"Heirs According To The Promise"

Galatians 3:23-29

23) But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25) But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

W

e must understand that we receive nothing of the Lord because of who we are or what we have done. The fact that the Lord does anything for us is attributable to nothing but the fact that we are heirs according to the promise made to Abraham.

Much is made of the fact that the scripture refers to Abraham’s “seed” rather than “seeds.” This is important, for the “seed” refers to that of Jesus Christ. This means then, by not referring exclusively to the patriarchs, we, too, have a “right” to the promise.

Because Jesus was Who He was and was willing to make a sacrifice for us and do all that was required of Him by the Father, we inherit all that was His—but only as we are willing to follow His example. This is what makes salvation all about the promise rather than about us “earning” anything as a human being. You see, we “ride” on the coattails of Jesus Christ, period.

This has a tendency to make the human being uncomfortable, for there is a certain feeling of “obligation” that goes along with being “given” something. It seems that we automatically attempt to avoid anything that would make us appear to “owe” anyone.

The way that we “deal” with this is to convince ourselves that if we don’t “take” from anyone, then we don’t “owe.” The problem with this philosophy in most instances is that there are things that never had to be accepted—they were just “given” and because of this, it is impossible for us not to “owe.”

When Man deals with God, he has a tendency to get “lost” in God’s “chronology.” Because of our inborn and finite thought processes, we accept most easily only one concept—right now. Therefore, we “labor” with accepting what He has already done (unless it is instantly manifested), looking to the future and missing happiness in the present.

Being “heirs according to the promise” is something conferred upon us spiritually. Hence, it must be realized in the Spirit. Obviously, there can be nothing done in the flesh or through the Law to inherit the promise. How blessed we are that the operation of faith supercedes that of the flesh!

In that we are brought from under the Law through the death of Jesus, we then must be buried with Christ as well as dead to the flesh in like manner as He. The longer we refuse, the more miserable we will be, for the Lord can never allow us to live in peace as long as we follow our flesh.

To often, it seems as if we do little to “resist” the devil. However, without our active resistance, we have no hope of a victorious life. Our success depends upon our resistance because as human beings, we are his nourishment. You see, in that we are made of “the dust of the ground” and in the Curse, the serpent was “sentenced” to traveling on his belly and “eating” the “dust of the ground,” we became his “nourishment.” The only way around this is through the “new birth,” which liberates us from being “human” beings, to “spiritual” beings.

Our efforts at resistance are laughable, at best. Even with the Holy Ghost, we exercise little resistance over anything concerning the devil. We don’t resist his “advances,” whether they be through his attacks upon our minds, our bodies, our families, our brothers and sisters, our churches … how willingly we turn all of these things over to him! Until and unless we are willing to “rob” him of that which keeps him alive (the attitudes and activities of the human spirit), we will continue to struggle with salvation and God.

Becoming an “heir” requires a commitment. In a natural family, it is unlikely that one who severs his ties with his family will willingly be bequeathed an inheritance. Therefore, why should we feel that we will be “rewarded” by God no matter how we choose to conduct ourselves as part of His family? You see, our “commitment” to the Lord must be consistent or it is no commitment, at all!

Essential to commitment is agreement. It is unlikely that one will be committed to that with which he does not agree. In other words, if you are in a constant state of “struggle” with the Lord and salvation, chances are, you neither “agree with” the Lord nor are “satisfied” with your life—and how God is directing it.

Being “heirs according to the promise” is a nice “notion”—but will never be actualized in the life of the believer until and unless we are willing to embrace that promise.