In Paul the apostle's
explanation to the church members in Galatia about the relationship
between the promise of God and the law of God, he has declared those
who have recognized their own disobedience to the law to be children
of God once they believe in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. Once we receive the grace and unmerited favor of God, we
become His children and not just His creation. Paul continues his
thought in chapter three and verse twenty-nine as he shows the
believer's status and benefit when Jesus Christ is received as
Savior. He wrote:
And if you are
Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.
Paul
told his readers, “For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ”,and
now there are no barriers of partition between people, “There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Today he declares, “If
you are Christ's”, and this
allows for the possibility that a person is not “Christ's”. “If”
a person receives the gift of promise through Jesus Christ. “If”
we believe that He fulfilled the law perfectly and took our place of
death on the cross, and “If”
we rely upon, trust in, and cling to Him, we are “Christ's”
and according to Paul there are two benefits to us.
First,
“then are you Abraham's seed.” The
promise to Abraham was “And in your seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.”
It was Abraham who “believed
God and it was accounted to him for righteousness”,
and now those who believe in Jesus Christ have become as Abraham's
seed. Everyone, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, race,
station or gender may come to Jesus Christ freely and become as the
seed of Abraham. Jesus Christ made the way for this to occur, and
those who believe in and are baptized into Him have become Abraham's
seed.
Secondly,
Paul adds, “and heirs according to the promise.” Those
who believe in Jesus are now “heirs”,
and not just any heir, but an heir of God. Paul spoke of being heirs
of God in Romans chapter eight and verse seventeen where he wrote,
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we
may be also glorified together.” When
we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we become God's kids and not
simply His creation. We become His heirs, and royalty is placed upon
us, not because of what we have done, but because of His great
promise of grace. We become a family of princes and princesses under
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We are His heirs when we are
Christ's.
When
we think about the benefits to believing in Jesus Christ we may
wonder why anyone would refuse to become His child and heir. Jesus
gave us a hint as to why some people do not come to Christ when He
said in Luke in chapter eighteen and verse seventeen, “Verily
I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child shall in no wise enter therein.” Humility
as a child is required, and those who forsake their pride and simply
receive the grace of God know not only what it means to be Abraham's
seed, but also a child of the living God.
Next time we will
begin a new chapter and discover the benefits of being an heir, so
read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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