From weakness to glory series—Week 3: Romans 8:12-18: ‘Spiritual adoption’.
Violet Bidwill Wolfner was one of the most notable women in 1940s America. Violet was married to Charles Bidwell, a wealthy businessman, who bought the Chicago Cardinals football team.
Charles bequeathed ownership of the Cardinals to Violet as a part of his estate, and after Charles’ unexpected death in 1947, Violet became the first woman in history to own an NFL team, and she was deeply involved in the managing and running of the Cardinals.
Violet was also one of Chicago’s wealthiest people. In an era of male dominated industry, this was extraordinary. She owned an estimated 25,000 items of clothing, which included more than a thousand dresses, with matching purses to each, and 1500 pairs of shoes. Violet used the entire third floor of her mansion to house her wardrobe. Her clothing was auctioned for $40,000 after Violet died in 1963. The value of her total estate was 3.1 m US dollars, a staggering amount for that time—the equivalent of around 65 million Australian dollars today.
Although Violet had remarried after Charles died—to Walter Wolfner—she had left most of her estate, including ownership of the Cardinals, to her two sons: Charles Jnr and William. Wolfner challenged this in court. In a surprise twist, he revealed that the two boys were adopted, which shocked them as neither knew that until then. Walter claimed that their adoption was improper and contested the will on those grounds. But the judge ruled in favour of the Bidwill family. While Charles Jnr and William were not Violet’s sons through natural birth, the judge decreed that they were nonetheless her sons because they were adopted in the proper way and therefore had the legal right to claim the inheritance that was left to them[1].
This is the very scenario Paul paints for believers in Christ in today’s reading from Romans. He says that we have received the Spirit of adoption.
Adoption is the legal provision carried out by a government welfare agency in which a child is matched with a family that is willing to have the child as their own. All parental rights and responsibilities from the child’s birth parents are transferred to the adoptive parents, thereby legally severing the child’s ties to their birth family. The adopted child takes the adoptive parents’ surname and gains the exact same legal rights including inheritance as a biological child.
In a spiritual sense, this is what our Father in Heaven has done for us. Only Jesus the Son has a natural relationship and identity with the Father as his only begotten Son. By contrast, we do not have a natural relationship with our Heavenly Father. When flesh gave birth to flesh, we were born into a human family and became part of a fallen humanity in which the sinful nature of the previous generation was passed on to us. Naturally unholy, we are separated from God the holy One, and subject to his holy judgment. The Bible describes the natural designation of humanity as “children of disobedience” whose lives are naturally characterized by rejection of God’s word to instead follow the ways of the world. We are “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:2-3).
This is humanity’s dire predicament. We were without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Yet in Romans Paul says that, now, we are children of God. So what brought such a drastic change in our standing before God?
Paul says that we have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” God’s Spirit is not something that can be attained by effort and striving—but can only ever be received. God the Holy Spirit is a gift. A gift is something that is not earned or deserved, but given freely, with joy, love and delight. God chooses to give the Holy Spirit to those whom he will. He has chosen to give the Holy Spirit to you, and he has great joy and delight in doing so.
How do you know that God has chosen you to receive the Holy Spirit from him?
Because of your confession of faith. Only the Holy Spirit can bring us to faith. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes and gives us new hearts to see and know Jesus the Son and his saving work for us, and opens our lips to confess his name and sing his praise. We cannot know Jesus or come to him by our own effort or strength, and therefore, we can’t come to our Father in heaven and call on him either, because no one comes to the Father except by the Son (John 14:6).
But the Holy Spirit calls sinners through the Gospel and enlightens us with his gifts. He has enlightened you, leading you to see Jesus as your Saviour, to call on your heavenly Father in his name. This is what Paul meant when he said: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” It’s not something we’ve thought of or decided for ourselves. The act of calling upon our Father in Heaven is the very confirmation that God the Spirit is at work in us, having brought us into a completely different relationship with God—a family relationship, in which God has adopted us as his children—and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
Just as Charles Junior and William were not originally children of Charles and Violet Bidwell, we too were not originally children of our Father in Heaven. Charles and Violet chose to adopt Charles Jnr and William. By virtue of their adoption, Charles Jnr and William were made legal members of their new family and legally entitled to inherit all that was left to them. And what a fortune that was!
We too were chosen by God, and stand to inherit an incredible fortune from him. We need to really pause here and think about what Paul is saying. He is not only saying we are heirs. We are co-heirs with Christ. God the Father has given everything to Jesus. He has placed all things under Jesus’ feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church (Ephesians 1:22). Because we are co-heirs with Christ, we stand to share in everything the Father has bestowed upon Jesus. God has brought us into a new standing in which you are an equal inheritor with Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, of all that God has to give.
