Romans 8:14-17 "Children of God"

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Thank you Trish and Debbie for taking the time to go and invest in our Children through the Calvary Curriculum Children’s Conference… and for sharing your take-aways from the conference.

What a blessing to know that we have many adult leaders lovingly investing in our children and youth.

Thank you for being led by the Spirit and teaching our kids God’s word.

Well let’s now turn in our Bibles to Romans 8. Romans 8:14-17 this morning.

I was talking to a brother here at church and showed him the break down of how another Pastor taught Romans 8.

It was done in 9 sermons. And, I told him, “There’s no way I’m going to move that slow.”

But, at the rate we are going… I think I’m going to almost eat my words.

I don’t think it will be 9 sermons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we land somewhere around 7 sermons for Chapter 8.

Every week… when I begin my studies… I hope to get through large blocks of Scripture… and I’m actually optimistic that we will.

But, then… in the midst of my preparation… I come across some topic that’s really meaty… and I want to chew on it… because the word of God is so good.

And, we are in one of the finest portions of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans chapters 6-8… focusing on Sanctification.

Sanctification is a theological concept referring to the process by which a believer is made holy or set apart for God’s purposes.

It’s a lifelong process… where the Christian grows spiritually and is conformed into the image of Christ.

Chapter 6 tell us WHAT sanctification looks like in our lives…

In the earliest phase of our Christianity… our perspective changes where our love for habitual sin dies…

No longer slaves to sin… ownership is transferred to a loving master and we live free as slaves of God.

Chapter 7 reveals the WHO of sanctification… Jesus Christ.

Paul portrays his personal struggle to keep laws and principles to be holy… finding himself repeatedly in defeat… unable to overcome the power of sin through His own strength.

Which is a struggle many Christians experience.

And, Paul shared the solution as he cried out to Jesus to deliver him from his wretched body of death.

Chapter 8 tells us HOW to live the victorious Christian Life.

By walking according to the Spirit.

A large part of the work of Sanctification is by the Holy Spirit… who is mentioned 19x in Romans 8.

Verses 1-11 of Chapter 8 portray deliverance from the flesh through the power of the Spirit… and contrasts a Spirit led life from a life dominated by the flesh. A Christian who overcomes has set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

They yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives… and they cooperate with the Holy Spirit… to do their part.

The sanctification process is accomplished both through divine grace and human effort.

There is work God is doing… and work we are to do to cooperate with God’s divine initiative.

The Holy Spirit plays a role in our sanctification, and we play a role in our sanctification.

There is that which we passively receive… and that which we actively work for.

Verses 12-17 of Romans 8 inform us of our response… of our active role and obligation to live by the Spirit…

Last week we concluded in vv 12-13, understanding we have a debt to the Spirit, not to the flesh… and we are to mortify… to put to death the deeds of the body to live.

Today, in vv 14-17… we are blessed to examine four marvelous and hope filled verses describing our new relationship to God…

As “Children of God”… our message title today.

And, as Children… heirs… which affords great benefits… and responsibilities in how we live… as we’ll see ahead.

Let’s Pray!

In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage.

Romans 8:14-17 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

All Christians have a sin nature… Paul addressed the law or principle of sin and death in V2… but there is a greater law… the law of the Spirit.

I shared an illustration of how the law of Gravity is overcome in flight by greater principles such as “lift.”

Sin is overcome by a greater power… the Holy Spirit.

But, sin crouches at the door… and if a believer stops walking in the Spirit… sin seeks to reclaim lost territory.

Just as if a plane loses lift… then it becomes subject to the law of gravity it overcame… and falls.

In V12… Paul established that while we have a sin nature… we do not have an obligation, or a debt, to do what it urges us to do.

In V13… Paul established if you cave in to the dictates of flesh… it leads to death. BUT, through the power of the Spirit… the deeds of the sinful nature are put to death… and believers live.

Now in V14… Paul promises… for that Christian who is led by the Spirit… they are children of God.

Which is a glorious promise and privilege that we fail to be worthy of, but nonetheless… God is gracious.

The believer who is “led by the Spirit” is one who follows the leading of the Spirit… as sheep follow a Shepherd.

It’s quite easy to take back control and to lead ourselves… which is walking according to the flesh…

… but that path leads not to green pastures NOR still waters… it is NOT the path of righteousness… and DOES NOT restore the soul.

