Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Rom 8:17).

Besides to receive blessings from God, there is something mandatory in the life of a person who desires to be an heir of God. That is, to share in the sufferings of Christ. To these sufferings, those that Jesus has redeemed us from—sickness, poverty, and other kinds of curses that resulted from sin—do not belong. Jesus bore our sickness, became poor, and was cursed on the tree, so that we are now healthy, rich and free from all curses. If Jesus suffered to redeem us from such sufferings, why do we still need to share in the same sufferings with him? So, we need to know what the Bible means by “we share in his sufferings,” and what kind of sufferings we need to share with him.

To this question, the parables of Luke 16 (the parable of the shrewd manager, and that of a rich man and Lazarus) give an answer. It is important to know that the context in which these parables are given continues from the previous chapter. The following words at the beginning of chapter 15 set the context for all these stories:

Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them (Luke 15:1-2)."

This was the occasion that prompted Jesus to give these parables—the parables of the lost sheep and the lost Coin, that of two sons (the lost son), and those in chapter 16 as well.

Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions (16:1).

The fact that the parable of the shrewd manager was addressed to the disciples gives us a big clue. It was about what was to be required of the disciples, those who believed in Jesus, and desired to follow him. Pay attention to the following words spoken at the end of the previous parable.

“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours (Luke 15:31).”

Needless to say, these words could be easily misunderstood by the hearers/readers, and in order to avoid the danger of this misunderstanding, the parable of the shrewd manager was given to the disciples.

It is often said that the parable is one of the most difficult ones to interpret in the gospels. Even for scholars of the New Testament, this parable has been sort of a mystery. Most of us get stuck in v. 8.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light (v. 8).

Obviously, the difficulty is an ethical one, and lies in the fact that the master commended the dishonest manager. And the difficulty even intensifies when Jesus begins to apply his point to the disciples:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, … And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own (vv. 9-12)?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you (1 Pet 1:3-4), …

“An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” is what we inherit as heirs of God, which is, indeed, different from what people usually seek in this world—food, clothes, and other things that perish, spoil and fade. Jesus said:

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:32-33).

“All these things” are what pagans seek, but we as children of God know that our Father knows we need them and makes certain that we have them. And if we know that all these things are given to us, the only things we should seek now are “his kingdom and his righteousness.” The parallel passage in Luke says:

But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:31-32).

If we can see that our Father is pleased to give us what we need, we can surely see that he is even more pleased to give us his kingdom. In fact, God’s kingdom is the inheritance he gives to his children, and is something that is the most valuable of all we can seek. That is why Jesus told us to seek it “first”—more than anything.

Note that God’s kingdom is mentioned also in the Lord’s Prayer:

When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come (Luke 11:2). …

It is important to know that this kingdom is not the heaven that Christians will enter after they leave this world. Note that Jesus told his disciples to pray, “your kingdom come.” That means that they were to pray that it would “come” to where they were—the earth. Matthew in his version of the Lord’s Prayer says:

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:9-10). …

God’s kingdom is the place where his will is done. Therefore, to pray that his will be done on earth is the same as to pray that his kingdom come to the earth.

In Luke 11, Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Prayer is followed by the parable of the one who asks his friend to give three loaves of bread, and that of a son asking his father to give a fish or an egg. These stories including the teaching on the Lord’s Prayer should be treated as one passage under the motif of prayer, and Jesus’ conclusion is:

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13)!

Note that the passage starts with a command to pray for God’s kingdom to come, and ends with the promise of the Father to give the Holy Spirit.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:29).

We the heirs of God live according to the promise. The promise is that God will bless us by giving us everything we need, and bless this world through us as a blessing. It was God himself who promised Abraham to give him a child and make him into a great nation so that through him all peoples on earth would be blessed. God wills, and is determined to do what he wills. That is what God’s promise means. He does not need our help. He does it for us. That is called God’s grace. Heirs of God live by God’s grace—the system in which his kingdom exists and all his blessings flow.

Yet, the world into which sin came is running according to a system that is different from that of God’s grace. The people who live there are the children born by the flesh like Ishmael, not the children born by promise like Isaac. The members of this kingdom are all involved in running a race against each other. Everybody tries to win by wanting to be the first, not the last, and nobody questions the validity of this system—the system of works: the more you work, the more you get.

The parable of the denarius workers begins this way:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard (Matt 20:1-2).

As in many of Jesus’ parables, there is nothing unusual about the story at the beginning: it is very normal—ssomething of an everyday affair.

About the third hour (9 AM) he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour (12 PM) and the ninth hour (3 PM) and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour (5 PM) he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?" “Because no one has hired us,” they answered. He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard (vv. 3-7).”

