Making Us His Own: The Good Son

Sunday, we began to study our adoption in Jesus Christ walking through Paul’s presentation to the Galatian church. The Apostle builds a case against the distortion of “meritorious” salvation. He emphatically states that no one is justified through obedience to the law. In fact, to seek justification through obedience misunderstands and misuses the Law of God, which functions not as our savior but as our guardian. God’s deliverance comes through God’s Son, who joined our race, lived under the law, accepted our condemnation, changing our status to full sons/daughters of God.

“Adoption” we learned is the “placement of sonship” which only the Son could provide. This week we’ll consider Paul’s statement, “born of woman, born under the law.” Paul presents Jesus as joining our race to live under the guardian (God’s Law) and release us to new status. The author of Hebrews drives home Jesus’ ministry (Hebrews 1-2:18) saying, “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (Hebrews 2:10,11)

Jesus joined our race, to live under the law, fulfilling its requirements, so that he could become our elder brother, the firstborn of mankind. Where all God’s image-bearers have failed, Jesus succeeded. He is the only good Son. By faith, we receive the sonship that he earned. The implications of our sonship are fascinating. For one, he is not ashamed of us! Let’s look at this more closely Sunday.