Last week we established what a “Spirit led” Christian is NOT…

That person is not what is often painted as a stereotypical hyper charismatic Christian. That’s not the biblical idea of Spirit led.

And, if you’re uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit because you grew up in a denomination where He was not emphasized…

… Romans 8 is a great chapter to study and meditate upon.

I grew up Catholic… and all I knew about the Holy Spirit is when we finished praying… we made the sign of the cross and said “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

What I knew about the Holy Spirit is I said “Holy Spirit” when I touched my shoulders.

“Oh yeah… Holy Spirit… that’s the left shoulder and the right shoulder guy.”

That’s all I knew about Him growing up.

But, being a Spirit led Christian is not abnormal. Quite the opposite… being Spirit led reflects the normal and divine intended Christian life.

Being Spirit led simply reflects a Christian who is in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit… and yields to Him to lead us in life.

But, what does it mean... practically… to be led by the Spirit?

We yield to Him being our guide…

John 16:13 “… when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

He guides us in all truth. Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth.” (Jn 17:17)… thus the Spirit is a guide for us in word.

And, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be a guide of things to come… which in that context was insights of the soon-to-come cross, resurrection, and yet awaited return of Jesus Christ… and end times eschatology.

His guidance comes as He prompts us internally… making known to us if we have grieved Him… you should feel some sense of regret or inner sorrow when you do.

He is called The Comforter… and as times that is His ministry… to comfort us.

He is a guide more to our life as a whole, but there are times when He leads us day-by-day.

Paul… in his missionary journey’s was “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” (Acts 16:6)

Not that sharing the Gospel to Asia Minor was bad, but while Paul desired to remain in that region of the world…

God had a bigger purpose to direct Paul to a whole new continent where the Gospel had not yet been taken.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will not permit us to go… He will guide through closed doors…

And open the one door we are to walk through.

And, our role is to wait on the Lord until He prompts us to go.

The Holy Spirit NOT ONLY guides us WHERE, but also HOW we walk.

Galatians 5:16 “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

If we continually are in communion with the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work…

He will do a good work in us… and we will bear His fruit.

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

It’s not a walk of dependence upon yourself keeping law… it is a faith walk.

Being led by the Holy Spirit is a rather big topic, but largely it is us submitting to the Holy Spirit as God…

And, He is. Don’t forget that… He is part of the Godhead.

And, remaining in unity with Him… sewing to the Spirit and not to the flesh… and through abiding we bear fruit.

And, the Spirit filled Christian who is led by Him… what does Paul say about that one here in V14? “… these are sons of God.”

As sons… and daughters… of God… we stand in a blessed and privileged position.

And, that is the position of a changed relationship with God. An unbeliever is not a child of God.

The Father-Son or Father-Daughter relationship… ideally is supposed to be of the closest of relationships.

You may NOT have experienced that with your earthly father.

But, THIS passage today… clearly demonstrates intimacy and great favor with our Heavenly Father.

Can you imagine hearing God say, “son”… or “daughter”?

I love the scene when Jesus heals the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years… she had exhausted all her money on Dr’s…

But upon touching the hem of Jesus’ garment… immediately she was healed.

Remember what Jesus said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)

Faith in Jesus Christ changes our relationship with God.

And, understand this… hear this… being led by the Spirit is NOT a pre-condition to being a son of God.

Don’t read V14 and think, “I’m only a child of God IF I am led by the Spirit.” That’s incorrect.

Once you believe Jesus is Lord and Savior… you become a Child of God… and then the Spirit of God leads you.

This verse lays before us a test of sonship. What does a Child of God look like? It’s one who is led by the Spirit of God.

It’s one of the easiest ways to know a Christian.

And, I find this interesting… a lot of good activities that Christians do… reading their Bibles, praying, attending and serving at church…

… NONE of these are mentioned here in these verses about Sonship.

What is mentioned is “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

NOT as many as our baptized… or as many as take Communion.

But, being ‘led by the Spirit of God… ’

That’s what it means to be one of His own… a child of God.

There are many good things we can do as Christians, but IF WE CAN’T DO THIS ONE THING… to be led by the Spirit…

There is a problem with our walk.

Galatian Christians after coming to Christ in Faith… made the mistake of going back to keeping the Mosaic law…

And, in Galatians 3:3 Paul let them have it, saying “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

We are justified through faith… we are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit…

And, then what… will we complete the process of sanctification by the power of the flesh?

