We, with me there now, we made 
note of a text as we opened up a discussion of the definition 
of adoption. But let's have a look at this 
text now to see what we're talking about here with regards to its 
origin and cause. Remember what's being rehearsed 
in this doxology in Ephesians 1. Paul is giving praise to God 
the Father for the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the perfection 
of redemption, in perfect salvation. He's beginning in verse three 
by saying, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the 
heavenly places in Christ. And so these heavenly blessings 
or these spiritual blessings are then opened up one after 
another in these 11 or 12 verses. Notice as the text continues, 
first we have predestination just as He chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without 
blame before Him. So we have a predestination in 
election. First in this list of spiritual 
blessings, and then we have the fruits of that predestinating 
love Opened up in the following verses and we have adoption as 
first listed after predestination and election notice in love Having 
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself 
according to the good pleasure of his will and to the praise 
of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in 
the Beloved. You see that the origin and cause, 
first off, of course, the origin is God, isn't it? It's God the 
Father who is being praised here. He chose us in Christ before 
the foundation of the world. And then in love, He predestined 
us to adoption as sons. And so our adoption as sons finds 
its origin in God, finds its origin in God's eternal loving 
kindness extended towards us in eternity, passed in His gracious 
election, and then brought to bear in time and in history when 
the Holy Spirit makes it effectual in our lives and in our hearts. Ephesians 1, 4 to 5, again, within 
the eternal bounds of his love, according to the good pleasure 
of his will, God predestined the chosen in Christ unto their 
status as sons. And this excludes any merit on 
the part of man, doesn't it? Every point on the ordo salutis, 
the order of salvation, excludes any opportunity for man to boast 
in that economy of salvation. Adoption is no no stranger to 
that reality. We owe our adoption, our status 
as the sons of God, the adopted sons of God, we owe that to the 
amazing and victorious grace of God. We also see this in 1 
John 3. You can turn there with me. In 
1 John 3, we see this origin and cause being found in God and His divine action. Notice, and again, if you're 
reading John 2 and then you transition into John 3, excuse me, 1 John 
2, and then you transition into 1 John 3, you see that almost 
that this statement in verse 1 of 1 John 3 seems like it's 
out of the flow because it's almost as if John pauses, he 
sets aside his, well actually he doesn't because he writes 
it. But he sets aside sort of the flow of the text, and then 
he just relishes in and glories in the grace of God in making 
Christians his sons, in making sinners the sons of God. Notice 1 John 3, 1, Behold what 
manner of love The Father has bestowed on us that we should 
be called children of God. John wants the recipients of 
his letter to behold, to cherish with eyes of faith the glorious 
reality that having been enemies and sinners and outsiders to 
God's household, by God's grace we are now the blessed members 
of the household of God. Behold, cherish, look with fervency 
of heart, with great joy at the manner of love the Father has 
bestowed on us. There's that language of God 
vouchsafed, bestowed and endowed with. The Father has bestowed 
on us that we should be called the children of God, the origin 
and cause of adoption. It is divine. It is divine action. and it flows entirely from God's 
eternal loving kindness and His eternal decree. Secondly, it's procurator, Jesus 
Christ, the one who has secured it, the one who has won it, if 
you will, for those to whom adoption is given. The one who procures 
the legal provisions of the Father for the sons is the Lord Jesus 
Christ and notice again the confession all those that are justified. 
