rom 08v17 Heirs of God

"HEIRS OF GOD

Romans 8:17

It would be a great privilege for us to be called the servants of God. It would be a marvellous condescension of God to make us his friends. But Paul says that we are "The children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." What a magnificent act of Divine grace! God takes such things as he finds in the dungheap of fallen humanity and makes children for himself.

By nature we are the "children of wrath, even as others." But God makes us his children by special adoption. In eternal predestination he said, "I will be their God and they shall be my sons and daughters." In the new birth, he gave us his own nature, sending "the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Then he made the adoption complete, by winning our consent. In the fulness of time he made us willing to be his children, and gave us faith in Christ. We are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." All that belongs to Christ, as the eternal Son of God, belongs to all the adopted Sons of God!