NO… that was Paul’s problem in Romans 7.

We are made perfect through the Spirit.

There are many motivations behind Christian living… and sanctification… and many of them are flat out wrong… or at best… misguided.

A legalist can TALK a good walk… “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.”

But God does not see them as justified.

The self-righteous… think they stand because of their moral uprightness.

But true righteousness is only found in relationship with Jesus Christ.

The problem with the legalist or the self-righteous is their relationship is less with God Himself and more with His commands.

I have been listening to Pastor Joe Focht from Calvary Chapel Philly for years… I know a lot about his childhood… his drug using and spiritual explorations as a hippy… I know his teaching style… and how he jokes…

But, Joe has no idea who I am. Because my relationship is with his message and not with him.

I’ve even met Joe about 5 or 6 times… he has NO idea who I am.

When I went to Israel… Joe was there…

I got a picture with him in Jerusalem.

I know what you’re thinking… “I see Joe, but where are you Pastor Marc?”

I’m there… I’m just hiding behind all that manliness.

My wife and kids have been asking me to grow it out again. No joke!

Listen… my wife loves Jesus, but she also likes football and big beards. Tell me I’m not a blessed man!

Another flawed motivation is Greed… they think because I gave to God… God now owes me prosperity… health and wealth.

But, that’s not always the will of God for faithful Christians.

We could go on with a lot of examples like this, but instead of dwelling on improper motivations… as we examine vv 14-17 today… we will focus on a pure motivation in Christian living…

A motivation that is lasting…

Living the Christian life for personal gain… or achievement… or to appease a superiority complex… these motivations do not stand the test of time.

Because they are based in pride. And pride always leads to a fall.

In the course of our Christian life… Justification by faith occurs in a moment… and then we are being sanctified the rest of our life. For us, that feels like a long time.

It’s just a vapor compared to eternity… blink and you’ve lived a lifetime… but it feels drawn out as you live it.

And, what vv 14-17 provide for us is the answer to the question, “Is there a sustaining motivation to live this Christian life by? A motivation that is holy, biblical, pure, and will last the test of time?”

And, there is. Primarily it’s the motivation of love portrayed through the intimacy of a family relationship… with all the benefits thereof.

Our love for God… and our gratitude for Him… should happily motivate us to be led by the Spirit of God… and to continue in our sanctification…

… because He provides for us a higher motivation.

Motivation is a powerful force in life.

Some of the greatest sports coaches out there motivate their athletes by finding a higher motivation than that of just simply winning.

Competitive athletes all want to win. But if you can find a higher motivation your team increases their likelihood to win.

Sometimes that motivation is honoring a recently deceased loved one… or playing for a child in the hospital… something that affects the whole team… that they rally behind.

In worship, I’ve heard my wife many times motivate the worship team reminding them they play to an “audience of One.”

Worship is an expression of praise from our hearts… as expressed to God…

In the teaching of the word… I am motivated to rightly divide the whole counsel of God… and to please God.

I hope your heart connects with the word of God, but not with me. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

James 3:1 motivates me… “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

In the context of the words… and teaching the word there is a more strict judgment for teachers.

And I’m a perfectionist too. Lord have mercy!

In the context of Christian living… finding that motivation to live lives of holiness… and to say no to the flesh… is vital.

That’s what’s so great about these four verses today.

Let’s continue.

V15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.””

The spirit we receive as children of God is not a spirit that makes us fearful slaves.

Most scholars would equate such slavery to being under either the control of sin… fearing it’s increasing demands… and it’s path which leads to death.

… or to being under the control of law… fearing punishment.

If you think back to Romans 6… that Christian who is in the earliest phase of sanctification is moving from being a slave of sin leading to death… TO being a slave of God bearing fruit to holiness and the end… everlasting life.

It’s quite the paradox, but slavery to God leads to freedom and life.

However you see the spirit of bondage… being controlled by sin or being controlled by law… there is a great contrast FROM the spirit of bondage TO the Spirit we did receive… the Holy Spirit…

AND, NOT ONLY does the Holy Spirit NOT force us into slavery… but He also brings us into God’s family…

Which leads us to a higher motivation which sustains us in our sanctification… love and gratitude for Christ.

I reminded of a quote from Pastor Damien Kyle who said, “The key to sanctification is not fixing your eyes on sin and hating sin as your primary motivation, the key is to fix your eyes on Jesus and to love him more.”