God vote saved in and for the sake of his only son Jesus Christ 
to make partakers of the grace of adoption if we were to rewind 
back to Ephesians chapter one. Notice again, the one who procures 
adoption is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. We should get this 
first by the fact that in verse 3 of Ephesians 1, we read that 
all of our spiritual blessings are in Christ. Then, the choosing, 
of course, is in Christ, isn't it? Predestination and election 
is in Christ Jesus. That phrase of in Christ, in 
him, in the beloved repeats frequently throughout this doxology. But 
notice again, the procuring act is Jesus Christ and his salvation. In love, having predestined us 
to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself. So it is Christ 
the Lord, our Savior, who wins us this blessed privilege of 
adoption. He is the one who brings us by 
His blood, by His work, by His perfection, into the household 
of God. Remember, we noted Galatians 
4. Turn there with me. Galatians 4. Here again, we see 
that Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the one who procures The grace 
of adoption makes it real, provides the foundation, the ground. He 
is the one who has the salvific efficacy, if you will, the salvific 
foundation for the grace of adoption. Notice Galatians 4 beginning 
in verse 1. Now I say that the heir, as long 
as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he 
is master of all but is under guardians and stewards until 
the time appointed. by the father even so we when 
we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world 
but when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth 
his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those 
who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as 
sons you see the direction of the text here is unto the end 
of adoption. Having one paragraph in the confession, 
again, isn't proportionate to the value, to the blessedness, 
to the joy of the doctrine, to the weight of it. Because here 
we see that the redeeming activity of the Son of God is unto adoption 
for the sons of God. And we have the blessed reality 
brought out in verse 6, the application, the implication, and because 
you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your 
hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer 
a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. You see where the confession 
gets much of its language from is this passage in Galatians 
4, 1 to 6. But all of that to remind us 
and to stress this fact that it is Jesus Christ who procures 
the legal provisions of the father bestowed upon the sons of God. When we examine all of those 
blessed aspects of salvation, we are examining the application 
of the cross work of Jesus Christ. You see all of these things from 
effectual calling through regeneration, to repentance unto life and faith 
as gifts of God given from him to those regenerated, to justification, 
to definitive sanctification, to adoption, to growth in grace 
and sanctification, to perseverance, to glorification. All of these 
things find their ground and their blessed foundation in the 
perfect finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, Jesus 
the Lord, is the one who has procured for us regeneration. He has procured for us the reality 
that God will give to us, those who are regenerated, repentance 
and faith. That he will justify us, that 
he will, again, coming back to our topic this morning, give 
us the grace of adoption. So its origin and cause is God 
and his divine action. The one who procures it is Jesus 
Christ, the Lord. And thirdly, the guarantor and 
testifier, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of his son, the spirit 
of adoption, as the Bible uses that language, sent into our 
hearts by whom we cry, Abba, Father, and by whom we receive 
affirmation of the fact that we are God's children notice 
again if you're already still there in Galatians 4 and because 
you are sons God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your 
hearts crying out Abba father therefore you are no longer a 
slave but a son and if a son and an heir of God through Christ, 
you see, the Holy Spirit is the one who testifies to this reality, 
the one who is the guarantor of of it as well, to use the 
language of Ephesians one. But turn to the book of Romans 
in chapter eight with me, because there we have this reality that 
the spirit is given to testify to the reality that we are the 
sons of God. Notice in Romans eight. and beginning 
in verse 15. For you did not receive the spirit 
of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption 
by whom we cry out, 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 join heirs with Christ, if indeed 
we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. You see the triune nature of 
adoption, right? Our triune God is at work, is 
active, is behind the grace of adoption. The Father predestinates 
and elects, the Son procures, the Holy Spirit guarantees and 
testifies. The Holy Spirit is sent into 
our hearts by whom we cry out, Abba Father, and by whom we receive 
affirmation of the fact that we are God's children. You see, 
when it comes to the issue of assurance, we are not to presume that God will be gracious to 
us. We can live like wretches and 
just keep on sinning because we are grounded in salvation 
by grace. We are to check ourselves and 
ensure that we're living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. 
