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only through his being adopted. The adoption was a sort of Will-making; and this
ancient form of Will was irrevocable and public. The terms `Son' and `Heir' are
interchangeable."
"An illustration from the ordinary fact of society, as it existed in the Galatian cities, is
here stated: `I speak after the manner of men.' The Will (diatheke) of a human being is
irrevocable when once duly executed. But if Paul is speaking about a Will, how can he
say, after it is once made, it is irrevocable?"
"Such irrevocability was a characteristic feature of Greek law, according to which
an heir outside the family must be adopted into the family; and the adoption was the
Will-making. The testator, after adopting his heir, could not subsequently take away
from him his share of the inheritance or impose new conditions on his succession. The
Roman-Syrian Law Book will illustrate this passage of the Epistle. It actually lays down
the principle that a man can never put away an adopted son, and that he cannot put away
a real son without good ground. It is remarkable that the adopted son should have a
stronger position than the son by birth; yet it is so. The expression in Gal. 3:, verse 15,
`When it hath been confirmed' must also be observed. Every Will had to be passed
through the Record Office of the city. It was not regarded in the Greek law as a purely
private document. It must be deposited in the Record Office."
Here it will be seen that one may be "adopted", or made the heir, without being at the
same time a true child, but in the case of the Scriptural usage of adoption there is no idea
that the believer is only an "adopted" child, for the testimony of the Word is explicit on
the point, making clear that adoption is something added:
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God"
(Rom. 8: 16).
The argument of Gal. 4: 1-7 proceeds upon the supposition that there is a difference
between a "child" (Gal. 4: 1-2), and one who has received the "adoption" (Gal. 4: 5).
"If a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4: 7). That "adoption" is related to
"inheritance" we can see by examining Eph. 1: There we find the word "predestinate"
used twice, once in verse 5, where it is "unto adoption", and again in verse 11, where it
refers to "inheritance".
Let us now observe the way in which this important word is used in connection with
three different companies of the redeemed.
In Rom. 9: the Apostle enumerates the distinctive and exclusive privileges of Israel
"according to the flesh", "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption"
(Rom. 9: 4). The structure of the passage relates "adoption" with "promises" and the
whole is important enough to claim our attention before passing on. Accordingly we set
out the structure.