Spoiled Rich Kid, Squanders Wealth, Nearly Dies, but is Welcomed back by His Father!
"Tending Children at the Orphanage in Haarlem" c 1663, by Jan de Bray.
This is the fifth post in my study of Sinclair Ferguson's text "Children of the Living God".
In this chapter, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson turns his attention to the doctrine of adoption. If you recall, my desire to more fully understand this particular doctrine is what caused me to sidetrack from my study of Dr. Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.
Dr. Ferguson shares that in the Hebrew Canon, "sonship" was a dual process. There was the actual creation (birth) but secondly there was a legal aspect as well. A son was recognized, by a definite act of the father. In this case, the father would take the newborn son and place him on the knee. This was a statement to all that this was the man's son. A clear and legal recognition of the son, by the father, to the world.
The New Testament shares the same understanding in regard to our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. We are born, as sons of God, through the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration. Secondly, and immediately, we are also brought into the family of God by a decisive, legal act on God's part - adoption.
It is also helpful to understand the Roman concept of adoption, as the New Testament was written while the Jewish nation was under the grips of Rome. Here, Dr. Ferguson is quoting Professor Francis Lyall on the subject of Roman adoption:
"The profound truth of Roman adoption was that the adoptee was taken out of his previous state and was placed in a new relationship of son to his new father, his new paterfamilias [head of household]. All his old debts are cancelled, and in effect the adoptee started a new life as part of his new family. From that time on the paterfamilias had the same control over his new "child" as he had over his natural offspring. He owned all the property and acquisitions of the adoptee, controlled his personal relationships, and had right of discipline. On the other hand the father was liable for the actions of the adoptee, and each owned the other reciprocal duties of support and maintenance."
Understanding these early views of adoption are important so that we can understand the context in which the scriptures were written.
Please join me as I continue to explore the doctrine of adoption with Dr. Sinclair Ferguson...
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are..."
The very first thing the Dr. Ferguson wants us to understand is what an incredible gift this is to us. To illustrate this he takes us back to the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
If you recall the prodigal son asks his father to give him his inheritance early. He then takes this inheritance and squanders it away with licentious living. Soon the money is gone and he finds himself living with the pigs in squaller and literally starving to death.
Rather than starve to death, the prodigal son decides to ask his father to take him back as one of his slaves. At least his father's slaves had food to eat and were certainly in a better state than himself.
As he was making the journey, back to his father, he was going through a tremendous amount of self-talk. First of all, it wasn't normal that he would receive his inheritance at such a young age. Generally he would have received this at his father's death. The community would have looked at his father in scorn for doing such a foolish thing.
Secondly, he (the prodigal) lived a horrible life and squandered it all away. He was deserving of his father's wrath, and was hoping for some mercy from his father, at least to be his slave. He has absolutely reached the lowest of low and is feeling tremendous guilt and shame as he crawls back to his father.
Thirdly, the prodigal knows that his brother was not happy with this whole mess. His brother would have protested profusely. The very thought of his brothers scorn must have been overwhelming as well.
So..here we are...the prodigal, with tremendous guilt and shame crawling back to be a slave. To further face the scorn of the community, his brother, and most of all...his father.
To his incomprehensible astonishment, his father sees him from afar off, starts running down the road, full speed with all this might, and throws his arms around his prodigal son welcoming him home. Furthermore, he (the father) gives him his best coat, gives him the family ring (kind of like a family credit card), and throws a massive party in his honor.
The prodigal son has been welcomed back with ALL the privileges of his sonship!
Certainly this prodigal son feels unworthy! He is completely amazed with his father's love! Certainly, his mind can not comprehend the love of his father towards him.
THIS - is the love of our heavenly Father towards us. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Yet.....unbelievable yet...God the Father runs full speed toward us (sending Christ to die on our behalf) and welcomes us back into the family with full sonship.
Look! What kind of love is this? While we were yet sinners...God called us to be sons!
Do you understand the wonder of this?
What does your heart say in response to God's remarkable love for us? Share with us in the comment section.
How to become a son/daughter of God.
