The last place where St. Paul uses the term adoption is Eph 1', where he says that God eternally foreordained believers unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself. This refers to the eternal purpose, in accordance with which God does all His works in time, and corre- sponds to what he had said in Ro 8^, that ' whom He foreknew He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first- bom among many brethren.' The conformity liere mentioned probably includes moral likeness ; but the ultimate end is stated to be that there might be many brethren of Christ, among whom He is the firstborn. Our Lord, according to St. Paul, is, in a peculiar sense, God's Son, His own proper Son, begotten before all creation (Col 1"), and the grace of adoption makes believers truly His brethren and joint-heirs with Him, though He has ever and in all things the pre-eminence as Son of God from eternity, by nature and not merely by grace.
For a fuller account of the Biblical doctrine of Divine Sonship, see God, Sons of ; Children of.
LrrsRATims. — Comm. on tbe Pauline Epp. by Calvin, Meyer, Alford, Ellicott, Lightfoot, Sanday-Headlam ; works on NT Theology by Schmid, Weiss, Beyechlaff, Bovon ; studied in Pauline Theolog)- by Pfleiderer, Sabatier, Bruce. (See Lit. under God, Sons op ; CniLDasH op.)
J. S. Candlish. ADORA CAJupd) in Idnmaea {Ant. XIII. ix. 1), noticed in I Mac 13*". The same as Adoraim.
ADORAIM (d:i\-i!<), 2 Ch 11'.— A city of Judah fortified by Rehoboam on the S.W. of his mountain kingdom, now Dtlra, at the edge of the moun- tains W. of Hebron— a small village. SWP vol. iii. sheet xiL C. K. Condeb.
ADORAM.— See Adonikam.
ADORATION.— Under this term may be con- veniently considered certain phases or worship. The word itself does not occur either in AV or Rv, but both the disposition of mind and heart, and
the outward expressions of that disposition, which are alike denoted by it, receive abundant illus- tration. From one of the actions expressive of A., — namely, lifting the hand to tlie mouth, either in order to indicate that the worshipper was dumb in the sacred presence, or, more commonly, to kiss it and then wave it towards the statue of the god, — the term itself is often supposed to be derived (admoventes oribus suis dexteram, Apul. Met. iv. 28 ; cf. Pliny, NH xxviii. 5 ; Min. Felbc, Oct. ii.). This practice of kissing the hand, accompanied by certain other gestures, was, among the Romans, the special meaning of adoratio as distinguished from oratio or prayer. It was, in antiquity, expressive of the deepest respect, and is alluded to in Job 31", possibly also in 1 K 19'», Ps 2'^ Hos 13». Adorare is however a compound verb, meaning, first, ' to address,' then, ' to entreat, to supplicate,' and, finally, ' to worship.' That A. should embrace at once a range of feelings and a series of acts is explained by a very simple consideration. The most profound and most mtense feelings are just those which act or gesture expresses better than words. It is only, therefore, to a limited extent that A. finds expression In language, and then only in lan^juage of the most general and least objective kind. A. is, in the first place, the attitude of the soul which is called forth by the loftiest thoughts and realisations of God. Before His perfections the soul abases itself ; it seeks to get beyond earth and earthly things and to enter into His nearer presence. A. belongs thus to the mystical side of religion ; it includes the awe and reverence with which the soul feels itself on holy ground. Its appropriate expressions are therefore those which convey the feeling most adequately, even though when tried by any objective standard they might be pronounced meaningless. We dis- tinguish generally between A. and those parts of Prayer and Worship which are directed towards a special end, — from confession, supplication, thanks- giving. Hymns and Prayers of A. set forth the majesty, purity, and holiness of God, His ineflable perfections, and the soul's loving contemplation of them. The adoring heart is ' lost in wonder, love, and praise.' In the Psalms, nature in all its departments is repeatedly called upon to praise and glorify God. St. Paul, caught up even to the third heaven, knowing not wliether he was in th« body or apart from the body, and hearing un- speakable words, is an example of that self- abandonment of devotion which is implied in the highest form of A. Possibly a similar meaning attaches to the statement of St. John, that he was ' in the spirit ' on the Lord's day. Not only are angels called upon to bless the Lord, but A. is represented as the essence of the heavenly life. In Is 6 a scene of heavenly A. is depicted ; and similar scenes are set forth in the Bk of Rev (4»-ii 58-1* 711-ia). X. is here distinguished from service, as something even more truly funda- mental, even that from which the only acceptable service springs.
God is the only legitimate object of A., since in Him only perfection dwells, and He only must be the supreme object of love and reverence. His worship must be spiritual (Jn 4^), and such wor- ship accorded to any other is uniformly branded as idolatry. Christ is adored because ' God was in Him ' (2 Co 5'^), and because God ' hath highly exalted Him, and is Himself glorified when the confession is made that 'Christ is Lord' (Ph 2»-").