By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 11-14 of chapter 8.
1.1.1. We saw that
Paul made the point that if a person is a genuine Christian that the Holy
Spirit dwells in him, and that this guarantees him that as Christ was raised
from the dead that God will give life to his mortal body.
1.1.2. Paul began
then to enumerate some of the things that will be characteristic of a person in
whom the Holy Spirit is dwelling. Paul
stated that this person will be one who is continually engaged in a battle of
putting to death the deeds of the sinful flesh.
Plus, he will be led of the Spirit.
1.1.3. We looked
closely at what a person’s life should be like if he is being led of the Spirit.
1.1.4. We also
looked closely at this battle that genuine Christians are engaged in of putting
to death the deeds of their sinful flesh.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
15-18 of chapter 8.
1.2.1. In this
study we will see that Paul begins by telling us that for the Christian that
concerning their relationship with God that the Lord has not given them a
spirit of slavery that is based upon fear but rather the spirit of adoption, as
sons of God
1.2.2. Paul begins
to speak of internal assurances of salvation that a Christian has through the
Holy Spirit that dwells within them and confirms to them that they are children
of God through saving faith in Jesus Christ.
1.2.3. Paul will
also teach about the fact that the Christian is also an heir of God and a
co-heir with Jesus Christ. We will
discuss what this means to the Christian.
2. VS 8:15 - “15 For you have not received a
spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of
adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba!
Father!”” - Paul tells
us Christians that we have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear but
rather a spirit of adoption
2.1.
Lets begin by considering the incredible fact that
this scripture tells us that we have been called to be sons and daughters of
God in which that means through faith in Jesus Christ.
2.2.
You may not have had a perfect relationship with your
earthly father, you may not even know who your earthly father is, but if you
are a genuine Christian then you have the greatest father that a person could
ever have, God is your heavenly Father.
2.3.
I want to make a point her that the liberal
theologians of the past 100 years have done a great disservice to the church,
and their teachings have permeated the thinking of much of the church. These liberal theologians who do not believe
in the inspiration and inerrancy of the scriptures have tended to deny the
special and peculiar conference of sonship to men and
women that comes by receiving Christ.
Having undermined the salvation that Jesus Christ provided for us upon
Calvary’s cross these ones have instead gravitated towards the universal
fatherhood of God, seeing all men and women as sons and daughters of God. The result has been much confusion and for
many the loss of a precious truth, one that is essential to understand.
2.4.
The scriptures are clear that those who do not know
Jesus Christ are not sons or daughters of God but are rather lost and condemned
in their sin and awaiting the judgment of hell on that day of God’s judgment,
and, the only way that a person become a child of God is through having saving
faith in Jesus Christ. For instance:
2.4.1. "That is, it is not the children of the flesh
who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as
descendants, "
(Romans 9:8, NASB95).
2.4.2. "“Therefore, come out from their midst and
be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will
welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and
daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty," (2 .Corinthians
6:17-18, NASB95)
2.4.3. "He predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, " (Ephesians 1:5, NASB95).
2.4.4. "See how great a love the Father has bestowed
on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this
reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him," (1 John 3:1, NASB95).
2.5.
This verse has been interpreted in a variety of
ways. In this translation, both
occurrences of the word ‘spirit’ are in the lower case. That means that the translators felt that the
verse related primarily to the proper “attitude” that we Christians
ought to have. The Christian shouldn’t
have an “attitude” of ‘slavery leading to fear,’ but rather have
an “attitude” such as an adopted son would have, they say.
2.6.
As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7 of his failures
in being able to keep God’s law in the power and strength of his own flesh,
Paul writes here that the Christian should not again have an attitude of ‘slavery
leading to fear again,’ which many think implies that the Christian should
not again lapse into that relationship to God where he is living in the flesh
and failing in his ability to be able to keep God’s laws, and in that he is
enslaved and under fear and condemnation.
2.7.
In Heb. 2:15 the author writes about non-Christians
having a slavery due to the fear of death, “15 and might deliver those who
through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” The ‘spirit of adoption’ contrasted to
the ‘spirit of slavery and fear’ of death in this verse could then, in
the view of some, indicate the fear of death that the unbeliever experiences,
which Paul is then contrasting with the ‘Spirit of Adoption’ which the
believer should experience. Indeed I
believe that all people can relate to having a fear of dying in our lives at
some point in their life prior to coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior.
2.8.
We Christians must remember that we have the spirit of
freedom as sons of God not the spirit of slavery to God.
2.9.
Some translations have capitalized the second
occurrence in this verse of the word ‘spirit,’ and by doing they are
inferring that it is the Holy Spirit which gives a person that consciousness of
his relationship to God as an adopted son, which is true.
