A chosen inheritance

Some people leave a will naming those who will receive an inheritance after their death, and naturally many would consider it a privilege to be included. Scripture presents something infinitely greater for believers: through Christ we have been brought into God’s family, and understanding how we become children of God helps us appreciate the extraordinary inheritance He has prepared for His people.

God Has Made Us His Children

The idea of receiving an inheritance is familiar to almost everyone. When a person prepares a will, certain possessions are designated for specific heirs, and after the person’s death those heirs receive what has been left to them. Earthly inheritances can include houses, money, land, businesses, jewelry, or other possessions accumulated during a lifetime. Some inheritances are large and others small, but all of them share one important characteristic: everything inherited in this world is temporary. Money can be spent, houses deteriorate, land changes ownership, and possessions eventually pass from one generation to another.

The inheritance Scripture describes for the children of God is fundamentally different. It cannot be measured by bank accounts, property values, or material possessions, because its value is eternal. God has not merely promised His people a temporary improvement in earthly circumstances; He has brought them into His family through Jesus Christ and given them the privilege of being called His children. This identity completely changes the way believers understand both their present life and their future.

The apostle Paul explains this wonderful truth in his letter to the Galatians. He shows us that our status before God has changed through the work of Christ. We were not naturally entitled to God’s inheritance, nor did we earn a position within His family through our own righteousness. Everything begins with God’s grace and with the sending of His Son at exactly the right moment in history.

4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Galatians 4:4-7

At the Right Time God Sent His Son

Paul begins by saying that when the appointed time had fully come, God sent His Son. This reminds us that the coming of Jesus Christ was not an accidental event in human history. God was carrying forward His redemptive purpose, and at the proper time Christ entered the world. The Son of God took upon Himself true humanity, was born under the law, and came to accomplish the redemption that sinners could never accomplish for themselves.

This should immediately produce humility in our hearts. Our adoption did not begin because humanity finally became worthy of God’s love. It did not happen because enough people had improved themselves morally or because human beings had discovered a religious method capable of reaching heaven. God acted because He is gracious, merciful, and faithful to His purpose. The initiative belongs to Him, and the glory for our salvation must therefore belong to Him as well.

Christ came to redeem those who were under the law so that they might receive adoption as sons. Redemption and adoption are therefore closely connected. We could not simply walk into God’s family while remaining guilty before Him. The problem of sin had to be dealt with, and Jesus accomplished that work through His obedient life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection.

Our Inheritance Begins With Christ

Everything we possess spiritually begins with Jesus Christ. Forgiveness comes through Him. Reconciliation with God comes through Him. Eternal life comes through Him. Our adoption into God’s family comes through Him. The hope of resurrection comes through Him. There is no Christian inheritance that can be separated from the person and work of Christ because He is the foundation upon which every saving blessing rests.

This is why Christians should never speak about heaven merely as though it were a beautiful destination containing wonderful things. The greatest treasure of eternity is God Himself. Our inheritance is glorious because we will belong to Him forever, enjoy His presence, and live in perfect fellowship with our Redeemer. Eternal life is not simply endless existence; it is life in communion with the God who saved us.

Scripture teaches that God has given us eternal life, and this promise should radically shape the priorities of believers. We possess something that earthly wealth cannot purchase and earthly disaster cannot destroy. A person may lose many temporary things during his lifetime and still remain eternally rich if he belongs to Christ.

We Were Redeemed at a Great Price

It is easy to speak about our inheritance without considering the cost through which it became ours. Paul reminds us that Christ came “to redeem” those under the law. Redemption communicates the idea of being delivered at a price. Our place in God’s family is therefore not something we should treat casually. Salvation is offered freely to us, but it was not accomplished cheaply.

Jesus gave Himself upon the cross. His blood was shed, and He bore the consequences of sin so that sinners could be reconciled to God. We were not adopted because God decided that sin no longer mattered. Rather, the cross demonstrates exactly how serious sin is while simultaneously revealing the extraordinary greatness of divine mercy. The justice of God and the grace of God meet magnificently in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

This should change how we think about ourselves. Christians have no reason for spiritual pride because we did not purchase our own position within God’s family. At the same time, believers should not live as though they possess no value or hope, because God has shown extraordinary mercy toward them in Christ. Our confidence is not found in thinking highly of ourselves but in thinking rightly about what Jesus has accomplished.

