Category: Inheritance

Heart, Inheritance

I Am Their Inheritance

Inge Schultz

And it shall be unto them for an inheritance; I am their inheritance, and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.”

Ezekiel 44:28

What inheritance will you have? For some it may be a strong desire to have in so much that some go out of their way so to see to it that they receive what they believe is owed them. The uncontrolled longing to get gain is a driving force for many.

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning: but the end thereof shall not be blessed.”

Proverbs 20:21

What should be our attitudes be towards an inheritance? When it comes to money it always brings speculation and everyone is judged as to their individual actions towards the one who has a will. Many families are broken up because of a will of a testator. Everyone in the family believes that they have a right to what is left of an estate by the testator. We forget to do the right thing in everything we do here on the earth. When we look at the house of Israel the main grievance that the Lord God had against them was harlotry along with idolatry. The house of Israel was unprincipled and immoral in their actions towards the house of the Lord. They have abused the sanctuary of the Lord and in Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 44, God is setting things in order and only the priests from the Levites are allowed to stand before the Lord. The Levite priests are given instruction to teach the people the difference between what is holy and what is common, to discern between what is clean and unclean [see Ezekiel 44:23].

To be able to minister in the inner court of the sanctuary, one must offer his sin offering. After the cleansing and sin offering, this is when an inheritance is set up where God himself shall be their inheritance and He is also their possession. What does it mean to have an inheritance. Is it not an irrevocable gift of God? This takes some thought and meditation to think it through in its meaning.

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”

1 Corinthians 7:23

Who has bought you with a price? Is it not Jesus Christ who died as a sin offering in order that we may all stand before God in the inner court. Are we not to consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, [see Hebrews 3:1]. The answer is yes. A Christian after hearing the gospel of Jesus and believing in the truth of Jesus is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and this is the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, [see Ephesians 1:11-14]. We have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things to the glory of God. That is why we are not the servants of men, but of Christ instead.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that faded not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

1 Peter 1:3-5

God has provided an incorruptible inheritance for the children of God. This inheritance will not fade away and it is reserved for us in heaven. We are kept by the power of God through our faith in Christ Jesus. No one can take this inheritance away from us. Take note that a price was paid in order that an inheritance could be made. Let us not abuse the privilege that God has given us. An inheritance that is gotten hastily by a person is not innocent because he has fallen into temptation and a snare because of his own lust. Coveting brings destruction to all men even in the house of Israel. We should think twice about our earthly inheritance as to not abuse the written will of a testator as well as the Lord God.

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”

Proverbs 13:22

Have you ever wondered about why in Proverbs it states that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children and not his children? Why should we leave an inheritance unto the next generation? Does this not take into account the future generations rather than the current generation which has already benefited by his parents love and support. Lest we forget that “children are a heritage from the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward,” [Psalms 127:3]. God knows the heart of man and in what state his heart is. I have witnessed and experienced the war one can wage in getting more than their fair share of a will. I was left standing alone many times as a young child, and as a teen by my own mother. I was born out of wedlock. Almost given up for adoption and used as a slave rather than a child/mother relationship. My mother disobeyed her parents and went her own way. It was my grandparents who kept me in mind in their will. And I am reminded that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. I received a portion of the will but received a letter from a lawyer that my mother was contesting the will. I received a copy of the will and showed it to a cousin. My cousin could not believe or understand why the will was being contested but told me that I was entitled to what the written will had stated.

At that time, I was not sure what the real issue was in regard to the will except for the fact that my mother wanted more. It was not the fact that she needed it, it was the fact that she desired more. I gave her what she wanted knowing that God is my inheritance. I knew that my grandparents were good and trusted in God. The labor of their hands God did bless. I have not spoken to my mother in over 40 years. She is estranged from me and has been since my youth. God has provided for my needs when I did not have a penny to my name, and this was before the death of my grandparents to whom I have never seen. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light,” [Romans 13:12]. Our attitudes must change to the mind of Christ. We must know what is clean and unclean. We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts, [Romans 13:14]. We must not walk in strive and envying, we must walk honestly before all men. We live unto the Lord, and we die unto the Lord, for we are the Lord’s.

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.”

Romans 14:9

Remember we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. “The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” Romans 14:17. Lord help us to follow after the things which make for peace. Let us give thanks unto the Lord who is our inheritance and has provided a place for us in heaven. Keep us from all forms of evil and help us to discern what is clean and unclean. In Jesus name, amen.