Still, there is not anything so unusual. Note, however, that the amount of pay the owner promises to give these workers hired in later time is not specified. This becomes an important issue later in the story. What is also significant is the fact that the owner cares about these people “doing nothing,” which is a little unusual for such a landowner who is usually only concerned about the work to be done in his vineyard. Who are the people “doing nothing,” and who is the landowner who finds them and hires them? Then, comes a big surprise:

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.” The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour (5 PM) came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius (vv. 8-10).

What is the point of this surprise? Look at the conclusion:

So the last will be first, and the first will be last (v. 16).

Interestingly, this parable is preceded by the story of the rich young man (19:16-30), which ends with the similar conclusion:

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first (19:30).

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (Rom 4:13).

Human beings were created as God’s children, and they were to rule over the world as heirs of the world living under God’s grace. Note that they were created at the end of the sixth day of creation.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Gen 1:28).”

They were created into the world where everything had been prepared and complete, and God already blessed them before they began to do anything yet—any work, labor or effort. We were created into God’s blessings and grace. This is a big truth for us.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day (v. 31).

Nothing in this passage suggests that humans had to work for their own needs. In fact, as you go on, you find the following passage:

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (2:1-3).

They were created at the end of the sixth day, and when the evening came, it was “the seventh day”—the Sabbath. They were not allowed to work because it was holy. God blessed that day, and they were to praise and worship him. And nothing in the subsequent passages hints the arrival of the eighth day. So, we are still on the seventh day.

All blessings are gifts from God. They do not depend upon us—our qualifications, works and efforts. They are not wages. Wages depend upon our work, and are given in proportion to the amount of work we do. Our world is built upon the system of wages. Thus, those who are qualified and do more work earn higher wages than those who are less qualified and do less work. In this system, it is very natural for those who earn more to boast about their abilities and wealth.

Yet, God’s gift—the eternal life—cannot be given to us according to our work as if it were given as our wages. This is exactly the reason why Jesus said, “it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Mat 19:23).” And along this line, the parable of the denarius workers in Matt 20 teaches us a very important truth we all miss.

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.” The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius (Matt 20:8-10).

This is not a mistake, and is a big surprise to us! Note following words of the owner:

But he answered one of them, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous (vv. 13-15)?”

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:29).　

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise (4:28).

If you are in Christ, you are a child of God and an heir according to God’s promise. These two scriptures teach us that by promise we have become heirs of God, and by promise we live as children of God. God’s word promises about the rights and privileges given to the children of God. In order to enjoy these rights and privileges in your life, you will need to live by believing and trusting what God promises in his word.

The opposite of to live by promise is to live by the works of the law.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law (literally, without works of the law) (Rom 3:28).

The law is the standard set to show how righteous people should live on earth, and everything the law says is good. But when you try to keep it thinking you can, you will find yourself not keeping it. It is the pitfall that Adam and Eve fell into by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humans were created to live by God’s grace, not by their works. The law is good, but the human effort to keep it works against God’s grace.

It is through Jesus that we have become heirs of God. The heirs of God rule over the world spiritually as God created man originally in his image and let him rule over the word.

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (Rom 4:13).

The “righteousness that comes by faith” refers to the kind of righteousness that was credited to Abraham when he counted the stars in Gen 15. He became an heir of God through this righteousness. It was before the law was given through Moses, and even before he was circumcised. It figuratively points to the fact that we, without keeping the law—by his grace, have become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.

God made him who had no sin to be sin [21] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

It was not by our effort that we have become “the righteousness of God.” No man has become man by working hard to be man. If you, having been born to be man, are still trying to be man, you are crazy. If you are in Christ, you have become the righteousness of God by having been born-again, and you cannot be less or even more righteous than that. It does not depend upon, and has nothing to do with your works. In the same way, anyone who belongs to Christ, he/she is an heir of God by promise, and is entitled to all the rights and privileges given to God’s children. Jesus said:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they (Mat 6:26)?

Note that Jesus calls God as “your heavenly Father.” God is not simply God for you. He is your Father, and you are his child. And if you are his child, all the blessings and rights that he promises are automatically yours. Why do you still need to try to meet your own needs as if you were a slave, or one of his employees? The blessings God promises for us are gifts, not pay for our works. We live by promise under God’s grace.

In this series of sermons, “Co-heirs with Christ,” we have so far learned what it means to be an heir of God by looking at the examples of Abraham and Jacob. It is, especially, interesting to see the differences between Abraham and Lot, and between Esau and Jacob—one being an heir and the other not being an heir. Both Abraham and Jacob were blessed in spite of their weaknesses and mistakes, and God trained them according to the purposes he had for them. And both lived as blessings to others: learn well what it means to be a blessing.

