Barton's Bible Study Notes

Introduction

When the New Testament writers address the Lord as the Son of God, they are not making a direct claim that he is God; they are saying he is the Messiah. They are not saying he is divine except indirectly. They do not deny his deity; they are firmly convinced of it. They simply are stating another idea; he is Messiah, the Promised One, who fulfills the Davidic Covenant. In this covenant, God made several provisions for David and his descendants. One of these provisions is that God would be to him a father, and he would be a son to God. This meant that God would adopt this person, the king of Israel, as his son; he would have a special relationship with God others did not. The king of David’s line was considered the adopted son of God. With the fall of Judah, the Jewish people looked for the reestablishment of the Davidic kingdom, and the coming of this promised one of David’s line to rule and be “The Son of God.”

As this covenant applies to the Lord, it does so in his humanity as David’s direct descendant. He fulfilled all the requirements in his physical descent and his personal holiness. He was, therefore, officially appointed by God to be the rightful king of Israel, heir to David’s throne at his resurrection.

A believer’s position as a son or daughter of God then comes through Jesus the Lord. Because he is the Son of God, believers are the children of God. One of the most significant passages specifying the results of the Savior’s labor on a believer’s behalf is Romans Chapter 8. The book of Romans is one of the easier books of the New Testament to outline, perhaps because it is less a personal letter to friends than a treatise explaining the gospel sent to a place Paul had not before visited. Following the salutation and foreword, Paul, in the first part of this treatise, chapters 1:18 through 3:20, discusses how God’s wrath, which is his just punishment of sin, is revealed, that is, the principles by which God judges all men. Then he turns, in the second part, chapters 3:21 through 8:39, to explain how the righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ.

In this second part, Paul initially introduces his discussion by stating his central idea that man is justified through faith in Jesus Christ apart from the Law and then stating the three issues which he will take up: first, justification is by faith, not works, second, justification by faith is for both Jew and Gentile alike; and third, justification by faith does not nullify the Law. Paul devotes most of his effort to this third issue in chapters 5:12–8:30. He first introduces the relationship between sin, grace and the Law in 5:12–21. Next, he shows that justification by faith does not nullify the Law by answering four questions that arise in chapters 6:1–7:25 and then concludes this discussion in chapter 8:1–30.

We learn that the basis of a believer’s justification is their identification with Jesus Christ, the Lord, in Paul’s introduction to this third issue, where he takes up the relationship between sin, grace and the law (5:12–21). In the conclusion to the third issue (8:14–30), one sees that this identification with Jesus Christ, the Savior, is the basis of one’s sonship.

A Believer's Identification with Christ: The Basis of Their Justification

Paul, in introducing the relationship of sin, grace and the law, begins by contrasting two people, Adam, the original forefather and Jesus Christ, the Lord, in Romans 5:12–19:

5:12	Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
5:13	for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
5:14	Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
5:15	But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
5:16	The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
5:17	For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
5:18	So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
5:19	For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

This passage contrasts the actions of two men and how those actions affected the rest of humankind. Both Adam and Christ represented the human race, although there are different views regarding how Adam represented all humanity. Hodge, in his commentary, suggests four classes of interpretation¹ Griffith Thomas narrows this to two broad categories stating, "The meaning of the phrase, “For that all sinned,” is a matter of great difference among expositors. Either it means that they sinned when Adam sinned, as proved by vers. 15–19, or else it describes the personal acts of Adam’s descendants as the result of a tendency inherited from him."²

Either Adam represented every person legally by representing the entire human race (federal headship), or every person was in him; that is, their nature and being were in his DNA (natural or seminal headship), and as a result, they became what he became in his act of sin. In commenting on this passage, John Witmer suggests the Biblical view is natural headship by pointing to the writer of Hebrews’ argument concerning the superiority of the Melchizedekian priesthood over the Aaronic. “…when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. See Hebrews 7:9–10.”³

However, one must look at the context and ask how Christ is the head in this passage in Romans. Is it federal or natural headship? The answer is quite clear; humanity was not naturally or seminally in Christ. He represented all believers legally, being their substitute. He is a federal head. If that is the case for the Lord here in Romans, it is the case for Adam in this context. Hodge summarizes this well.