2.10.
Galations 4:6-7 is a
commentary on what this verse and the next couple of verses are meaning, “6 And
because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if
a son, then an heir through God.”
2.11.
So then, it is by revelation of the Holy Spirit in the
life of the believer which brings this revelation of the ‘spirit of adoption,’
where a person realizes that God is His father, and as such accepts him fully into
His family.
2.12.
This Greek word translated ‘Abba’ was a term of
affection that was used by children of their father, and in Paul using this
word he is revealing the depth of that filial relationship which God’s children
can have with their father in heaven.
Perhaps it might best be translated in our American vernacular as, “Daddy!” Jesus taught His disciples to address God as,
“Our father in heaven,” and it is in this way that God desires His sons
and daughters to approach Him.
2.12.1.
Most people can relate to having a special and unique
type of relationship with their father when they were children. There are times in the life of child when
only a father can meet their need, especially when they are afraid and feel a need
for protection.
2.13.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones has
written that he thinks that the word ‘spirit’ in this verse should be
capitalized in both instances because it is the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy
Spirit that brings that conviction of sin in a Christian’s life which is
described as a ‘a spirit of slavery leading to fear.’ It is also only the Holy Spirit alone who
brings that inner consciousness of acceptance by God into that filial
relationship which the Christian has been granted. Lloyd-Jones sees the deep conviction of sin in
a Christian’s life as being essential in bringing assurance of one’s salvation
as is also His bringing of the consciousness of being a child of God. He points out how this has been the testimony
of the men and women throughout history who have been greatly used by God. Genuine Christians have both the times of the
deep conviction of sin in their life as well as the inward persuasion of the
Holy Spirit that they are a child of God, in all which that implies.
2.14.
Lloyd-Jones also brings out how that the closer we get
to the Lord, the more we will have a sense of our own sinfulness. We can see this in so many of the testimonies
of the men who wrote the scriptures.
They fell on their faces before the Lord, sometimes even as a dead
person. Isaiah in chapter 2 of his book
suddenly realized when in God’s presence that he was utterly sinful and that he
was of a people who were utterly sinful.
As we grow closer to the holy God, we will also grow more intimately
aware of our unholiness and impurity.
2.15.
It is interesting to note that in this verse, Paul
writes that we Christians should not have this experience ‘again’ of
having a ‘a spirit of slavery leading to fear,’ which seems to indicate
that all Christians have had this experience which he is writing about.
2.16.
The word ‘cries out’ in this verse implies the
strongest of emotions. The implication
from using this word then is that of the depth of the sense of the filial
relationship that a Christian can have with the Lord. It is that of the deepest emotional sort of
relationship that he can have.
2.17.
We Christians need to realize that some may genuinely
have come to salvation and yet not have
a deep sense of the assurance of their salvation. People come to Christ from different
backgrounds, different personalities, and with different problems in their
life. Many are genuine in their faith
and commitment to Christ, yet they struggle in having assurance of their
salvation. All Christians need to rest
upon the fact of their salvation being based upon their commitment to Christ,
regardless of whether or not they have all the feelings of assurance which some
Christians have. In other words, you
should not trust your feelings, especially whenever they go against what the
scriptures clearly tell us. However, I
believe we ought to come to the Lord and ask that He reveal a deeper sense of
His presence to us, and with that bring
a deeper sense of the assurance of our salvation.
2.18.
Concerning the “spirit of fear,” Paul wrote to
Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:7 about how that we as believers are not to be people who
are controlled by fear, “7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity,
but of power and love and discipline.”
2.19.
Spurgeon, the great English preacher of a century and
a half ago once preached the following about the incredible grace God has shown
us in calling us to be His sons, Having thus, as far as I can, established
my point, that the privilege of our text is a special one, let me dwell upon it
for a moment and remark that, as a special one, it is an act of pure unmistakeable grace. No man has any right to be a son of
God. If we are born into his family it is a miracle of mercy. It is one of the
ever-blessed exhibitions of the infinite love of God which without any cause in
us, has set itself upon us. If thou art this day an heir of heaven, remember,
man, thou wast once the slave of hell. Once thou
didst wallow in the mire, and if thou shouldst adopt
a swine to be thy child, thou couldst not then have performed an act of greater
compassion than when God adopted thee. And if an angel could exalt a gnat to
equal dignity with himself, yet would not the boon be such-an-one as that which
God hath conferred on thee. He hath taken thee from the dunghill, and he hath
set thee among princes. Thou hast lain among the pots, but he hath made thee as
a dove whose wings are covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
Remember that this is grace, and parentage, — look back to the hole of the pit
whence thou art digged, and the miry clay whence thou
wast drawn. Boast not, if thou art in the true olive.
