Romans 8:16-17
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. . .
When we are adopted into the family of God we gain all the rights and privileges of a true child of God. There are not different tiers of child–just loved and whole children. And it shows that the word “sons” isn’t so much about gender as it is about who will inherit. In the ancient world only sons would receive the inheritance, so Paul is highlighting the fact that every believer, man or woman, has the promise of an inheritance from our Heavenly Father.
What is more we are heirs “with Christ.” This means that we share in his inheritance as the Firstborn, the only begotten Son. And it means that we are heirs because we are with Christ, because he has brought us into the family. It is as if Jesus is saying “these are my brothers and sisters, they are with me.”
The question then arises, what will we inherit? What are heirs of. Well, we are “fellow heirs with Christ,” and what does he inherit? Hebrews 1:2 calls Jesus “the heir of all things.” Ephesians 1 says God has put all things under his feet. Revelation 7 describes the lamb on the throne. Jesus is Lord of all, he is the inheritor of all. So to be a co-heir with Christ is to be destined to rule with Christ.
This is mind blowing and massive, but what does it mean for us? It means that our heavenly Father is not holding anything back from us. It means that our Savior, King, and Brother is glad to call us his own. It means that we are in for a paradise, a glory, a union with Jesus that we cannot even imagine.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.