Romans 8:16-17:
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Let us begin by asking the following questions: What is it to be an Heir of God? What does it mean to be a Joint-Heir with Christ? The term heir is synonymous with the word inheritor. This is normally understood as a parent (or loved one) dying; and leaving something behind in their will to be passed on to a child (relative or some other descendant). However, in regards to the Christian Faith, many will automatically think of two things, one of them being completely carnal, while the other would be a religious attempt at spirituality.
(Carnal): Blessings of The Lord: I am a King’s kid; the cattle on a thousand hills belong to my Father. I have dominion now.
● When we hear someone using terms such as blessed or favored of God they are normally referring to natural provisions, wherein they’ve either received something materialistic or some form of preferential treatment. These things are pointed to, in an attempt, to describe the provisions of the Father for us as His children. This is what a great deal of carnal minded Christians believe inheritance is: the receiving of natural provisions that will make life easier.
● Yet ask yourself: How could this be the inheritance specifically given to the sons, if God rains on the just as well as the unjust (Matthew 5:45)?
(Religious): Sealed to the day of redemption; None can pluck me out of His hand. The gift of God is without repentance.
● When most believers attempt to take the spiritual route in answering this question they will point to us leaving this world and going to heaven after death. Normally the key focus is on escaping hell and living forever in whatever pleasures they have imagined heaven to be.
● These people use the blood of Jesus as some kind of covering that ignores and permits a sinful lifestyle. They refer to the fact that the gifts of God are without repentance, they are concluding that they could never become a castaway due to sin. HEIRS OF GOD To be an heir of God is to receive of God. It is to receive that which only God can give. It is true we received the Spirit of God after the atonement or the sacrifice of Christ. However, this simply makes Jesus the channel or door through which the Spirit came. It was given to as many as believed on the Son, but the Spirit itself belonged to God. Thus, the heirs of God receive those things that are of God alone. Here we must go beyond the rhetoric and seek out the true mind of God regarding His relationship with the Church. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:16-17).
Here, the first question is answered; by the receiving of the Holy Spirit, we have become the children of God. Now the truth is that we received this inheritance of the Spirit through Jesus Christ. In fact, all that we obtain from God must come through Jesus, the Christ.
Ephesians 1:17-18
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Paul points to us knowing what are the riches of the glory of our inheritance from God. I dare say, it is time for the church to explore the power of our inheritance from God, which came to us by Jesus Christ. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians 3:12).
THE ATONEMENT
Romans 5:11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Our sins have been paid for. The work is done, and the price is paid. We are free from the penalty of the law. Jesus’ death made us free from the terror of the law.
JUSTIFICATION
Romans 3:24
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
I really want to make mention of this aspect of our inheritance. We have been given justification by God because of the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we have been made free from sin, but justification gave us a right to live. This is powerful. We have a right to live forever. Through the sufferings of Christ, God has given us the right to eternal life.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The above scripture teaches that Jesus was made sin. This simply refers to the fact that He took on the sins of the world. However, the death He faced was for a purpose; which was that we would be made the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God therefore is not a list of do’s and don’ts, but speaks to a physical and spiritual transformation. The soul has been both physically and spiritually transformed, thus creating a new creature.
THE PRIESTHOOD
1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Hebrews 7:25-26
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
We have also inherited the priesthood. Through Christ we have true access to God. We are all seated with Christ in heavenly places. This allows us to be the only creatures in existence to be able to intercede for another. For such an high priest became us, meaning that we have become the same high priest that Jesus is. Therefore, by and through Jesus we are holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and higher than the heavens (seated with Christ in heavenly places). As the royal priesthood, we can do service unto the Lord by the Spirit. We can freely offer sacrifices of praise, prayer/intercession and even our bodies a living sacrifice, and He will not deny us.
THE NAME OF JESUS
2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
We have inherited a name that is above all other names.
Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Acts 4:30
By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Acts 16:18
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
As sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, we have inherited the power in the name of Jesus. In all we do, in word and in deed, we are to do it all in the name of Jesus. It is the power of God manifested in the earth. SONSHIP For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).
The Spirit of Adoption is the Holy Ghost, it is the Spirit of God, the Father. He is the only one who can give His Spirit to another. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:16-17). We know that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith and is our prototype for being sons. Therefore, we will look to Him. God has declared us to be joint-heirs with Christ. This means Jesus will receive an inheritance of the Father; and the Father has ordained that He share the spoils with us.
It is exciting to consider the things God has freely given us through Christ Jesus. So, let us first discover exactly what are the things Jesus has inherited from the Father.
Hebrews 1:1-5
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
The passage of Scripture goes to the bottom line as it states that Jesus is the heir of all things. Then the writer goes on to inform us that it was by Jesus that God made the worlds. Notice he did not say world, but worlds; implying that there are other planets or heavenly bodies other than the one we inhabit. He could also be speaking of the natural and spiritual worlds. Whatever the implication, we know Jesus Christ will inherit all things, including the worlds. In other words, Jesus is the heir of all that the Father has created through Him.