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Holy Spirit, Inheritance, The law of the Spirit of Life

The law of the Spirit of Life

Inge Schultz

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:2

The Spirit of Life is through Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the chief corner stone in which the building is structured to a holy temple in the Lord. The church is structured through the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, and it is fashioned through the character of Christ. Paul told the Ephesians that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them,” [Ephesians 2:10]. We can boast what Christ has done in our personal life, but we cannot take glory for the work of the Lord, for it was a gift of God and we were all bought with a price. There is a law put in place and that law of the Spirit of life is Christ Jesus himself. This is the everlasting life that flows through us by the Holy Spirit and builds us up into the character of Christ.

In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21-22

We become a holy temple and a habitation of God through the Spirit. Wow! This takes some consideration in our minds to get around the full meaning of what this means. To imagine that each of us is fitly framed together to grow into a holy temple can be hard to understand. This is the body that is being built in the church. I have not even thought about this in my early walk as a Christian. I became a Christian in 1974 in Seattle Washington. Several of us from the youth group at the Presbyterian Church and some from the Catholic church went to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, Washington. We had heard about the charismatic movement and the speaking of tongues. I cannot remember how or who suggested us to go and check it out. But we went one Sunday morning to St. Luke’s in Ballard, for we wanted to learn more about the baptism in the Spirit. We went forward during the invitation to come to the alter and pray. Rev. Dennis Bennett came in back of each of us praying and laying hands on us to receive the Holy Spirit. When his hands touch my head, I felt the power of God go through me and I began to speak in tongues. We were all full of the Holy Spirit and God’s light shown upon our faces.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the beginning of building the holy temple in the Lord. The Holy Spirit comes in clean vessels that are yielded vessels for the work of God to move in the heart towards the character of Christ. We let go the youthful lust in the flesh which was common among youth and desired to have peace, love, and faith in the Lord Jesus. Our sins were forgiven and now we wanted the fullness of the Spirit to walk in the love of Christ. The apostle Paul stated to depart from all iniquity. If a man would purge himself from all that is unclean, he would become a vessel of honor, sanctified, and fit for the master’s use and this would prepare us for every good work, [see 2 Timothy 2:21]. This is the law of the Spirit of Life through Christ Jesus. Being made free from the law of sin and death. Created in Christ Jesus to the glory of God. We were so full of the Spirit of God that we would gather at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle late at night to sing praises and dance unto the Lord. This may sound astounding, but like King David dancing before the Lord, so did we play cymbals and tambourines and danced. In those days the church door was left open for anyone to come and pray when needed. This was a house of prayer.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle

“Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”

Psalms 149:3

I can remember this as if it was yesterday, but this was 48 years ago. So much joy was in our hearts that we had to spend time in the Spirit to exalt the name of the Lord. This was the beginning of walking in the Spirit. We did not want to be carnally minded for to be carnally minded brought death and not peace.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 8:6

The word carnally is the Hebrew word “shakab” which means copulation, seed, or sexual act. We wanted life and peace that is from being spiritually minded through Christ Jesus. The righteousness that is in Christ Jesus has the redemptive power to save and to create a new man. This is the Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus. Romans chapter 8 mentions the Holy Spirit nineteen times. This is an important note for us to consider and chew upon. Sin and death no longer have control over us, for we belong to Christ, and we now have the righteousness of Christ who is the victor over sin and death. If we put to death the deeds of the body, we shall live [see Romans 8:13]. Our body and mind belong to the Lord, and we must worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. It is the Spirit that works in the yielded Christian to bring the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus into effect. This is so marvelous that the power of the resurrection of Christ will give life to our mortal bodies by His Spirit [see Romans 8:11]. As the believer becomes a habitation for God, our adoption is assured as children and heirs of God.

The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

Romans 8:16

Do you have that witness within your own spirit? Is your position in Christ a reality? The indwelling of the Spirit gives the realization of the present experience which is the earnest down payment of our inheritance that we have through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sonship is the adoption we receive the moment we believe. Regeneration takes on the meaning of the divine life of Christ nature to flow in the believer by the Holy Spirit. This means we do not work at achieving it ourselves, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit to renew our mind and heart to that of having the mind and heart of Christ. The apostle Paul states it as the following:

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

The washing or bathing in the regeneration or new birth is in Christ Jesus who gives us the Spirit to help us become more Christ like in our nature and character. It is from glory to glory that He is changing us. When the Holy Spirit convicts us about something, we surrender it, and he works the change within us. We are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God states Paul in 1st Corinthians 6:11. This is the saving grace of God the Father, and it is done through the Son who gives us the Holy Spirit as our helper. The mystery of the work of the Spirit who points to Christ who points to the Father is something many theologians have debated. The Trinity is the three in one {Father, Son, and Holy Spirit}. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to give life to our mortal bodies so that we can live in peace, love, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is something we can rejoice in and give thanks to the Lord.

