THE GREATEST INHERITANCE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir.

Galatians 4:1-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t know if you have ever had to deal with an estate after someone has passed away but if so, you know it’s not easy. I can speak from experience.

The first step in the probate process is establishing the number of heirs and then having those heirs appoint someone to handle estate matters on behalf of the family, a person who is referred to as the executor.

The executor then oversees the management of the estate with the assistance of a probate attorney, identifying assets and then working with the attorney to ensure the assets are distributed accordingly to heirs in accordance with the law. If an heir is a minor, then they will have someone appointed to oversee their portion of the inheritance until such a time as they are deemed an adult and are then of age to receive their estate share.  

Why go into all this at the beginning of a Christian message?

Because we need to have a base understanding of how inheritance distribution works in order to fully grasp what the Apostle Paul writes at the beginning of Galatians, chapter 4. Look again at his words here:

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir.  Galatians 4:1-7

What we see here is that the matter of heirs receiving a portion of an inheritance is far from a modern day phenomenon. It ranges well back into biblical times and this provided a perfect illustration for Paul to continue to drive his point home that the true Gospel and its associated benefit was not law-centric but rather Jesus-focused.

Before Jesus was born, God’s people were like minor children who had no more right to a part of the estate as a slave did. The minors were granted an inheritance but access to it was restricted “until the time set forth by his father”. When that time came, the father would allow his son, the now adult heir, to have his entitlement. This is the way things were handled in first century AD.

In relating this illustration to the point he was trying to make, Paul wanted the Galatian Christians to know that until Jesus came, all believers “were underage” and in slavery because of the Law, a Law that set forth stringent direction for human behavior that no one could perfectly keep.

So God, not wanting for any of His children to perish, “sent His Son, born of a woman” but also born under the law” when His “set time had fully come” which can be translated as God’s appointed time.

You see, God wanted to redeem His people despite the sinners they were. He spared them His judgment by giving every person a chance to simply believe in His Son as Savior. In doing this, a person would move from mere “adoption to sonship and because a person became a son, they would receive “the Spirit of His Son (Jesus)” into their hearts, a Spirit that would have them cry out to acknowledge God as “Abba, Father.”  

When Jesus came, He freed everyone from the bondage of sin so they would no longer be a slave to it. He made the way for any believer to become a child of the God Most High and that special relationship brought with it the privilege of heirship to the very kingdom of Heaven, the greatest inheritance anyone could ever ask for.

As you read this today, having left Christmas behind while heading toward the new year, have you placed your belief in Jesus as Savior?

If so, then rejoice and be glad because you are not only a child of God but an heir to an incredibly divine bequeathing, a portion of the very kingdom of Heaven.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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