God’s family lineage begins with Jesus, who is without sin or imperfection and perfectly reflects God’s glory.

Recognizing your adoption into God’s family and kingdom is crucial for becoming the person God intends for you. Understanding your authority as a believer starts with knowing you are fully accepted and adopted into God’s family. By the way, more on this important subject can be found in my book, Fulfill Your Dreams.

Family. The very word should evoke warm and positive feelings. Sadly, the reality is that for many of us, it does not. Often, the thought of family brings shame and painful memories. Many come from broken homes and dysfunctional families, where there is pain and embarrassment about their upbringing and lineage.

If you’re fortunate enough to have loving parents and a nurturing home, I celebrate with you and encourage you never to take your family for granted—thank God for this blessing in your life.

However, whether you come from a loving home with a strong family heritage or a more difficult family background, I have great news for you: as a Christian, you are now part of God’s family!

Consider how the Father sees Jesus, His only begotten Son. Remember, Jesus, who has always existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit, came to earth in human form to reconnect us with God.

In Matthew’s gospel, we see that Jesus was affirmed and loved as a son by the Father: “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:17).

Before Jesus performed any miracle, God the Father declared He was His Son. Jesus’ identity isn’t based on His actions; it is rooted in His Sonship with the Father, making Him a partaker of His Father’s nature.

Paul explains the depth of God’s love for us and the completeness of our adoption into His family in his letter to the Romans.

14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory… Rom. 8:14-17 NLT

The Father has always desired a family. Your new life in Christ gives you a place as His son or daughter. You are not earning His love and acceptance. No actions are required to receive His gift of new birth. Your new birth in Christ grants you a position in the Father’s house. Complete acceptance and adoption through grace are unconditional gifts.

Good works are the result of your walk with God — they come from your confidence in His love and acceptance — but they are not required to qualify for your place in God’s family (Eph. 2:10).

From your relationship as God’s adopted son or daughter, you learn to “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” (Phil. 2:12 NKJV). Once again, we are not working to earn God’s acceptance; instead, our acceptance into His family empowers us to walk faithfully with Him and lead a holy life.

In Roman culture, an adopted person lost all rights in his original family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family. He became a full heir to his new father’s estate. Under Roman law, an adopted child was guaranteed all legal rights to his father’s property, even if he was formerly a slave. He had the same rights and privileges as other biological children. He was not a second-class son; he was equal to all other sons in his father’s family. He could not be disinherited.

Similarly, when someone becomes a Christian, they receive all the rights of being a child in God’s family. We have been liberated from the bondage and fear of the law. You are not an orphan, a black sheep, or part of a broken family line. You have a new family, a new older brother—Jesus!

Paul explains in Romans 8:15 that we don’t need to fear God as if He were a slave master. Instead, He chose to adopt us and loves us unconditionally. Your adoption frees you from bondage to and fear of the law. You’ve been placed in God’s family and have all the rights that come with it, including His unconditional love. Again, you don’t serve God to earn His love and acceptance.

Pastor Jeff Voth shares his journey from bondage to freedom in his book Cavetime: God’s Plan for Man’s Escape from Life’s Assaults. Jeff explains that at thirty-three, he was rushed to the hospital with what appeared to be a heart attack. After tests, the doctor told him, “Your heart is fine, you had a panic attack! Are you under a lot of stress?”

This incident caused Jeff to undergo a time of deep reflection and soul-searching. He writes:

“In addition to all of these pressures, I was a junkie. I was addicted to performance—my drug of choice. I saw life as one big competition to achieve, win, be the best, live clean, and do well at all costs. Of course, in the right context, these thoughts can be fine. But I believed—wrongly, I might add—that in order to be loved, I had to perform at a certain level. I had to do so at home, at the church where I worked, and in my relationship with God…I really believed deep in my heart that for God to love me (and for that matter, for people to love me), I had to earn it.”

Jeff’s constant effort to please others, gain acceptance, and seek validation almost pushed him to the point of collapse. The main issue: he didn’t realize how deeply loved and accepted he is by the Father. Sadly, many people in society and our church communities remain stuck in the same trap.

Your inclusion in God’s family gives you the privilege to live as an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ in the inheritance of the Father’s house.

Through your union with Jesus, you can confidently claim your inheritance as His child and access God’s promises and resources. God’s love for you is complete; nothing can separate you from His love, and you can find security in it. You don’t have to strive to earn His love or acceptance. Love yourself as much as God loves you.

Paul explained to the Ephesians that we are chosen in Christ to be part of God’s family.

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Eph. 1:4-5 NLT

Did you notice this statement: “to be holy and without fault in his eyes?” God no longer sees your failures, sins, or past. Instead, He sees you as righteous and renewed through Jesus.

