"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.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:15-18 NKJV

Comment: Ever wonder why God's born-again spiritual children are called "adopted"?

Since God has became our Heavenly Father when we were born into His family through faith in Christ, how is it we are encouraged to look forward to our adoption?

The answer is found in Romans 8 and is found only in Paul's Epistles, which is fitting since he is the Apostle chosen by Christ to explain the Church to us.

He is the one who introduces the concept of spiritual adoption in the first place and it's he who opens it up for us to understand and to revel in, to the glory of God.
As soon as the church is complete, the Rapture of the church will happen. The first event in this major event is for believers to be transformed into our eternal state. 1 John tells us; "When we see Him, we shall be like Him".

So we will take on our glorious new resurrected bodies, like unto Christ's body. Others were resurrected before Christ, but they had the same old bodies which died again. Christ, however, rose in an imperishable body, with both physical and spiritual capabilities. We shall be like Him!

Then too, our spiritual comprehension will go through the roof, for "We shall know, even as we are known."

Now, all of this is linked to the term "adoption" and is based on Paul's explanation of the term in the Word of God. In Greek culture, a man could free his slave and even adopt him into his family in a public ceremony, where anyone could witness this legal transference of the rights of a son to a former slave.

We became sons of God through our faith in Jesus Christ and were freed from slavery to sin and death. The culmination of this faith is fully receiving our legalized rights inherent in sonship! This too will be a public ceremony where Christ brings His Bride (that would be us believers since Pentecost and up to the Rapture) to be acknowledged and admired before the universe.

Only then will the term "adoption" be fulfilled, and what a day that will be, when the whole of creation will be restored from sin to a forever righteousness.

The Calvinists make a serious error when they lump intial salvation (coming to Christ) and "adoption" as part and parcel of predestination. Every believer is predestined to enjoy the rights of this public adoption based on God's foreknowledge of who would believe in Christ.

Such foreknowledge does not then "reward" the sinner for believing as some argue. Salvation is always seen as the gift of God, never as a reward. Christ paid the price, God received it as payment for sins against Him, and the Holy Spirit delivers it to any sinner who will simply believe Jesus.

The Spirit is sometimes called "the Spirit of adoption' because He always has the ultimate fullfillment of the believer in mind when saving us through knowledge of the scriptures. We should all think exactly the same way about this future public adoption we will experience.

Paul did, and he summed it up this way: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."Romans 8:18

He continued: "19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

Our yet to be adoption will reveal our true identity as the forever children of God!