We become Heirs of God

Verse 12 ‘therefore’ is the response to the statement made from the previous paragraph, in particular verses 9-11. Paul concludes the statement by stating that when we receive Christ we are no longer beholden to the flesh. The term flesh is just another way of saying the “world”. Living in the flesh is equivalent to living in sin. As we already are aware, that when the Holy Spirit is in us we are no longer of the world. But from a physical perspective we are living in the world. God put us here for purpose. What is your purpose?

The primary point Paul is making here is that we no longer owe anything to the flesh. We owe everything to God and Jesus. Paul reminds us that if you live by the flesh, you will die by the flesh. More importantly, if you live by the Spirit you will live for eternity with God. Paul acknowledges that when we receive the Spirit of adoption we will give thanks to the Lord and the spirit of fear will leave.

In God’s word, He gives us hope that when we live by the Spirit, we are living for God and we become sons and daughters of God. We become heirs of God along with His son Jesus Christ. We cannot become heirs without the Holy Spirit in us. With the honor of becoming heirs to God’s throne, we no longer have to live in fear any more. We can live our lives to the fullest extent possible serving God while sharing God’s blessings with others. Our fears in life shall go no further than what we allow them to. In other words, it should go no farther than God’s word. When we are entrenched in God’s word our fear is stopped in its tracks. The enemy has no battle ground unless we let our guard down. Our guard will come down by a lack of prayer, a lack of reading God’s word and a lack of fellowship. Staying in God’s word does not suggest that the enemy will not try to throw his darts, but what it does mean is we have a shield to protect us from the fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).

As we live for God we receive the total package. The package includes God the father, Jesus the Son, Holy Spirit the helper. The package cannot be separated nor can you request one piece at a time. The decision we make is all inclusive. Either you are all in or you will be all out. There are no “in-betweens” in heaven. Nor are there any in hell. The fact is that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are truly Gods children. And just as we have expectations for our earthly children God has expectations for us as well. We should no longer want to live like the world or be associated with the sin of the world. In (1 John 4:4) God’s word tells us that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. This is how we know we are truly heirs to the King and residents of the kingdom of heaven.

In heaven or in hell there exists eternal life. The differences between the two are diametrically opposed to each other. One will be with the Triune God surrounded by the love of the Father and Son where no sin exists and the other will be fire and brimstone where hatred, torture, pain with agony along with a constant reminder of regret exists.

My prayer is that we would always remember the King we serve. God will give us new life and eternal hope. I pray that hearts and minds would be changed through the Holy Spirit and our eyes would be open to see the love of Christ through God’s word and experience the love of God through our actions. In Jesus Mighty Name I pray Amen! Amen!