Thou art not there, because of thine original, thou
art a scion from an evil tree, and the Divine Spirit hath changed thy nature,
for thou wast once nothing but a branch of the vine
of
2.20.
You who claim to be a child of God, do you long to be
with your Father in heaven? Do you love
to be around those of the family of God?
Do you fervently desire to see your Father in heaven glorified? Do you inwardly relate to God as a son does
to his loving father? These are the
questions that reveal whether or not the Holy Spirit has borne witness to your
spirit that you are a son or a daughter of God.
3. VS 8:16 - “16 The Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” - Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit bears
witness to the Christian that he is a child of God
3.1.
We have already seen from verses such as Rom. 5:1 and
8:1 how that from the scriptures we can deduce that we are saved, on an
objective intellectual level. The
assurance mentioned in this verse though is on a subjective experiential
level. However, this form of assurance
for the believer is just as valid as the other, and just as necessary.
3.2.
In this verse, Paul simply writes more about what he
indicated in the previous verse about the Spirit bearing witness in our hearts
that we are children of God. In this
verse, Paul does not write that it is within a Christian’s mind that this
consciousness of being a child of God is revealed, but rather this occurs
within the Christian’s ‘spirit.’
This is not head knowledge that Paul is referring to here.
3.3.
This verse reveals then that there are two witnesses
in the Christian’s life: The Holy Spirit
and the person’s spirit. The Holy Spirit
reveals to the spirit within a Christian that he is a child of God.
3.4.
Paul is not saying that a Christian should “take it
by faith” that he is a child of God, rather this experience of being a
child of God comes through revelation of the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the
Trinity, to the ‘spirit’ of the Christian.
3.5.
There are so many ways in which the Holy Spirit
reveals to our spirit that we are children of God. There are times when we receive supernatural
comfort through the Holy Spirit or the peace that passes comprehension. Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives us a word of
knowledge or a word of wisdom that helps us in the midst of some crisis that we
find ourselves in and we are needing wisdom.
Many read the scriptures but they are a closed book to them and they
just cannot comprehend what God has spoken in His word, however for us we read
God’s word and it just comes alive to us and we understand what is written
there and are greatly blessed by this.
There are times when God works through our life and we share the gospel
with someone and they pray and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. It just goes on and on. In so many ways the Holy Spirit bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God.
3.6.
I remember when the guy who led me to the Lord first
witnessed to me that he shared the gospel message with me and then he told me
that now it was to be seen whether or not I was one of the chosen of God and
would therefore understand what he said and act upon that truth because I was
being called to be a child of God.
3.7.
The experiential experience of having the Holy Spirit
bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God is linked to that
which Paul wrote about of the sealing of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
believer, for instance: "In Him, you also, after listening to the
message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory,"
(Ephesians 1:13-14, NASB95). Likewise,
the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the believer also produces a profound
revelation and confidence that one is a child of God.
4. VS 8:17 - “17 and if children, heirs also, heirs
of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that
we may also be glorified with Him.” - Paul tells
us that if we Christians are children of God that we are fellow heirs with
Christ and both suffer with Him and are glorified with Him
4.1.
The Holy Spirit not only reveals that a Christian is “a
child of God,” He also reveals that he is a ‘fellow heir with Christ,’
inheriting all that belongs to Christ. I
have already pointed out from Jesus High-Priestly prayer in John 17 how that
Jesus prayed that His disciples would share His glory, and that as a result
Christians will receive a glorified body fashioned like the Lord’s Himself.
4.2.
The Teachers Bible Commentary brings out how that the
concept of all sons of God sharing in all of the inheritance of Christ was not
reflected in the Jewish culture where the eldest son was sole heir of the
parent’s possessions, but it was part of the Roman culture, “The phrase,
“full rights of sons,” reflects Roman law rather than Jewish traditions. In
Roman law the father had authority over every member of his family. He was also
considered to own his children’s property, and had the right to control their
behavior, including the right to discipline. But the father was also committed
to help his child, and as an heir, what the father possessed was considered to
belong to the child as well. All the resources of God become ours as heirs of
God, and we are able to draw directly on them to live our new lives.”
4.3.