All sinned when Adam sinned. They sinned in him….His act, for some good and proper reason, was regarded as their act, just as the act of an agent is regarded as the act of his principal, or the act of a representative as that of his constituents. The act of one legally binds the others. It is, in the eye of law and justice, their act.⁴

While this is true that Christ is the federal head, it is also true that one naturally inherits the sinful nature and the corrupt physical body from one’s progenitors. Western analytical thought has tended to make these two concepts mutually exclusive when perhaps, in truth, they are not.

Only two people have ever stood as proxies for the whole of humanity, to be the legal representative for every human being, two people, Adam, the progenitor of humanity, and Jesus, its savior. What they did, as proxies, became legally binding for those they represented.

What happened when Adam acted on a believer’s behalf? He sinned, and, as a result of his disobedience, all men were judged guilty before God: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12). All sinned, that is in Adam: “through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19a). Every person was made a sinner through the actions of Adam. Everyone stands legally condemned before God based on Adam’s action alone, apart from anything they have done, are currently doing or ever will do. All were born condemned. Adam was the proxy for all humanity before God. He had the power of attorney. His actions are binding upon each person who has descended from him. God considered everyone to be in him, legally speaking, so what was true for him became true for every descendant of Adam, with one exception.

Many do not like this particular doctrine. “It is not fair,” they say, “for me to be judged based on another’s actions.” However, 0ne may be sure that no one else would have fared any better than Adam. Furthermore, one should remember this; if a person wishes to reject that Adam acted as their proxy, they should also reject that there was another who also acted as their proxy, Jesus Christ the Lord. Adam was created sinless, morally perfect, without the sin nature. Given a free choice to act, he chose to disobey God. He was condemned spiritually; he became corrupt in his human nature and became subject to physical death. Because he was acting for all humanity, every one of his descendants was condemned, subjected to spiritual and physical death and inherited his corrupt nature.

However, the Lord did not inherit the condemnation passed legally from father to child that every other descendant of Adam inherited; nor did he inherit the imperfect human sin nature also passed from father to child to every other human being. Although he was limited by the imperfect physical body of fallen humanity, he stood morally perfect before God throughout his life as a man. Jesus, as a man, also stood as a proxy for humanity before God. A person will be made just by his actions: “...through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” If one places one’s faith in him, that is, accepts him as their substitute or proxy, God places them in Christ, legally speaking, with the result that what was true for him becomes true for them. Paul states in Romans 6:3–8:

6:3	Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
6:4	Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
6:5	For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6:6	knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
6:7	for he who has died is freed from sin.
6:8	Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Because he became a believer’s proxy, what is true for him is counted as valid for them. Because he died, they died in him. The penalty a believer owed as a sinner is thus paid. Because he lived a perfectly righteous life, they are considered to have lived a perfectly righteous life; his righteousness is imputed to them. Because he was resurrected and lives, they too shall be resurrected and live to die no more. A believer’s justification is their identification with Jesus Christ, the Lord. So too, the basis of a believer’s sonship is this same identification.

A Believer's Identification with Christ: The Basis of Their Sonship

Romans 8 says this of the believer’s sonship:

8:9	However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
8:10	If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
8:11	But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
8:12	So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
8:13	for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
8:14	For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
8:15	For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
8:16	The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
8:17	and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

If a person has accepted Jesus Christ as their savior by faith, God has baptized them into Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If they have the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, then they are adopted as God’s sons. This adoption as sons is nothing less than the Lord’s adoption in his humanity as the Son of God in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. What is true for him, in his humanity, because he is their proxy, becomes true for them. His death becomes their death. His righteousness becomes their righteousness. His adoption as the Son of God becomes their adoption as a child of God.

