I have been working through Trevor Burke’s, Adopted into God’s Family.  In a previous post I summarized chapter one.  I thought here I could just share some of my favorite quotes from chapter two. 

“…on statistical grounds, not to mention the sheer range of vocabulary the apostle employs, the family is not only one of the most important metaphors but is also the most pervasive he uses to describe his communities.”  p.36

Quoting Robert Banks, he writes “More than any other image utilized by Paul, it  [family] reveals the essence of his thinking about community.” p.36

Quoting John Murray, “Adoption, as the term clearly implies, is an act of transfer from an alien family into the family of God.” p.42

“The point Paul does not want his readers to miss is that when one is adopted into the family of God, it is uniquely and exclusively through Jesus Christ and at infinite cost to him.”  p.42

“Paul wishes to stress that our adoption as sons is not an end in itself; rather, God the Father has a goal in view for his adopted sons and there is also an obligation upon the latter to honor the former by seeking to live in such a way as to attain that goal.” p.43