Adoption Gives Us a New Identity

Paul does not merely say that our sins were forgiven. He goes further and says that we received adoption. This is one of the most beautiful dimensions of salvation because it reveals that God does more than remove condemnation. He brings redeemed sinners into a relationship in which they may call Him Father. The Judge who justifies us is also the Father who receives us into His family.

This means the Christian’s deepest identity should not be controlled by social status, possessions, professional achievements, past mistakes, or the opinions of other people. These things may influence our earthly experience, but they cannot define us as completely as our relationship with God does. The believer can say, according to the gospel, “I belong to Christ, and through Him I have been received as a child of God.”

This identity provides stability in a world where so many other identities can change unexpectedly. A person may lose a job, experience financial difficulties, become less influential, or watch circumstances change dramatically. Yet if that person belongs to Christ, his fundamental spiritual position has not disappeared. He remains dependent upon grace, but he also remains a recipient of the promises God has given to His children.

We Can Call God “Father”

Galatians 4:6 says that because we are God’s children, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” This expression reveals the remarkable closeness believers enjoy with God. The almighty Creator who rules over the universe is not merely a distant power to those who have been reconciled through Christ. We are invited to approach Him as our heavenly Father.

This does not remove reverence. God remains holy, sovereign, majestic, and worthy of worship. Biblical intimacy with God never turns Him into someone ordinary or trivial. Instead, adoption brings together two astonishing realities: the God before whom angels worship is the same God believers may approach as Father through Christ. Such privilege should produce both confidence and profound reverence.

When we pray, therefore, we are not speaking into emptiness. We come before the Father who knows His children, understands their needs, disciplines them in love, hears their prayers, and provides according to His wisdom. We may not always receive exactly what we request, but our confidence is that the One who hears us possesses greater wisdom than we do.

We Are No Longer Slaves

Paul then presents a dramatic contrast: “So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child.” The gospel produces a change of status. Those who belong to Christ are not standing outside the family attempting to earn enough favor to be accepted. They have been received through Christ, and their obedience now flows from a different relationship with God.

This does not mean Christians are free to live however they desire. On the contrary, being God’s children gives us powerful reasons to pursue holiness. But obedience is no longer an attempt to purchase adoption. We obey because God has graciously received us, not because we are trying to force Him to receive us. Grace becomes the foundation of obedience rather than the enemy of obedience.

A slave fears only punishment, but a beloved child also cares about honoring the father whose love he has experienced. In the same way, Christian holiness should grow from gratitude. We resist sin because it dishonors the God who redeemed us. We seek righteousness because we belong to Him and desire that our lives increasingly reflect the character of our heavenly Father.

As Children, We Are Also Heirs

Paul reaches the extraordinary conclusion of the passage by saying that if we are God’s children, then God has also made us heirs. This is where the illustration of an earthly inheritance becomes especially meaningful. In human families, an heir receives what has been designated for him. In the family of God, believers possess an inheritance that originates entirely in divine grace.

Our inheritance cannot be stolen through earthly circumstances. Economic crises cannot reduce its value, thieves cannot remove it, governments cannot confiscate it, and the passing of time cannot cause it to deteriorate. Even death cannot separate the Christian from what God has promised, because death itself has been defeated by Jesus Christ. The security of our inheritance rests upon the faithfulness of God rather than upon the stability of this world.

This truth becomes especially precious when life reminds us how fragile material possessions really are. A family can spend decades accumulating wealth, yet circumstances can change very quickly. The Christian does not need to despise material blessings, but he should always remember that they are temporary gifts. Our ultimate treasure exists in a category that nothing on earth can reproduce.

Our Inheritance Belongs to the New Covenant

The Bible presents the work of Christ as the establishment of something greater than the shadows and ceremonies that preceded Him. Through Jesus, God’s people enjoy the blessings of a new covenant, secured through the work of the Savior. This covenant directs our attention toward forgiveness, reconciliation, transformed hearts, and an eternal relationship with God.

The privileges believers possess are therefore not based upon human promises that can be broken. A human will can be challenged, property can become the source of arguments, and family disputes can complicate an earthly inheritance. God’s promise is entirely different because He has both the authority and the power to fulfill everything He has declared. Nothing outside God can prevent Him from completing His saving purpose.

This is another reason Christians can live with confidence. Our future does not depend upon persuading God to remain faithful tomorrow. Faithfulness belongs to His character. The God who sent the Son, accomplished redemption, raised Christ from the dead, and gave His Spirit to His people will not suddenly become unreliable before His promises reach their final fulfillment.

