Summary
This brief yet radiant chapter declares one of the sweetest truths in all of Scripture: that those whom God justifies, He also adopts into His family. Justification changes the believer’s standing before the divine court—he is declared righteous. Adoption changes his relationship—he is declared a son or daughter of the living God.
Through Christ, the eternal Son, believers are received into the household of God and given a name, an inheritance, and the Spirit of sonship. They are not merely pardoned criminals but beloved children. God grants them all the privileges of His family: His protection, His provision, His discipline, His promises, and His presence. The Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are children of God, teaching them to cry, “Abba, Father.”
This adoption is not metaphorical but covenantal and real. It is secured by the same grace that justifies, grounded in the same union with Christ, and guaranteed by the same Spirit who sanctifies. Believers are no longer slaves under the law, but heirs with Christ of eternal glory. Though they may face affliction and discipline in this life, it is the chastening of a Father’s love, not the punishment of a judge’s wrath. Their inheritance is incorruptible, reserved in heaven, and sealed by the Spirit until the day of redemption.
Historical Context
The Reformers recovered the doctrine of adoption as a distinct jewel of grace, long neglected in medieval theology. Rome spoke of believers as servants within the Church, never as children in the Father’s house. But the Reformed faith, following Scripture, proclaimed a fuller gospel—one that not only pardons but embraces.
The Westminster Divines placed this chapter immediately after justification to display the full extent of salvation’s privilege. In justification, the believer stands acquitted; in adoption, he is welcomed home. The Divines drew heavily from the writings of Calvin, who called adoption “the sum of the gospel,” and from the apostle Paul, who made it central to Christian identity and assurance.
In the turbulent seventeenth century, when persecution and political upheaval left many Christians destitute, this doctrine was a deep comfort: though stripped of earthly rights, believers possessed the unshakeable status of sons and heirs of God.
Key Biblical References
- John 1:12 – “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
- Romans 8:15–17 – “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’… and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”
- Galatians 4:4–7 – “God sent forth His Son… to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:18 – “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.”
- Ephesians 1:4–5 – “In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 12 proclaims that salvation is not merely deliverance from guilt, but entrance into glory—the sinner becomes a son, the outcast an heir. Adoption crowns justification with intimacy. The believer’s relationship to God is transformed from fear to fellowship, from alienation to affection.
Here is the tenderness of the gospel: the Judge who once condemned now calls us His children. The Almighty bends low to name us His own, to feed us at His table, to guide us by His hand, and to prepare for us a home eternal in the heavens. Every act of divine discipline, every moment of suffering, every prayer of need is framed within this relationship—our Father who art in heaven.
The justified man stands righteous before the throne; the adopted child rests in the Father’s arms. And both are held fast in Christ, the eternal Son, through whom we cry in faith and gratitude: “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God.”
Covenant Presbyterian Church 