This fear based motivation portrayed in V15… is a negative motivation that is a short-lived motivator that will not last… and it does NOT accurately represents God.

In Men’s Bible we just studied Exo 19 & 20 where God’s presence was manifested through thunderings, lightning flashes, the sound of a trumpet, the mountain smoking… and the people trembled.

The Israelites were fearful to approach God…

And, there are some Pastors who still and only portray God this way…

… as a thundering all Sovereign and Holy God… who sits High above on His throne of Majesty… and that’s true…

But, any modern Christian, who only perceives God as a fearful God and not an an approachable God… they miss the intimacy God intends.

Any Christian who thinks their relationship is transactional based upon doing good… they don’t last very long…

… realizing they cannot maintain good… and not fully grasping Christianity or God.

WE should be careful to not only represent God in all His glory and majesty as King…

… but also to portray God as a personal God who invites us into relationship.

We read in Scripture… that God… in many ways has demonstrated… ‘come to Me’… ‘Approach Me’…

He sent Jesus to redeem us.

At Jesus’ death… He tore down the middle wall of separation… by renting the veil from top to bottom…

He gave us His Holy Spirit… sealing us for the day of redemption.

And, you can go on and on down that same trail…

But, back in V15 we read, “… you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

The idea of “adoption” and crying out to God as “Abba”… this would be blow the minds and Jews and render them speechless.

We may read that and completely miss how profound this truly is.

Adoption amongst Greeks and Romans in the first century was a very serious act that came with all the rights of a blood born son.

The adoptive son would take on the name of the father… would be treated in every respect as a son… including rights to all inheritance…

The old life was completely cancelled… all debts… nothing counted against Him… and he started life anew.

And, this is wild… in Rome there were two parts to the act of adoption… a private arrangement and a formal public announcement.

And it is thought by some Scholars that here in V15 we see a picture of that private arrangement.

And in V23 which speaks about us “eagerly waiting for the adoption”… that portrays the formal public declaration of the fact.

You can think about the movie Ben Hur 1959 Charlton Heston… not the 2016 remake… not nearly as good.

Fun fact: Did you know there is a “Ben-Hur” in the Bible? 1 Kings 4:8… he was a Governor under Solomon.

Judah Ben-Hur… from the movie was a fictional character and contemporary of Christ…

And in the movie, he was adopted by Quintus Arrius… a Roman warship commander he rescued.. 

And, through Adoption… Ben Hur’s status went from slave to … upper class freedman… and Roman Citizen.

Ben Hur went from rags to riches.… wearing nice clothes… had rights to the house… ate nice food… his whole life changed.

That’s what happens to us… we were in the underbelly of the boat rowing like Ben-Hur… rowing as the lowest of slaves… but we were adopted by the King… gaining all the rights and privileges of heaven.

And, what’s wild about adoption… is that you have a good idea of what your getting when you adopt a child.

Especially if they are older… and you know their background… you know their story… and their patterns… they flaws, failures, legal record… and whatever good there is as well… there’s a case file.

And, God had your case file… and my case file… He knew our background and adopted us anyway.

Would you have adopted you?

My family watched the movie “Sound of Hope” recently.

Its the true story of Rev. Martin, his wife Donna and their church congregation of 22 families … who adopted 77 children from the foster system in East Texas.

They proved that with real and determined love… the most vulnerable and trying kids can be won.

That’s what God had done for us. Many of were a wreck… broken… hurt so deep that our walls went up…

And, He loved us through it.

We press on in sanctification in a motivation of love.

1 John 4:19 declares, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

And, then in adoption… we cry out to the Almighty… not with formal titles, but as “Abba, Father”

Some people pray majestic prayers that sound poetic and beautiful… “Oh Sovereign God, Creator of heaven and earth...”

And, I’m not knocking that… some people have a beautiful gift to say the most profound prayers.

But even more profound is the common privilege we share to simply address God as “Abba, Father.”

He is Sovereign… He is Creator of all things… and he is the Father to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

You are the son or daughter of the Most High God… and you can address Him as “Father.” That’s profound.

“Abba” is an Aramaic word… and “Father” is a Greek word “patēr”…

So, “Abba, Father” could be translated, “My Father, my own dear Father.” -or- “Father, my Father.”

You’ve probably heard Abba translated as “Daddy”…

And, sorry to burst your bubble, but that may not be accurate.

