| Christian Life and Doctrine | February 1964 |
“If Children, Then Heirs”
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 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.” —Romans 8:16,17
THE expression, “children of God,” conveys the thought of being begotten of God, belonging to him. The word “heir” carries the thought of being one in the divine family, brought together for a future inheritance. In the 8th chapter of Romans the apostle gives expression to several thoughts that have to do with the sons of God, some of which refer to child life and others to family life.
Before considering some of these thoughts let us see how the Apostle Paul leads up to the point of “children, then heirs,” which is really the center or pivot of his argument. There are three words which indicate the condition of all of us before becoming children of God. This condition the Apostle Paul refers to in the preceding chapters. Those three words are condemned, dead, and enslaved.
We were condemned by the Law, not only of Sinai, but also of conscience. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We were enslaved, or sold as slaves under sin. If, then, we were to be children of God, manifestly we had to escape from this three-fold state.
The apostle begins the precious 8th chapter of Romans by telling us, in verses 1 and 2, that a child of God is no longer condemned, is no longer dead, is no longer enslaved. He says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” In verse 2 he speaks of the spirit of life. Also in verse 2 he says that the spirit of life “hath made me free”; that is, no longer enslaved. Thus we are no longer condemned, no longer dead, no longer enslaved.
We open this chapter, then, by seeing that some who were once in the threefold state of being condemned, dead, and enslaved are now justified, are now alive unto God, are now free in Christ Jesus. That is the starting point—justified, alive, free. If that is the starting point, what must the goal be?
Life Begins
As we have mentioned, some thoughts to which the Apostle Paul gives expression have to do with the child as an individual. The first of these is the spiritual life. This is referred to by Paul as “the law of the spirit of life.” The newborn babe first inhales the breath of life. How beautifully we are taught here that the first sign that we are the children of God is that we have spiritual life.
The evidence of life is activity. Workmen tell us that unused tools become rusty, and inactive Christians become rusty also. Jesus said at an early age, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) Let us see to it that we are not slothful concerning our Father’s business. Let us be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” (Rom. 12:11) There is plenty of activity suggested in those words of Paul in Philippians 2:13-16.
In Romans 8:9 we read, “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” How do we understand this? We call the air the element of the bird, and so it is, because the bird lives in the air. So the Holy Spirit is the element of the child of God because, as Paul says, he is in the Spirit. But this is true only if the Holy Spirit is also in us. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. That is our sphere, that is where we live—in the Spirit. The apostle says in I Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
The next thought about the child is the spiritual mind. Says Paul (8:5-9), reading from the Diaglott, “For those who live according to the flesh are minding the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Because the mind of the flesh is enmity to God; for to the law of God it is not subject; nor, indeed, can it be. Those, then, who are in a sensual state, are unable to please God. But you are not sensual, but spiritual, because the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
If, then, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, it means that we are spiritually minded. It means that we have the mind of the Spirit, and to have the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. As children of God we should exercise and develop the mind of the Spirit.
To be fleshly minded is to mind earthly things. To be spiritually minded is to be interested in the things of the spirit. To be fleshly minded is to set our affections on things below. To be spiritually minded is to set our affections on things above. To be spiritually minded means that we “touch lightly the things of the earth, esteeming them only of trifling worth,” or of no worth at all. To be spiritually minded is to turn our eyes away from the earth, and endeavor to be filled with a desire to please our Heavenly Father in all that we think, and say, and do.
Walking
The next thing about the child of God is his spiritual walk. The apostle refers (verse 4) to the children of God as those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” A little child born into the family, not only breathes, not only gives evidence of having a mind, but begins to walk under the leadership of those who are older. The parent takes hold of both hands of the child at first, helping it to stand and to take a step. Then the parent leads it by one hand. Later on, just by the tips of the fingers so that the child thinks he has a support, but really he has learned to balance. So eventually the child learns to walk alone.
In the 8th chapter of Romans we are taught that the Spirit of God takes the child of God and leads him along, so that he learns to walk in the Spirit. To walk, of course, means to make progress. Unlike the illustration just used, there never is a time when we can dispense with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is ever present with us as a guide, a comforter, and a revealer of things to come.
Stand, Walk, Sit
Three of the words used in the New Testament to describe Christian experience are stand, walk, and sit. In Romans 5:1,2 we have those well-known words, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand.” This word “stand” would represent the position we acquire when we take the step of consecration. We take our stand for truth and for righteousness.
But progress has to be made. Something more is necessary than just coming to the light. We must walk in the light. As John says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” (I John 1:7) “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”—Gal. 5:16
And what is it to sit? It is to get beyond both standing and walking. It means to take one’s place with Christ Jesus in his throne. Revelation 3:21: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Thus will glory end that which grace began in our hearts.
Before one can take this position of being seated with Christ in his throne, the child of God must learn to walk, earnestly endeavoring day by day to walk after the Spirit; to make some progress in the way of sanctification. Our walk is to be a consistent habit, day by day walking in the steps of Jesus—walking as he walked. He left us an example, that we should follow in his steps.—I Pet. 2:2
Talking
The next thing about the child of God is spiritual talk. We expect a child not only to walk, but also to talk. In the 8th chapter of Romans, verse 15, we read, “For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” We have received the Spirit of sonship which teaches us to look to God, and say, “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matt. 6:10) It is because the child of God can walk and talk that he can approach unto the Father, through our Lord Jesus.