But you see, the ground and foundation truly of our assurance is not 
deeds of holiness wrought in our own lives and by our own 
hearts, but it is the perfect work of the triune God from first 
to last. And so when we're stumbling, 
when trials and afflictions come, when those seasons come where 
we're seems like we're far from the grace of God and from his 
kindness and favor, we don't return to our status of having 
the joy of salvation by looking inwardly at the motions of our 
own spirits and unto good and the deeds of holiness wrought 
by our own hearts. And we don't seek to somehow 
reform so that we might strengthen our own assurance, but rather 
were to look where? But to the triune glory in salvation, 
as chapter 17, paragraph 2 says, this perseverance of the saints 
depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability 
of the decree of election flowing from the free and unchangeable 
love of God the Father. upon the efficacy of the merit 
and intercession of Jesus Christ and union with him, the oath 
of God, the abiding of the spirit and the seed of God within them 
and the nature of the covenant of grace from all which arises 
also the certainty and infallibility thereof. So you see, the certainty 
and the infallibility of our perseverance and assurance comes 
from the triune perfection in the economy of salvation. And 
so with adoption, as with everything else, we see Father, Son, Holy 
Ghost at work and behind the grace of this particular doctrine. In this case, again, the doctrine 
of adoption. Fourthly, we have the recipients. Who are the recipients of adoption? Well, very simply, the elect 
and they only. The elect and they only are elevated 
to the position of sonship. Remember, we don't have in the 
economy of salvation, in the scheme of salvation, in the biblical 
glory of salvation, we don't have some lost along the way 
in a chain of salvation. We don't have, you know, those 
whom he foreknew he also predestined and then Not all of those predestined 
are called, only some of those. There's some, you know, residual 
loss as God works out his plan of redemption. And then some 
who are called, you know, not all are justified. It's only 
some of that body that's called that will find the grace of justification. And then you see those that are 
justified, well, some might be lost along the way, you see, 
and not end up being glorified. No, that's absolute madness. that blessed golden chain of 
redemption. Those whom God foreknew, he also 
predestined. Whom he predestined, these he 
also called. Whom he called, these he also 
justified. And whom he justified, these 
he also glorified. And so adoption, if we see that, 
as Raymond calls it, a skeletal framework of salvation, that 
Romans 8.30 passage, we put adoption in there right after justification. not chronologically after, but 
logically after, to use the systematic theologian's language. Justification 
is the logical prius of adoption, because one who is legally condemned, 
God would not accept as one legally in his household. All that to 
say adoption is one of those things that the elect receive, 
and they only. It is a fruit of election, just 
like every other soteriological blessing, every other salvific 
blessing, regeneration, repentance and faith, definitive sanctification, 
justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification. All these things 
are fruits of election. And so the recipients of adoption 
are the elect and they only. And notice what the elect and 
they only enjoy. First off, they enjoy the protection 
and provision of our Father, having his name placed upon us. In the book of Ephesians, we 
read of this in Ephesians 2. And Ephesians is a blessed book. If Galatians is the book of justification, 
Ephesians, we could say, is the book of adoption in Ephesians 
2. we have this language in in Ephesians 
2 in verse 19 while beginning in verse 14 for this reason excuse 
me that's a that's chapter 3 it would be very confusing if we 
were reading that and trying to find we're looking for Ephesians 
2 beginning in verse 14 connecting Christ of course to the peace 
that the sinner has with God for he himself is our peace who 
has made both one and is broken down the middle wall of separation 
having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of 
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one 
new man from the two, thus making peace. And that he might reconcile 
them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting 
to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace 
to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through 
him we both have access by one spirit to the Father." Now notice 
the implication. Now therefore, You are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints 
and members of the household of God. And so with that, remember 
the generic definition of adoption. Adoption is the giving to anyone 
the name and place and privileges of a son who is not a son by 
birth. Having been brought into the 
household of God, we enjoy the privileges of a son. One of those 
privileges we see here the confession brings out the protection and 
provision we see here we enjoy the liberties and privileges 
of the children of God having his name put upon them. We have 
protection from a father as to a son being those upon whom he 
has written his blessed name and this includes fatherly correction, 
doesn't it? The recipients of adoption have 
the grace of fatherly correction. Never refuse and never thumb 
your nose at the fact that God will chastise you, will chastise 
us. We want a father. It might not 
seem that as young little rugrats running around or teenagers. 
The last thing we want is to hear our parents pressing obedience. and pressing a godly obedience 
in the home, pressing their rightful authority in the home over you. 
Whether you think you're right or not in a particular thing 
that doesn't touch upon God's law or upon issues of sin, whatever 
your parents tell you to do, you're to do it. When it comes 
to the law of God, most certainly when your parents tell you what 
you're supposed to do, you are to do it. You might think yourself 
wise in your own eyes, and you know better than mom and dad. 