Wycliff Bible
Commentary writes about the fact of what it means that we are children of God
and thus fellow heirs with Jesus Christ and brings out the fact that when we
inherit all that Jesus has that this includes not only His glory and riches but
also His suffering, humiliation, and persecution in this life, “The Holy
Spirit bears witness together with our
human spirit that we are children of God. This really means that the
Spirit bears witness with our very self (see I Cor
16:18; Gal 6:18; Phil 4:23). This witness is directed to every aspect of our
personality that goes into the making of our self. The Spirit’s testimony is to
the person. 17. It is noted that the believer is an heir of God and a fellow
heir of Christ. We are heirs of all that God has to bestow, which means
that we are fellow heirs with Christ, to whom the Father has given all things.
But to be a joint heir with Christ means to be a fellow sufferer with Christ.
The tense is present: since indeed we
are suffering together. Suffering was the role that God had appointed
for Christ (Lk 24:26, 46; Acts 17:3; 26:23; Heb 2:9,
10). It is also the God-ordained experience for believers in Christ (Mt 10:38;
16:24; 20:22; I Thess 3:3; II Thess
1:4, 5; II Cor 1:5; Col 1:24; II Tim 3:12; I Pet 1:6;
4:12). Those who are fellow sharers with Christ in suffering will also be
fellow heirs with him in glory (Rom 8:17). The experience of suffering precedes
the experience of glory.”
4.4.
You cannot inherit the riches and blessings of Jesus
Christ without also inheriting His sufferings, humiliation, and persecutions. These all come in the same package.
4.4.1. To “know
Christ” in this life means to share in His sufferings here and now, as Paul
wrote in Phil. 3:10, “10 that I may know Him, and the power of His
resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
4.4.2. In saying, ‘if
indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him,’
Paul is saying that the Christian is one who bears the reproach of Christ in
his life, and as such he ‘suffers with Him.’ Suffering persecution is the lot of the
Christian, as we know that Paul wrote that all who live a godly life in Christ
will suffer persecution. However, the
reward for bearing the reproach of Christ in this world is be ‘glorified
with Him’ in the next. This of
course means that the person who does not live for Christ in this life, will
not live with Christ for eternity.
4.5.
In the scripture, we see that it is stated that the
Christian will reign with Christ, and as such all of God’s children will reign
with Christ as Kings :
4.5.1. Jesus said in Rev. 3:21, “21 ‘He who
overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
4.5.2. Paul wrote
in 2 Tim. 2:12, ““12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”
4.6.
Notice in this verse also that Christians are called ‘heirs
of God.’ Not only does the Christian
share in the inheritance of Christ, Paul tells us that God Himself is the heir
of Christians. When we become Christians
we inherit the Lord and this share in the promises, blessings, and resources He
has committed to each of His children.
4.7.
We Christians should never lose sight of the reward
which we are guaranteed in eternity for our life lived for Christ in this
world.
4.8.
Peter exhorts and encourages us with the following in
1 Peter 4:13, “13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,
keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice
with exultation.”
5. VS 8:18 - “18 For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us.” - Paul tells
us that the degree to which we suffer in this life is not worthy to be compared
with the glory that is to be revealed to us
5.1.
Paul had introduced the subject of our suffering as
believers in the previous verse, and now in this next section he determines to
give us a perspective for dealing with the suffering that we must go through.
5.2.
It is good to keep in perspective regarding this
teaching whom it was who is giving it.
The apostle Paul suffered as a Christian probably more than anyone has,
as he documents in 2 Cor. 11:23-28, “23 Are they servants of Christ? (I
speak as if insane) I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments,
beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received
from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I
was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in
the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers
from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in
the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false
brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from
such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all
the churches.”
5.3.
It is interesting also that in 2 Cor. 4:17-18, Paul
minimizes the suffering that he has experienced in his life also, calling it “momentary”
and “light,” “17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us
an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
5.4.
Notice also, that in verse 18 Paul gives the reason as
to why he can minimize his sufferings, it is because he has God’s perspective
on things, a perspective that is eternal.
Because of the assurance he had of the rewards he would receive that
would last for eternity, he could joyfully endure all of the sufferings that he
encountered.
5.5.
I would like you to notice
some things that the apostle Paul teaches concerning suffering in his writings :
5.5.1. He teaches
that things are going to continue to get worse upon the earth until the Lord
returns.
5.5.1.1. He writes
about this in 2 Tim. 3:1-13, “3:1 But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,
boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3
unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal,
haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God; 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied
its power; and avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter
into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by
various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth. 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth,
men of depraved mind, rejected as regards the faith. 9 But they will not make
further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, as also that of those
two came to be. 10 But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith,
patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened
to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all
the Lord delivered me! 12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad
to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
5.5.2. He teaches
that the world is going to continue to be a place of sin, trouble, strife, and
evil.
