Foundations of Truth

Dallas Freese: Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshaken foundation of God’s word, rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today on Foundations of Truth, Dr. Timothy Mann begins a two-part message from Ephesians, Galatians, and Romans called "From Strangers to Children of God." You’ll discover three beautiful truths from the Apostle Paul: adoption was God’s plan all along, adoption came through Christ’s redemption, and adoption changes everything about us. Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann with part one of this two-part message from the "Saved: Understanding God’s Work in Us" series.

Dr. Timothy Mann: We have been in a particular series that we’re calling "Saved: Understanding God’s Work in Us." We’ve been focusing on salvation, the doctrine of salvation. The reality is a lot of people might know what that is about, understand what that’s about, and why do we need to go over this? I would suggest to you that actually, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what it means to be saved.

There are so many facets of that doctrine, of that teaching—the reality of salvation in God’s word—and most people often just think about one component, one aspect. We’ve looked at several already. We examined probably the most neglected doctrine in the Bible, if not almost the most, and especially as it relates to salvation, and that is regeneration. Born again. We talked about being in John 3 and in Titus and we talked about how we’re made new in being born again, in regeneration.

This morning, we’re also going to be talking about another aspect of salvation that virtually never gets mentioned. It really is not highlighted very often, and it’s an important aspect. It’s a special aspect, in fact. It’s precious. We’re going to be doing that today. I’ll be talking this morning about how we go from strangers to children. We’re going to be looking at three passages of scripture. We’re going to start in Ephesians 1, and then from Ephesians 1, we’ll be going to Galatians chapter 4, and then from Galatians 4, we’ll go to Romans 8.

I’m going to break my rule this morning. I’m actually pulling a phrase out of the middle of a verse. I’m taking a verse out of context, but I’m preaching it in context. It’ll be biblical in every sense of the imagination. The reason I’m doing this is the context of this is the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1 is talking about our spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. He writes an incredibly long run-on sentence in Greek. It’s a run-on sentence in English. So, I am going from one comma to another comma and lifting it out because in that particular phrase is the doctrine, the teaching, the truth that we want to focus on this morning.

Ephesians chapter 1, verse 5. I’m reading from the New King James Version of the Bible. The Bible says: "having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." Now to Galatians 4. We’ll begin in verse 4 and go down through verse 7. "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. 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."

Now to Romans 8, beginning in verse 14 down through verse 17. The Bible says: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 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 joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." All three passages of scripture that we’ve read this morning is God’s word.

I tell you what I think, and you might agree with me, but I think you will. It’s my opinion at least. I think when most people think of salvation, they think of forgiveness. Rightly so. We need to be forgiven of our sins to be reconciled with God. We need that. But forgiveness alone is not the full picture. In Christ, we are not just pardoned; we are adopted.

God didn’t just clear our record; He welcomed us into His family. That’s the miracle of adoption. It’s not just a legal transaction; it’s a relational transformation. Think about it. The Judge of the universe not only declares us not guilty, but then He steps down from the bench, takes off His robe, and says, "Come home, you’re mine now." That’s the picture.

Theologian J.I. Packer once wrote, "Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is even greater." I think we need to see that adoption is central to the story of salvation. It’s not just a side benefit. It’s a core part of the gospel.

God’s goal in saving us wasn’t merely or only to make us safe from His wrath on sin; it was to make us sons and daughters. That truth really changes everything. It gives us a new identity, it gives us access to the Father, it gives us confidence that we are loved and wanted and secure. In a world that is filled with relational brokenness and rejection and fear, this truth is healing. In Christ, you are fully known and fully embraced by the Father.

Our focus today, for the next little bit, will be on three beautiful truths that we’ve just read from the Apostle Paul’s letters. Adoption was God’s plan all along. That’s the first one. The second one is adoption came through Christ’s redemption. And the third one is adoption changes everything about us. It changes everything about us.

Whether you have followed Christ for decades or maybe you are just still unsure of where you stand with God, I have prayed for you that this message will help you this morning to see the heart of the Father and just how deeply He wants you to know that you belong to Him. Let’s go back to Ephesians 1:5. Adoption was God’s plan all along.

We’re beginning here with probably one of the most sweeping and comforting truths in all of scripture. Let me read it again: "having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." Here in one verse, the Apostle Paul really gives us a breathtaking view of God’s eternal plan.