You're to listen to your mother and your father. We should never 
thumb our nose at parental chastisement. As Christians, we should never 
reject, refuse, or seek to rail against the correction of the 
Father. How does that come to us? Well, 
it can come to us from the pulpit. The preacher mounts the pulpit 
and opens his Bible and speaks the word of God. Very often we 
can be found in our sin, and that is the chastisement of a 
loving father that through the preacher is bringing indictment, 
is bringing admonition, is bringing exhortation, and we are to hear. 
and we are to listen. Where do we find this fact? Well, if we turn to the book 
of Hebrews in chapter 12, we see there the blessing of fatherly 
chastisement. And it follows this exhortation 
to endurance in the faith. It follows the hall of faith, 
the Apostles setting before the Hebrew Christians, those in the 
Old Testament who, despite having not yet received the promises, 
well, they've received the promises, but not the fulfillment and the 
fruition of the promises of the Messiah, nevertheless, looking 
afar off, they endured through hardship and affliction. And 
it all culminates in setting before their eyes of faith the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who in the face of the cross endured it 
despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of God now 
notice verse 3 of Hebrews 12 for consider him who endured 
such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary 
and discouraged in your souls you have not yet resisted to 
bloodshed striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation 
which speaks to you as to sons my son Do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. 
For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He 
receives. You see, when you are chastened, 
that is an indication of the unchanging love of God towards 
you. So hear the word preached. Hear 
your parents bring to bear the word of God to you. See if you 
open up the scriptures and you're found in your sin. You see in 
the recognition of that conviction and the following fruits befitting 
repentance. See in that God's loving condescension 
in his chastisement. It is a blessing to be an adopted 
son of God because we get that fatherly correction. that God 
gives us. If you endure chastening, the 
text goes on, God deals with you as with sons, for what son 
is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without 
chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are 
illegitimate and not sons. It is an evidence of our sonship 
when we are chastened by the Lord and it is an indication 
of His never-changing love. We also receive immediate brother 
or sister status to Christ as the recipients of the grace of 
adoption. Isn't that a blessing? We're 
heirs with Christ, heirs of God with Christ. We can call our 
Christ our brother. In Romans, we see that reality 
brought out. We already read from Romans 8, 
15, 14 and 15, but notice as well in 
Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work together for 
those who love God, to those who are the called according 
to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed 
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among 
many brethren. See, we are the brothers and 
sisters of Christ by the grace of adoption. We are brought into 
the household of God or co-heirs with Christ as the sons of God. Also as the sons of God, as being 
heirs with Christ of God, we receive an imperishable and undefiled 
inheritance. You see, by adoption again, we 
have all the right to the privileges of the sons of God and one of 
those things is We have laid up for us an inheritance, undefiled, 
that does not fade away. 1 Peter 1, we see that, don't 
we? That'll be the scripture reading 
this morning. And in that, notice what we find 
in this doxology that is very similar to, at least in the way 
it begins, but not only in that way, in the way it begins, it's 
very similar to Paul's doxology in Ephesians 1. Because it begins 
with, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the content is essentially 
the same. It is the glorious salvation 
of the triune God brought to the souls of the elect. Notice, 
who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to 
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not 
fade away reserved in heaven for you. The privileges of the 
sons of God. One of the privileges of the 
sons of God is seeing that we have this undefiled and incorruptible 
inheritance. You see, an earthly inheritance 
given by an earthly father is corruptible and it is defiled. 
Not defiled in the sense of wicked, though it could be used wickedly, 
but defiled in the sense that it will fade away. It does not 
have an eternal and a lasting value. You see, you're given 
an inheritance by an earthly father, and when you die, it's 
gone. You say goodbye to that. James, 
indicting the audience in James 5, your garments are moth-eaten. 
Your gold and your silver, these things are defiled. They're perishable. In 1 Peter here, actually, notice 
what he says. Where is it here? In verse 17. 
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges 
according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout 
the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not 
redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your 
aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the 
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without 
spot." You see, the stuff of our inheritance that is incorruptible 
and undefiled is linked to the perfection of Christ and His 
precious blood. You see, therein is true treasure, 
the stuff of true inheritance. silver and gold that we may inherit 
from an earthly father, but these things are gone when we die. 
