“He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and
will.” – Ephesians 1:5

On that fateful night in the ancient city of Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary had a son. But they were not the
only parents rejoicing at the birth of that boy child. God the Father himself also had a Son.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Yet on that night,
the second person of the Trinity became incarnate—the Son of God took on flesh. So, on the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary had a son—but so did God the Father.

“On the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary had a son—but so did God the Father.”

The seed of the woman
When God pronounced penalties in Genesis 3 following The Fall, he told the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed” (Genesis 3:15). On that first Christmas, that Seed was born, and the Seed was a Son. Heaven rejoiced as the angel earlier dispatched to the wise men was joined by ‘a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”’ (Luke 2:13-14). This Son was not merely the promised Seed; he was “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The best thing to do with a seed is to plant it. The Seed himself said, “Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it will only be a seed. If it dies, it will give much grain.” (John 12:24). And that is exactly what God did with his Seed—he planted him. From that Seed grew a tree: the Tree of Life, bearing much fruit and producing many seeds.

“The reason God had a Son on the first Christmas was so that He could have many sons.”

In bringing many sons to glory
When our first parents fell into sin, humanity’s relationship with God was shattered. Yet God had a plan
to redeem his creation and restore that relationship. The reason God had a Son on the first Christmas was so that He could have many sons. The way to accomplish this was for the Son to be planted as a seed, yielding a harvest of sons through His death. Isaiah foresaw this when he wrote that the Servant would be crushed and made an offering for sin, yet “he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days” (Isaiah 53:10). That promise came to pass. As the writer of Hebrews declares, “it was fitting for Him … in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10). The suffering produced the desired results, and today he has many sons. Even today, Jesus is bringing many sons to glory. He has risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. By him came the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20- 22). As the captain of our salvation, Jesus conquered death and became the first to enter glory. His bodily resurrection assures us of our own future bodily resurrection.

“Even today, Jesus is bringing many sons to glory.”

PREDESTINED TO BE ADOPTED
Paul said, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” – Romans 8:29 God’s purpose to make us his sons was no afterthought. It was the conception of the divine purpose in the mind of God, before it was realized in actual fact. It derives from the love of God and is made possible by the sacrificial and mediating work of the only-begotten Son. Isn’t it staggering to consider that before there was ever a Christmas, God had already thought of you? Among so many, he elected you to be adopted as his son.
The prodigal son was willing to return as a hired servant, but his father had better plans for him. Likewise, of all the positions that God could have predestined you and me to be (angel, servant, friend, etc) and any of them would still be glorious, he opted for us to be adopted as his sons.

“There is no sonship without the Son.”

Sons through Jesus Christ
Make no mistake about it: there is no sonship without the Son. All adoption to become a son of God must be through the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the one tasked with bringing many sons to glory. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. All who reject him reject
sonship—they will not be sons. In his love, God created in you the acceptance of the invitation to sonship in him through Jesus Christ, and his predestination has come to pass. Hallelujah!
Paul writes in Romans 8:16-17:
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be
glorified together.”
When I reached this passage, it was breathtaking. I paused writing to take it in for a moment. Paul is
saying believers—through faith and adoption into God’s family—share equally in Christ’s divine
inheritance: everything the Father has for his Son, including future glory, spiritual blessings, and eternal life. It also means believers have rights to God’s boundless provision and destiny alongside Jesus.
How dare God place us in the same inheritance as his Son? Yet that is exactly what He has done.

“Everything the Father has for His Son is now shared with those who are in the Son.”

In accordance with His pleasure and will
People adopt children on many grounds. You’d expect love to be the foremost. Sometimes adoption
arises from need: the adopting parent or parents may be unable to have children of their own and
therefore choose to adopt. At other times, it is motivated by compassion for the plight of the child. In
some cases, it is even undertaken grudgingly.
Consider a family whose brother and his wife have passed away, leaving behind young children. In such
circumstances, the orphaned children may be shared out among the surviving siblings to adopt and care
for them. They may not love the idea, but are obliged to go along with it.
That is not what characterizes our adoption as God’s sons. The Scripture says our adoption is in
accordance with his pleasure and will. God was—and is—happy to adopt us as his sons. Our adopted
sonship gives him enjoyment and satisfaction. No one imposed us on him; it all emanated from him
alone, and he is delighted with his choice of us as his sons.

“Our adopted sonship gives God enjoyment and satisfaction.”

God’s female sons
In an age that rightly seeks clarity about gender language, it is important to explain why Scripture speaks of all believers as “sons of God.” In the ancient world—Israel included—inheritance rights belonged exclusively to sons. Daughters were not legal heirs and depended on their husbands or relatives for provision. If the biblical authors had spoken of “sons and daughters of God,” people in that culture might have concluded that only males were entitled to receive God’s spiritual inheritance.
By choosing to describe all of God’s children as “sons of God,” the biblical writers were making a
significant statement: both men and women share equally in the Father’s inheritance. Females are
considered “sons of God” as a metaphor for their spiritual status as full heirs to God’s kingdom, with the
same rights and privileges as a firstborn son in ancient culture. That means a female believer has an equal standing and inheritance through faith in Christ. This is not about a biological gender.
So, if you are a woman reading this, hear it clearly: you are God’s son, God’s heir, and a co-heir with
Christ.

“Both men and women share equally in the Father’s inheritance.”

What manner of love
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” – 1 John 3:1
John enters into a doxology and admiration of the wonder that is our sonship. That same wonder should
grip you this Christmas: that before you were born, God thought about you and decided that you would
be his son and be a joint-heir with his only begotten Son – Jesus Christ.
That is why he had a Son—so that you might become one. Let the Spirit continually bear witness with your spirit that you are God’s son.
If you are not and you desire to become a son of God, may this message and this season be the reason
why you confess your sins to him, receive forgiveness and ask to be made his son. No matter your chains, this Son sets people free—and whoever he sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). Let Jesus be the firstborn among many brethren while you are numbered among the brethren.
Son, enjoy Christmas.

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