Now, we will go on to the case of Ishmael and Isaac. This is a little complicated because another vital biblical issue—namely, how the Law should be understood under the new covenant—is involved in its discussions. First of all, read the following words found in Galatians:

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way (literally, according to flesh); but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise (literally, by promise) (Gal 4:22-23).

These two sons are compared according to their birth: one was born from “the slave woman,” and the other from “the free woman.” And the son of the slave woman was born “according to the flesh,” and the son of the free woman “by promise.” If you are familiar with the stories of these two sons in Genesis, it is easy to know what this means. Sarai said, one day, to her husband:

The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her (Gen 16:2).

Note how she spoke about the promise: “The Lord has kept me from having children.” She was not sure whether God was really willing or even able to give her a child, so she spoke against the promise. Abram agreed and did as she said. Compare this with what God said:

I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted (13:6).

Note that in the promise, it was God who said he would do it, but in the above act of flesh, it was Sarai and Abram who did it. This is a big difference as Paul points out in the above passage. The one who was born according to the flesh was not to be an heir, but the one by promise was.

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way (literally, according to the flesh) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit (literally, according to the spirit). It is the same now (Gal 4:28-29).

Here, Paul throws in the expression “by the power of the Spirit (NIV)” which in Greek literally means “according to the flesh” (not necessarily referring to the Spirit of God) as opposed to “according to the flesh.” Obviously, it prepares for the discussions of freedom and the two lifestyles in the following chapter.

But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son " Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman (vv. 30-31).

We believers were all, like Isaac, born according to the spirit, and are children of promise. And those who were born according to spirit live also according to the spirit. Children of promise live also by promise. Such are the heirs of God who enjoy the privileges and rights promised to them.

In this sermon, we will compare the lives of two brothers, Esau and Jacob. Unlike Ishmael whose father was Abraham, but mother was not Sarah, both Esau and Jacob were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah, and were eligible to be an heir of the blessings God promised to give through his covenant with Abraham. Of the twins, in a natural sense, Esau was the first candidate to be the heir because he was older, but in exchange of a bowl of stew he sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob, who later came to inherit the blessings through deception. This naturally made Esau very furious, and Jacob, upon his parents’ suggestion, was literally forced to flee to a distant land to live with his uncle, Laban, leaving all the wealth and the land behind, which he was promised to inherit.

The story of Jacob’s dream at Bethel is very significant because it happened right after he was blessed by his father as the heir. In a sense, it corresponds to the story of Abraham’s counting of the stars in chapter 15. Abraham, who was at the time so desperate for having a child, believed the Lord, for the first time, and it was credited to him as righteousness, which led the Lord to make a covenant with him (15:18). Similarly, Jacob, who was feeling so uneasy about his future and so desperate for finding the way for his life, responded to the Lord who promised him to be with him wherever he would go, and bring him back to the land, and made a vow that he would serve and follow him as his own God.

Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Gen 28:14-15).

One of our interests in the subsequent stories as readers is that how God would deal with Jacob who came to acquire the birthright by such deception, which was not good at all. Jacob came to love Rachel, the younger daughter of Laban, and in wishing to marry her, promised Laban to work for him seven years, but was cheated by him at the night of the wedding. Even after he married Rachel, his father-in-law cheated him many times by changing his wages. Through all of this, God trained Jacob. It was the testing of his faith, and such testing and discipline were necessary for him to be the heir of God’s covenant (cf. Heb 12:10-11).

Later, when he finally returned to the land where he came from, and to the very place where he had seen the dream earlier. He said to all who were with him:

Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone (literally, in the way I went) (35:2-3).

This place came to be called “Bethel” meaning “the house of God,” which was also understood as “the gate of heaven”—the place where heaven reaches the earth (28:17). Interestingly, the following word was given to prophet Isaiah, saying:

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established

as chief among the mountains;

it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."

The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isa 2:2-3).

There are big differences between the blessings promised to the heirs of God and the blessings given to those who are not heirs of God. Jesus said, “He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mat 5:45).” This kind of blessings is not the same with the kind of blessings that we receive as heirs of God. Actually, we do not only receive blessings, but also are blessings to others.

Such differences are well illustrated in the stories of Abram and Lot in Genesis. Lot was Abram’s nephew and was not an heir of God’s covenant. Yet, he was blessed through Abram, and differences came when he stopped staying with him.

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together (Gen 13:5-6).

So, when quarreling arose, Lot departed Abram and lived in the land near Sodom. And the moment he left Abram, he began to lose his blessings. In Chapter 14, we read that the king of Elam (the region east of Babylon) and other kings allied with him came and defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah carrying off all the people and goods including Lot and his possessions. As the news reached Abram, he and his 318 men went in pursuit to attack them, and brought back all the people and goods including Lot and his possessions. This is a good example of being a blessing.

