So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Summary: Paul is making a very important point. Whether we know it or not, we need to be part of God’s family. Paul helps us understand why that is important.
Prior to the 1960s, people generally considered marriage a relationship sanctioned by the church. Divorce was a big deal, and having a child out of wedlock was something to be ashamed of.
During the late 60s and early 70s, Satan’s minions worked hard to discredit the family structure. Marriage became optional, and “living together” became a thing. Kids born out of wedlock were no longer considered unusual, and sadly, in some places, being born out of wedlock became the “norm.” Having kids out of wedlock became so prevalent that the kids were given a new name. For a time, a child born to a single mom was called a “love child.”
The kind of “love” the name referred to was not agapé, or “Godly love.” The “love” in “love child” had much more to do with carnal passions than selfless love. The result was a loose relationship between father and child.
There were legal obligations for child support that went with having a love child, but if the father couldn’t be found, there wasn’t much to be done. The only thing a love child stood to inherit was the pain that came from living in a broken home.
The reason Paul emphasizes that we are heirs to God’s kingdom is that God does more than acknowledge us as his children. He rescues us from being a slave to the carnal demands of our bodies and adopts us, acknowledging our relationship to him and giving us an inheritance along with our spiritual brothers and sisters.
And what do believers inherit?
For one thing, God’s heirs inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29). That’s pretty cool!
For another, the meek inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). Wow!
As a member of God’s royal household, Jesus prepares a place for us. The King James Version of the Bible calls it a “mansion” (John 14:2 KJV).
While these things are something to look forward to, the best part about being an heir of God is that we become part of God’s family, a family that never dies or abandons us. More than anything else, when we belong to God, we know we are loved.
Application: Trust in Jesus.
Food for Thought: How is being a child of God different than being an adult without God?
How is being a child of God different than being an adult without God?
A child of God:
1 John 3:10, By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother. AMP
An adult without God: Romans 1:28-32, And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, 29 until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors], 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity]. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree and His judgment, that those who do such things deserve death, yet they not only do them, but they even [enthusiastically] approve and tolerate others who practice them. AMP
Nicely done, Ron! 🙂
Thanks R2T2. Good stuff.
There are so many verses to go to. To me, this question is asking what is the difference between someone who believes in Christ and someone who doesn’t. The section in Ephesians 1: 3 – 14 instantly comes to mind as does Romans 8: 18 – 39. There are so many benefits being in Christ.
Ephesians 1: 3 – 14: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he b predestined us for adoption to sonship c through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he d made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11In him we were also chosen, e having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Romans 8: 18 – 39: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that h the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who i have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Peter 1: 3 – 9: 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, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Thank you, Rich!
Great verses! 🙂