"...in the life of the average Israelite male, there were three major events which drew broad public attention to him. The first was his Circumcision, which occurred when he was an infant, at eight days old. This was the moment that he was marked as a "covenant man" in Israel, and was celebrated throughout the community. The second was his Bar-Mitzvah, which took place as he was about to enter into puberty. The word Bar-Mitzvah actually means a son accountable, and signified the time, not only when he was held accountable for keeping the Commandments, but also when he was to become an apprentice under his father in the family business. This, too, was celebrated as a very special event in the life of the child, just as it is today. The third was what was known as his Huiothesia, or adoption ceremony (not to be confused with our modern concepts of adoption. This had to do with a natural-born son, and not one that was taken from another family). The word itself means Son Placement, and indicates the time when a male child reached what was considered to be the age of maturity (thirty years of age). The ceremony went something like this. Once the son had finally come of age, his father would arrange a ceremony for him in a part of the city that would draw the largest possible number of observers (usually around the gates of the city, or in the marketplace). Amidst a great crowd of witnesses, he would then place his hands upon the head of his son, and would initiate the impartation of power. He would speak of his son's commitment throughout the course of his apprenticeship, and confirm that he was now ready to accept the responsibilities about to be conferred upon him. He would grant him the authority to speak in his (the father's) stead, and call upon all who were there as witnesses that day to bear record that from that time forward, the son would go forth in his name. No longer was his son to be looked upon as merely an heir, under tutors and governors, but was now to be recognized as the inheritor of all that his father had promised him, and an equal partner in the family business. He and his father were one. Finally, to seal the deal, so to speak, the father would utter these now-familiar words, "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED." This pronouncement would let everyone know that the son had received his blessing and full endorsement."
"We would thrice underscore the fact that none of these events, Circumcision, Bar-Mitzvah, or Huiothesia, ever happened by accident, nor were they carried out in random fashion. Their timing was with purpose, and they were faithfully followed out according to their long-held traditions. No one was free to change them to suit their own personal whims or wishes, regardless of who they were. But why do we stress this? Because, as we said, these three experiences are amplified in the life of Christ, and are used for our understanding of God's enduring process. The first was when Jesus was eight days old, and was brought to the temple to be circumcised. The correlation here should be easy enough to recognize. The second was when He became separated from Mary and Joseph, and was found in the temple with the doctors of the Law. This was just prior to the time when He would have received His Bar-Mitzvah.
(In the event that we should miss this parallel, we are tipped off by Jesus' words, "Know ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" There should be no doubt what was in His mind, when He uttered these words.) The third, of course, is the Jordan experience, when Jesus turned thirty years of age. These three events hold within them a great deal of significance, not only in regard to the way in which we understand Jesus' spiritual progress from infancy to puberty to maturity (and the way in which He viewed it), but also regarding the way in which we understand our own."
"He was entirely preoccupied with growth and preparation for the day of His manifestation. Since being led of the Spirit is a leading indicator of one's maturity as a son (Rom. 8:14), it was undoubtedly an essential part of His personal training and development, and He gave Himself wholeheartedly to the cause."
"Because He was so thoroughly prepared for His calling, He carried out that calling with perfect ease, and provided an example for all who aspire to the high call of sonship."
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"Both Paul and John also spoke of sonship in the future tense (Rom. 8:19, 21; I Jn. 3:2)." (International Standard Encyclopedia)
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"Beloved, even a brief glimpse into this passage of scripture from Romans should reveal to us that the "adoption of sons" or the unveiling of the Son in fullness in a company of sons is something which yet lies ahead for the body of Christ. We, who have received a measure of the Spirit now wait...GROANINGLY WAIT! for our adoption as sons. We were foreordained unto adoption as sons, but the actual adoption is something for which we are now waiting. Thus, this "adoption" is not simply the matter of our coming into the family of God through regeneration of our spirit, but rather, it is something which is the end result of God's fiery dealings with us unto the full and complete surrender of our souls! There have been vast amounts of erroneous teaching about "adoption" in the body of Christ, and that mostly because men have looked at biblical adoption through the eyes of modern western culture. But beloved, the traditional Hebrew view of "the adoption of a son" has absolutely nothing to do with the placement of an orphan into a foster home, rather, it has to do with a young man coming into a place of maturity whereby the full authority and resources of his father are bestowed upon him."
"According to John’s Gospel, those who receive the Christ are given the power to become the children (teknon) of God, and that through the regeneration of their spirit. But what Paul then reveals in Romans is that from these children will come forth “mature sons;” the manifestation of which all of creation has been anxiously
awaiting."
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