As children of God, we talk often one with another. A heart-searching statement is made in Malachi 3:16: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard.” Our talk should be such that we should not feel embarrassed if our experience be similar to that of the two on the way to Emmaus. (Luke 24:17) Jesus said to them, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk?”
In the 8th chapter of Romans we are told that the Spirit which leads us and teaches us to say, “Abba, Father,” also teaches us to pray. Verse 26: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession.” An earthly father goes away to business in the morning. During the day his little child has something to ask him. Mother says, “Now, when Father comes home you shall ask him yourself.” But the child is a little timid about it. He does not know how to put it. When Father comes home the mother holds the child by the hand and takes him to his father. If the child is a little timid she says, “Now, don’t be afraid; he is your father; ask him what you want.” If he tries to ask, and does not make it clear, the mother says, “Father, this is what he wants to say to you,” and then puts it in her own language.
Brethren, the precious 8th chapter of Romans gives us some such picture as that. The Spirit of God takes the child of God, leads him to his Heavenly Father, witnessing with our spirit that we are his children, and teaching us to say, Abba Father. As we try to make our requests known unto him, the Holy Spirit assists us in our weakness. No wonder John says, “What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.”—I John 3:1
Growth
Our next consideration is that of spiritual growth. The Scriptures say (Eph. 4:15) that we are to grow up into him in all things. Now, growth is a twofold process. There is a giving out; there is a taking in. There is throwing off; there is an adding to. It is so with the child of God. There is a putting off and a putting on; a throwing off and an adding to. As the apostle tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24: “Put off … the old man, … and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” “Put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” We cannot retain the deeds of the old man while putting on the new man.
Says the apostle in the 8th chapter of Romans, verse 13, “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” What is it to mortify the deeds of the body? It is the deadening or subjugation of the passions. On the other hand, we are taught that we must be led and instructed by the Spirit, and so grow more godlike, becoming more and more a copy of God’s dear Son, and, like him, be humble and obedient to the will of God, whatever that might be.
Mortification on the one hand, sanctification on the other. Throwing off what is old and dead on the one hand, putting on what is new and living on the other; casting out the waste and refuse of evil, taking in spiritual food and being built up by it. Jesus said (Matt. 4:4): “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”—Deut. 8:3
So the child of God grows—grows by the daily mortification of the deeds of the flesh; by the daily quickening of the Spirit; by the daily putting off of the old man’s ways; by the daily putting on of “the new man.” This new man is created in righteousness and true holiness, and is dedicated to God, to his truth, to his service.
Surely our relationship to God as his children demands that not a day should pass without some evidence of growth; not as old creatures in Adam, but as new creatures in Christ. Not a day should pass without some mortification of the old deeds of the flesh. Not a day should pass without some putting on of Christ Jesus by the sanctification of the Spirit. The final result, or issue, of every experience, whether pleasing or painful, must be more love for God, for Christ, for the brethren, for the truth, and for its service.
Begetting
Now we come to our last thought respecting the child as an individual. It is what is called in the Common Version, “adoption.” But this is a poor translation as we understand the word adoption today. The Scriptures clearly teach us that God begets his children by the Holy Spirit through his Word of truth: so he does not need to adopt them. Adoption means taking into the family a child that is not born into the family, but is a child of another family. The thought Paul expresses in this 8th chapter of Romans is sonship. Through begetting we become true sons of God.
Heirs
Let us now consider the word “heirs.” This word expresses the idea of being one in the divine family, brought together for a future inheritance; all having the same Heavenly Father, all having the same elder brother. All in this family must be conformed to the one likeness. In human families that which we call heredity sometimes produces unusual results. Here and there is a child which does not resemble either its father or its mother. While this may be true in a human family, it is not so in God’s family. Every child of God receives the one likeness common to all, yet withal has a personality all its own.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we must be “conformed.” (Rom. 8:29) We are told that God predestinated, or, as the Diaglott states it, God “predetermined” that every member of the divine family must be conformed to the image of his dear Son. He is the firstborn among many brethren, all having a likeness to him.
We would remind you of the two phases of our Lord’s ministry while here on earth. As the Good Shepherd and as the Elder Brother, he ministered unto his brethren. As the true and faithful Witness, he bore testimony to the truth. Both these phases of his ministry continued right to the end of his earthly course. As with the Head, so with the church which is his body. Let us do what we can to promote the work of building one another up in our “most holy faith.” (Jude 20) And even in this an essential part is that of bearing witness to the truth, spreading the good tidings of great joy, speaking of the time of rest that nears.
