Acts: The Spirit of Adoption | Josh Harrison
Returning once again to the pages of Acts, we find ourselves standing with the earliest followers of Jesus—confused, anxious, and painfully aware of their inability to control what comes next. As Josh reminds us, these were real men and women, not spiritual superheroes. Everything changed not by a flash of insight or resolve, but by the falling of the Holy Spirit, a reality we revisited in last week’s exploration of Pentecost.
Yet, this week, the question shifted from the fireworks of the Spirit’s arrival to something much deeper: What, exactly, did these individuals experience that transformed them from cowardly refugees into bold, world-altering witnesses? And more poignantly, what does this mean for us today—those who enter sanctuaries, homes, and workplaces bearing our own fears, doubts, and disorientation?
Let’s walk through the main contours of this sermon and see if we can begin to make sense of the Holy Spirit’s true gift at Pentecost.
More Than Signs: The Personal Reality of Pentecost
In so many traditions—perhaps especially those attuned to the Spirit’s gifts—it is common to focus on the extraordinary: wind, fire, and sudden speech in unknown tongues. As Josh points out, we are like forensic scientists, examining what the Holy Spirit left behind. But this, he cautions, misses the point.
The transformation was not primarily about external signs. It was about inward certainty and courage. Josh Harrison urges us to take Jesus’ own words seriously—especially in John 14, where Jesus promises not a set of experiences, but a presence: “I will not leave you as orphans; I myself will come to you.” The “Advocate,” the Holy Spirit, would mark a new stage of relationship. The signs mattered only as confirmations that, fundamentally, these frightened men and women had just become sons and daughters—adopted into the very life of God.
Adoption in the Ancient World: A Radical Picture
To modern Westerners, adoption often carries the tinge of “second choice,” a backup plan in building a family. Not so in the Roman world. There, as Josh explains, adoption was a Plan A—a tactical move to secure legacy, lineage, and inheritance, often involving adults rather than infants. Adopted sons could even outrank biological children, becoming heirs by virtue of selection, not chance.
Four central elements characterized Roman adoption, all of which reflect the gospel’s logic:
Adopted children were often Plan A, chosen intentionally.
Their status changed immediately and irrevocably.
The process came at great cost—a transaction expressing the value of the one adopted.
Legally, the adoption could never be undone.
This is the foundation for the “spirit of adoption” Paul describes in Romans: We are not God’s children by default or by accident. We are chosen, purchased by Christ’s blood, and brought permanently into a new inheritance and destiny.
The Advocate Who Stands Beside
But the sermon does not stop with theology; it moves to lived experience. Here, Josh introduces the figure of the Paraclete, the Advocate—literally, “one who calls out from beside.” In the heavenly courtroom, when the enemy accuses and condemns, Jesus stands before the Father on our behalf, but the Spirit stands beside us, calling out our true identity.
The enemy is the accuser (the meaning of “Satan”). His power is the power of shame and memory—reminding us of every failure. But the Spirit’s power is the faithful calling out of adoption: You are not orphaned, not rejected, not unloved. You are a child, chosen and sealed.
Living Out the Spirit of Adoption
So what does this mean for us? For those first disciples, it meant courage. Released from fear of what people might think, or even what authorities might do, they became uncontainable witnesses. For us, as Josh illustrates through the story of his own family’s adoption, this means living into the security, freedom, and purpose of having been irrevocably chosen.
The question is whether we will believe it—whether we will let the Advocate’s voice be the loudest voice in our heads, drowning out accusation, shame, and fear.
Four Key Lessons from This Sermon
Adoption is Plan A, Not Plan B: In God’s family, adoption is not a consolation; it is at the very heart of His purpose. We, like those first followers, are not afterthoughts but intentionally chosen.
The Spirit Secures Our Identity: The Holy Spirit’s primary work is to remind us—again and again—of who we truly are in Christ. His advocacy silences the endless accusations that once defined us.
Our Status Is Irrevocably Changed: Because of Christ, we have a new name, a new destiny, and an imperishable inheritance. Nothing can undo what God has accomplished.
Boldness Flows From Belovedness: The early Church did not change the world through strategy or charisma, but through the unshakable certainty of being loved, chosen, and secure. When we rest in this truth, we too become bold.
So perhaps the work of the Spirit has not changed at all—He still stands beside us, calling out our true name, urging us: Remember who you are. Show the world who you are. Live as beloved sons and daughters. And that, as ever, is the beginning of all real transformation.
