Romans 8:15 - You have not received back the spirit of bondage to fear but you have received the spirit of sonship in which you cry out Abba Father.

I believe that using the word adoption to translate "huiothesia" is incorrect. The context of the New Testament with respect to son-ship does not bear out the meaning of adoption. It would be better for us to make a literal translation of the compound word "huiothesia; which is huios "son" and tithemi "to place" thus meaning "to place as a son." Keeping in mind that this Greek word is used synonymously with "huioi tou Theou (sons of God). "The word "huiothesia" is not found in classical writers" (Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary). "In Greek there are no instances of adoption in the transfer sense. Even when the ruler cult made its way into the world the divinity of the ruler was viewed in terms of descent rather than adoption" (Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9). The only example that we have that gets us close to the meaning of the English word adoption in the New Testament is found in Acts 7:21. When the daughter of Pharaoh found Moses and took him unto herself she adopted him (anaireomai). The example that we have in the New Testament of adoption, clearly used a distinctive Greek word to describe it.

If "huiothesia" was used to describe placing someone who was not actually a natural born son "in place" as a son then in a New Testament sense of son-ship the word adoption is inappropriate. Adoption is to formally and legally declare that someone who is not one's own child is henceforth to be treated and cared for as one's own child. This is not the case with the New Testament saints because we were born of God and therefore God's own children. We are the offspring of the seed of the word of God. The English word adoption does not testify to this truth but rather leaves us with the status of having someone else but God as our father in a spiritual sense. If we are to believe this is true we cannot truly say that we have been born of God. To say that we have not been begotten of God is to deny the faith that is in Christ Jesus for the only way that we can come into this so great of salvation is to be born into it (John 3:3-8). We therefore are making a decision in the translation of this word as to whether the new birth has conferred sonship upon us, or if we were born into it. In that Paul is the only one that uses this word in the New Testament it is essential that we understand how he viewed the new birth. The evidence speaks for itself Paul believed that we were born of God and was made a new creature through the miracle birth and thus taught the message of sonship in this light (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; Galatians 6:15). Therefore when he uses the word huiothesia then he is doing so in light of the saints having been begotten of God. We may understand the usage of this word in light of the fact that the saints were at one time the children of the devil but now have been made the sons of God. Also there is a possibility that he was using it in a similar fashion to that described by Louw and Nida, "In a number of languages adoption is spoken of as making a child a son or causing a child to become a daughter" (Louw, J.P. & Nida, E.A. (1996, c1989) Greel -English Lexicom of the New Testament.

In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the first one called a son of God (Matthew 1:18; 4:3; Luke 1:32). It is in Christ Jesus that the precedence of this phrase is established. Of course the meaning is extended beyond what may be said of the saints as Jesus was not only begotten of God but was also God incarnate. The second mention of a son of God in the New Testament is of Adam (Luke 3:30). We must step back to the Old Testament in order to understand the meaning as applied to Adam. In the Old Testament the angels were called sons of God (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Daniel 3:25). The antithesis of sons of God is drawn out for us as well when the sons of God are contrasted to the daughters of men (Genesis 6:6). In this sense of the meaning of "sons of God" we must understand it not as those begotten of God but created by God in similar fashion to the way that He created Adam. Finally, the godly are referred to as sons of God in the Old Testament. They godly are called both "sons of God" and " the generation of your sons (Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:5; Exodus 4:22; Psalms 73:15; Proverbs 14:26; Hosea 1;10). We cannot say that Israel was the offspring of God but rather they were set into a place as the sons of God. Once again it would be difficult to use the word adoption to describe what God did for Abraham and his descendents because by the same token we would have to say that they were unadopted when they were rejected because of their disobedience. More descriptive of what God did is represented by the analogy used by Paul when he described Israel being cut off as a branch from the vine (Romans 11:16-24; Jon 15:1-6. True the nations were grafted in but they were grafted in through sonship unique from that received by Israel. One of the primary differences is that in the New Testament the individual is called a son of God and not a nation as a whole. Secondly and even more important, is the miracle of an actual change in nature through the new birth.