Coheirs with Jesus

The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, the heir of the Patriarch, including the possession of the Earth – Romans 8:1-30.

In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God counted the Patriarch’s faith as righteousness while he was still uncircumcised, which means that the Patriarch was declared righteous without the deeds and rituals required by the Torah.

Through Jesus, we have become heirs of the covenant promises, including the promises made to Abraham. We are now joint heirs with the Son of God, the Redeemer who, by means of his obedience, has reversed the sentence that condemned us all to death, and the gift of the Spirit is the assurance of our own resurrection.

[Photo by Josh Gordon (Washington, DC) on Unsplash]

Abraham is the father of every man and woman who lives “from the faith of Jesus.” Moreover, the Apostle to the Gentiles calls the Patriarch “the heir of the world” or ‘kosmos’, and through Jesus, Christians become heirs along with Father Abraham. We likewise will inherit the ‘kosmos’.

God commanded Abraham to be circumcised only after justifying him in response to his obedience. The rite of circumcision was “the seal of righteousness,” which the Patriarch had demonstrated through his trust in the divine promise.

In Romans, references to ‘promise’ and ‘heir’ indicate future realities - things not yet received. For Abraham and his seed, the receipt of the promise will mean the possession of the entire “world” or ‘kosmos’ - (Romans 4:13).

Thus, Paul expands and universalizes the original but limited land promise, which now includes the entire planet, if not the universe, rather than just Palestine. And this will be realized fully in the future New Creation:

• “BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WILL NOT RECKON SIN. Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say, TO ABRAHAM HIS FAITH WAS RECKONED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. How then was it reckoned? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned for them. And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision. For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world [‘kosmos’], but through the righteousness of faith” - (Romans 4:7-14. Note the citations of Psalm 32:1-2, Genesis 15:6).

Because the receipt of the inheritance is through faith, “the promise is firm to all the seed” of Abraham, that is, to all those who live by the same “faith as our father Abraham.” Ethnicity and circumcision no longer matter.

God appointed Abraham to be “the father of many nations” because he believed the word of the promise given by God, who raises the dead. Therefore, God granted him “seed,” although Sarah’s womb was effectively dead because of old age - (Genesis 17:4-5).

References to ‘raising the dead’, ‘heir’, ‘seed’, and ‘children’ in Romans chapter 4 anticipate the discussion of Chapter 8 about the resurrection of the righteous dead, the redemption of the creation, and our joint inheritance with Jesus Christ.

• “If anyone has not Christ’s Spirit, the same is not his. But if Christ is in you, the body, indeed, is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Moreover, if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised Christ Jesus from the dead will quicken even your death-doomed bodies through his indwelling Spirit” - (Romans 8:10-11).

We are mortal and remain subject to death, but death will not be the end of the story. The Spirit of God “will quicken our mortal bodies” on the Last Day when Jesus raises us from the dead and transforms us, giving us immortal bodies – (Compare 1 Corinthians 15:53-57 [“And this mortal must put on immortality”]).

Thus, Paul links the past resurrection of Jesus to our future resurrection, and the gift of the Spirit is the guarantee of this hope. The Spirit is the agent who will accomplish our transformation, and the gift of the Spirit is the “first fruits” of and the down payment on our resurrection.

• “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's, at his arrival [‘Parousia’]” - (1 Corinthians 15:20-23. Compare Ephesians 1:12-14).

RESURRECTION AND CREATION

If God intends to redeem all things, then redemption must include our physical bodies. The created order is enslaved by decay, disease, and death, and this terrible reality is because of Adam’s disobedience. And so, the universe must be liberated in the same manner by which it was enslaved, only by obedience instead of disobedience, namely, the obedience of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer whom Paul identifies as “the Last Adam.”

• “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, heirs also, heirs, indeed, of God but coheirs with Christ, if we are suffering together that we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed towards us, for the eager outlook of creation is eagerly waiting for the revelation of the sons of God” - (Romans 8:16-19).

• “So also, it is written, THE FIRST MAN BECAME A LIVING SOUL. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” - (1 Corinthians 15:45. Note the allusion to Genesis 2:7).

• “So then, as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so, through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one will the many be made righteous” - (Romans 5:18-19).

We are the children of God and coheirs with Christ, but to be a coheir with him also means suffering for his sake in this life so that we also will be glorified together with him in the next life.

However, our sufferings in the present are as nothing when compared with the glories that we will experience when Jesus arrives at the end of the present era. On that day, among a great many other things, he will raise us from the dead, transform our mortal bodies, and terminate death itself. Death will be no more:

• “Then comes the end, when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION BENEATH HIS FEET. <…> And when all things have been subjected to him, then will the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Compare Psalm 110:1, Ephesians 1:20-23, Hebrews 1:3, 12:2).

• “The creation itself also will be freed from the bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the sons of God  For we know that all creation is sighing together and travailing-in-birth-throes together until the present, and not only so, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit in us sigh, eagerly awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body” - (Romans 8:21-23).

• “But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” - (2 Peter 3:13).

Thus, Paul connects the New Creation with our bodily resurrection and the gift of the Spirit. Everlasting life and immortality will be received when Jesus resurrects us upon his return. Moreover, this glorious day will also usher in the New Creation. In the interim, our participation in the glories of this future life is guaranteed by the life-giving Spirit that dwells within us.

The redemption and liberation of the creation depend on the resurrection of “the sons of God.” Our resurrection and the New Creation are inextricably linked, and all of God’s promises are based on the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, our Forerunner and Redeemer.

Everlasting life in the New Creation is the goal of all men and women who “walk in the faith of our father Abraham.” We have become the children and heirs of Abraham through Christ, and therefore, we are now coheirs with Jesus, the firstborn son who has inherited all things and now reigns from the right hand of God.

• “And we know that, to those who love God, all things work together for good, to those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he knew beforehand, he also marked out beforehand for conformity to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And whom he marked out beforehand, he also called. And whom he called, he also declared righteous. And those whom he declared righteous, he also glorified” – (Romans 8:28-30).

• “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” – (Philippians 3:10).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Age of Salvation - (The gift of the Spirit is foundational to the New Covenant. It is the beginning of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations)

• The Inheritance of Abraham - (Christians become heirs of Abraham through Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is our assurance of participating in the full salvation to come)

• The Blessing of Abraham - (The gift of the Spirit is part of the covenant promises made to Abraham, including blessing the nations of the Earth)

• The Spirit of Promise - (The gift of the Spirit is one of the blessings of Abraham that God promised to bestow on His people through His Messiah)