Title: Romans 08:17 Heirs with Christ
Contents
Heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)
The whole theme of Romans 8 is to show the privilege and power that Christians enjoy as children of God. The apostle emphasized that the Holy Spirit Himself seals that we are children of God, and now for that reason, he wants to testify that the Holy Spirit is also the guarantor of the inheritance.
According to Jewish law at the time, the firstborn was to receive twice as much inheritance as other children, but in Roman law, all children had equal rights as heirs. The epistle to the Romans is a letter to the Church of Rome, and based on the inheritance law of the Romans, it teaches that all Christians are equally heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
If you are a child of God, glory awaits you. But if you don't have children, it doesn't come. The status of a Christian is the status of a child of God. Since this is an exhortation and a right, a glorious and thrilling fact, it is most important to always think and recognize (John 1:12-13). Christians are not the only ones who have been forgiven of their sins. They have been adopted into the family of God, have become partakers of the divine nature, and have been newly created to be conformed to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29).
"Heir" means that there is an inheritance waiting for all Christians. And you should know that these lessons and truths are very important and practical in the Christian life, as they are the great themes in the Bible. At that time, the Roman Church was in great suffering, and the apostle who comforted them through the letter clearly conveys that there is an inheritance waiting for them.
The gospel does not promise to solve life's problems and to live happily in this world. Rather, it says, "...in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). This is the promise and the enterprise. And the company is emphasizing that it is absolutely certain.
The promises of the Bible are God's promises and are oaths made in the name of Jehovah (YHWH), so they are sure and unchanging.
Although the promise of Genesis 3:15 seemed vague and impossible at the time, the promise of God did exist, and it was revealed in Seth's birth - Noah - Sam, and more clearly in Abraham.
God's covenant was to make Abraham the source (beginning) of blessing (salvation) and to complete ultimate salvation in his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3), and it was also revealed as a promise. Even though various circumstances went badly, the promise existed, and his descendants lived a separate life as heirs of God's promise. It was because of God's promise of the Messiah and the inheritance they had in him that they did not become discouraged in spite of difficulties.
In the old days (Old Testament), God's promises were given only to Abraham and his descendants, and the others were foreigners. "At that time you followed the customs of this world, and followed the prince of the power of the air... By nature you were children of wrath (Ephesians 2:2-3)." aliens to the covenants of God, and without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12) - "Now in Christ Jesus you have been drawn near by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace. He broke down the wall in the middle of Mandah (Ephesians 2:13-14).
“And the Bible, knowing in advance that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached the gospel to Abraham, saying, “In you all Gentiles will be blessed” (Galatians 3:8). and that we may receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).
This is the pulse and central message that penetrates the Bible, and as the mystery of God (Ephesians 3:2), Gentiles in Christ become Abraham's descendants and heirs according to the promise. will become a doer.
All our ancestors of faith who received this God's promise lived by faith and died in faith - Not seeing the fulfillment of the promise (looking from afar - Satisfied as a stranger in the world) - Moses (To suffer with God's people for a while, the pleasures of sin They preferred to enjoy the riches and humiliated them for the sake of Christ as greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt), David, Samuel... It was God's promise to the inheritance that sustained them. I used it as my strength and looked forward to it, so I was able to live in the world, but I did not belong to the world and lived as a stranger in the world (see Hebrews 11).
The content of the apostle's prayer to the church in Ephesus is, "...I pray that you may open your hearts and eyes so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints... (Ephesians 1) :17-19)" (see Colossians 1:12, Hebrews 1:13, 1 John 3:2-3).
Therefore, we who belong to Christ should know our identity and status so that we can rejoice in the fact that we are children of God in our daily lives. And if you are a child, you must know right away that an heir or an enterprise awaits you, fix your heart there, and look forward to it. This was the path of faith that the patriarchs of faith walked.
However, the Apostle struggles to define the inheritance of children in a twofold way in the text. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ...
(1) Heirs of God. Since God is not a creature, he does not change, and the promises he made with his oath are also unchanging (Hebrews 6:16-18). The children of God are permitted to enjoy God on this earth and to know the hidden secrets and knowledge as those who have been sealed so that they can have certainty until the day of redemption. Therefore, nothing within us as well as what is outside of us can take away the promised inheritance or prevent it from reaching it.
(2) Participation in the right to be the heir with Christ, the firstborn (firstborn). We are with Christ because we are united to and in Him (death together, burial together, living together, not on the throne). Furthermore, he has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and he is the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2), sharing in his authority and glory.
Not only that, but because of the glory to be received with him, it also reveals the fact that he also shared in the sufferings that he suffered with him (Philippians 1:29). At that time, the church, which was a part of the Lord, was surrounded by desperate situations such as many difficulties, hardships and trials, so the problem of suffering was a very urgent problem. Also, there was delusion. So, "If I'm really a Christian, why do these things have to happen to me?" There were even complaints and doubts. (Understanding the purpose of the record of Revelation)
Because children of God are joint heirs with Christ, they participate in all things that belong to him. Therefore, suffering in the name of Christ is suffering as his body and suffering as a servant to his master. The suffering he suffered with him is truly mysterious and mysterious. Because of our relationship with Christ, Christian suffering is inevitable, and suffering and glory coexist. Therefore, suffering and trials do not stumble and discourage Christians. Suffering serves to confirm that Christians do not belong to the world, but to Christ and are children of God. The trial of faith allows the saints to endure, so that they can joyfully participate in Christ's work of redemption, and God does the work of refining it as if it were refining gold (1 Peter 1:6-7, Hebrews 12).
Because God uses suffering as a means to prepare for the glory that awaits His heirs, the Christian who knows that suffering with Christ is part of the inheritance with Christ asks, "Why do I suffer like this?" Don't say "nothing's going right" and don't complain. The riches of the life of Christ can only be received in Christ, and can be tasted and enjoyed in the sufferings we suffer with Christ.