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Put most simply, adoptionism is the theory that Jesus was in nature a man who became God by adoption. Most identiy this event with his baptism. The Ebionites were the earliest to teach "adoptionism" concerning the nature of Jesus.
The earliest extant work which expresses this position is the Shepherd of Hermas, thought to be written by the brother of the bishop of Rome about A D 150. It taught that the Redeemer was a virtuous man chosen by God, and with him the Spirit of God was united. He did the work to which God had called him; in fact, he did more than was commanded. Therefore he was by divine decree adopted as a son and exalted to great power and lordship. This book was consistently considered "scripture" by the earliest church writers and finds its way into the earliest "canon" lists of the Early Church Fathers. Later it will be removed and we no longer have it in our New Testament for obvious reasons.
Adherents of this Christology who were declared heretics in the third century asserted it had at one time been the dominant view in Rome and that it had been handed down by the apostles. This view was perpetuated in the second and third century church by the dynamistic monarchians, who taught that Christ was a mere man on whom the power of God came and who was then adopted or constituted the Son of God. A leader in that general movement was Theodotus, who came to Rome from Byzantium about 190. He taught that Jesus was a man who was born of a virgin through the operation of the Holy Spirit. After the piety of his life had been tested, the Holy Spirit descended on him at the baptism. By this means he became Christ and received the power for his special ministry. But he was still not fully God; that was achieved through resurrection. Theodotus was excommunicated by the Roman Church, and the effort of his followers to found a separate church early in the third century had little success.
Adoptionism was an attempt to explain the divine and human natures in Christ and their relation to each other. And as the great Christological debates raged during the fourth and fifth centuries, there were always a few who could be accused of taking this position. It did not flare again extensively, however, until the latter part of the eighth century, when it produced a commotion in the Spanish and Frankish churches. Elipandus, bishop of Toledo from c. 780, in his writings on the Trinity expressed the view that Christ was an adopted son; Felix, bishop of Urgel in the Pyrenees, taught a similar position soon thereafter. Numerous local churchmen opposed them; and their teachings were condemned by three synods under Charlemagne, who assumed the position of ruler of the church in his realm and who was concerned with its unity. Pope Adrian I also became involved, and the recantation of both men was obtained. They had a numerous following, however, and extensive efforts were required to bring these people back into the fold. The effects of the controversy lasted for decades in Toledo. Possibly remnants of the old Arian heresy contributed to the popularity of adoptionism at this time. A sound refutation of adoptionism was never made, and leanings in that direction appeared in some scholastic writings during the late Middle Ages.
H F Vos Bibliography. A Harnack, History of Dogma.