Huiothesia, which is the Greek word used in Galatians 4:5 for “adoption,” refers to one who legally becomes the “son” of adoptive parents: sonship. How does one receive adoption to sonship through Christ? Do women receive adoption to daughtership?
Terms of Roman Adoption
Rome’s vast empire included Galatia, a territory of Turkey (Anatolia at the time of Paul’s ministry). Although Jews did not adopt sons outside of their families, adoption was common among Roman families.
Paul’s audience would have seen this take place in Galatia or elsewhere in the empire. One scholar explained that a Roman man could select a worthy adult male to become his successor. He might already have sons whom he did not trust.
He could be a slave whom his master had chosen to reward for his loyalty and strength of character. This is very different from 21st-century laws and customs in North America. An American would typically adopt an infant or a child.
A modern parent’s last will and testament can stipulate that any person or group will benefit from his or her estate. That could include a distant female cousin, a charity, or a friend. In ancient Rome, however, one had to pass his wealth on to his son(s).
“When the adoption was legally approved, the adoptee would have all his debts cancelled and he would receive a new name. He would be the legal son of his adoptive father and entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son. A father could disown his natural-born son, but an adoption was irreversible” (Ibid.).
Sonship came with responsibilities as well as privileges. Citizenship, the right to a fair trial, the right to vote, and tax benefits were positives; the requirement to become involved in society — by voting, for example, or taking part in politics or business at some level — were responsibilities of citizenship acquired through adoption. They applied only to males in first-century Rome.
How to Receive Sonship Through Christ
Those who believe in Christ alone for salvation are adopted into God’s family. They receive privileges as well as responsibilities as a result of adoption. They cannot have one without the other: this is true in both the Roman and Christian paradigms.
Through Christ, however, believers are washed clean; their debts (trespasses) are forgiven (as with Roman adoptees), but for the Romans, this meant inheriting wealth and rights.
Christians are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17).
Their inheritance often involves suffering and loss in the earthly sense. One who was adopted into a Roman home perhaps earned his place by risking his life for his soon-to-be father or by honestly fulfilling his duties as a servant or slave.
As for Christians, they “are not adopted because God thinks they will make worthy heirs. God adopts people who are completely unworthy because He adopts on the basis of His grace.” (Ibid.).
The only way to receive sonship into the Father’s family is to call on the name of Jesus for salvation. Nothing we do, no matter how good, makes us worthy of adoption.
But one does not merely accept God as his father and then go on as though nothing has changed. Our part of the adoption process is revealed in the disciples’ lives and described in the latter part of Romans 8:17 — Christians must suffer as Christ suffered.
The Christian looks at Christ on the cross and, like Christ, gives up his claim on earthly “rights,” trying to live a life that points to Christ and not to self. No famous relatives or exciting family history outshines the legacy of Jesus Christ.
Some of the inheritance Paul talks about will be enjoyed after our death, when we live for eternity with Christ.
There are other privileges the Christian enjoys, for “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).
But this power helps believers to wrestle with temptation and attack: in other words, we can expect conflict and rejection until we are called home, and it is nothing to boast about to our own account. Rather than shielding us from attack, adoption into the Church body will likely attract abuse and rejection.
Sonship and Daughtership
Importantly, women and men are equally valuable to God and attain adoption in the same way. The “sonship” model merely references a contextually relevant paradigm. The society Paul was writing to saw only males adopted into Roman families, and they knew this was a way of perpetuating the family name.
But those who had witnessed Christ’s actions or heard about what he did during his life and ministry would have known that he valued women and men equally.
By what we know of his work on earth, it would seem that he was even redressing the balance of favor since so many of the most profound works recorded by the gospels involved women. In fact, he called the woman who had bled for 12 years “daughter” (Matthew 9:22).
In light of what we know about Roman adoption, this was hugely significant. Inheritance was and is available to men, women, and children because the Kingdom is eternal and does not require a male heir to perpetuate the line — Jesus has already established his name, which is above all names.
Are We Born Again or Adopted?
In a sense, Christians are adopted, but they must first be born again. Jews did not adopt from outside their family, so in order to become part of God’s family, they had to be born again (Ibid.) This is also true: we are born again and adopted.
We might be cut off from family because we choose to call God “Father.” But Jesus and Paul were speaking to their respective audiences in ways that made sense to them. As the writer at GotQuestions indicates, Nicodemus was Jewish, so he did not relate to the Roman custom of adoption.
One was born into God’s family — or not. “Christians have been born into God’s family (using a Jewish metaphor) and adopted into God’s family (using a Roman metaphor). The end result is the same; Christians are forever part of God’s family” (Ibid.). Regardless of one’s heritage, both of these metaphors are helpful.
In the one sense, a Christian does start again and becomes a child, whether he or she first believes in Christ as a young person or as a senior citizen. We regard God as the “Father” because we are now sons and daughters through Christ.
As children, even when we are adults, the Lord wants us to approach him with every need, like the way a child would come to his or her parents with even the smallest concerns because the child is weak.
When we are children, we do not think of class or race, and we are more inclined to regard the Lord with awe, wonder, and simple belief.
Adoption imagery helps us to understand that not only Jews but also Gentiles were welcome into this new family.
Rebirth is a picture of renewal from spiritual childhood to maturity and fruitfulness. Every person on earth is welcome to take part in this rebirth and adoption because Christ purchased our place in the Kingdom.
What Does This Mean?
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). A true child of God through Christ recognizes that he is no better than other people.
God’s children know that sharing his love will not diminish their share of the inheritance, which is infinite.
They recognize the responsibilities of family, which include giving their lives for their friends and risking their comfort to spread the Good News.
Moreover, adoptees realize that, like all people, they were once outside the family of God, and Christ alone made them worthy of adoption.
For further reading:
What Is the Beautiful Picture of Adoption in the Bible?
What Does it Mean to Be in the Family of God?
What Does the Bible Say about Having a Birthright?
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