So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
The inheritance of God! This is everything God gives to those who are His sons and daughters. This includes forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and eternal life in heaven some day!
One does not qualify for the inheritance by the keeping of the Law, but by faith in Jesus. Not because of human effort, but because of Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection!
Only a son or daughter can inherit from the father. And only those who are sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father can claim a portion in the inheritance God gives?
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
It is by faith in Jesus one becomes a child of God. It is by the grace of God – a free gift – not by efforts in keeping the rules, as important as that may be. In fact, Paul compares a life lived under the Law with slavery.
And a slave cannot receive the Master’s inheritance!
So how do we know we are His children?
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."
It is the gift of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that validates our claim to the inheritance God gives His children. The Spirit of Jesus is proof of our relationship with the Father. By this we know we are His children.
It is through the Holy Spirit living in us that we know we are forgiven and living in the Family of God. And it is the Holy Spirit who helps us in our preparation to live forever in the Family of God - our final inheritance in heaven.
With Jesus as our Teacher and the Holy Spirit as our Tutor, we become more like Jesus and prepare ourselves to live forever in God’s Family.
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