Spirit Of Adoption

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons (huio) of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children (tekna) of God: And if children (tekna), then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together...And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom. 8: 14-17; 23-25)

How can anyone logically affirm that our birth of the Spirit or of God is our adoption and then say that adoption is yet future? What part of adoption is future? Are we but partially adopted? How can that be? We are either adopted or not. If the completion of adoption is yet future, then how can anyone now be legal children? Is the final act of the adoption process not the time when the adoptee becomes the son of the adopter? Further, if we are adopted when born of the Spirit, then what need is there for us to wait for to be adopted? If our birth of the Spirit is our adoption, and we are waiting for the adoption, then we are waiting for our spiritual birth. Commentators often fail to see these incongruities. 

Most commentators affirm that "adoption" is both a present and future experience even though this involves them in gross contradictions and absurdities. They believe that Paul's affirmation that believers now "receive the spirit of adoption" denotes that they are adopted now, at the moment the Spirit is received, or at least that the adoption process has been initiated. But, this is a non sequitur, what is not logically deducible from the text. "Receiving the spirit of adoption" cannot be equated with "adopted by receiving the Spirit." In adoption (as it is practiced today), no one speaks of being adopted in such language. When someone asks an adoptee "have you been adopted," the adoptee never says "yes, I received the spirit of adoption." We can envision a candidate for adoption who "eagerly awaits" his adoption, because it is favorable to him, and thus possesses a hopeful and joyous "spirit" in expectation of it; And we can also envision another prospective adoptee who dreads his planned adoption, and has a foreboding "spirit," all because he does not desire to be adopted (either not at all or not by a particular prospective parent). But, we cannot see how the words "received the spirit of adoption" means "to be adopted." To suggest that this is the meaning of the words is to read such an interpretation into the text, however.  

The Adoption Is Future

Commentators who believe in God adopting children cannot deny that adoption is stated to be a future happening by the apostle, or at least not yet finalized. He says that believers are "eagerly awaiting the adoption," and then tells us what "the adoption" is, saying it is all the same as "the redemption of the body."

As we stated earlier, to put any part of the "adoption process" into the future is to put adoption itself in the future because adoption is not adoption till the process is completed. No one is considered adopted who is but half way through the process. Don't you see? An uncompleted adoption is no adoption at all. Paul says not that "we are waiting for the final act of competing adoption" (that would be adding to the text) but says "we are waiting for the adoption." Even though most commentators say that Paul's words mean what the former paraphrase or interpretation expresses, they do not mean the same thing. The former paraphrase of Paul's words are necessary because such commentators have wrongly interpreted "receiving the spirit of adoption" to mean "adopted in receiving the spirit." If adoption, in some sense or degree, occurred when the spirit of adoption was received, then of course the commentators must so paraphrase the words "waiting for the completion of adoption." But, the problem is, that is not what the text says. It would be better to take Paul's words at face value, and accept the fact that "the adoption," whatever it is, is entirely in the future, and then take that fact back to verse 15 and interpret verse 15 in light of that fact, rather than vise versa. 

Had Paul believed that believers were in the process of being adopted, adoption having been begun but not yet having been completed, he would not have said that we are waiting for the adoption. If he meant to convey the idea that adoption had already been accomplished by receiving the spirit of adoption, then why would he have said that it is yet a thing to wait for? If he meant what the commentators say he meant (waiting for the completion of adoption), then why did he not say so? The fact that he did not say that, saying rather that believers are waiting for the adoption, forces us to conclude that Paul did not affirm that believers were in any sense now adopted or son placed. 

We have "the spirit of" many things that are yet future for us as believers. We have the spirit of Christ's parousia, or second coming. We enjoy "the powers of the world to come" (Heb. 6: 5) and this would include enjoying the spirit of that coming age of peace. It is therefore a baseless argument to argue that the receiving of the adoption spirit denotes the act of being adopted. Paul seems to associate "spirit" with "mind" in these verses. A person who has the spirit of a slave has the mind of a slave. He has the spirit, disposition, and attitude of a slave. A person who has the "spirit of son placement" has the mind of a liberated or emancipated believer. 

A good analogy is to think of "the Christmas spirit." This spirit begins to show itself in the late fall season and keeps becoming more fervent as Christmas Day approaches. Yet, entering into the spirit of Christmas (in November for instance, or in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day) is not the same thing as entering into the enjoyment of that  actual holiday. The spirit of the event precedes the event. Prophecy of future things also produces a joyful spirit in believers who contemplate it. 

Therefore, when Paul says that believers "receive (or take to themselves, being a verb in the active voice) the spirit of huiothesia" he does not mean that they then experience the adoption, but that they possess the spirit of it in the same way one possesses the spirit of Christmas before Christmas. Likewise, we might think of a birth son who is waiting for his emancipation from youth and adolescence, to the time when he will be formally declared a "man." In such a case the son is filled with a spirit of anxiousness, a spirit of eager anticipation, and would have a "spirit of sonship" (RV translation for "spirit of adoption"). It is that kind of "spirit" that initiates, and those nearing a "rite of passage" experience. It is what they begin to feel as the time draws near for the ceremonial rite. A boy nearing his Bar Mitzvah or Toga Virilis (the "white Toga of manhood") will be filled with the "spirit" of manhood, the spirit of the coming ceremony, before the ceremony occurs. 