Before time began, before you took your first breath, before you ever sinned, God had already determined that He would make you, as a believer, His child. Adoption is not just a divine afterthought. It’s not just a comforting metaphor. No, it’s not a secondary part of salvation. According to Ephesians 1:5, adoption was at the very heart of God’s saving purpose.

Let’s walk through it. "Having predestined us." Believers are predestined for adoption. Having predestined us. This word can make people uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t. It simply means that God determined in advance. He determined ahead of time what He would do for those He would save by grace through faith in Jesus. What did He decide? Not only to justify us, not only to forgive us, but to adopt us.

That means that your adoption wasn’t random, it wasn’t reactive; it was intentional. God didn’t adopt you because He had to. He adopted you because He wanted to. It says, "to adoption as sons." In Roman culture during the time period in which this was written, adoption was a powerful legal act. An adopted son was given the full rights and privileges of a biological heir.

What’s so interesting about that is he could not be disowned in the legal standing of that day. He could not be disowned. They could disown a biological son, but they couldn’t disown an adopted son. His debts, if he was an adult even, his past debts were erased, and he was permanently and fully part of the new family. That’s what the Apostle Paul is describing here.

You are not a spiritual orphan anymore. You are not a second-class member of His family. I want you to hear that. You are a full heir with all the rights of what it means to be in the family. In Christ, you are not just forgiven; you are family. Look what it says: "by Jesus Christ to Himself." How did this adoption happen? Through Jesus.

You weren’t brought into the family by your good behavior. Some of you would never qualify. You weren’t brought into the family by your good religious performance. You were adopted through the redeeming work of Christ. As we just observed a few minutes ago, His death on the cross for our sins and Him rising from the dead for our eternal life.

Jesus is the true Son of God, and by spiritual union with Him in salvation through saving faith, you become a child of God too. This means that your adoption is as secure as Jesus Christ’s sonship. Think about that. It’s as secure as Jesus Christ’s sonship. If you’re in Him, then the Father sees you as His own beloved child.

Look what else it says: "according to the good pleasure of His will." This might be the most beautiful phrase in the verse. God adopted you because He wanted to. Not reluctantly, not under pressure, not because you finally got your act together, which is futile by the way. No, He saved you and He made you His child because it pleased Him to do so.

This is the heart of the Father. Not cold obligation, but overflowing affection. Not mechanical or arbitrary kind of precision, but joyful intention. Not a transaction, but a relationship. A relationship. What does this mean for you as a genuine believer in Jesus?

Dallas Freese: Thanks so much for joining us today for Foundations of Truth. This ministry is made possible by listeners like you. If you’d like to partner with Dr. Timothy Mann and help keep this program on the air, we invite you to give a gift today at firm-foundations.org. Let’s return now to Dr. Timothy Mann and today’s message, part one of "From Strangers to Children of God."

Dr. Timothy Mann: Let this settle deep in your heart. You are not just accepted; you are adopted. You’re not barely tolerated; you are deeply wanted. You are not on spiritual probation; you’re securely loved. You are not defined by your past; you are named and claimed by the Father. That’s who you are if you’re in Christ: a son, a daughter, a child of God.

Imagine a couple preparing to adopt and they set up a room in their house, they pick out a name, they decorate the walls, and they prepare their hearts. Not because the child has earned anything, but because they’ve already chosen to love that child. That’s what my parents did for me. The year I was born, they were 36 years old. They’d been married for ten years and were unable to have children, and they decided to adopt.

One month before I was born, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and were baptized. One month before I was born. Then almost four months after I was born, they got me. The second-best thing that ever happened to them in their life, other than becoming a Christian. I was adopted through the social service system in North Carolina out of an orphanage.

Before they ever picked me up from the social worker, they had set up a room for me, they had bought me clothes, they had picked out a name in advance, and they had determined in advance that they would love me as if I were natural to their family. They claimed me as their own. I didn’t have a name and they gave me theirs. All it said on my birth certificate was baby boy. But they gave me theirs.

That’s what God did. Before you ever came to repentance and faith, He loved you, He prepared a place for you, and He called you His own. Not because of your worthiness, but because of His will and His love. The world tries to do—the world will try to label you by your past. The world will try to label you by your mistakes.