“We know,” says the beloved apostle, “that all things work together.” (Rom. 8:28) Not only do they all work, but they work together for good. What a blessed thing this is! Sometimes, as with Joseph, we may think of those unfriendly to us, “Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
Living as we are in the midst of the restless masses of humanity, referred to by Jesus as the sea and the waves roaring, it is not surprising that we get “splashed” a little. Some seem to experience more of this than others, but, brethren, the promise is sure to all those who are in God’s favor. Psalm 91:10: “There shall no evil befall thee.” Nothing, nor can anybody, harm us if we are members of his spiritual family.
In a well-regulated family not one member is forgotten. There may be one who has been a lifelong cripple, but he is always remembered, morning, noon, and night. Brethren, God never forgets one of his children! He remembers all of them. You may be ever so obscure in the eyes of others, but God never forgets.
Security
Children of a human family are not always secure under their father’s roof. Disease, famine, death—all kinds of calamities enter therein. But there is no such insecurity in our Heavenly Father’s family. As members of his family, we are dwelling in the secret place of the most High. (Ps. 91:1) The Scriptures say: “Underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deut. 33:27) The Scriptures also say: “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever.”—Ps. 125:2
This thought of security is emphasized in the 3rd chapter of Daniel. There we read of the three Hebrews who were bound and cast into a furnace heated seven times more than usual. So intense was the heat that it slew those who put the three Hebrews into the furnace. Later, when Nebuchadnezzar called the three Hebrews out of the fiery furnace, it was found that not a hair of their head was singed. Perhaps this was the experience Jesus had in mind when he said, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.”—Matt. 10:30
As already stated, this precious 8th chapter of Romans opens with “no condemnation.” It closes with no separation. The first verse reads, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” The last verse reads, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are absolutely secure.
Discipline
We see very clearly from the 12th chapter of Hebrews that discipline includes two things—education and correction. It was when our consecration to the will of God was made, and accepted, and we were begotten by the Holy Spirit, that we entered into God’s family. The carrying out of our consecration certainly means discipline, education, and correction.
No child of God is exempt from this family discipline. Concerning the trials of our faith, the Apostle Peter, in his First Epistle, chapter 1:7, not only says it is more precious than of gold that perishes, but that the object of such trial is that it “might be found unto praise and honor and glory.” Our Heavenly Father takes his children, puts them in his crucible, refines away their dross, and stamps them with his approval.
As the writer to the Hebrews says, “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Or, as the apostle says (Rom. 8:18), “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Let us, then, submit ourselves faithfully to endure the discipline of God’s family. Surely there can only be a few more trials, there can only be a few more tears ere we enter into the inheritance that awaits the faithful! Then let us hold fast and press on. The trials of the road will seem nothing, when we get to the end of the way.
Liberty
Another feature of our family life is liberty. It is based upon the acknowledgment of law, and obedience to that law. James (1:25) speaks of “the perfect law of liberty.” The divine arrangement is one of order as well as one of liberty. Rightly understood, liberty can best be conserved by order, and order best be maintained through a recognition of personal liberty.
The mistake so frequently made in the world and in the church is along the lines of extremes. Some misunderstand liberty to mean license to engage in disorder, lawlessness, unruliness. Others are disposed to carry obedience to rules and regulations to such an extent as to dwarf and smother individual rights, privileges, liberties. We, as children of God in the divine family, must not have such false ideas of liberty as would ignore or override law and order.
The apostle tells us that the world of mankind eventually will enter into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Rom. 8:21) They can only enter into that liberty by a recognition of and obedience to the divine law. We, too, can only have true liberty now by a recognition of and obedience to the divine law. That law permits only that which is good. It prohibits that which is evil.
To the extent that we as individuals, or as an ecclesia, ignore or abandon the divine order and arrangement, to that extent we lay up for ourselves trouble of some sort. Let us rejoice in the liberty which belongs to the divine family. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”—a liberty to do good, a liberty to be a blessing, a liberty to be a help to our brothers and sisters in the divine family. (II Cor. 3:17) It is not a license to do that which agitates and irritates the Lord’s little ones, leading them away from the truth and its blessings. We realize that much grace, as well as much courage, is needed in these matters.
The last thought about family life is our inheritance. Paul said in I Corinthians 3:21,22, “All things are yours.” The verses read: “Let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.” All things are ours, not because we are better than others, but because we are Christ’s.
According to human law, one enters upon the inheritance of another only after the person is dead. The Scriptures say God is from everlasting to everlasting. How then, can God make us his heirs? God himself doesn’t need to die to make us his heirs, for he is infinite. It is only finite and earthly beings who die, hence what they leave behind is the inheritance. It is the rich reward which God bestows upon us after we have been faithful unto death that constitutes our inheritance.
Just to think of being heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ is beyond our mortal conception. Speaking of our inheritance, the Apostle says that it is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, reserved in heaven for us. (I Pet. 1:14, margin) No wonder the Apostle Paul prayed, “The eyes of your heart having been enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of his invitation, what the glorious wealth of his inheritance among the saints. (Eph. 1:18, Diaglott) Again, Colossians 1:12, Diaglott: “Giving thanks at the same time to that Father who called and qualified us for the portion of the saints’ inheritance in the light.” May God, by his grace, enable us to fully appreciate the sublimity of that inheritance, and to so run as to obtain it!