Colossians 1:16-17
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist
As we follow the route of the Scripture we see the book of Hebrews details that by inheritance Christ received a name that is more excellent than the angels. The place where most people would immediately go is His name Jesus:
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
However, the fifth verse anchors our context here as it says: unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son… allowing us to understand the name of honor being referenced here is ‘Son of God.’ The honor of the title ‘Son’ has not been properly understood by the Church because of the influence of the world and the mixing of manna: the world has cheapened the meaning by declaring every man on earth is the child of God. Yet, the Scriptures do not support this statement; revealing that Jesus came into this world as the Only Begotten Son (John 1:18).
Therefore, we can identify that Heaven and our Father do not use this term of honor loosely. God has never referred to an angel as a begotten son. When trying to consider the awesomeness and honor of this title called Sons, consider the Scriptures of Jesus’s encounters with religious leaders as He proclaimed that God was not simply His creator, but much rather His Father. These Scriptures may aid us in our route to truly understanding what Jesus was the heir of.
John 5:17-18
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John 10:30-33
30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
The religious leaders of the Jews found it blasphemous for Jesus to call Himself the Son of God; because they understood the law of the seed. They understood that if God has a son then God has brought forth something that is equal to Himself. It is not hard to understand how this is seen as blasphemous. Our God is so holy that even the angels marvel at His holiness. They bow and worship before the presence of His glory. If God possesses a holiness that causes the angels of Heaven to stand in awe of Him, who is worthy to be a part of an honor that distinguishes God from everything He created, be it in heaven or in earth. The religious leaders of the Jews believed Jesus was making Himself the Son of God by taking this honor unto Himself. However, we know the Scriptures reveal that Christ …thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (Philippians 2:6).
Merriam Webster defines robbery as the act or practice of taking something unlawfully. This puts the mind of Christ and the minds of these Jewish leaders on opposite ends of the spectrum. Jesus saw being equal with His Father as His lawful right. Let us be careful to understand that Jesus is not operating in pride here, neither is He exalting Himself. On the contrary, Jesus is thinking of Himself very soberly… He is seeing Himself as the Father has declared Him. If we continue in the 5th chapter of John we will see Jesus explain that He has not taken this unto Himself, but rather the Father has declared Him to be who and what He is.
John 5:30-32, 37-39
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true …
37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
What was the big deal about God calling Jesus His Son? Once again, we must remember that this term Son is fully loaded, it means much more than related to.
Hebrews 1:6-8
6 And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
God has appointed all who worship Him to worship His Son. Furthermore the 8th verse says that the Father is speaking to Jesus: unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God: The Father identifies Jesus as God. Although this may seem alarming to us, this sticks to the testimony that the Father declared concerning His Son through the prophets:
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace
We are now able to see the honor that is bestowed upon Jesus: Jesus has received the honor of being everything that His Father is. He is one with God, and therefore created in the very righteousness of God. This title, Son, indeed separates Jesus from all creation (visible and invisible), it makes Him unlike any other thing that God created: Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. But the question arises, “Is Jesus alone in this honor that the Father has bestowed upon Him by calling Him a Son?”
1 John 3:1-2
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
We are able as Sons to take solace in the fact that our Father does not lie. God does not say things just to flatter us. He wouldn’t have declared that we are His Sons if it were not true. We must believe on this as the Scriptures have revealed it, taking on this Word literally: we are the Heirs of God. We have been honored with a title that the Father has never conferred on the angels. This title is proclaiming equality in the divine nature of God. We can see our inheritance as we consider the type provided for us in the schoolmaster, as God gives Israel their inheritance of the Promise Land, He deals with His Priesthood differently.
Numbers 18:20
And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
The inheritance given to the Levitical Priesthood was God: He gave them of Himself. Nevertheless, let us keep in mind that the shadow reveals types and patterns but is never the fullness of the thing that it is patterned after (Hebrews 10:1).
Therefore, when we speak of God as our inheritance we are speaking of the fullness of it: we have literally received Him and are now made one with Him. It is literally the excellency of His power that is now working in us (2 Corinthians 4:7).
The excellency of this power supersedes the ability to do exploits or the working of ministry, this is a testament of His holy character. We can be blameless in love even as our Father. Therefore, the Father can mandate for us to be perfect in love as He is, because we have inherited His love: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:26). This Scripture reveals the inheritance. The Sons are not just asked to live out deeds that reflect what God would do, the Sons have the same love as the Father. This equality between God and His Sons cannot be comprehended by carnal minded men. Just as they were not able to discern Christ they are not able to discern the Sons of God (John 1:4-5).
We must be sure to look to Jesus to embrace that we are the heirs of God. We have received from our Father the thing which distinguishes us above all His creation, Sonship. JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST To be a joint-heir with Christ, is to be a partaker of all that God has given to Jesus. Christ received the Spirit without measure.
John 3:34
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. We received the Spirit with measure.
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Even as God spoke to Moses saying, he would take of his (Moses) spirit and put it on the seventy chosen to serve with him as the children of Israel roamed the desert; so has He taken of the Spirit of Christ and given each of us a measure. The difference here is that the spirit of Moses was upon the men working with Hur; but the Spirit of Christ lives within us. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16). We shall reign with Christ.
Revelation 5:10
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Revelation 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 22:5
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
All the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ have been bestowed upon us. We are joint-heirs of the reward of our Savior. This is by ordination. The Father has declared it. Blessed be the Name of our God.
