“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 8:17)
To understand the greatness of this blessing, we have to see the before picture. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” (Titus 3:3) Paul writes to the Colossians: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:” (Colossians 1:21-22) And to the Corinthians he writes: “ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1Corinthians 6:9-11)
We can sing, “How Great is our God.” He has done a marvelous thing. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7) This is because of the redemptive work of Christ which removed our sin, removed our guilt and removed our separation from the Father. “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1Peter 1:3-5)
We talk about being born again of God. This was only possible through Jesus. We are born again of God Who becomes our heavenly Father. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:4-7) But first that old sinful man had to die. And it did with Jesus at the cross. Here is a beautiful mystery of God’s realm. Those who received Jesus and those who are to receive Jesus yet, died at the cross with Jesus in God’s eyes. He sees the end from the beginning. The old sinful man has to die in order to be born again of God. When the old sinful man died, we were raised and reborn of God with Jesus. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:6)
What transpired is so spectacular and so out of this world that it can’t even be understood nor explained in worldly terms. God’s power and love changes us forever and for eternity. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)
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