Training for reigning
There are two things in [Romans 8:17] associated with being a fellow heir of Christ. The first is suffering and the second is glory.
I am a state champion football player. I accomplished this wonderful feat in 1989 when the Jr. Blues of Washburn Rural took the field and completed an undefeated season to become the uncontested best team in the state of Kansas. I know this is true because I was in the stands watching the whole thing. I watched them score, I watched them defend, and I watched them win. I am a state champion football player. Yet I never touched the ball or the field. I didn’t even have pads on the day we won the championship. But my name is recorded in permanent record as a member of that team. I could even have put a patch on my letter jacket that touted my accomplishment (which I didn’t have the gall to do). I was on the freshman team that year and was invited to play in the post season with the varsity— an honour which four of us declined for more couch time and fewer wind sprints. None the less, our names were on the roster, and, when the team won, we won, too.
Romans 8:17 says, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” That means that when the Lord won the victory, I won too! Since I am in Christ, His inheritance is my inheritance, His reward is my reward, His acceptance is my acceptance, and so on. Just as identification with my team earned me a state title, identification with Christ ushers me into all of His blessing. Notice that the verse says “if children, then heirs.” Every person who has come to God through Christ is a joint heir with the King of kings and Lord of lords. What a blessing! What grace is ours through Him. Hebrews 1:2 tells us that the Lord Jesus is “the heir of all things.” And if we are in Him, then we are to inherit all things (Rev. 21:7). If you are in Christ today then you are rich, you are secure, and you are loved—all because Christ deserves the inheritance of a perfect heaven, and we have come into the good of His reward by being identified with Him. He became poor that we might be rich. We have so much to be thankful for!
There are two things in this verse associated with being a fellow heir of Christ. The first is suffering and the second is glory.
The heir will suffer
A would-be toddler bride was once asked the question in her mock wedding ceremony, “Do you take this man?” She responded, “Yes”. Next came the phrase, “For richer or poorer?” to which she responded with delighted eyes, “Richer!” As cute as that may be, far too often it reflects our thoughts toward our bridegroom. The phrase “if indeed we suffer” carries the meaning “since we are suffering.” This portion assumes that the fellow heir is a partaker of His sufferings. We can be so thankful to be associated with the wealth and blessing of Christ but so hesitant to bear His reproach and suffering. Our leader was put to death on a cross. He promised us that the world would hate us because it hated Him first. Verses like this one make us ask ourselves, “To what extent am I willing to suffer for Him?” or “How am I currently suffering for Him?” For many of us, the answer is little or none at all. We should no longer be content with such insulated lives. Let us go outside the camp and bear His reproach! Are you shining as alight to such an extent that the darkness around you notices and reacts? If we are like Christ, then it will be so. “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Php. 1:29).
Glory will follow
I have seen many saints become teary-eyed at the singing of songs about heaven. Ones they have loved the most are already there. They look forward to seeing the face of the One who loved them and gave Himself for them. At times, the suffering of this life is deep, but the Scriptures often remind us that it is nothing compared to the glory to follow! Notice just two of the many great verses the Lord has given us for our comfort and hope.
“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.” (1 Sam. 2:8)
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:4)
The heir of God is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We will reign with Christ in His kingdom, and we are looking forward to ultimately being received into glory based on His worthiness. 1 Peter 1 tells us that the inheritance of God’s child is incorruptible (will not cease to exist), undefiled (was not obtained or kept in an unworthy way), and unfading (will never diminish). In these three ways, it is better than anything we can live for here on this earth. It is also reserved (guarded by a strong man) so that nothing can separate the heir from his rightful inheritance. Roman law made all children, including adopted ones, equal heirs. Jewish law gave a double portion to the eldest son. As a Gentile child of God, I’m thankful that every heir gets an equal and full inheritance. All are treated as the firstborn. In this respect, all are treated as Christ. To be associated with Him is everything. We are called by His name, loved with the same quality of love that He is, given the privilege of suffering for His sake, and so on.
Praise the Lord for the opportunity to be with Him in glory! Praise the Lord for the opportunity to suffer with Him now. May we have the joy of honouring the Father through a life poured out in the same way as His, “…who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while…” (1 Pet. 5:10).