5.5.3. He does not
give any promise that or expectation of any improvement in the Christian’s lot
regarding suffering except that the Lord will use it in the Christian’s life
for his/her perfecting.
5.5.4. The
Christian should never grumble against the Lord because of his suffering since
his suffering is proof that he is a child of God, and it is given as discipline
in love as the wirter of Hebrews 12:5-8 writes, “5 and
you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son,
do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are
reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the
Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God
deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not
discipline? 8 But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate
children and not sons.”
5.5.5. If you have
an eternal perspective, realizing the reward that is laid up in heaven for us
as Christians, you can rejoice and count it all joy when you encounter all
kinds of trials, since you know that the pain and agony of your present
suffering will be far outweighed on the scales by the glory and reward you will
receive in heaven (this is taught in this verse).
5.6.
In this verse, Paul is thinking about the ‘glory’
that he would receive in his resurrection body when he went to be with Christ,
and his faith in that promise allowed him to have the proper perspective on his
present troubles in this life.
5.7.
Christian churches today have by and large gotten away
from teaching about the future glorification of believers when their Lord
returns for them. However, we Christians
must realize that we need to get back to teaching believers to place their hope
not in this life, but in the world to come.
Likewise, in churches today preachers often do not teach a literal
bodily resurrection for believers, but in keeping with the philosophies of our
age, they teach a sort of ethereal spiritual existence for believers in Christ
after death. This was not at all what
the apostles believed and taught as recorded in the New Testament. They taught believers to place their hope in
the resurrection of the dead, and the future glorification of their bodies in
conformity with Christ’s resurrected body.
5.8.
There are several verses in the scripture which
promise that believers will share in the resurrected body type that Christ has
possessed since His resurrection.
5.8.1. Peter, James
and John got a glimpse of that glorified body of Christ when He was on the
Mount of Transfiguration and was glorified in front of them, as Matt. 17:2
records, “2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the
sun, and His garments became as white as light.” After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to many of His
disciples, however they did not immediately recognize Him until He revealed
Himself to them. They could touch Him,
and He could eat fish, however He could also appear and disappear at will.
5.8.2. In Phil.
3:20-21 Paul teaches about the fact that believers will receive a glorified
body just like that of their Lord, “20 For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who
will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of
His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things
to Himself.”
5.8.3. In 1 Cor.
15:42-44, Paul writes about the glorified body that all believer’s will have
when they are resurrected and go to be with the Lord, “42 So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an
imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown
in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised
a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”
5.8.4. Peter wrote
in 1 Peter 1:3-5 about how our hope as Christians is based upon the
resurrection of Christ from the dead, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be
born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will
not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of
God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Notice here that it is on what the Bible
refers to as the “Day of the Lord” or “the last time” when we as
Christians shall received the reward of our inheritance of salvation through
Christ.
5.9.
Contrary to the “Prosperity Teaching” that is
popular in many churches today, it is important to notice that Paul does not
tell people in any of his writings that when they give their life to the Lord
that He will remove all pain and suffering in their life in the and give them
riches in the here and now. Rather, he
teaches just the opposite, that a Christian is one who suffers persecutions and
tribulation, humiliation and suffering in this life just as Christ
suffered. Riches are promised in the
life to come for the believer.
5.10.
We Christians must not lose heart when we are
persecuted for our faith in Jesus, for Jesus promised us a great reward in
Matt. 5:11-12, “11 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and
persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.
12 “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
5.11.
We Christians must fix our hope on the grace and the
glory that is to be revealed in and to us, as Peter wrote about in 1 Peter
1:13, “13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix
your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of
Jesus Christ.”
5.12.
Those who have not come into a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior need to realize that at the time when
Christ comes for His people, He is going to come for judgment upon them, as
Paul writes about in 2 Thess. 1:8-10, “8 dealing out retribution to those
who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified
in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have
believed—for our testimony to you was believed.”
6. CONCLUSIONS:
6.1.
As you consider this study and how it applies to your
life, I want to ask you whether or not it resonates in your heart that you are
indeed a true child of God? Do you have
the love for your heavenly Father that a true child should have? Do you long more than anything to be with the
Lord and spend time with Him? Do you
love nothing more than pleasing the Lord and bringing honor and glory to His
Name?
6.2.
If the answer to all of these questions is yes then
thank the Lord that He has made you a son of God and that His Spirit has borne
witness to your Spirit that you indeed are a son of God.
6.3.
If you have that assurance that you are a child of
God, then thank God that you also will inherit equally all that Christ
has. That will mean riches, glory, and
blessing beyond belief, but be prepared because that will also mean suffering,
tribulation, and persecution for His Name in this life for this too is your
inheritance O’ child of God.