Affirmation, Adoption, and Assurance

Edited by Steve Fountain from a sermon on January 20, 2013 called "Oh To Be a Son or Daughter with Whom God is Well-pleased."

In Luke's genealogy of Jesus back to Adam (3:23-38), you recognize some people who were not very good. You find a drunk, a blasphemer, idolaters, liars, swindlers, murders, adulterers, and sexual perverts.  Some believed in God’s promise of a coming savior and found favor and the forgiveness of God.  But you will never find perfection — except for Jesus.

Adam is the adopted son of God through creation.  Jesus was the adopted son of Joseph through the virgin birth.  Even though he was a son of Joseph, he was still the Son of God.  He was fully man and fully God. 

Notice what the Father says of him in verse 23, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  

In contrast to Adam, Jesus is to be the Son who does not disappoint. 

Affirmation is something we all long for, and can be ours. But we need to leave things that we wrongly believe will bring affirmation, like sex, finances, clothing,  jobs, or other people. We must turn to God to be forgiven and become the sons of God.  

Perhaps you’ve not thought of it this way before.  But it is true.  All who have come to Christ are his adopted children — and what affirmation and confidence it is to know that God loves us enough to call us his sons and daughters. 

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God…you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:14-15).

I want you to notice a very important phrase in Romans 8:14.  All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  This is an important verse because it implies that only those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.   In other words, if the Spirit of God is not leading you, then you are not one of his adopted sons and daughters.

Jesus had the affirmation of God, and now, Satan was going to see just how much he was a true son of God. As He faced the fiery darts of the tempter, Jesus demonstrated how Spirit-filled people resist the voice of Satan, and follow the voice of their Father.

This is the root of all temptation that we encounter.  Whose voice do we listen to? Do we listen to God’s voice, our own, or Satan’s? 

Satan launches into his first temptation in verse 4:3 with “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.”  Jesus trusted in God's wisdom.

We see the pride and self-love of the Devil in the second temptation in verse 6: “I will give all this…it has been delivered to me…I give it to whom I will.”

Jesus says, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” 

Jesus demonstrates that we need to worship the Father exclusively. 

Lastly, Satan takes Jesus high atop the temple and tells Him to jump because, citing Psalm 91, God will protect those that are His.

But Jesus replies with Scripture that we are not to test the Lord to prove that he is good. 

So, how do we know if we are children of God?  We know when the Spirit leads us, because only those who are led by the Spirit are in fact the children of God.  Over our lives, we should see a trend toward attachment, and that it is the Spirit of God who is leading us.  We see the Spirit of God leading us, as we trust, worship, and rest in God.