A Historical Reading from the Universal Fatherhood of God to the Doctrine of Adoption
What was at the heart of Jesus’ message? In what kind of relationship does a human being stand before God? The answer to this question shapes the very foundation of Christian theology.
In my reading, Jesus’ primary emphasis is the universal fatherhood of God and His unconditional love for all human beings. However, in certain New Testament writings and in the subsequent theological tradition of the Church, this message was later interpreted within new conceptual frameworks. As a result, a theological vocabulary emerged that differs in emphasis from the original proclamation of Jesus.
The God of Jesus is the Father of All
Jesus begins the prayer he taught his disciples with the words “Our Father.” God is presented not merely as a sovereign ruler or a judicial authority, but as a Father.
In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says:
“Your Father causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Here, God’s love transcends all religious and moral boundaries. Divine mercy is extended equally to all.
What Does the Parable of the Prodigal Son Teach?
The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is one of the most significant passages on this theme.
The son departed, sinned, and distanced himself from his father. Yet the father never ceased to regard him as his son.
When the son returned, the father did not declare, “From now on you are my son.”
Instead, he welcomed him with the recognition that he had always been his son.
From this perspective, repentance does not create a new status as a child of God; rather, it represents the rediscovery and restoration of a relationship that has always existed.
The Message of Jesus and the Language of Paul
In the letters of Paul, the concept of “adoption” becomes prominent.
Paul’s historical mission was distinct. He sought to explain how Jews and Gentiles could be incorporated into a single people of God.
Within that framework, he employed the Roman legal metaphor of “adoption.”
This terminology is not the language of Jesus’ parables; rather, it reflects a theological framework developed in the early Church to articulate its experience.
The New Emphasis in the Gospel of John
John states:
“To all who received him, he gave the power to become children of God.”
This verse is often interpreted as indicating that a person becomes a child of God through faith.
However, it may also be understood differently.
In this reading, “becoming children of God” does not signify a change into a new biological or ontological condition; rather, it refers to the conscious recognition and acceptance of an existing relationship with God.
From the Message of Jesus to the Theology of the Church
From a historical perspective, the message of Jesus was primarily an experiential reality.
Later, the Church employed the language of Jewish covenant theology and Roman legal concepts to interpret and systematize that experience.
In this process, the experiential language of the “fatherhood of God” gradually gave way to the more formal theological language of “adoption.”
Some regard this as a natural and necessary development in the history of Christian doctrine.
Others, however, raise the question:
Did this development obscure the original emphasis of Jesus?
The Need for Re-reading
At the center of Jesus’ message is not the incorporation of individuals into a new religious system, but their return to their true Father.
God is not a Father who loves only some; He is a Father who loves all equally.
The goal of the human spiritual journey is not to become a child of God, but to recognize and live in the reality that one is already a child of God.
Not everyone will accept this interpretation. However, I present it as an invitation to distinguish between the historical message of Jesus and the later theological development within Christianity.
I believe that continued dialogue on this subject will contribute to a deeper understanding of Jesus.
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