How do I know I’ve been adopted by God?

Romans 8:14-16All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children . . . For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

The Bible promises that if the Holy Spirit lives in us, then we have been adopted by God. The Holy Spirit also speaks to our hearts, assuring us that we are part of God’s family.

1 John 3:9-10Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

1 John 5:1-2Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.

A new lifestyle of obedience and love is evidence that we have been adopted as God’s children. This doesn’t mean that we never sin or are never tempted to do wrong. It does mean that, with the Holy Spirit living within us, we really want to please him and try the best we can. Yes, we will fail—probably every day. But we should never let that stop us from trying to please God, our beloved heavenly Father.

Proverbs 3:11-12My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:6-7The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?

God disciplines his children because he loves us and wants us to grow into the kind of people he created us to be. So when he disciplines us, he reminds us that we are his children. Part of our responsibility as his children is to pay attention and to learn from his correction.