Know Who You are in Christ-A Co-Heir with Christ

July 23, 2024

Know Who You are in Christ-A Co-Heir with Christ

In order to get to the bottom of what it means to be a co-heir with Jesus Christ we have to understand how this is a possibility to begin with. The atoning work of Jesus Christ which was: His death, burial, and resurrection on the cross at Calvary is what is allowing us the opportunity to be co-heirs with Jesus Christ.

The shed blood of Jesus:

Paid for our sin debt in full

Removed the potency that sin has in the life of born again believers living a repentant life

Reconciled us back to our Heavenly Father

Afforded us the opportunity at an eternal resurrected life

Gives us an inheritance as joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:5 discloses to us, “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” When you think of the word adoption you think of a process that has been thought out and purposefully done. The Lord is intentionally allowing us to be His children through the redemptive work of His Son Jesus Christ.

Had it not been for the shed blood of Jesus, we would have all been eternally separated from God’s love and lost in eternal damnation. Praise God that this is not the case as Ephesians 1:7 details, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

Paul goes ever further regarding the promise to the believers of Christ that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our assured inheritance, Ephesians 1:11. How does one know if they are a son of God qualifying you to be fellow heirs with Jesus?

The perfect revelation to this question is found in Romans 8:14-15 and it states, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

As God’s children we are to be led by the Spirit of God radiating the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the light of Christ, Matthew 5:14. He is our Helper guiding us and leading us into all truth, John 16:13. The worst thing that you can do as a Christian is to focus on the things of the flesh and completely disregard the things of the Spirit. That will lead you down the wrong path every single time.

Now that we have an idea of how it is possible for us to be heirs of God let’s take a closer look at what that actually means. The passages of Scripture that disclose what is meant for God’s children to be co-heirs with Jesus Christ is found in the book of Romans.

Romans 8:16-17

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Here we can see in these New Testament Scriptures that the Apostle Paul through the leading of the Holy Spirit is telling us that God’s Spirit bears witness that you are a true child of God. In other words, saying that you are a Christian doesn’t hold any weight in the eyes of the Lord if you are not truly living out your Christian life abiding by the rules and regulations laid out in the Holy Bible.

The Lord is very clear when He states in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Another place that reveals key information is found in John 10:27-28 as Jesus declares, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

You will know that you are qualified to be a co-heir with Jesus Christ if you are following the voice of God and following what He tells you to do. This includes dying to your own sinful desires and making the will of God for your life a priority. One thing that we can never underestimate is the fact that the Lord is the only One that truly knows your heart. He will know if your relationship with Him is authentic or superficial.

So when He mentions His children in the primary verses of Scripture found in Romans 8:16-17 He is speaking about relationship. The words “joint-heirs” being used in the text is the Greek word “sygklēronomos” which means: one who obtains something assigned to himself with others, a joint participant.

What exactly belongs to Jesus Christ that we that are born again believers are joint participants in? Hebrews 1:2 exposes just that as the writer reveals, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

Here we can see very clearly that our Lord Jesus Christ is heir over ALL things and has been heir over all things even before the foundation of the World. So what that means is that the love of Christ for all of humanity sent Him to cross to die as the perfect Sacrifice. He did that so that He could share His inheritance with us as God’s heirs which includes the hope of eternal life with Him in heaven! There is no love greater than that!

As amazing as that is we cannot forget that there is a stipulation mentioned in the primary text as Paul states, “…if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” So what the Apostle Paul is disclosing to us is the fact that our inheritance will come with a price. We are not going to just live our lives as Christians, co-heirs with Christ, and not face persecution.

We will go through hard times in this daily life that we live as the rain will fall on the just and the unjust, Matthew 5:45. The Lord never sugar coats the things that we may have to face as we still live in these mortal bodies. Tribulation will hit and you may have to face getting asked the question: do you love Jesus as your Lord and Savior and if the answer is yes, you might have to die for your faith.

This is an example of what it means to be a partaker of Christ’s sufferings that Paul is referring to. Revelation 2:10 is extremely definitive as John states, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

We might have to be one of the ones that is faithful until death but the good news is that we will receive the crown of life, eternal life. Another amazing fact that the Lord gives us throughout the entire Word of God is that He will never leave you nor forsake you, Deuteronomy 31:6.

The most wonderful thing still remains: to live is Christ and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21. Gain what? You gain everything: Salvation, Redemption, Eternal life, Power over Satan and his demonic kingdom, freedom for the bondage of sin, peace, joy, love, hope, rest, co-heirs with Christ seated in heavenly places.

For me I don’t care about any materialistic things, you can take it all. As long as I have my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ nothing else matters. You have to get to a point in your life where you ask yourself: Do I just say that I am saved or am I truly saved? There is a difference.

Conclusion

Jesus died on the cross at Calvary so that He could redeem the entire human race from total and complete separation from God. His death afforded us so many amazing benefits one of them being the opportunity to be co-heirs with him and His inheritance. Eternal life was more than enough but He is giving us joint partnership with Him in all that He has.

As a faithful servant of Christ you are going to face persecution, trials, and tribulations but count them as joy knowing that you have so much more in store for you when you leave this Earth. The Apostle Paul says it perfectly when he states, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,” Philippians 3:13.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Know Who You are in Christ-Ability to do Greater Things

Know Who You are in Christ-Power Over Word Curses

Know Who You are in Christ-There is Power in Your Words

Know Who You are in Christ-You Have Authority

Know Who You are in Christ-You are a New Creation

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?