In Paul’s second recorded letter to the church at Corinth, he exhorts believers there not to be bound together with unbelievers. In chapter 6:17–18, he cites two Old Testament references:

6:17	“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.
6:18	And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

Then in the very next verse, in chapter 7:1, he writes,

7:1	Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The context of verse 7:1 indicates that the promises belong to the believers at the church in Corinth and by application to all believers. These promises, moreover, must be the ones he just indicated in the previous verses, in 6:16–17. The second of these (verse 6:17) is a quotation of one of the provisions of the Davidic Covenant found in 2 Samuel 7:14 (1 Chronicles 17:13). How did this promise which was made, not to all Jews, but only to a select few, to those of David’s descendants who would sit upon his throne, come to apply to Gentile believers in the church at Corinth? The answer is that it was imputed to them because they are in Christ.

When one by faith accepts Jesus as their savior, not only does God credit his death as the death of that believer and his righteousness as their righteousness when he places them in Christ, but he also credits his position as a man as their position. His human relationship to God the Father is imputed to them. Because he, as the Son of God, in his humanity can call upon God as his father, they too have been adopted by God as sons or daughters, and they can call upon God as their father. Their adoption then comes through Jesus Christ.

The scriptures attest to this adoption in Christ. Ephesians 1:5 states. “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself.” Galatians 4:4–5 says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” The Lord had to be born of a woman, that is, be human, if believers were to receive the adoption of sons. He had to be human and be a descendant of David to inherit the provisions of the Davidic covenant.

The term adoption υἱοθεσία is found five times in the New Testament: three in Romans (Romans 8:15, 23 and 9:4) and the two passages mentioned above (Ephesians 1:5 and Galatians 4:5). Except Romans 9:4, it speaks of the adoption as sons of New Testament believers. In Romans 9:4 it references an adoption that belonged to Old Testament Israel. Most authorities take this as referring to the adoption of the nation of Israel as God’s son. For example, Arndt and Gingrich state this refers to “the acceptance of the nation of Israel as son of God,”⁵ citing Exodus 4:22 and Isaiah 1:2. Whitmer also connects this adoption to the nation, as does Hodge.⁶ If this is the connection Paul intends his reader to understand, it should be noted that this is not the same relationship a believer has in Christ Jesus with God. It was national, not individual. Hodge states, “As Paul is speaking here of the external or natural Israel, the adoption or sonship which pertained to them, as such, must be external also, and is very different from that which he had spoken of in the preceding chapter.”⁷

However, this could also refer to the adoption of David and his anointed descendants who ruled as kings as sons of God as promised in the Davidic covenant. If this is the case, it does reference this same individual relationship indicated by Paul’s other uses of this word, a relationship imputed to a believer in the person of Jesus, the Son of God.

Just as a believer’s salvation is not yet complete, neither is their adoption as children of God. In a legal sense, having placed their faith in Jesus Christ, they are declared righteous. The requirements of the Law have been met. However, practically speaking, are they righteous? By no means! They are still sinners. They still sin. They still have their old nature. Although they have died to sin in Christ, they are still exhorted to consider themselves dead to it. They still follow the urges of the old nature. Furthermore, death, physical death, still imposes itself upon them. However, the day is coming when their salvation will be complete. The old nature will be cast away, and a new and perfect man or woman will be created. Death will be overcome at the resurrection, and a new and perfect body will come into being.

So too, a believer’s adoption is not yet complete. Legally it is in effect. They can call even now upon God as their father. Nevertheless, the relationship is imperfect. What will the complete adoption be like? One does not know. The Word of God states in Romans 8:19–23:

8:19	For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
8:20	For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
8:21	that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
8:22	For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
8:23	And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

And John writes the following in 1 John 3:1–3:

3:1	See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
3:2	Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
3:3	And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

What will the full adoption as a son or daughter of God mean? It is impossible to imagine! What He has become in his humanity is what a believer shall be lifted up to become!

Conclusion

The adoption of a believer as a child of God follows from the Lord being declared to be the Son of God per the covenant made with David so long ago. When a believer was placed in Christ by the indwelling Spirit of God, what was true of the Lord in his humanity was imputed to them. Thus, the provisions of the Davidic Covenant now apply to every believer. Therefore, the writer is convinced it is very profitable to study this covenant in its application to believers.