Adoption Predates the Universe (Part 2)

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” — Ephesians 1:4-5

(God) who has saved and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time — 2 Timothy 1:9

Adoption’s origins are eternal and therefore predates our very universe. Even before Genesis 1:1, God had already orchestrated his plan of adoption. The triune God’s plan to adopt sons & daughters was not a divine amendment, but loving calculation with glory displaying intent. Unfortunately, adoption in our culture is frequently seen as the last option, when a couple cannot conceive naturally or through medical assistance. This is not true of God, who from the very beginning planned adoption. The bad news is His plan wasn’t to adopt sweet, cuddly little infants, but rather rebellious self-exalting rebels. An elect people who would prefer the sewage water of broken cisterns over the Fountain of living water. As Scotty Smith puts it, “Indeed, we weren’t in the orphanage of loneliness; we were in the morgue of hopelessness”. Though we were helpless, we were also refusing to ask for help. Yet God… Paul beautifully emphasizes, “In love” as the means of how we were predestined to be His sons & daughters. The sole catalyst that brings the orphan into the Kingdom is the triune love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For those in Christ, there is soul rest knowing even before this world was created, when we existed only in the infinite mind of God, His holy affections were already set upon us in His Son.

That is good news!