In Ephesians 1: 5, Paul says, “he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” Paul’s intention here seems quite clear; God has purposed to adopt all those whom He has chosen. There are no “second class citizens” within God’s kingdom; no “step children” in His family, all are purposed beforehand to adoption as sons and daughters. Some quarters of modern faith life espouse a graduated hierarchy of believers as if one is somehow a better Christian because they are more mature or posses a greater quantity (or quality) of spiritual gifts. This teaching cannot be any further from the truth. God does not differentiate between His children; all are known by Him, all are loved by Him and all receive the fullness of their inheritance from God. Specifically, Paul says that the believer is a “predestined” one (προορίσας) and the aorist active participle form of the Greek word meaning to set boundaries ahead of time illustrates the ontological component of one’s adoption. The aoristic aspect serves to indicate the reality of an event without regard to the duration or necessary details of the event itself; Paul simply states that the predetermining of boundaries by God for His children has happened. The active voice indicates that it is God who set the boundaries and not man while the participial form of the word expresses the ontological nature of God’s adopted children as ones who live within certain specific limitations. The distillation of these components renders the seminal truth that as God saves and adopts the believer as one of His children, there is not a standing within the family that distinguishes that adoption to any greater or lesser degree; all of God’s children are adopted heir equally. Are there qualitative distinctions in anyone believer’s fellowship with God; that is, are there times when fellowship is broken by sin and are there times when fellowship is restored through confession and repentance? Certainly, but neither of these circumstances makes the believer more or less a child of God nor does the frequency or degree of fellowship with God indicate an ascending structure within God’s household. Tragically, these stratified teachings of graduated levels of faith or belief are man-made doctrines designed to manipulate individuals and have no place within an orthodox doctrine of adoption. The reality is either one is adopted or they are not; there simply is no in between.
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