THE HEIR'S OF GOD AND THEIR PRESENT SUFFERINGS
Part 7
Rom. 8:17-18
Morning Meditation 1/11/17
Verse 17-18 says, "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. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is there to bring home to the believers that they are truly sons of God. He aids in the mortification of the deeds of the body and offers the guidance that every child of God needs on his pilgrim journey. He also aids in worship and gives assurance of sonship. Two words are used in this context to show our relationship to God. The word "sons" in verse 14 translates "huios" and means "grown or mature sons." The word "children" in verse 16 translates "teknon" and means "the offspring of a father." There is a marvelous thought in this. We are born into God's family and have God as our Father and His nature in us as sons.
What was the Jew's understanding about the nature of sonship? John 5:18 says, "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." The word "equal" translates "isos" and means "equal in quality and quantity." The very nature of the Father is in the life of the Son. They were right in their understanding. The thing that made it impossible to cope with what Jesus was saying was they were not willing to accept Jesus as God incarnate in the flesh (Phil. 2:6-8)..
Not only do we have a relationship to the Father as born sons, we have a status as mature sons. This does not mean we are born mature. We are born babes (1 Pet. 2:2) and have need of milk to grow. However, there is the position of the son wherein he is called and treated as an adult. Jesus called Peter a stone (John 1:42) when he was not a stone. God calls us in the beginning what He intends to make out of us. You will notice "huios", i.e., being an adult son, is associated with being led by the Spirit.
There are three truths that are associated with being an heir of God set forth in these two verses. First,
THE HEIR IS A RECIPIENT OF HIS GRACE.
The words, "And if children" means that being a born son makes one an " . . . heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ . . ." We are saved by grace. A saved person is born again. It is this birth where the use of "children" (teknon) is used. The words "And if children" mean "if indeed we are children." This associates heirship with being a child by birth. I cannot over emphasize the importance of knowing who you are and what you have in Christ. The trials of life become unbearable until we realize that we are only pilgrims in this world. When we received Christ as Saviour, we chunked this world and opted for another life in another world. Jesus is not a crutch that makes this life better for us.. Paul said in First Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." We live in anticipation of a "City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:1).
What do we have by grace? We are heirs by grace. The word "heir" translates "kleronomos" and means in Messianic usage, "one who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship." This word is made up of two words. First, "kleros" which means "an object used in casting or drawing lots." It is used of "the lots of several persons concerned, inscribed with their names, were thrown together into a vase, which was then shaken, and he whose lot fell out first upon the ground was the one chosen." Second, "nomos" which means "that which is established by law." It is SET IN CONCRETE that we ARE heirs and therefore have an inheritance as the result.
The next word in this verse is "joint-heirs" and translates "sugkleronomos" and is used of "one who obtains something assigned to himself with others, a joint participant." This word is the same compound word as defined above with the prepositional prefix "with" added to the front of the word.. It means that we are heirs WITH CHRIST of the total inheritance. The reason I say total is because this means that whatever Christ inherits we inherit it with Him. Hallelujah! Someone hold my mules.
THE HEIR IS A SHARER IN SUFFERING.
Paul says, ". . .if so be that we suffer with him .. . ." The words "if so be" translate "eiper"which literally mean "if indeed we are." Paul is saying that being heirs with Christ is tied to our birth relationship. Do you tell this to a person who professes to be a Christian but is not living for Him? Absolutely. God is giving this information to every Christian in the church at Rome and to all the other churches that read this. We are not to manipulate people with the Word of God. We are to explain the Scriptures to people and trust Him for the results. I don't want to upset anyone but God has not called us to drive the car. Jesus is the Driver. He is in charge. And he doesn't like back seat drivers!
The words "we suffer with him" translate "sumpascho" and means "to feel the pain with another." It is a present active indicative verb and speaks of an on going process at the present time. In Paul's day suffering was the rule. We in America know very little about the suffering that they went through. Ours is a different kind. You will notice the words "with him." It is not "for Him." The suffering that is being spoken of here is suffering that is associated with being a Christian and our public confession of it. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3:10 when he says, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." The word "fellowship" translates "koinonia" and means "joint participation." The word "sufferings" is from the same root word as is found in our text. Paul was not only willing to SUFFER WITH Christ, he desired to. Paul realized that suffering goes with being a Christian. You will find that sooner or later suffering will be your lot if you are steadfastly committed to Christ and His Word as a way of life. It is comforting to know it is WITH CHRIST. He is always involved in the sufferings of His people. The believer suffers as a result of being identified with Christ. This is what Paul is talking about when he speaks of the "fellowship of His sufferings." When we are where we are because we are Christians, and what we are doing is because we are Christians, and we are suffering physically or in any other way because of it, it is the FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS. We are not alone. Then third,
THE HEIR LIVES WITH THE PROMISE OF RESURRECTION..
Paul adds, " . . . that we may be also glorified together." The words "we may be glorified" translate "sundoxazo" and mean "to approve together, to join in approving." It is an aorist passive subjunctive verb. The aorist tense in the subjunctive mood anticipates a future point of time that is the time of the rapture and resurrection. There is where we will get our new bodies. Paul will say more about this in the verses to follow. In Romans chapter six Paul explains that we are identified with Christ in His death (Rom. 6:1-6) and resurrection (Rom. 6:4 and 11). Here he tells us that what we reckon to be true on a spiritual level will in fact become true in that our bodies will participate in His glory. My mind just went into overload!
Paul is saying that no sufferings of the present are equal to the glory "which shall be revealed in us." No investment through sufferings can draw the kind of dividends that will be ours on that day. Even in this, we come back to grace. We do not participate in His glory as a reward for suffering, though suffering in made easier by anticipating what Paul is saying here.
The heir is a recipient of grace, a sharer of His sufferings and lives with the promise of resurrection. Our hope is not in this world. Though I must say, I enjoy the pilgrim life. It is good to live in anticipation of His return. When I got serious about my commitment to Christ and submitted to His Lordship through His Word, I saw clearly that He has not left us here for social reform. We are here to win people to faith in Christ and look to Him alone for a better world than we live in. Hallelujah! That might torque the jaw of some professing Christian that thinks that God has called him to change the world. I have news for you. It is in your head. It is not in the BOOK. We are in the world but not of the world. It seems I have heard that somewhere!
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