There’s a debate.

One Scholar I read states Abba “signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father and his child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts in his “daddy.””

I’ve heard it taught that way… and it preaches well, but…

Other scholars challenge the characterization of “Abba” as an intimate address by children to their fathers.

One Scholar, Barr, wrote an article titled, “Abba Isn’t Daddy.”

Which just sounds terrible. At face value that article could be misunderstood… like… “Luke, just kidding… I’m NOT your father.”

The point of the “Abba Isn’t Daddy” article is Barr holds that Jesus, when He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.” (Mark 14:36)…

… was not using the language of a child, since adults also used Abba to address their fathers.

Don’t send me hate mail later… I’m just the messenger.

If you’re preference is calling Him “Dad” or “Daddy” when you pray… I won’t fault you for it.

I’m pretty sure your kids don’t come up to you and say, “Father, can we please go to Culver’s?”

NO… they say “Dad… can you buy me Culver’s?”

So… if you want to pray to your “Dad”… you go right ahead.

Dr. Constable wrote, and this is probably accurate, “Probably Paul used the Aramaic as well as the Greek term in order to highlight the intimate relationship the Christian disciple enjoys with God.”

I think he nailed it. An Aramaic and Greek intimate address.

And, it was intimate…

For Jews, the most common name in formal prayer is to address God as “Adonai” (Lord).

“Baruch Atah Adonai” (Blessed are You, Lord)

But, during High Holy days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)… there is a Jewish prayer addressed to "Avinu Malkeinu" (Our Father, Our King)"…

Based upon Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”

And, Deuteronomy 32:6 “Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?”

And, look… whatever the proper translation… “Father”… “Daddy”…

Intimacy is evident. In personal prayers, Jews often pray to Ribbono Shel Olam “Master of the Universe” (Not He-Man… get that out of your head), but God who is sovereign over all creation.

And, there’s nothing wrong with addressing God this way…

BUT, going back to V15… Paul is establishing that we now have the most amazing privileges…

We’ve been given the Holy Spirit… we’ve been adopted… and we can come to God and address Him as “Abba, Father.”

We don’t need to fear Him. I think about how Esther asked for all the Jews to fast for three days for her because she was going to approach the king… her very husband… which was against the law unless one was summoned.

Esther said, “I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

That’s NOT our relationship with God. We can go to him anytime.

And… here’s something to consider… prior to salvation… IF you prayed… who did you pray to?

I prayed a few times prior to salvation… and I remember I prayed to “God.” (“Dear God”)

NEVER did I offer up a pray that began with “Father.”

I don’t know if you did, but I didn’t.

But now… because of what we read in John 1:12… I do… “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

It wasn’t until salvation that I came into a place of intimacy with God… where I came boldly to the throne of grace and prayed, “Father.”

And, prior to salvation it truly wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to call God, “Father”…

That is a privilege reserved for the believer in Jesus Christ.

Gal 4:6-7 reads, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son [the Holy Spirit] into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

One scholar wrote, “In God’s family, sonship carries with it heirship.”

Which is a perfect segue to our final two verses in Romans 8…

vv 16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

The Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit… NOT to our flesh (Note that)… and NOT to our mind or our emotions.

V16 is NOT about Holy Spirit goosebumps… about some experiential moment of the Spirit moving.

It’s about “witnesses”… maybe circle that word.

A witness testifies… and there are two witness in V16… the Holy Spirit… and the spirit of the believer…

Two or three witness in Jewish law established a matter (Matt 18:16)…

And, these two witnesses establish that the believer is a child of God… testifying of their salvation.

The apostle John marvelled at God’s love for us that He would call us His children.

1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”

And, it is marvelous. What a motivation for us to press forth in our sanctification!

And, how gracious is God? I mean… just look around. We are quite the bunch.… and yet we are children of God.

By our new birth… by our new legal standing through adoption… by the guarantee of the Holy Spirit… take it to the bank…

If you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you are a child of God.

And, “if children, then heir- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”

An earthly inheritance is what you receive when a loved one dies and wills to you valuable possessions or property.

And, at best earthly inheritances are uncertain.

Our heavenly inheritance is not only certain, but it’s going to be so much better because not only are we heirs… written into the will, but we are co-heir or joint heirs with Christ.

The blessings bestowed upon Him will be bestowed upon us.

