Adopted Into God's Family
May 14 | DNA Guide
Be Real Together:
Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together. Trust and friendship take time to build. If you’re launching a new DNA, one person should tell their story — what do we need to know about you? Next week, have another person in your DNA share their story.
Read Together: Ephesians 1:3-6 CSB
The One Question:
Ask this question at your family meal or DNA.
Ephesians 1:5 says that "He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself..." What does it mean to you that you've been adopted into God's family?
Grow Together:
Use these questions to go deeper with your DNA or for personal study.
- The author of this letter, Paul, was receiving messages that the church in Ephesus was divided. The church in this time was represented by both Jewish and non-Jewish (or Gentile) believers. Some of them had been steeped in Jewish practices like Sabbath and circumcision, others not. And it’s during this time, that Paul hears of Jewish Christians holding their heritage over the heads of the Gentile Christians. Now, Paul wants to reassure these Gentile Christians that they’re not merely God’s backup plan or “add-ons,” but that they really do have a place. When is the last time you felt like an outsider?
- What keeps you from feeling secure in your identity in Christ and your place in the Church? Is it lies you've believed, sin, apathy, or something else?
- What we see in Ephesians 1:3-6 is this - God, the one who is worthy of all praise, opened up heaven, blessed us, set his sights on a people, and acted in love by adopting us. The Greek word for adoption means “to place as a son within a family with full family privileges as an adult member of the family.” Check out the image below to see the parallels between the adoption process at the time Paul wrote the book of Ephesians and the biblical model of God adopting us as his sons and daughters. What stands out to you?
4. “What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father," (J.I. Packer). Do you know God as your Father?
5. Your very call — what God is laying before you as your purpose in life — is directly rooted in your identity as adopted sons and daughters. Are you living into your identity as a son or daughter of God and walking on mission with Jesus? What does that or could that look like for you?
5. Your very call — what God is laying before you as your purpose in life — is directly rooted in your identity as adopted sons and daughters. Are you living into your identity as a son or daughter of God and walking on mission with Jesus? What does that or could that look like for you?
Pray Together:
Take time to pray with and for each other.