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Dead Raised UP, Inheritance

How are the Dead Raised up?

Inge Schultz

But some man will say, how are the dead raised up?”

1 Corinthians 15:35

Have you ever asked this question, “how are the dead raised up?” It is the age-old question through the centuries that had many captivated as to the answer. Is there life after death is the other question that is related to the dead being raised up. During my lifetime as a Christian to date this topic may have only been preached a few times. One is so consumed about living and not dying, yet death is all around us. Even in my youth I have seen death. The death of a beloved animal, or family member and friends. When Job was going through his trial and complaining, God asked Job these questions.

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

Job38:17

If there is anyone acquainted with death is God and his son Jesus Christ. The word grieve means to inflict or afflict pain. It’s origin from the Hebrew word is “yagon” and it is associated with the word agony. We should remember that God was so grieved with the wickedness of man to do evil that the Lord God said in Genesis chapter six in verse six, “and it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Read the rest of the story in Genesis chapter six. I believe the hardest thing for a human to do is to die to their own self will, yet that is exactly what Christ did on the cross for each of us. He died that we might have life. We are so consumed with our own life that we forget that death is knocking at the door if we do not address it for whatever is not of faith is sin [see Romans 14:23]. There can be no doubt in your life for you to lose the power of God to act on your behalf. The life of the Christian is totally based upon faith, and that faith carries with it the power of God to perform miracles in our life.

The first man Adam was a living soul while the last Adam who is Christ is a life-giving spirit. Christ is the Fountian of life, and He gave that life to others. And here comes the rub that most people ignore, it is that one must die to their own self will in order to live for Christ. Our self-will is what gets us into trouble. We do not want to give it up. We do not want to surrender. Yet God is asking us to do just that. Paul states that the body is for the Lord and the Lord for the body [see 1 Corinthians 6:13]. Thus, when we read verse 36 of 1st Corinthians, we may begin to understand just a little about its meaning.

Thou fool, that which thou sow is not made alive, except it die;”

1 Corinthians 15:36

What did Jesus say about his own sacrifice? “Verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit,” [ see John 12:24]. What did Jesus mean by saying this? The answer is in the next verse of 25 in John chapter 12. If you love your life, you will lose it, for it is in your will to love your life more than anyone else. In otherwards your pride of life will bring you down like Lucifer who exclaimed, ” I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” Know that you can play right into the hand of Satan by doing the same and exalting yourself above the stars of God. Judgement is here and now. Jesus stated, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out,” [John 12:31]. Walking in darkness means you do not know where you are going, but the Bible tells us this is death. The judgement that is spoken of is here now because that judgement was upon Jesus Christ who bore our sins upon the cross. Think about it, it was death for Christ but to those who believe it is justification.

Satan the prince of this world will be cast down. It is God who giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed its own body [see 1 Corinthians 15:38]. All flesh is not the same flesh Paul states in the next verse of 1st Corinthians 15:39, and so is the resurrection of the dead. The whole later chapter of 1st Corinthians 15 should be read. It is Jesus himself who restored death to life. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. The natural body was sown in corruption, and it is raised in incorruption. Look at verse 45 of 1st Corinthians 15.

And so, it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45

The natural becomes a life-giving spirit. We start in the natural but end up in the spiritual. This is our inheritance through Jesus Christ. Those in Christ will bear the image of the heavenly body. We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [see 1 Corinthians 15:52]. What a day that will be. Death will be swallowed up in victory. Our inheritance at that point will be final, for we will have received a heavenly spiritual body. This is the earnest expectation we wait for, those who belong to Christ in faith. The fall of Adam has brought vanity to all creation. [see Romans 8:20]. Paul tells us in Romans 8 verse 21, that creation itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. How marvelous is God to even consider all living creation? Paul states that the whole creation groaned and travail in pain waiting for the redemption of the body.

This is the hope we have as Christians, the deliverance of our natural body to a heavenly body. For Christ is the head of the body and all things has been put under His feet [see Ephesians 1:22]. We can now understand Paul better when he exclaims that “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” We gain Christ provision of eternal life from death itself and a redemption of the body at a future date. But we must die to our own self-will and follow Christ on the road of love. With the Holy Spirit as our helper to point us in the right path, and to always pray with all supplication unto the Lord. We ask and receive to the fullness we have in Christ Jesus, for greater is He that is in us than He that is in this world, [ 1 John 4:4]. We can sing that wonderful hymn written by E. M. Bartlett, “Victory in Jesus.” Yes, He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood. His precious blood’s atoning gave humanity life over death.

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.

Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow’r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t
To me the victory.

