Daily Manna · Day 300 · October 27
Joint-Heirs with Christ
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
Many honest believers have the same worry about this verse. Paul says the Spirit bears witness that we are God's children, and that sounds exactly like a warm feeling they do not have.
Notice that Paul does not send you off to look for that feeling. He describes two witnesses: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit." Two parties are swearing to the same fact. That is a courtroom picture, and Paul means it seriously, because one verse earlier he has called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of adoption." In Roman law, adoption was a legal act done in front of witnesses. It settled the inheritance so that nobody could challenge it, and it gave the son a new father. A Roman who wanted his estate to go to a certain person adopted him. It was a legal arrangement, made with witnesses standing there.
We do not live in that legal world, and it would be dishonest to pretend the word sounds the same to us. For us, adoption is warm and chosen, and it is mostly about belonging. For the Romans it was about standing and property, and it was very hard to undo. Paul is using their meaning: "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." "Joint" means sharing the same estate. The adopted child is not handed a smaller share set aside for outsiders.
Paul does not stop there, and that is why this is not an easy verse. He adds, "if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." The inheritance comes down the same road Christ walked, and Paul says so in the same breath as the promise.
So your standing with God rests on more than your feelings. It rests on a witness the Spirit Himself gives, settled the way a Roman adoption was settled, so that nobody can overturn it. You do not need to make a resolution about it today. Sit still for two minutes, say nothing, and let the Father's verdict be enough: you are His child, and you share Christ's inheritance.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 300 is All Things New (Revelation 21:5).