What’s fascinating is Jesus deserved to be an heir… we didn’t… our inheritance comes by grace through faith.

I would be well satisfied that Jesus took the double portion… but we are described here as “joint heirs.”

Not necessarily in equal portion, because the Bible teaches rewards vary depending upon faithfulness to God in this lifetime (c.f. Luke 19:11-17) or think back to my recent teaching about the Judgement Seat of Christ… the Bema.

I like the description of our heavenly inheritance in 1 Peter 1:4 “… an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”

In Eph 1, Paul wrote “we have obtained an inheritance”… “we who first trusted in Christ”… and the Holy Spirit is “the guarantee [earnest or down payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” [that’s you and I]… and Paul prayed that the believers would know “… what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints...”

.And we can imagine how wonderful this inheritance will be… everything we will enjoy in heaven for all eternity… as described in Rev 21-22.

Glorified bodies that drive like Lamborghini's.

We’ll be assigned wonderful work that is not toilsome, serving under the most amazing Boss… governing alongside Christ.

Paul writes in God’s rich mercy and great love, He… Eph 2:6-7 “… made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

That’s a rich inheritance. We think we’ve been in a Bible Study… we have no idea.

And, perhaps the greatest inheritance of all is just what Paul wrote… we’ll sit together in heaven in Christ Jesus.

Not only will there be perfect fellowship with other believers…

But as the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 16:5 “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.”

Our greatest inheritance is the Lord. Being in heaven with Jesus Christ face to face… for all eternity… as the Bride of Christ.

And, I’d love to close the sermon right there… meditating upon being heirs with Christ… but let’s not overlook the latter part of V17 where Paul wrote, “… if [rather since] indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

We were about to close on such a high note!

Why did you have to go there Paul? All these beautiful promises adoption… Abba Father… being children of God… heirs. But now suffering? Man oh man.

What this verse is not teaching is that the third phase of Salvation (Glorification) is contingent upon us suffering.

All Christians will be glorified as a grace of God because of faith in Jesus Christ… and not works.

Suffering is not something you need to seek… it will find you. Persecution, trials, tribulations…

All Christians to some degree experience suffering in life. We are all co-sufferers with Christ… and will be glorified.

Our flesh naturally doesn’t want to suffer, but it’s unavoidable…

There’s a lot of suffering that we inherit from the fall of mankind and sin entering the world… we didn’t deserve it…

For the Christian this world is the only hell we’ll ever know. For the non-believer… this world is the only heaven they’ll ever know.

But for us… the suffering we endure it provides for us a tremendous benefit… it helps us to be in union with Christ because we can identify with His sufferings.

And, let me close with this final thought…

Paul knew suffering intimately… he was nine times beaten (with whips or rods or stoned), imprisoned and faced death often, shipwrecked, snake bit, in numerous perils, often hungry/ thirsty/ cold/ naked… and in the end… martyred.

And yet… Paul described our suffering as a “light affliction.”

He wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Someone needed to hear those verses today.

Paul was quite the Christian. Compared to him… we are we are the biggest wimps ever.

We think we have affliction when someone looks at us funny…

“Oh my goodness the persecution of this world is terrible… I don’t know if I can take it anymore… … oh wait a minute… I’m ok…I’m fine now.”

We carry way too much heaviness.

How many Christian throw in the towel because of suffering? “I thought Christianity meant being saved from suffering!”

Like a seed sown on a stony heart… when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word they stumble.

To endure in sanctification… and to rise above suffering… there must be a higher motivation… which is grounded in our love and gratitude for Jesus Christ…

… who first loved us…

Worship team please come.

Paul had that higher motivation… and finished his course.

And, I’m confident that Paul right now… having been in heaven for 2000 years with Jesus… is not looking back on his life and all that he went through… and questioning, “Was it really worth it?”

Of course it was.

In this world… especially during days of suffering… fix your eyes on Jesus… and know eternity with Him awaits you …

… as a Child of God… as an heir… as one who has the intimate privilege to cry out… “Abba, Father.”

Let’s Pray!

I pray as you enter in this week ahead… that your heart is full of that higher motivation to love God and be grateful for all He has done for us!

And I pray that you would have the heart of Paul when he declared, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:14)

If you’ve never accepted, Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we love to explain to salvation through faith in Him.

If you need pray for anything, our prayer team will be on the sides.

May our Abba, Father richly bless you in this week ahead. God bless you as you go.