On the other end of that spectrum, the world will try to label you by your status or by your success. But if you are in Christ, listen to me very carefully, none of those define you. If you’re in Christ, you are chosen, you are wanted, you are loved, and you’re adopted by the King of Heaven. You are a part of His forever family. Not because of your merit, but because of His mercy.

Don’t lose sight of your identity. You are not just a servant; you’re a child of God. Let that truth deepen your intimacy with the Father and let it renew your joy. This isn’t just about being saved from hell, although that sure is a good thing, isn’t it? It’s about being brought into the family. It’s about the fact that you are now God’s child. Walk in that freedom.

If you’re not saved this morning, if you’re not a follower of Jesus, you’re not truly a Christian, I want you to hear me. God is not offering you abstract religion. He’s offering you a relationship. He wants you to know Him as Father. Will you receive the gift of adoption?

Let’s go to Galatians 4. We also see that adoption came through Christ’s redemption. Galatians 4:4-7. Let’s reread that: "But when the fullness of 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. 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."

I think this is probably one of the clearest passages in scripture connecting redemption and adoption together. In other words, adoption is not just an act of love, although it is that. It’s an act of costly grace. The price was the life of God’s Son. Look what it says: "when the fullness of the time had come." God moved at the right time.

God’s plan of redemption was not rushed, it was not delayed, and it was not reactive. It unfolded precisely on schedule, as God planned. The fullness of time refers to the moment in history when all was prepared for Christ’s coming—culturally, politically, and spiritually. God had been preparing the world, and your story, for this moment. When the moment was right, He acted.

God doesn’t just work in time; He rules over it. That’d be good for some of us to remember that related to whatever’s going on in our own lives. He doesn’t just act in time; He rules over it. Look what it says: "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law." These words describe what we call the incarnation.

Jesus was sent from heaven, yet born of a woman. Fully divine and fully human. He was born under the law, that is to say, to live in obedience to God’s law, fulfilling every requirement we failed to meet. That you failed to meet and still fail to meet. Our adoption required redemption, and redemption required a perfect substitute.

"To redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." We were redeemed to be adopted. Redemption is the language of the marketplace. It’s a price to be paid to free someone. We were enslaved to sin. We were condemned under the law of God. As we recognize symbolically, Jesus paid the price with His own blood.

He didn’t just come to release us from slavery; He came to bring us into sonship, into the family as children. He didn’t just free us; He brought us home. This is the breathtaking truth. Christ died not only to forgive your sins, but to secure your place in the family of God.

"And God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" The moment we’re adopted, we receive not just a new name, but a new Spirit—Capital S, the Holy Spirit. The very Spirit of Christ Himself, the Bible says. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us both assurance and security, intimacy with the Father. The Spirit enables us to say, "Abba, Father!"

"Abba" is an Aramaic term. Aramaic is a biblical language originating in Assyria and closely related to Hebrew and Arabic. This term, "Abba," it’s a term of closeness. It’s a term of intimacy. It’s something like Papa or Daddy. It expresses affection, it expresses trust, it expresses nearness. This is not just theology; it’s relationship.

Through the Spirit, we don’t just know God as King, although that’s important; we know Him as Father. "Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." We’re no longer slaves, but children of God and heirs. In Christ, we are no longer slaves. Slaves are defined by fear. Slaves are defined by shame, guilt.

But now we are sons and daughters, and sons and daughters are defined by belonging, by love, by inheritance. Heirs of God who are promised eternal life, who are promised the kingdom, promised the full riches of God’s grace. This means everything changes, not just in our eternal destiny, but in how we live right now.

You are not spiritually homeless. You are not relationally abandoned. If you are saved, then you are a child of the living God with all of the rights, all of the security, and all of the joy that comes with that.

Dallas Freese: What an incredible truth from God’s word today. Through Jesus Christ, believers are no longer strangers, no longer outsiders, no longer slaves to fear. We’re brought near, redeemed, adopted into the family of God.

Tomorrow on Foundations of Truth, Dr. Timothy Mann continues this powerful study. We hope you’ll join us then. Today’s message is available online along with many other biblical resources at firm-foundations.org. For Dr. Timothy Mann, I’m Dallas Freese. Thanking you for listening to Foundations of Truth.