6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
- Galatians 4:6-7
The gospel of our Lord Jesus is indeed such a great news. Through the work of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, we are brought into a wonderful relationship beyond what we can imagine. If the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to live with God without being condemned for eternity is already amazing, but the scripture goes further to promise us of even greater things. The scripture tells us in Romans 8:17 that when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus, we become Sons and Heirs of God. What a blessed promise it is, none of us deserve to have that become of us.
What were we before Christ came to our lives? The Bible describe us this way, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind”(Eph 2:1-5). In God’s eye we were “dead man walking,” without God and without hope. But because of the great love of God we are saved, and God bestowed on us His Spirit. God adopts us as His sons and makes us heir and coheirs with Christ through faith.
The Holy Spirit who dwells with us assures us of our new identity in Christ and nothing can compare to that. A person maybe the poorest of the poor—homeless on the streets of Kolkata, facing all sort so misery and discriminations, but if he receives Christ by faith he instantly becomes a son of God, an heir of Christ and a royalty, as the scripture says in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. . .” On the other hand, even a person like apostle Paul who had an impeccable credentials, after coming to know the Lord declared in this manner, “7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish,“(Phil 3:7-8). Nothing can compare to the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God our Father also gives us His Holy Spirit to assures us of His promises. In Romans 8:14-17 Paul wrote, ”14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 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 fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” The Scripture assures us of our eternal glory in the presence of our God when our work here on earth is done.
So on the question on “Who Am I” we can boldly declare we are God’s children, Heirs and coheirs with Christ. Amen.
Pastor Razo