Abram saved Lot and the people of Sodom, but he had still no child of his own. As he was feeling so miserable, God encouraged him by letting him count the stars. So, Abram, for the first time, believed God and his promise.

Then, in chapter 18, we come to see the meaning of Abram’s existence as a blessing made clear. Three men appeared and visited him, and one of them was God Yahweh himself. He said:

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him (Gen 18:17-19).

This is so deep that we must meditate upon it. Those who are serious about being heirs of God need to know this truth. Lot was saved again because of Abraham, but he lost all his possessions, even his wife, daughters, and relatives. He ended up living in a cave with two of his daughters who were not married.

At this point, we go to the stories of Esau and Jacob. They teach us many things about being heirs of God. Unlike the case of Abram and Lot, these two sons of Isaac were the true descendants of Abraham, so both were eligible to be the heirs of God’s covenant. In fact, Esau was such an heir by birth, but he was rejected, and Jacob was chosen as the heir. Why? This implies that we who are legally heirs of God through Christ may not actually be living as such in spite of all the privileges and blessings promised to us. We find the following words in the letter to the Hebrews:

See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears (Heb 12:16-17).

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (vv. 6-7).

To all those who have believed in Jesus Christ are given the right to become the sons of God, who are also the heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. But we should not forget that God is a good God for both his sons and those who are not his sons yet.

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mat 5:44-45).

Where, then, is the difference between God’s children and those who are not God’s children? This is a good question. In order to get the answer to this question, we will go to the stories of Abraham. The stories begin with the genealogy of Terah, the father of Abram in chapter 11 of Genesis.

This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. … Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and … Now Sarai was barren; she had no children (Gen 11:27-30).

Think why genealogies are so important in the Bible. Abraham had many servants living with him, but had no children, and his wife was barren, which meant the end of the genealogy. Then, God said to him:

Leave your country, your people and your father's household

and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (12:1-3).

These promises of blessings can be summarized in the following points:

1. The Land will be given to him and his descendants.

2. His descendants will become a great nation.

3. He himself becomes a blessing.

4. All peoples on earth will be blessed through him

These points will help us understand the underlying messages of the whole book of Genesis, as well as those of the books like Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, or even the gospels in the New Testament. The kinds of blessings Abraham received are so extraordinary that they go beyond our common sense or even moral sense, which is especially true concerning the promise, “I will bless hose who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.”

He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai (12:16-17).

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God (John 1:12-13).

These words are found in the Prologue of John’s gospel. “He” in this passage refers to Christ, the preexistent Word (logos), who was incarnated (tabernacled) and lived among us. To those who received him and believed in his name, he has given “the right to become children of God.” Note that “to become children of God” is a “right (exousia).” This right is not given to all people, but only to “all who received him, to those who believed in his name.” It seems that it is a very special right.

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Gal 4:4-5).

Here also, the issue is on the rights that believers have. Note the way it calls the right—“the full rights of sons.” These rights are given to the sons of God, not to all people. In this passage, Paul tries to explain the status of believers as sons of God by making a contrast between the status of sons and that of slaves. As for the slaves, the necessities for living may be given to them by the masters, but they have no share of what the masters possess, whereas the sons have the rights to receive it from their fathers.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (vv. 6-7).

Needless to say, the rights discussed here are of a spiritual kind. They are not earthly rights or social statuses, but spiritual rights that the Father of spirits gives to his sons.

… because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children (Rom 8:14-16).

Thus, in order for us to live as sons of God, we must be led by the Spirit of God. We believers are all sons of God, but it does not automatically mean that all believers are living as sons of God. Note that it is the Spirit Himself, who dwells in us, that testifies together with our human spirit that we are children of God. Interestingly, there is no mention of our mind, or soul in this scripture. Since all of these statements are about our spiritual facts—our spiritual status and spiritual rights, it is essential that we accept them by faith.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (v. 17).

Christ was the Son who became a human and lived among us. He was the first human who lived as a son of God, and became an example of how we should live as children of God. However, it needs to be said that all humans were originally created in the image of God and in his likeness—as children of God. But as in the parable of the prodigal son, we became lost and dead by leaving the Father. So Christ came to this world to show us the way in which we could come to the Father. If he is the Son of the Father, then, we are his brothers having the same God as our Father—“heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”

We have started a new series of sermons, “Co-heirs with Christ.” The Bible is full of blessings that the Father has promised to give to his children. They are often too wonderful to fathom with our human minds. To say simply that God is Almighty is not enough for us to make those promises work for our lives. The key to this lies in the fact that we are now heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.