The Biblical Theology of Adoption
The biblical theology of adoption explores how Scripture describes God establishing a family relationship with his people, not through natural descent but through divine choice, grace, and covenant. Although formal legal adoption appears rarely in the cultural background of the Old Testament, the Bible uses the idea to illuminate how God relates to Israel, the Davidic king, and ultimately to believers in Christ. Through this theme, Scripture reveals the depth of God’s commitment to his people and the hope of their full participation in his restored creation.
Adoption and God’s Relationship with Israel
The foundation for the biblical theology of adoption begins in the Old Testament with God calling Israel his son. This status is rooted in the covenant established during the Exodus. When God sends Moses to Pharaoh, he declares, “Israel is my firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22). This is not biological descent but a covenantal adoption grounded in redemption. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt becomes the moment God takes them as his family, binding them to himself with the repeated formula, “You shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Exod. 6:7; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 30:22).
The prophets consistently recall this relationship. Deuteronomy 32 describes God guarding Israel “as the pupil of his eye,” and Hosea 11:1 portrays God teaching Israel to walk, leading them with compassion. The same passages lament Israel’s infidelity—“they are no longer his children” (Deut. 32:5)—yet even judgment does not cancel God’s fatherly love. Hosea 11:8–9 reveals God’s refusal to abandon his children, and Isaiah 43:6 promises that he will gather his sons and daughters again.
This covenantal adoption has an eschatological dimension. Jeremiah 31:9 promises that God will once more call Israel “my son,” and passages like Ezekiel 36–37 describe a restored people transformed by God’s Spirit. In this way, the biblical theology of adoption is inseparable from restoration, forgiveness, and new creation.
Adoption and the Davidic King
A second major feature of the biblical theology of adoption is the royal adoption of the Davidic king. In 2 Samuel 7:14, God says to David concerning his offspring, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” This promise is repeated in 1 Chronicles 17:13 and identified specifically with Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:6. Psalm 2:7 then applies the adoption formula to the enthronement of the king: “You are my son; today I have begotten you.”
This royal adoption reflects a unique relationship in which the king represents God’s people and inherits God’s promises. Psalm 2 links adoption to inheritance: God grants the nations as the king’s possession (Ps. 2:8). The Davidic covenant and the adoption formula stand together as expressions of God’s commitment to raise up a king whose rule secures the future of his people.
This aspect becomes especially important as Israel looks toward the coming Messiah. Second Temple writings apply the adoption formula to the expected king and to the restored people as a whole. The intertwining of the royal figure and the nation shapes later prophetic imagery, such as the “one like a son of man” in Daniel 7:13–14, interpreted alongside the saints receiving the kingdom (Dan. 7:27). Through these themes, the biblical theology of adoption establishes a link between the Davidic king, God’s people, and the hope of restoration.
Adoption and Jesus Christ in the New Testament
The New Testament brings the biblical theology of adoption into its fullest expression in Jesus Christ. Acts 13:33 cites Psalm 2:7 to describe Jesus’ resurrection as his enthronement. Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5 interpret Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in the same way. Paul echoes this when he says Jesus, descended from David “according to the flesh,” was appointed Son of God in power through the resurrection (Rom. 1:3–4). This union of Davidic promise and divine adoption forms the backdrop for Paul’s teaching on the believers’ adoption.
Paul is the only biblical writer to use the Greek term for adoption (huiothesia). In Romans 9:4 he identifies Israel’s adoption as a distinct privilege rooted in the Exodus. In Romans 8:15, 23; Galatians 4:5; and Ephesians 1:5, he speaks of the adoption granted to believers through Christ.
For Paul, the biblical theology of adoption unfolds in three dimensions:
Adoption grounded in the Son
Believers are adopted because they are united to Christ, the unique Son. Galatians 4:4–5 states that God sent his Son “so that we might receive adoption.” Through union with Christ (Gal. 3:26–27), believers share his status and participate in his sonship.Adoption experienced through the Spirit
The Spirit is called the “Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15). He enables believers to cry “Abba, Father,” echoing the intimacy of Christ’s own prayer (Mark 14:36). This aligns with promises that God would transform his people by his Spirit in the time of restoration (Ezek. 36:26–27; Joel 2:28–29).Adoption linked to inheritance
Adoption brings believers into the inheritance promised to Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:18, 29). Romans 8:17 describes them as “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” The sonship of the Messiah becomes the shared sonship of all who belong to him.
Paul also emphasizes a future element. In Romans 8:23 believers await the fullness of their adoption, “the redemption of our bodies.” The resurrection will complete what the Spirit has already begun, bringing God’s children into glory. This future hope shows that the biblical theology of adoption is not merely relational but eschatological, pointing toward the renewal of creation and the unveiling of God’s family.
Adoption and the People of God
The biblical theology of adoption also explains how different groups become one people in Christ. In Romans 9:25–26, Paul cites Hosea’s promise that those once called “not my people” will be called “sons of the living God,” applying it to the inclusion of Gentiles. In 2 Corinthians 6:16–18 he combines covenant and adoption formulae to describe believers as God’s family.
Through Christ, God gathers a people made up of Jews and Gentiles, fulfilling the hope of a restored family begun in the Exodus and expanded in the prophetic promises. Adoption becomes the means by which believers participate in God’s covenant people and share the blessings promised to Abraham and David.
Adoption, Identity, and Hope
By tracing God’s relationship with Israel, the Davidic king, Christ, and the church, the biblical theology of adoption reveals a coherent pattern: God creates a family for himself through grace, redemption, and the Spirit. Adoption gives believers a new identity, a new relationship with God, and a new inheritance. It binds them to the Messiah and guarantees that their future is tied to his future.
The theme also draws together the story of Scripture—from the Exodus to the kingdom of David, from the coming of Christ to the final resurrection. Through adoption, God restores his people to the fellowship for which they were created, completing the movement from bondage to belonging and from exile to home.
Bible verses about adoption
“Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22).
“You shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Leviticus 26:12).
“You are my son; today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7).
“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me” (2 Samuel 7:14).
“When Israel was a child, I loved him” (Hosea 11:1).
“He destined us for adoption” (Ephesians 1:5).
“You received the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15).
“We wait eagerly for … the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).
“God sent his Son … so that we might receive adoption” (Galatians 4:4–5).
“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26).