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Holy Spirit, Inheritance

Be Filled with the Spirit

Inge Schultz

“And be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Ephesians 5:18

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? To be filled with the Spirit is to walk in the Spirit and not to walk in the flesh. Have you not been quickened together with Christ and saved by grace? If we have been quickened with Christ and saved by grace, we should be walking in the Spirit whereby we have been sealed unto the day of redemption [Ephesians 4:30]. This is the gospel of your salvation that the apostle Paul spoke about in Romans.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”

Romans 1:16

Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the power of God. It was Jesus Christ himself who spoke of the promise of the Spirit’s indwelling in the Gospel of John, chapter 14. Oh, how we need the Spirit so desperately to guide our path in these days. The Holy Spirit that Jesus prayed to the Father for was to be our comforter and guide in our everyday living. Jesus did not want us to be orphans, He wanted us to be children belonging to the Father God. The Holy Spirit is to teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance. The Holy Spirit will also teach us what we need to know and hear in the word of God. We are to be filled and led by the Spirit in order that we do not go back under the law where the works of the flesh bring bondage. The works of the flesh that we were saved out of such as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying’s, murders, drunkenness, raveling’s, and such like as is stated in Galatians 5:21. If we are in Christ, we have crucified the flesh with its desires. We put to death these desires by binding them in the name of Jesus. We are no longer under its control and the Holy Spirit comes to dispel us of those desires.

Have you received the Holy Spirit? This is a question for every believer of Christ. If you are a believer of Christ, you are His disciple and you should receive the Holy Spirit of God. We need the Holy Spirit in our life to teach us every day, for temptations are visible and we must make decisions not to fall into them. How can we compare spiritual things with spiritual [see 1st Corinthians 2:13] if we do not have the Spirit of God residing within us? We need the Holy Spirit convictions to guide us into the truth of the word of God and to discern its meaning. This is more than just mere head knowledge of the bible. This is a deep heart felt knowledge that is proven in your life because you are walking in it and experiencing it firsthand. The apostle Paul states that the natural man cannot receive and know the things from the Spirit of God [ see 1st Corinthians 2:14]. We must have the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and keep us in the light of Christ. There is so much disillusionment and false teaching regarding the Holy Spirit that the Spirit is stamped out in our life as well as the church. When this happens, we become dead in Christ rather than alive in Christ.

After I got saved, I went with a small group to another church where the pastor laid his hands on our heads to receive the Holy Spirit. We all started to speak in tongues. Was this wrong? No, it is no different than what happened in Acts 8:17 and Acts 9:17. I went back to my church and word got out about the young people who received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. The pastors of the church said it was of the devil and those who spoke in tongues were to stop. I missed this service were this was said but had a long discussion about it with one my friends. My faith stumbled. I could not believe that something so joyous was of the devil. The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians in 1st. Thessalonians 5:19, “Quench not the Spirit.” Some churches are doing exactly that quenching the Spirit. Why? Because they do not understand, believe, or feel that they cannot control the Spirit of God. In fact, some believe that it was only for a specific time period of the early church in 30 AD.

I did not have the assurance of what happened to me and being a new babe in Christ, I could only continue my walk as a new Christian. The truth about the Holy Spirit I kept to myself, and I struggled with it for a while not being sure about it. However, when I had my prayer time, or when I sang, I knew I still had God’s Spirit residing with me, for I sensed His presence. This was a heartfelt experience and I know I was praying and singing to a person rather than just praying and singing with no knowledge at all to whom I was praying or singing to. That made a big difference in my life, just knowing to whom I was praying and singing to. That God was real in my life and that I had experienced His divine intervention in my life. It was not magic; it was real, and God proved it to me.

Our God is our protector, healer, and provider. He will always give us what we need in life as long as our faith in grounded in His Son Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus that we have been given the privilege to pray to our Heavenly Father. It is through Jesus that we can also receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus stated that “he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water,” [John7:38]. Look at the next verse in John 7:39 where it states that He spoke about the Spirit, that those who believe should receive the Holy Spirit. God is a Spirit, and we must worship him in spirit and in truth.

“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

John 4:22-24

I pray that you know to whom you are worshipping. Every believer should have the living water flowing out of his heart, which is the Holy Spirit. Every believer should know to whom they are praying and worshipping to. Every believer should test the spirit to see if it is of the Spirit of God.

