How does God's predestination of believers relate to the tutored child in Roman adoption?
God predestinated believers to adoption by Jesus Christ, placing them immediately as joint heirs equal with Christ. In Roman adoption, a father tutored his son until he came of age, preparing him to stand alongside the father with full responsibility. Believers need no long preparation but are placed directly in that elevated position by grace.
Les explains that Roman and Greek adoption involved training the father's young son, probably in the attributes of his particular business, so that when he became of age he could come right up alongside the father and have full responsibility. Putting that into the believer's position, Les teaches that the moment we're saved we do not go through a whole long period of training and preparation. Instead, God immediately positions us equal with Christ the Son, a joint heir. This is all by the grace of God, who predestinated us to that glorious position of being right with Christ in the body, in Christ, and in that elevated position in the heavenlies. So He has predestinated us to that position of immediately being placed as the tutored child was with His Father, predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself.