As "joint-heirs with Christ" we share in all of Christ's riches.
We must always remember that this position of being joint-heirs, and all that goes with it, is ours by grace alone, in Christ alone. We could never have gotten to the place where God could simply trust us to do what is right and wise and good. It was rather when we came to the realization of our utter unworthiness and placed our trust in Christ, that God accepted us, and sees us now in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is our position from the very moment that we place our trust in Christ, for Eph 2:4-6 clearly states that,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, immediately, without any period of probation, He places us not under the law (Gal 6:15), but as and in His Son (Col 2:10), under grace.
But won't this produce careless and sinful living? No! Such love will accomplish what the law never could. It is natural that those whose hearts have been won by grace will now long to serve God out of love and gratitude, and that their hearts will call upon Him as "Father," because love generates love (1 Jn 4:10, 19).
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14).
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!" (Rom 8:15).
The law from without, with its rules, regulations, and threatenings, could only produce fear, but the Spirit lives within us to produce that revolutionary change that causes us to look to God and call Him "Father" with an intimacy that the law forbade. No threat hangs over God's people today. Rather, we rejoice in "this grace in which we stand" (Rom 5:2).
What a prospect, child of glory,
Does the future hold in store!
By the wildest flights of fancy
Thou couldst never ask for more.
Heir of God, joint-heir forever,
With His own beloved Son!
God could not to you have promised
More of bliss than He has done.
- Author unknown -
For believers walking according to their "old selves" (Eph 4:17-32), please remember first of all, that's not who you are anymore. Now you're a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) and your old self is dead (Rom 6:4, 11; 7:4; Gal 2:20) — so keep it in its coffin! Second, consider carefully all the reasons why Paul implores us "to live worthy of the calling [we] have received" (Eph 3:1-4:1). In a word, remember who you are in Christ (2 Cor 5:17; 2 Thes 2:13-18) and be yourself!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3).
So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God (1 Cor 3:21-23).
For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God (2 Cor 4:15).
We may also rest assured that "if indeed we suffer with Him," we shall also be "glorified with Him" (Rom 8:16-27), inheriting by grace the glory which is Jesus Christ’s by right. ("If indeed" doesn't mean our inheritance is conditional; rather, it's an indication that suffering with Christ is characteristic of believers - see previous post on suffering with Christ here.)
And all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them (John 17:10).
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:22-24).
We may also rest assured that "if indeed we suffer with Him," we shall also be "glorified with Him" (Rom 8:16-27), inheriting by grace the glory which is Jesus Christ’s by right. ("If indeed" doesn't mean our inheritance is conditional; rather, it's an indication that suffering with Christ is characteristic of believers - see previous post on suffering with Christ here.)
And all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them (John 17:10).
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:22-24).
We must always remember that this position of being joint-heirs, and all that goes with it, is ours by grace alone, in Christ alone. We could never have gotten to the place where God could simply trust us to do what is right and wise and good. It was rather when we came to the realization of our utter unworthiness and placed our trust in Christ, that God accepted us, and sees us now in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is our position from the very moment that we place our trust in Christ, for Eph 2:4-6 clearly states that,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, immediately, without any period of probation, He places us not under the law (Gal 6:15), but as and in His Son (Col 2:10), under grace.
But won't this produce careless and sinful living? No! Such love will accomplish what the law never could. It is natural that those whose hearts have been won by grace will now long to serve God out of love and gratitude, and that their hearts will call upon Him as "Father," because love generates love (1 Jn 4:10, 19).
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14).
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!" (Rom 8:15).
The law from without, with its rules, regulations, and threatenings, could only produce fear, but the Spirit lives within us to produce that revolutionary change that causes us to look to God and call Him "Father" with an intimacy that the law forbade. No threat hangs over God's people today. Rather, we rejoice in "this grace in which we stand" (Rom 5:2).
What a prospect, child of glory,
Does the future hold in store!
By the wildest flights of fancy
Thou couldst never ask for more.
Heir of God, joint-heir forever,
With His own beloved Son!
God could not to you have promised
More of bliss than He has done.
- Author unknown -
For believers walking according to their "old selves" (Eph 4:17-32), please remember first of all, that's not who you are anymore. Now you're a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) and your old self is dead (Rom 6:4, 11; 7:4; Gal 2:20) — so keep it in its coffin! Second, consider carefully all the reasons why Paul implores us "to live worthy of the calling [we] have received" (Eph 3:1-4:1). In a word, remember who you are in Christ (2 Cor 5:17; 2 Thes 2:13-18) and be yourself!
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