⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn^[a] among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,^[a] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.^{[a] 6} And because we^[b] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”^[c]

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.