If we are in Christ, we say goodbye to those things which can be 
used in a wholesome manner, but we're welcomed with that blessed 
and eternal inheritance that we have that is reserved for 
us as we wander about this lower world. And notice then, fifthly, so 
we had the origin and cause, the one who procures, the guarantor 
and testifier, the recipients. And then lastly, we have the 
nature of adoption. The nature of it. It is an objective 
legal determination made by God the Father. A legal action with 
eternal consequences. Again, as with justification, 
the language used for adoption indicates a legal action. We 
see this in John, the Gospel of John. You can turn there with 
me in John 1. The language of adoption is legal. Now, we should 
get that from, well, we'll get that, of course, from the Bible, 
but from the definition that we have in our confession. We're 
made to become partakers. We enjoy liberties and privileges. It's the language of legal provision. We see that reality brought out 
by the shorter catechism, again, have a right to all the privileges 
of the sons of God. Notice in the gospel of John 
here, though, the language is biblical. The reality that adoption 
has as its essential character a legal quality. In John 1, beginning 
in verse 10, he was in the world, and the world was made through 
him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and 
his own did not receive him. But now notice, but as many as 
received him to them, he gave the right to become children 
of God to those who believe in his name, who were born not of 
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
but of God. You may have a marginal reading 
or it may be different depending on the version that you have 
there. When we read, he gave the right, it could also be translated, 
he gave the authority. to become children of God. It 
carries with it a legal weight. Remember, one who is not a son 
by birth, outside of the blessed confines of the privileges of 
the household of God, is brought into and granted, God vouchsafed, 
given from on high, legal status, privileges. They are sons of 
God. This is the case in earthly adoption, 
isn't it? It's a legal status given to 
one who is not a son by birth. One who was not a son prior to 
this legal act of adoption is now by that legal act. And it's 
the same in God's salvific universe. We are made to become partakers. We are given the right. We are 
given the authority to become children of God. And again, that 
right does not come by us receiving him. The text goes on to say 
those who receive him are born again of God. All of that to 
say, though, is that the nature of adoption is that it is an 
objective legal determination made by God as a father. If justification 
is a legal, an object of legal determination made by God as 
judge, then adoption is a legal, an objective determination made 
by God as a loving father. Justification is by virtue of 
the legal determination is made by virtue of Christ's righteousness 
imputed to us and received by faith alone. The ground of adoption, 
that legal determination is made again by virtue of Christ as 
the one who procures the grace of adoption. It's not based upon 
anything we have done, just like justification. Our adoption does 
not come by our own merit, our own deeds, our own actions, but 
rather the grace of God, His free grace, whereby we're received 
into the number by virtue of the perfect and finished work 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it is a legal determination 
made by God as Father. We see this as well, again, in 
that language of members of the household of God. We are adopted 
members and can only be so by a legal determination made by 
God. So what are some things, as we 
close in 10 minutes, what are some things of application with 
regards to the doctrine of adoption? Well, I think first thing, we 
need to be grounded in the joy of adoption. As we walk and stumble and sometimes 
crawl our way to heaven, The ground of our joy is not to be 
ourselves. It's not to be our growth in 
grace. It's not to be our improvements 
in sanctification and those sorts of things. Because what ultimately 
happens if that is the case? Well, we have a sandy ground, 
but we boast then or we glory in our performance and our gains, 
don't we? If our boast is solely in God, 
because it only can be solely in God, and if we're grounded 
in the joy of adoption knowing that it is an act of God's free 
grace whereby we are received into the number and are given 
the rights and privileges of the sons of God, then man, do 
we ever have a solid ground as we walk and sometimes crawl our 
way to heaven, don't we? We'll not be stolen away by our 
own by our own self-confidence, but rather will be resting, standing 
strongly upon confidence in the Lord God and the work of the 
triune God. Secondly, we need to walk as 
children. You can turn to the book of Ephesians 
with me. If we are children, then we are 
to walk as children. That's a simple sort of argument 
and explanation, isn't it? We are the children of God, adopted 
children of God, and we are to walk as such. In the book of 
