Co-Heirs with Christ

The Debt We Owe

“So then”

A contextual clue that points us back.

Because we have been crucified with Christ:

We are no longer slaves to sin

We are no longer slaves to the law

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

We live according to the Spirit as opposed to the flesh

Therefore...

“Brothers” - a simple term of endearment, and a reminder to us that he is speaking to believers.

“We are debtors”

There is someone we owe everything.

On a human level we owe a debt to a great multitude.

Fathers and Mothers

Teachers and Preachers

Brothers and Sisters

The saints of old who kept the faith

Church planters

Friends and Family

Employers and Co-workers

Soldiers who fought on our behalf

But there is only one to whom we owe everything.

But there is something to which we now owe nothing.

“not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.”

Whatever debt sin had over you in Christ through the Spirit it is paid.

We owe the flesh nothing. Where once it controlled us entirely that place had been taken by the Spirit.

Control never suffers a vacuum.

The Life We Live (v. 12b-13)

A Life of Death

Allowing the flesh controlling influence is to lead a life of death, of separation from the will of God.

Two truths that Paul has made evident in the book of Romans so far is that:

Believers are no longer under the controlling influence of sin and therefore have no excuse / reason for sin.

Unbelievers are under the controlling influence of sin and have no other choice but to live in it, with it, and according to it.

A Live of Living

Sin less and live more.

One of the great lies ever told was that a life lived in the pursuit of pleasure is a root cause of contentment.

The truth is that if you really want to live and not just exist then we must by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body. In other words if you sin less you will live more.

But don’t try to skip ahead. This all begins with salvation and being indwelt by the Spirit. Which is also why this a believer’s only activity.

The truth is really living is a believers only activity.

The Spirit Who Leads (v. 14)

This is a clear statement of fact.

If you are or have ever been led by the Spirit you are a child of God.

It is the leading of the Spirit that enables us to “put to death the deeds of the body” mentioned in v. 13.

That is what the Spirit leads us to. Putting off the old man and putting on the new.

Ephesians 4:22–24 “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

“old self” = “former manner of life” = “deeds of the body” = “flesh”

The flesh is corrupted through deceitful desires.

By contrast we put on the “new self”.

Which begins with salvation.

Being indwelt by the Spirit.

Sanctification

The Spirit We Receive (v. 15)

This verse begins with a negative declaration. That is, something that did not happen. We did not receive a spirit of slavery and fear. This is what we already had.

Rather we received, at salvation, the Spirit of adoption. I believe that the concept here is that the Holy Spirit is the agent of our adoption into the family of God.

This represents two different approaches to God.

Many unbelievers view God as one who enslaves, or a taskmaster who is never satisfied with anything we do. They believe that the standards God sets are too high and ask too much. It is a great tragedy when one who genuinely knows Christ adopts this attitude. This spirit of slavery is what was so rampant in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.

By contrast because the Spirit has sealed us into God’s family through adoption we approach God as a child approaches a loving father. Even to the point of crying out to Him, Daddy.

The Spirit Who Declares (v. 16)

What is the Spirit declaring? - That we are the children of God.

To whom is the Spirit declaring it? - Us

Who is it that most often needs convincing? It is usually us.

How does the Spirit bear witness to our status as God’s children?

Conviction

Guidance

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” )

All the things the Spirit accomplishes in and through us serve as a declaration that we are God’s children.

When you are feeling low you might be tempted to think, “I don’t see any signs of the Spirit’s work in my life.”

Before you fall off the deep end I would humbly recommend that you get a second opinion.

Don’t trust your walk with Christ to the whims of emotion.

Allow for some spiritual objectivity.

The Inheritance We Have (v. 17a)

Paul’s theology has a domino effect. If we are God’s children then we are by nature also His heirs.

Now in terms of sonship we do not occupy the same place as Christ. He is the first born, but we do share in His inheritance.

Colossians 1:15–17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

What is that inheritance?

All things - Matthew 5:5 ““Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Reigning with Him in the Kingdom

Eternal Life - Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”

Heaven - Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

The Pain We Endure (v.17b)

It is not so much that Paul is saying that in order to be an heir we must suffer as though he was adding some work to our salvation.

Rather he is saying that being a part of this inheritance will always come with some form of suffering.

Suffering literally becomes a part of our discipleship and sanctification.

It purifies us and links us to the death of Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5 “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

Philippians 3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”

2 Timothy 2:11–12 “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;”

Mark 10:39 “And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,”

As one author put it, “the suffering is the indispensable prelude to the glory.”

Thus when Paul says (2 Cor. 4:16) that, ‘though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day’, he means that the very afflictions and privations which wear down the ‘outer nature’ are the means used by the Spirit of God to renew the inner being more and more, until at last the outer nature disappears altogether and the inner being (the ‘new man’) is fully formed after the image of Christ.

This is not a comparison between some Christians who will attain this glory and others who will not. Rather it is a comparison between those who are heirs and those who are not. His heirs will suffer with Him and thereby also share in His glory.

This verses establish in part our identity in Christ. We have been crucified with Christ therefore we are Spirit indwelt children of God. Do yourself a favor and remind yourself daily of this truth.