Although we can still sin and disobey God, sin’s power is no longer our master because we have a new nature through rebirth. Now, we are guided by God’s Spirit, and our desire is to live for Him.

It is a mysterious plan: before God created the world, we, who were in God’s heart and mind, were chosen to be part of His family—like Him, holy and without blemish.

In Christ, you gain a new identity and heritage. Allowing the Holy Spirit to renew your mind in the truth of your acceptance into God’s family and kingdom is essential for discovering your calling. When you accept your new identity in Christ, you can begin to embrace the destiny God has for you and live a life dedicated to Him.

Individual identity shapes behavior; when behavior changes, it opens the way for a successful and victorious life. This truth is understood personally, within your family, and throughout our church communities.

Our Adoption by God Frees Us from the Fear of Judgment

One of the many benefits of being adopted by God is that you can be free from the fear of judgment. If you believe God is angry with you, it indicates you haven’t fully grasped His love for you or built a deep relationship with Him. Nothing can separate you from His perfect love. John writes:

17 This is how love has been perfected in us, so that we can have confidence on the Judgment Day, because we are exactly the same as God is in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love because God first loved us. 1 John 4:17-19 CEB

God’s complete acceptance gives us confidence that in His presence, we are free from the fear of judgment for our past or present mistakes. As believers, we are disciplined, but it is parental, fatherly discipline (Heb. 12:5-11). The shaping of your life by God, so that you mature as a son or daughter, shows you are genuinely born of God—He is your Father. God’s grace is limitless, but the nature of His grace sparks transformation and righteous living.

This passage in John does not address a fear of judgment for sin; Christ has taken away the eternal consequences of sin. It also isn’t about character growth. Instead, it refers to your position as a child in God’s kingdom.

In the NKJV, verse 17 reads, “…as He is, so are we in this world.” The Father fully loves and accepts Jesus—and likewise you. If we could understand this revelation, as Jesus is now, in the Father’s presence, full of acceptance, that’s how we are now in Christ!

In verse 18, the word “fear” is translated from the Greek word phóbos, which signifies both the fear of terror and the reverential fear of God. We are meant to reverentially fear and honor God, but not fear the terror of punishment, which was removed in Christ. 1

This is a confidence that, in the presence of God, judgment will not affect your life! Focus on your position, not your character! Sonship is a gift; character develops!

What are we discussing here? Not the fear of the Lord, which is pure, clean, and wonderful. He is referring to the fear of judgment and eternal separation from God. As we live in Christ, we are protected from the fear of eternal judgment and separation from God.

If I live as a fearful slave, unaware that I am an adopted son, I will fear God whenever I do not meet expectations or do well. Instead, His love should erase all fear. Jesus Christ has eternally reconciled us to the Father, so we never need to fear judgment or rejection again.

If we are truly born again, our desire is to obey and live for Him. As we walk with Jesus, we can trust that His love and grace keep our relationship with Him secure—regardless of the circumstances! That’s unconditional love and acceptance. God’s love accepting me—not based on what I’ve done—based on what Jesus has done.

We love Him because He first loved us (verse 19). This is a deep truth—not just as a doctrine to the mind, but as a reality revealed to our hearts and spirits. He took the initiative, broke down the wall that separated us from Him, and loved us. When we accept His love, fear leaves us, and our desire to serve God is motivated by love.

Jesus is the way; the destination is the Father.

6 Jesus said to him, ’I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’…8 Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ John 14:6,8 NASB

The English word “enough” in John 14:8 derives from the Greek word arkéō and means “to be filled with unfailing strength.” Arkéō also implies warding off negative thoughts. 2

Jesus’ ultimate mission is to bring us into the embrace of the Father—and that will be enough for us. We are filled with His unfailing strength and power. However, like Philip, many long to know the Father and wonder, “Does He love and accept me?”

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I see myself as a loved child of God?

Is He my Father, intimate and close?

Am I relying on God and others, or am I self-sufficient and independent?

Do I see authority as a source of pain or as God’s ministers for good?

Do I seek praise from others and crave acceptance, or am I confident in God’s complete love and acceptance for me?

Yes, God loves and accepts you, and it is sufficient when you truly understand the full extent of God’s love and your adoption into His family! When you learn to recognize the Father’s embrace through your connection with the Spirit, His peace and strength fill you.

Knowing you are loved, accepted, and adopted into God’s family is essential for victorious living. It provides the foundation for faith to grow and for effective prayer to work. I’ll continue with this important topic next week!

Footnotes

1. Miles Custis, “Fear,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
2. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 598.