Ephesians, the Apostle Paul brings this out quite clearly. We won't 
read all of it, but in Ephesians 5, 1 to 11, we have That brought out, notice right 
away in Ephesians 5.1 the implications of being children of God. Therefore 
be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also 
has loved us and given himself for us and offering in a sacrifice 
to God for a sweet smelling aroma. So basically, not basically, 
what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that Christ has Christ 
by his perfect atoning work has rendered a sweet-smelling sacrifice 
That comes up to the nostrils of God to use an anthropomorphism 
God is well pleased with this and by virtue of that perfect 
work has caused us has made us to be children of God Therefore 
we are as dear children to walk as children of God we are to 
in light of so great a salvation and in light of such a glorious 
father and In light of such a blessed Christ who has won for us this 
grace of adoption, we are to walk as children. You see the 
language continuing here, the arguments being made is that 
we are to put off all of these wicked things and we are to put 
on, to use the language of Paul elsewhere, these righteous and 
good things as those who are the children of God. We are to 
walk as children. those children of such a glorious 
father. And thirdly, we are to understand 
chastening. We already touched upon this, 
so just by way of reminder, we are to welcome chastening. We 
are to welcome it with joy, because it is a good thing to be chastened 
by an earthly father, correct us, help us along the way. It 
is glorious to be chastened by a heavenly father. because it 
is there in that he hedges us in, puts us on the right path, 
and keeps us in the way everlasting. And then lastly, we are to cherish 
and encourage brothers and sisters. Remember, we are children of 
God, individual Christians, but we're children of God in the 
household of God with other spiritual siblings, if you will, other 
brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are to cherish them and 
to encourage other brothers and sisters. And we see this clearly 
in 1 John. In 1 John, there are evidences 
given with regards to a true Christian. He is antichrist, 
not a child of God who says that Christ has not come in the flesh. 
There are other proofs as well with regards to who a true Christian 
is. And we see this in 1 John 4, 
At verse 20, with regards to adoption and sonship, if someone 
says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he 
who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he 
love God whom he has not seen? In this commandment, we have 
from him that he who loves God must love his brother also. So 
as an adopted son or daughter of God, what are we to do? We 
are to love our fellow brothers and our fellow sisters. We are 
to cherish and to encourage them. 1 John 5, 1 to 20 brings this 
out as well. And hopefully, you know, this 
doctrine of adoption isn't really one, it's not necessarily one 
of those doctrines that is really covered a whole lot. You don't 
see a lot of books on justification. You don't see many on the doctrine 
of adoption. I think perhaps some of that 
is maybe by way of ignorance, but some of it could simply be 
by the fact that we use other synonymous language when we're 
talking about salvation and Christianity. We're the sons of God, we're 
children of God, and that sort of a thing. But when we dive 
into the doctrine, what it means and what it bears with regards 
to its character as something real, an object of legal reality 
that we enjoy, all the rights, the authority, the privileges 
of being members of the household of God when we dive into its 
depths, hopefully, well, not even to its depths, with just 
a few fathoms below in 45 minutes, hopefully we can see the glory 
of this doctrine return often to Ephesians 1 and Galatians 
4 and Romans 8 To relish in this blessed truth that by God's grace 
we as Christians have been made partakers of the the all the 
privileges and the rights of the sons of God God is gracious 
Christ is victorious and winning this for us and our holy spirit 
is effectual and Making it known to us and causing us to cry out 
of a father. Well. Let us pray heavenly father 
We thank you for this truth of adoption. We rejoice in it. God, we pray that you would help 
us daily to do so. We rejoice god in the fact just 
as as john so many years ago wrote we uh... we behold what 
love of god you have bestowed upon us that we could be called 
the children of god we pray that you'd help us uh... each and 
every day to glory in this truth and now uh... and especially 
on this your lord's day that we would glory in the fact that 
we have been made by your grace and for your glory to be called 
the sons and daughters of god that we might glory in this and 
give you all honor and praise We just pray that you go with 
us now, strengthen us for worship. Worship, own us as we stand, 
as we sit, as we engage in all those acts of worship, as we 
pray, as we sing. All these things, God, we pray 
that you would stir our hearts to truly worship you and to give 
honor and praise to the triune God. It's in Christ's name that 
we pray, amen.