Sons And Heirs
It would be quite enough just to be blessed with inheriting God! But we inherit more! We inherit things here and now and things yet to come.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father .” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified
together.
We became a joint heir with Christ. We inherit what Jesus inherited! We get the same body He had in His resurrection. We are loved as He was loved by the Father!
Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent for the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
It is interesting to consider what we received when we became sons of God through faith in Christ. You see, we inherited something as sons. What did we inherit? God Himself!
Before knowing Christ by faith and being born again by the Spirit, we were estranged from God. We were His enemies. As soon as faith appeared in the heart to believe in Jesus and confess Him as our Lord, we became God’s very righteousness, and God became our Father.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Being absolutely convinced in faith of these truths produces a confidence that can withstand opposition, hardships, persecutions, false accusations, misunderstandings, and rejection by those of this world. It can withstand being rejected even by your own blood relations who oppose the truth.
That is what filling up the sufferings of Christ really is. It is what constitutes suffering with Christ. Christ did not suffer sickness, disease, starvation, and many of the other things so often labeled as the way of suffering. Jesus suffered ridicule, scorn, opposition, rejection, being misunderstood, falsely accused and opposition to all that He was seeking to offer so freely.
This world and all it has to offer pales in comparison to what is already yours through promise. By faith, you get to live according to such promises because many are available to manifest in your life, here and now. You also get to live as though the ones yet to come are already yours because faith is not in seeing in the natural so much as it is by seeing by the Spirit that which cannot be seen in the natural.
It will prove difficult to enjoy the promises as yours if you are unconvinced of being a son and an heir. Being convinced of such things requires faith—not faith in having earned it, but faith in Jesus.
All this is yours only by faith in Jesus and the finished work of the cross and His resurrection and ascension. The promise of the Holy Spirit is yours by faith alone, not by any merit to speak of. This is the New Covenant Jesus spoke of. A covenant whereby, with simple faith in Jesus, you are made a son and heir!
