Most believers who read the Bible are familiar with Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” This verse assures us believers that no matter what we surrender to sin we are still not in trouble. That alone is a tremendous relief for many of us. However, it does not give us license to do whatever we want to because habitual sin has grave consequences, as 1 John 3:8 puts it: “He who is habitually guilty of sin is a child of the Devil, because the Devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for the purpose of undoing the work of the Devil. (WNT)”
Here is another scripture that a lot of us believers have not come to fully grasp. Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” Do you realize that the Spirit is not confirming to you that you are God’s child or that you are saved; the Spirit is testifying with you that you are God’s child. Think of it this way: When you pray you are praying in stereo because as you pray, so is the Spirit in you is praying as well. And Romans 8:17 says: “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.“ Remarkable! We are heirs of God’s and with Christ we share in His glory. Downside is that since we share in His glory we also share in His suffering. Which means, being a believer is not for the faint of heart. It requires a genuine love of God and surrendering to His purposes where we are willing to preach the gospel regardless of consequence.
Now here comes the cake:
Heirs with Christ
Romans 8:12-17 “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are His children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
I emphasized some critical areas in these verses and the very last one is what I want to focus on. We are co-heirs or joint heirs with Christ. Did you get that? joint heirs, not: one-quarter, one-third, one-half, or three-quarters but full heirs with Christ. However, none of this is free, we as believers are still required to work out our salvation Philippians 2:12 (AMP), “So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].”
Ephesians 2:13 says, “In Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” God took us, poor orphans in this world, and made us a part of His family through faith in Jesus Christ. He has showered us with blessings and promised us an eternal inheritance, based on the worthiness of Christ Himself.”
A simple point now that reveals our identity in Christ and how this should influence our behavior. Knowing that we are God’s heirs, and joint heirs with Jesus and that we are no longer under condemnation we should begin to become increasingly like Jesus. We should no longer look down on anyone. We should love them because God loves us beyond our ability to comprehend. We should now give back to God our love and be forever thankful for what He sacrificed for all of us. We should finally realize that being a child of God requires us to be able say that you see us, you see Jesus. We should also finally understand that we are not alone, we have the Spirit with us and praying with us. We should also realize that our prayers should now be a little different; instead of self-focused, others focused. Finally, we should understand that being in God’s family brings all sorts of hardships, and we should understand that when people are hateful toward us, that it is Jesus they hate. That life is not about us.
Take away:
- We are no longer under condemnation because Jesus paid the price for us.
- We have the Holy Spirit testifying to God with us (not on our behalf) that we are His children.
- We are not to habitually sin.
- We received the spirit of sonship.
- We are God’s heirs.
- We are joint heirs with Christ.
- We have an eternal inheritance.
- We need to stop giving in to the desires of the flesh.
God Bless everyone
Mike Kovach
10 November 2021
The Christian Underground Journal
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