That is why Paul very deliberately says that we have received the Spirit of adoption of sonship. In the ancient world, only sons legally inherited property and family standing. By using this term, Paul was radical: he was declaring that both men and women receive the exact same, highest legal status and full inheritance in God’s family—standing before God with Jesus with the same rights and relationship to our Father as the Son of God himself.
What does it mean for us to live knowing we are God’s beloved children, chosen by him to be recipients of the Spirit of adoption to sonship, and co-heirs with Christ?
It means a completely new life in which God has specially chosen us to stand with Jesus before our Father in heaven. It means to not fall back into fear. Paul says: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The old life, in which we were led by the old Adam, is a life lived in bondage to fear. The old life is a life in which we fear the future: we fear we won’t have the career we want, or the status and success we crave, so we fear that we will never have enough, and that we will never be enough for others.
The old life is a life in which we fear we will never be loved, or forgiven, or honoured or cherished. The old life is a life in which we fear we will never discover our true identity or realise our true potential or find our true purpose in life, working so hard to create our identity and find our purpose by what we have and what we do. The old life is a life in which we fear we will never have the approval of those we strive to please, no matter how hard we work, or work at improving ourselves.
The old life is a life in which we fear trouble and calamity, war and feuding, violence, disaster and disorder and the spiritual powers arrayed against us. The old life is a life in which we fear relationships breaking and global conflict disintegrating the very world in which we live.
The old life is a life in which we fear all that is unknown and all that over which we have no control. The old life is a life in which we fear failure and the consequences of wrong choices. The old life is a life in which we fear God’s disapproval, because we could never measure up to his standards, and we fear shame and exposure if our secret attitudes and thoughts were ever revealed. The old life is a life in which we fear condemnation of the law and the wrath of God. The old life is a life in which we fear aging and sickness and dying, and maybe even dying alone.
“But now, this is what the Lord says—“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
You belong to God. When there was no other way of overcoming our old life, God chose to send to you his Spirit of adoption, who has given you a completely new life and new future as a member of his family. He has given you a new identity as a child of God, one who he loves infinitely and blesses lavishly. You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, so you need never fear disapproval by others, for you have the approval of your Father in heaven. You are an adopted child with whom he is well pleased (Matthew 3:17) and your worth, purpose and identity rest on who you are in Christ, not your strivings, appearance, possessions, wealth, career, social status, charity or good works.
You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, so you need not fear that evil will prevail over you. For the Spirit of adoption has brought you into God’s family bringing a legal end to the claim that sin, death, Satan and the powers of hell held over you. No-one else has the authority to take you away from the grasp of your Heavenly Father as Jesus himself says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29). You need never fear that you are unlovable or unloved, because no-one else and nothing else can ever separate you from the love of God for you in Christ Jesus.
You need never fear that you won’t have enough to survive in this world, for you have riches from out of this world. You have treasure in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Paul says in Ephesians 1:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” (Ephesians 1:3, 18).
And you need never be afraid of sickness and dying, for death is the final enemy to be destroyed by Jesus by his own death. Paul says that we will also be glorified with Jesus, provided that we suffer with him. This is not just suffering generally, but Paul means if we suffer for our faith—for bearing the name of Christ. If we remain steadfast to the end in what we firmly believe, you will come to share in his glory, and you will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12). It is for this purpose you were redeemed.
Like Charles Jnr and William Bidwell who received abundantly more from their adopted family than they deserved or could even dream of or imagine, so it is for you, who have received the Spirit of adoption from your heavenly Father, to stand before him as his freed, holy people, whom he delights to welcome as co-heirs with Christ in heavenly glory. Amen!
Pastor Tim Ebbs
St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Glenelg
Time after Pentecost, 2026
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
“It means a completely new life in which God has specially chosen us to stand with Jesus before our Father in heaven. It means to not fall back into fear.”
- What is the difference between a “spirit of slavery” and the “Spirit of adoption”?
- How should children of God live differently from those who don’t know him?
- What does adoption teach us about God’s grace?
- How does adoption change a believer’s identity according to Paul?
- Do you tend to relate to God more out of fear or as a loved child? Why?
- How can remembering your adoption change how you handle guilt or failure?
- What fears has God already freed you from through the Spirit? What does it look like to live daily led by the Spirit rather than fear?
- Where do you still struggle to believe you are fully accepted by God?
- How does knowing you are God’s child affect your identity and self-worth?
- How does being an “heir with Christ” influence how you view your future?
[1] Rumore, Koni: ‘Vintage Chicago Tribune: Meet Violet Bidwill, the NFL’s first female owner of the Cardinals’ Chicago Tribune, March 6, 2025 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/06/vintage-chicago-tribune-violet-bidwill-chicago-cardinals-owner/ last accessed 20/6/2026 10:35pm
