THE HOLY SPIRIT and SONSHIP Devotion 28 of 30 – Tomorrow:
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 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." (Romans 8:12-17, NKJV)
". . . IF indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."
Here is another one of those "IF" clauses. Wherever an "if" is found, choice is required. This is not the "if" of happenstance. Make no mistake about this. Those who do not meet the requirement will not enjoy the benefit! I realize it is not fashionable to speak in this manner among certain people, but that is no to concern to me. Those who speak of unconditional love, and the impossibility of coming short of the rest do well to adjust their theology, for it is flawed at the core. There is not a syllable in Scripture that suggests salvation, the most magnanimous display of Divine love, is without conditions. Faith is a condition (Heb 11:6). Repentance is a condition (Lk 13:3,5). Obedience if a condition (Acts 5:32; Heb 5:9). Hearing what the Spirit is saying is a condition (Rev 2:7). There are all revealed conditions, not the suppositions or conclusions of men.
Now we come to another condition. The issues are great. Let no one be foolish enough to disassociate this text from salvation. We are speaking of being "heirs," "heirs of God," and "joint heirs with Christ." I hardly see how anything could be more significant. The person who imagines it is possible to fail to meet this test and still be saved is not wise, to say the least. Such a person has been deceived by the devil and thrown into a state of spiritual insanity. Being an "heir," an "heir of God," and a "joint heir with Christ" IS salvation, viewed from the standpoint of its culmination.
IF INDEED WE SUFFER
Again, the language is strong. The KJV reads, "if SO BE that we suffer with Him." Other versions read, "if indeed we suffer with Him" (NKJV, NASB), "if indeed we share in His sufferings" (NIV), "if, in fact, we suffer with Him" (NRSV), "provided we suffer with Him" (RSV), and "we must also share His suffering" (NLT). This is not, then, a casual suggestion.
Two things are required. First, the suffering must be genuine, or germane to the faith-life. Second, it must be "with Christ," experienced in the crucible of fellowship with the Son, into which God has called us (1 Cor 1:9). These two views are worthy of further development.
GENUINE SUFFERING
The suffering must be "indeed," and "in fact." The status of an "heir" is conditioned on this suffering: "provided we suffer." That means there is a suffering that does not qualify for the blessing. Suffering as an "evil doer," for example, does not count (1 Pet 4:15). There are also sufferings related to living in this world – sufferings that are common to all men, whether they are believers or not. They do not qualify for the blessing either.
Genuine suffering includes reappraisals for being godly – suffering "for righteousness sake" (1 Pet 3:14). It is the result of separation from the world and an earnest quest for heaven. It is written, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (1 Tim 3:12). Such people are promised their suffering is not the end of the matter. Their day is coming! In them the promise will be fulfilled, "The LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom" (Deut 28:13).
Those who recoil from such suffering put a distance between themselves and the promises of God. If they do not take up their cross every day and follow Jesus, they will not be "heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." If, however, they bear up patiently under the harsh treatment of the world, God will richly reward them. For them, there is coming a day when they will not recall a single wrong. Their eternal inheritance will drown out such remembrances in a blaze of everlasting glory.
WITH CHRIST
For suffering to be valid, it must be "with Christ," not merely for Him. This speaks of the "fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil 3:10), sharing the same rejection and opposition our Lord experienced. This is not the suffering Jesus did when He bore the sins of the world. No person can share in that sufferings. They can only share in the benefits that flow from them. This is the suffering of which Jesus spoke when He said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).
When we, so to speak, get into the harness with Jesus, taking His yoke upon ourselves (Matt 11:28), men will react to us as they do to Him. His enemies will become our enemies, and His friends will become our friends. Those who disagree with Him will disagree with us. Those who reject Him will reject us. It is His life in us that produces these conditions. As Paul confessed, speaking for all who are in the Son, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Gal 2:20, NASB).
If you will bear up under the suffering that results from this fellowship, you are an heir, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ! Pass the word along to fellow sufferers! They need to hear it. You need to hear it! I need to hear it! Jesus has left a remnant of suffering behind for us – suffering in which the choicest Divine fellowship will be realized. Paul referred to this suffering when he wrote, "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church" (Col 1:24). These are not redemptive sufferings. They do not remove sin, either yours or the sins of others. But they ARE sufferings appointed as the prelude to inheriting God and being a joint heir with Jesus! Embrace them with zeal!
PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ, grant me the grace to properly evaluate my sufferings. Then strengthen me to embrace those that are for righteousness sake in anticipation of being an heir of God and joint heir with Christ.