The glory of God’s heirs

Romans 8:14-25; 3/23/2025; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

Introduction

Heirs, in a broad sense, refer to future generations.  In a narrow sense, it refers to those who have inherited or will inherit the property.  God promised Abraham that only the child of Sarah would inherit his inheritance.  Heirs in Romans refer to being heirs with Christ and inheriting God’s inheritance because of faith in the Lord.  Because of this spiritual identity, Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit and greatly honored!  This is the origin of today’s sermon message. Let’s look at the first point:

The Holy Spirit-led identity

It is normal to have difficulty understanding the book of Romans, because the thinking mode of the Bible is often not familiar to us.  In particular, Paul’s method of interpretation is full of the roots of two cultures, namely Hebrew and Greek culture.  However, it is not unattainable.  It means learning with your heart, brain, time and life.  First, receive sonship.  We are originally sinners, but because of our faith in Christ we are called the sons of God.  How can we bear this?  We feel scared when we listen to it, and may even feel a certain degree of rejection in our heart, right?  Today’s scripture tells us that all those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.   Many people are interested in seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, and that is good.  How good is that?  The only good thing is longing for God and longing for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  In fact, the leading of the Holy Spirit is equivalent to walking the path of faith.  Anyone who believes in Him is a child of God!  So, whoever believes in Him, the Holy Spirit leads them!   We don’t need to worry about how the Holy Spirit leads us.  We only need to obey the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, walk with Him, and accept His help at any time.

Second, receive the love of the Heavenly Father.  Like the Jewish Christians at that time, we do not have a “father view” of God, that is, the concept of God as our father in heaven.  We may even resist: How can the Lord who created heaven and earth be our Father in heaven?  On the contrary, we are more accustomed to being slaves or bandits, wasting our time in fear and disobedience.  Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, and Paul also told us here that from the day we believed in the Lord, our hearts have been renewed by God.  No longer the heart of a slave, but the heart of a son!  From now on, we can even call God our “Abba! Father!”  The idea of ​​a Heavenly Father will change our lives!  No more fear, for He is my Father and my God!

Finally, receive the companionship of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the promise of Christ, the sending of the Father, and the seal in the hearts of God’s children.  Jesus pointed out the origin of the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, (John 14:16)”  The original meaning of Comforter is the one who is called to someone’s side to be a comforter, helper, encourager, protector, teacher, and intercessor.   Among them, one of the most important tasks of the Holy Spirit is to remind people of all the words Jesus said to his disciples.  The very presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is the guarantee of our identity as children of God.  The Holy Spirit tells us who we are, who we belong to, and for whom we live, and we receive His help at all times.  What’s even more amazing is that the Holy Spirit is willing to co-work with us and bear beautiful witness to God together!  Let’s look at the second point:

The path led by the Holy Spirit

Christ told His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.”  Then, after I leave, I will ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit.  Then, the Holy Spirit will lead you and teach you the path you should take.  First, after suffering comes glory.  If we briefly described the life of Christ, we would probably say: He suffered for us, died, sacrificed his life on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and promised to come again. Right?  Therefore, if a person who believes in Jesus wants to follow the Lord, he must understand the suffering and the meaning of it.  Therefore, Paul said: “ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:17)”  This word brings hope, grace and power.  Life is unsatisfactory, nine times out of ten. what to do?  As long as we suffer for the Lord, after the suffering is the glory of the Lord, so what?

Secondly, the creation’s groaning in pain.  Have you ever thought about what suffering is in life?  Where is the suffering and difficulty in this life?  Lost your job? Lose health?  Lost your wealth? Lost love?  Losing family ties?  On the contrary, if you get everything, will there be no suffering?  In fact, the day you get it, new suffering will come.  Paul tells us here that the greatest suffering in life is ourselves!  Why?  Because after our ancestors sinned, it is difficult for us, as created beings, to escape the bondage of corruption.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  It is for this reason that Christ laid down his life for you and me, bearing the burden that we cannot bear, and saving us from the vanity of this corruption.

Finally, the body is redeemed and bears the first fruit.  If the Lord Jesus had not come, become flesh, and become the ransom for all of us, we would be in toil and sorrow, and it becomes empty in the blink of an eye and we sigh together!  Not only that, even if we are saved, we will inevitably sigh in our hearts. Why?  Because we are still waiting, waiting for our bodies to be redeemed to receive the sonship of God.  This is what we often mean when we say that although we are saved, we are not perfect yet.  Because our bodies will still sin and our hearts will still be weak.  We may even occasionally be overcome by sin, hurt God’s heart, and bring God’s name into disrepute.  This is why we who have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit should be watchful and pray lest we fall into temptation!  Let’s look at the third point:

The hope led by the Holy Spirit

Since you are the son of the inheritance, you should hold on to hope in eternal life, lest you lose faith due to groaning in pain.  First, hope is the grace given by God.  Paul said: For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)  Therefore, we can say that we are saved by grace through hope.  Then the proposition that hope is grace arises spontaneously and is thought-provoking.  Because hope does not naturally belong to us.  We are born without hope.  God’s way is justification by faith, but how do we believe it?  Not everyone believes it, and those who do believe it are weird, right?   God cannot be seen, touched, or heard clearly, so how can one believe in Him?  Maybe even you can’t explain it clearly!  Not only did you believe it, you believed it to the end and were faithful until death.  Why?  Isn’t it just because there is hope in your heart?  What is hope?  You can’t tell clearly, because hope is grace!  Since it is grace, it is received by faith!

Secondly, hope for what is unseen.  People who feel strange may ask, what are you hoping for?  Is there any scientific basis for this?  Can you prove it?  Paul said at this time, it turns out that what we hope for is beyond our eyes!  When our family left Norway for Hong Kong in 1995, we had no idea about the future.  Apart from faith, it is hope, nothing more.  I didn’t know that after Hong Kong, I would go to Europe for missionary work.  I didn’t know that I would return to Norway in two years.  I didn’t even know that after Norway I would come to the United States, and it would be more than 20 years since I arrived.  In fact, everything I saw later was not my hope.  Because what I won’t see in the future has become my new hope.

Finally, it turns out that faith is hope.  As Paul said: “For who hopes for what he sees? ”  Once you see it, you know it, and your hope disappears!  Paul said: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”  It means that before what you hope for comes, there will be suffering and even disaster.  Without the will to wait patiently, the grace of hope will also be lost.  Here, the hope that Paul emphasizes is the salvation of our bodies, that is, the return of the Lord, which can be fully realized.  What the Lord cares about is not what we do,  but more importantly, our patience waiting in faith!  This is the glory God has prepared for His children, the heirs who inherit the spiritual inheritance!

Conclusion

Well, thank the Lord!  The glory of God’s heirs is the identity, path, and hope led by the Holy Spirit!  I wish that God’s hand would show His deeds in us, so that we creatures could still have hope, be freed from the corrupting control of sin, and enjoy the glory of the freedom of God’s children!

Let us pray……

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 

21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.