God's Adopted Family #5 Series

God’s Adopted Family. 5

Heir’s of God, Joint Heirs with Christ.

Reading: Revelations 3:14-22

In our final look at God’s Adopted family, we are going to glance at our riches in Christ Jesus.

The position of exhortation of each member of the Body of Christ, is one that is often not fully realised. When one sees our ultimate position in Christ, we are able to say as Paul said:

Romans 8:18; "I consider that the sufferings if this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

(Living Bible) "What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later."

This is very much an appeal to get things in proportion, see then in relation to eternity and not just your present circumstances. Start to view things in the medium and long term and not just in the immediate short term.

If you only live in the short term, you will always be subject to the agenda of others and the agenda of present circumstances. You will loose out on the destiny that God has for you and be blown about with the latest fad and wind of doctrine, be that of a philosophy of life or of some strained bible text wrenched out of biblical and historical context.

As the song said; "KEEP LOOKING DOWN, WE’RE SEATED IN THE HEAVENLIES."

Those who are Christ’s own, have been taken from the impoverished state of destitution and degradation. They have been lifted from the filth, mire and stench of sin, to the exhorted position of being and heir of God, joint heir with Christ Jesus.

This is the greatest, from rags to riches story. We have been taken from the world, where it’s riches can be got at by moths and rust, thieves and robbers, decay and time bound values. From that we have been transplanted into the Kingdom of eternal security where all things of eternal will last.

We need to grasp that the riches of God are to ours in Christ Jesus.

So what is an heir? The dictionary defines it as, "A person or person, legally entitles to succeed to property or rank."

We have all be bought with a price. We are God’s own because of that price that Jesus paid. He made us sons and daughters of Himself. What is more is that we are to attain to the rank of Co-ruler with Christ Jesus. We are to be Co-rulers with our Lord in His Kingdom to come.

In the words of our Lord to the church at Laodicea, we read the following:

Revelation 3:21; "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father in his throne."

The church at Laodicea had three basic problems:

(1) Apathy.

(2) Spiritual blindness.

(3) Bankruptcy in the affairs of God.

APATHY.

This is described as lukewarmness. Unless their was to be a radical change, to hot or cold. The result was to be rejection from God.

An apathetic person is one who is "void of feeling; indifferent; insensible and passionless." Four basic character traits that should never exist in a born-again believer.

Our Lord wept over Jerusalem and at Lazarus’ tomb, He was decisive in His declaration of its effect on the Kingdom. His passion for the souls of man and His efforts to pluck them form the fires of hell, was such that He died to redeem us. God put Himself out for mankind, because He considered mankind worthwhile redeeming.

SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS.

They were unable to see their state. They had all the correct theology; all the spiritual gifts were in operation, just as they were in Corinth. (Spiritual gifts are not the mark of spirituality.) They were well off. Yet they had aloud other values to blind them. Too many other things came first, before their Lord and His Kingdom. They were rich in resources, both physical and intellectual, but in the eyes of God they were:

Revelation 3:17; "...wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked."

That word NAKED, basically manes someone who is exposed to the elements without any protection against them. That state of affairs has come about because of the laying aside of the outer garments.

Spiritual blindness is also the inability to see the consequences of ones own actions. Samson is an example:

Judges 16:20; "But he did not know that the LORD had departed form him."

The church at Laodicea just could not see the imminent rejection of God, was at hand.

BANKRUPTCY IN THE AFFAIRES OF GOD.

Jesus said to them:

Revelation 3:18; "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."