Adoption or being adopted may come off as a negative thing for the world. But did you know that as Christians we are considered as adopted children of God?
Adoption, in the biblical sense, reveals God’s redemptive plan and his deep desire for relationship with humanity. The apostle Paul eloquently describes this in Romans 8:15-17, affirming that through Christ, believers are no longer slaves to fear but have received the Spirit of adoption as children of God. This adoption is not based on our merits or achievements, but solely on God’s grace—his unmerited favor freely given to us through faith in Jesus Christ.
Here are some more bible verses that talks about adoption. It is something that we should delight in and be seen as a privilege that we get to enjoy with being in the Lord.
Galatians 4:4-7
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
Ephesians 1:4-5
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will..”
John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
1 John 3:1-2
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Psalm 27:10
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”
Isaiah 43:1b
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
John 14:18
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Romans 8:23
“Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”
Romans 9:26
“and, ‘In the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called “children of the living God.”’”
Galatians 3:26
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,”
Ephesians 1:5
“he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—”
Ephesians 2:19
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”
Ephesians 3:6
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 2:15
“so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky”
Hebrews 2:11
“Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
1 John 3:10
“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”
1 John 5:1
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.”
In conclusion, adoption as understood through the Bible shows the essence of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. It reveals a God who not only saves but also embraces us into his family with open arms. As adopted children of God, we are called to live out this reality by walking in obedience, gratitude, and love toward God and others. Let us rejoice in the privilege of adoption, knowing that through Christ, we are truly accepted, cherished, and forever loved by our Heavenly Father.