So much of what Jesus said and did shattered the spiritual and religious concepts of 1^st century Judaism. Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals the enormous rift between Jesus and the Pharisees in the way they viewed God. Perhaps no aspect of Jesus’ understanding of God was more revolutionary than His insistence that God was His Father and could be our Father.

God as Father was foreign for them and it seems is somewhat foreign to many people today. But as J.I. Packer points out, our adoption as sons is a crucial aspect of our new relationship with God.

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father.”

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 201.

Consider of few of Packer’s thoughts about adoption…

-         “Adoption… is the highest privilege that the gospel offers” (206).

-         Adoption provides the lens through which the “entire Christian life has to be understood” (209)

-         It “shows us the greatness of God’s love” (214).

-         It “shows us the glory of the Christian hope” (216).

-         It “gives us the key to understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit” (219).

-         It “shows us the meaning and motives of “gospel holiness” (221).

-         It “gives the clue we need to see our way though the problem of assurance” (223).

-         “Adoption… is the basis of Christian conduct” (210).

-         “Adoption… is the basis of Christian prayer” (211).

-         “Adoption… is the basis of the life of faith” (212).

Much like the Pharisees, our struggle to live in right relationship to God may very well stem from our inability to grasp the magnitude of our adoption as children of God.