The Meaning Of "Spirit"

Paul says that believers "have received the Spirit of adoption" (KJV) but the definite article (the) is absent in the Greek text. Therefore it should be translated as "adoption spirit." The "spirit" in this verse does not refer to the Holy Spirit for it nearly always occurs with the definite article. Though it is the common view of commentators, it is not correct. In the passage "spirit of bondage" is set against "spirit of adoption (huiothesia)" and the former likewise is without the definite article. As "spirit" in the former is not a reference to a spiritual being, so too "spirit" in the latter does not refer to the Holy Spirit. "God is Spirit" is different than "God is the Spirit." So too is "God is a Spirit" different than "God is Spirit." 

Daniel B. Wallace has these comments on the definite article:

"Consequently, the article is one of the most fascinating areas of study in NT grammar. It is also one of the most neglected and abused...In the least, we cannot treat it lightly, for its presence or absence is the crucial element to unlocking the meaning of passages in the NT...In short, there is no more aspect of Greek grammar than the article to help shape our understanding of the thought and theology of the NT writers. As a side note, it should be mentioned that the KJV translators often erred in their treatment of the article. They were more comfortable with the Latin than with the Greek. Since there is no article in Latin, the KJV translators frequently missed the nuances of the Greek article. Robertson points out: The translators of the King James Version, under the influence of the Vulgate, handle the Greek article loosely and inaccurately." (Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, Grand Rapid: Zondervan, 1996, p.207-208)

The absence of the definite article is just as important as is the presence of the article. Its absence emphasizes the quality or character of the person or thing designated in the context. It is an interesting study to observe how Paul in Romans chapter eight sometimes speaks of both "flesh" and "spirit" with and without the definite article. But, that is beyond the scope of this present discourse. I only wish to point out the absence of the article in "spirit adoption." 

Believers receive "the spirit of adoption." Does this genitive tell us something about the "spirit" or something about "adoption"? Which is the noun and which is the adjective? Does Paul mean "adoption/adopting spirit" or "spirit adoption"? We must decide what kind of Genitive is "pneuma huiothesian." It certainly is not a Genitive of source, for that would mean "spirit that comes from adoption." Those who think that "spirit" is a referent to the Holy Spirit will find this unacceptable. I also reject the supposition that the Genitive is such, but not because I believe "spirit" refers to the Holy Spirit but to the state of mind of the believer who is nearing manhood. Such a "spirit" does not come "from" adoption, for that is yet future as Paul says, except in the sense in which it is a spirit of anticipation of the coming event, like in the Christmas spirit of which I have already spoken. 

It seems best to view "adoption" as adjectival, as describing "spirit." This being so, does the adjective "huiothesian" tell us something about the Holy Spirit or something about the "spirit" or state of mind of the believer who is anxious to reach manhood, to attain the status of "son"? Surely the latter is the case. Seeing "adoption" as an adjective describing the person of the Holy Spirit is ambiguous and out of place. It does seem best to see "huiothesian" as an adjective describing a kind of "spirit" or state of mind. Certainly "spirit of bondage" denotes a state of mind, attitude, or disposition, or thing that animates a slave. The sinner who is without the Spirit and salvation lives in an air or atmosphere of fear and bondage. The believer lives in an air of freedom from fear, having "an air of confidence," a liberating spirit. 

What is an adoption or huiothesian spirit? It is a spirit of "sonship," a spiritual state of mind that longs to be fully grown into the image of manhood in Christ. It is the spirit of an "heir" who, though a child, is about to obtain to full age and be permitted to possess his full inheritance. Going from adolescence to adulthood is liberating and liberation is integral to Paul's concept of adoption as is redemption, and redemption is integrally connected with obtaining one's full inheritance. One can see how these concepts are intertwined in Romans eight. 

Is the "spirit of adoption" the kind of spirit that is possessed by adoptees after the fact or before the fact? What is it in either case? Many adoptees refuse to accept their adopted parents, the adoption not being the result of their choice. This is true both before and after the fact as respects adopting children old enough to know what is happening to them in being adopted. The spirit of such adoptees produces fear. Those children who approve of their anticipated adoption will obtain a happy eager and hopeful spirit, a spirit freed from fear. 

To receive the spirit of adoption is not the same thing as being adopted, as I have stated. "Receiving" is active voice, but adopted is passive voice. Further, adopted children do not "receive" adoption. Boys who are growing towards manhood do "receive" status and identity as "full grown sons" when they experience their Bar Mitzvah or Toga. They are active and anxious towards their ordained "son placement" and are glad to receive that status. By receiving the "spirit of son placement" the believer comes to realize his future ordained status and eschatological destiny as "sons" of God (at his future "coming of age" or perfection in the day of redemption). The children of God become mature adult sons in Christ at the resurrection. 

In this next posting I will summarize what I now post. I would refer all readers to my series "Waiting For The Huiothesia."