Skip to content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer

Adoption

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27 NLT

And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10 NKJV

He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. ‭‭ Esther‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. ‭‭ Job‬ ‭29:11-12,16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none. The Lord is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land. Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭10:14-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me. ‭‭

Psalms‬ ‭27:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. ‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭82:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭146:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy. ‭‭Hosea‬ ‭14:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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. ‭‭ Romans‬ ‭8:14-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Spirit of adoption: Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. ‭‭ Romans‬ ‭8:12-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” ‭‭ II Corinthians‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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. ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:4-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. ‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭1:4-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. ‭‭ James‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬


Devotionals

He chose us in Him . . . having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself. – Ephesians 1:4-5. Our Daily Bread, commentary by Bill Crowder. My wife, Marlene, and I have been married for over 35 years. When we were first dating, we had a conversation I have never forgotten. She told me that at 6 months old she had been adopted. When I asked her if she ever wondered about who her real parents were, she responded, “My mom and dad could have selected any of a number of other babies that day, but they chose me. They adopted me. They are my real parents.” That strong sense of identification and gratitude she has for her adoptive parents should also mark our relationship with God. As followers of Christ, we have been born from above through faith in Him and have been adopted into the family of God. Paul wrote, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Notice the nature of this transaction. We have been chosen by God and adopted as His sons and daughters. Through adoption, we have a radically new relationship with God. He is our beloved Father! May this relationship stir our hearts to worship Him—our Father—with gratitude. Prayer: Loving Father, thank You for making me Your child and giving me a place in Your family. With a grateful heart, I thank You for making me Yours. 

Smith’s Bible Dictionary says of the practice of adoption in ancient Rome: “The effect of it was that the adopted child was entitled to the name and sacra privata [religious rites] of his new father and ranked as his heir-at-law . . . . The selection of a person to be adopted implied a decided preference and love on the part of the adopter.”

From Our Daily Bread: Adoption reveals the heart of our Father. He redeemed us from our spiritual orphanage and opened wide the gate for us to bring in others to be His children. Lorilee Craker, adopted and an adopter, came to know this heart of God through her own journey. Seeing the grace that flowed out of her messy beginnings gives us hope in our own struggles, as well as eyes to see orphans—ones like us—all around us. As God expands our understanding of His desire to adopt us into His family, He can also grant us love for those around us who need to know His love. Adoption is a part of everyone’s story because we have an adopting Father who welcomes us to His forever family. 


Quotes

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” – Augustine

“Time and experience have taught me a priceless lesson: Any child you take for your own becomes your own if you give of yourself to that child. I have born two children and had seven others by adoption, and they are all my children, equally beloved and precious.” – Dale Evans

If anybody understands God’s ardor (intense devotion) for His children, it’s someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us. God has adopted you. God sought you, found you, signed the papers and took you home. – Max Lucado

“The spirit of prayer is the fruit and token of the Spirit of adoption.” – John Newton

“The Gospel is not a picture of adoption, adoption is a picture of the Gospel.” – John Piper

“Nobody is born into this world a child of the family of God. We are born as children of wrath. The only way we enter into the family of God is by adoption, and that adoption occurs when we are united to God’s only begotten Son by faith. When by faith we are united with Christ, we are then adopted into that family of whom Christ is the firstborn.” – R.C. Sproul

“Who is to have authority in the matter of gracious adoption? The children of wrath? Surely not; and yet all men are such! No, it stands to reason, to common sense, that none but the parent can have the discretion to adopt.” – Charles Spurgeon

“Adoption is a greater mercy than Adam had in paradise.” – Thomas Watson


Songs

The Gospel – Ryan Stevenson

Orphan – John Waller (video on Godtube.com)

Rescue – Lauren Daigle

Related Articles