Heirs
My wife, Stacy, grew up on a farm in rural West Virginia, and over the years I’ve had the opportunity to walk the property with my father-in-law many times. In the past, we’ve checked on our tree stands for hunting season, planted Christmas trees, and gone fishing at the pond.
He often tells me stories about the big buck that was harvested “near the white oak over there” or how the remains of an old, demolished house across the road “used to be where the Hills lived.” I get to hear the history of the family living on the farm for nearly 40 years.
The truth is that these stories are often told more than once, and one of the stories that my father-in-law likes to tell is the time that Stacy came up to him while she was still in school and asked, “Dad, how much land do you own?”
I’m not sure if my father-in-law has ever gotten to the bottom of why Stacy asked the question, and I’m certain she doesn’t even remember asking it. But he remarks every time he tells the story that he finds the question odd. When telling the story, he always accentuates the “you” in her question with a flabbergasted look on his face. He points out that she didn’t ask, “How much land do we own?” To this day, it absolutely floors him that she didn’t recognize that it is the whole family’s farm. As one of his heirs, all that belongs to him also belongs to her.
I believe we often miss this truth as it relates to our position in Jesus Christ. As a result, we miss out on the magnificence of all that is ours in Him.
I’ve often thought that one of the saddest verses in the Bible is found right at the end of the Parable of the Prodigal Son where the father says to his eldest son “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31). His son couldn’t appreciate what he already had as an heir to his father’s estate because he was bothered by the lavish love, grace, forgiveness, and restoration shown toward his younger brother.
Do you fully appreciate your inheritance in Christ and all that is yours as heirs?
We read in Romans 8:16-18: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is revealed to us.”
We could easily focus on the reality of the “sufferings of this present time.” They are real and felt in many ways. This passage implies that they are a part of life for disciples of Jesus Christ. But the passage goes on to teach that they “are not worth comparing with the glory that is revealed to us.” So, let’s focus our attention on the glory that’s revealed to us.
What’s Paul getting at? Well, when Romans 8 is read in context to the entire epistle, and more specifically in context to chapters 5-8, we find many blessings that we have as heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ. For example, we now have…
Peace with God (Romans 5:1)
Access to His grace all the time (Romans 5:2a)
Hope for the future (Romans 5:2b)
Purpose in trials (Romans 5:3-4)
His love through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)
Confidence in our salvation (Romans 5:6-11)
Newness of life (Romans 6:4)
Freedom from slavery to sin (Romans 6:6-7, 22)
Freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1)
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in its various forms (Romans 8:12ff)
Ultimate triumph through Him who loves us (Romans 8:31-39)
And much, much more!
This list shows that our inheritance in Christ is one blessing after another! Then there’s the glory that’s revealed to us and the promise that we, too, will be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17-18).
According to systematic theologian, Millard J. Erickson, the word “glory” in the Bible conveys the ideas of splendor, wealth, pomp, beauty, brightness, and fame. Psalm 24:7-10 speaks of God as the King of glory, and Erickson notes that when used with respect to God, it doesn’t point to one particular attribute, but to the greatness of his entire nature (Christian Theology, Second Edition, p. 1008).
This glory was given by God the Father to God the Son at Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. It will also accompany Jesus at His second coming. And, in Christ, it’s also part of our inheritance. There is an “already” and “not yet” component to this for us. John 17:22 reads that we believers have already been given God’s glory. We could say that because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in us, we are already God’s “glory containers.” And yet, we also await a time when we will experience perfection in every way. Death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54). Jesus will “transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21; see also 1 Corinthians 15:38-58) and we will go from knowing in part to knowing fully because we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12). Then “we will be like [Jesus] because we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:2; emphasis mine).
All of this is ours as heirs to the King of glory. Let’s not fall into the same trap as the eldest son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Hear what your Father in heaven says: “You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” What a glorious inheritance awaits us!