His Heirs

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

HIS HEIRS

Gal 4:1-7

4:1 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

NIV

Paul is saying a lot here, but the main point that he is driving home is our being sons of God. Once we were slaves to sin, and then to the law, but now we have the rights of being a son and as a son full access to our inheritance as a rightful heir. There has to be a difference between living under the rule of a stern ruler, even a God who is stern, but because we have the spirit of Jesus in our hearts, our relationship with God is that of one whom we can call “Abba, Father”. “Abba” is Aramaic for father and it is noted in that culture a slave or servant in the household is not permitted to use that title when addressing the master of the house, but only his own children. This gives us the picture that we are no longer in servitude of the law, but have full rights as the sons of God. However wonderful that is, there is also something which strikes a chord in our hearts. The idea of being an heir. We spend much of our thinking time about our relationship with God, and having Jesus in our hearts, and trying to live in a manner that would please God. We make our efforts to live as free from sin, at least those sins we consider as bad sins, which may be different for each believer. But the idea of being an heir. What are we an heir to? We are going to inherit all that belongs to our Father. What belongs to our Father? Everything! The whole universe is his. Heaven is his. Whatever the new earth and the new heaven look like they are also his. The new city of Jerusalem, however that looks, is his and there is where he is going to live forever with all his children who have inherited all that which is his. Of course, he also has everlasting life, and thus we too inherit everlasting life, so we can enjoy all that we have inherited for all eternity. We are going to have a very intimate relationship with our Father as we live in our inheritance, but we do not have to wait, for we already have received our inheritance of eternal life as our right as his son and can call him “Abba, Father”. We already have this intimate relationship with our Father, we can talk to him anytime we want to, and he will listen to us intently. We also can hear his voice anytime we want to, for he is always ready to talk with us. He is never too busy, not too tired to spend time with us. His love for us endures forever. He has an enduring love for his children. He has given us everything that is his. We are his heirs.