“Try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1 John 4:2

The Holy Spirit will always point to Christ, if it does not, it is not the Spirit of God. Remember that Satan has his spirits as well. That is why the apostle John was telling us to test the spirits in 1st John chapter 4. Look at verse three of John chapter 4 where he states, “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.” In fact, John states that this is the spirit of antichrist, and is already in the world. So, there is the spirit of antichrist, and there is the Spirit of God. Know the difference. Be assured that you stand in the liberty where Christ has made us free from all the works of the flesh. Christ has given us the Holy Spirit as our comforter to help us walk as disciples of Christ. This is the down payment of our inheritance (the Holy Spirit) until the redemption of the purchased possession [see Ephesians1:13-14]. Read Ephesians 5:16-20:

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:16-20

If you lack the Holy Spirit in your life, ask God to fill you with His Spirit in the name of Jesus. Read the Gospel of John chapter 14 verses 13-26. It will happen as you believe.

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Inheritance

We have obtained an Inheritance . . .

Inge Schultz

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

Ephesians 1:11

We have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to His will. What does it mean to be predestined? The Greek word is “proorizo,” and it means to mark out or determine beforehand. Another word would be foreordained, which is to ordain in advance according to Merriam-Webster. Some may call it fate. The apostle Paul used this word in Ephesians chapter one verses 5 and 11. We should know God’s will and testament as it is written in the Holy Bible. Many people were involved in the translation of the Bible and fate has brought it through many generations. Biblical archaeology has affirmed its historical truth, even though there are those who wish to discredit it. The debate still goes on today because of unbelief and doubt. Let us consider what it would be like not to have the Bible and know the story of man [Adam & Eve] fallen from their own desire to be something else than what God desired them to be, rulers over the earth [see Genesis 1;26].

Man is a law unto themselves. They choose what they desire in their heart to do good or evil. Those who have ruled have not all been good. Friedrich Nietzsche was an influential German philosopher, and it is interesting to note that even he commented on why people do not want to hear the truth because it would destroy their illusions. They do not want to face their own fears or demons in their life. However, the stories written in the Bible are about men who must face the reality of their own fears and or demons in their life. Maybe that is why David exclaimed, “who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults, [see Psalms 19:12]. Do you have any secret faults that need to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus? This is one thing that the Apostle Paul talked about the desires of our own flesh and fulfilling those desires that is in the sons of disobedience [see Ephesians 2:3]. Those desires are not easily given up without divine intervention. The grace of God brings salvation through his Son Jesus Christ and when we confess, he is faithful to forgive us all our sins.

We are acquainted with our own sins and secret faults. If not our own, we know about others that have sin and secret faults. We like to point the finger, but remember what Jesus said to those when they accused the women of adultery, He said, “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” [see John 8:7]. No one is exempt from the all-seeing eye of God. The realization that God is acquainted with all our ways is astounding. My substance was not hidden from God when I was made in secret and there is a book where all my members were written [see Psalms 139]. All my members being formed were written in a book. What book is David talking about in Psalms 139:16? Can it be the Book of Life? Did you know about the books that were opened in Revelation 20:12? When you are wondering about your life and how you have come so far from spiritual death, a light begins to dawn that our future is in the hand of God. Even when we cannot conceive it ourselves, we are given an inheritance that was sealed in a book.

We also have the down payment of our inheritance. When we have believed in the word of truth concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise [see Ephesians 1:13-14]. This seal is a finished transaction of ownership, which brings in the adoption of the believer to the position of a child of God. This is a divine decision of foreknowledge that is mind-boggling to many people especially to new believers. Therefore, as a believer’s one must ask God to open the eyes of our understanding as to what the scriptures are revealing. As a child of God, the believer begins to gain understanding who he or she is in Christ. Paul states in Romans 8:16-17 that the Spirit bears witness that we are the children of God. As the children of God, we have become joint heirs with Christ. We were redeemed from under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons, [Galatians 4:5]. I remember the song that was sang with gusto at the church when I was a young adult titled,” The family of God.” It meant something to me since I was born out of wedlock and then abandoned by my mother as a teen. As a teenager I wanted to belong somewhere. When I got saved, I realized that I belonged to God.

I’m so glad I’m a part

Of the family of God

I’ve been washed in the fountain

Cleansed by His blood

Joint heirs with Jesus

As we travel this sod

For I’m part of the family

The family of God

The Family of God by Bill & Gloria Gaither

I now have a family in God.  Joint heirs with Jesus as I travel this earth. No one can take me from the Love of God. This applies to you too. . .if you are a believer, you are joint heirs with Jesus also [see Romans 8:17]. Do not take this lightly. Think about the book you are written in. God has given everyone a free will to choose life or death. We are called the “sons of God” in 1 John 3:1. There is another song that was sung in the late 70’s and written by Patricia Van Tine. As a teenager I grew up on this simple song of worship. Listen and sing it within your heart. We have obtained an inheritance through Christ, and this is something to rejoice in.

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