The Holy Spirit Is Evidence That We Belong to God

Paul’s mention of the Spirit in Galatians 4 is extremely important. Our adoption is not simply an external title written somewhere while nothing changes within us. God works in His people, and the presence of the Holy Spirit is connected with our new relationship as sons and daughters who cry out to the Father.

The Spirit produces a new orientation toward God. The believer begins to desire what once seemed unimportant, becomes convicted over sin that was previously ignored, develops love for Christ, seeks truth in Scripture, and learns to depend increasingly upon the Lord. Growth may occur gradually and imperfectly, but genuine salvation is not merely a change of vocabulary. God works within those whom He has brought into His family.

This also provides comfort during seasons of spiritual weakness. Christians do not persevere merely because they possess extraordinary human determination. God Himself works in His people. We remain responsible to pray, obey, resist temptation, read Scripture, and pursue holiness, but underneath our perseverance stands the grace of the God who began His work in us.

Our Heavenly Inheritance Cannot Decay

Earthly inheritances have obvious limitations because everything in this world is affected by time. A beautiful house requires repairs. Money loses value or is spent. Valuable objects can break. Businesses can fail, and land that seemed extraordinarily valuable in one generation may lose importance in another. No earthly possession comes with a guarantee that it will remain unchanged forever.

The inheritance God has prepared is different because it belongs to eternity. It is connected with a kingdom that cannot be destroyed and life that cannot be terminated by death. This should help believers evaluate material things wisely. We can receive earthly blessings gratefully without asking them to provide the security that only God can give.

When our hearts understand this, generosity becomes easier and materialism loses some of its attraction. We realize that giving something away does not make us spiritually poor and losing something earthly does not destroy our ultimate future. Our greatest possession is not something we can place inside a bank, house, or safe; our greatest treasure is found in Christ.

Being an Heir Does Not Mean an Easy Earthly Life

It is important to clarify that being an heir of God does not mean every Christian will become wealthy, avoid suffering, or enjoy continual success in this world. The apostles themselves possessed the promises of God while enduring tremendous difficulties. Paul, who wrote about adoption and inheritance, also experienced imprisonment, persecution, physical weakness, rejection, and many other hardships.

Our inheritance must therefore be understood primarily from an eternal perspective. God certainly cares for our present needs and gives many earthly blessings, but the gospel does not promise believers an uninterrupted life of material prosperity. If that were the meaning of being an heir, many faithful Christians throughout Scripture would appear to have received very little from God.

Instead, Scripture directs our eyes beyond present circumstances. We can suffer now and still be heirs. We can possess little materially and still be spiritually rich. We can experience rejection on earth while being fully accepted by God through Christ. The value of our inheritance cannot be measured by how comfortable our life happens to be today.

Our Adoption Gives Us Access to the Father

The original article beautifully emphasizes that the way to the throne of grace has been opened for believers. This is one of the practical blessings of reconciliation through Christ. We do not need another human mediator who can provide what Jesus failed to provide. Through Him, we may draw near to God with confidence, knowing that our acceptance is rooted in the work of our Savior.

This means prayer should become a central privilege of the Christian life. We can bring our fears, needs, gratitude, questions, failures, and burdens before our heavenly Father. God does not promise to approve every request simply because we make it, but He invites His children to seek Him and trust His wisdom. The privilege is enormous: sinful human beings who once stood guilty can now approach the holy God through Jesus Christ.

When we understand this, prayer stops being merely a religious obligation and becomes a family privilege. We pray because Christ has opened the way and because God has received us as His children. The believer does not need to wonder whether the Father is aware of his existence. The same God who adopted us knows our needs before we speak them.

Our Inheritance Should Change the Way We Live

Receiving such a great privilege also gives believers serious responsibilities. We should not use the doctrine of grace as an excuse for careless living. If God has brought us into His family, then our lives should increasingly reflect the character of the Father whose name we bear. Our conduct will never become perfect in this earthly life, but there should be a sincere desire to walk in obedience.

This affects practical areas of life. Children of God should pursue honesty when deception would be easier, forgiveness when resentment feels justified, sexual purity when culture celebrates immorality, generosity when selfishness feels natural, and humility when pride seeks recognition. Our inheritance is eternal, but the reality of belonging to God’s family should already become visible in the present.

Holiness does not make us heirs; rather, holiness should flow from the new identity God has given us. We do not live differently in order to purchase the Father’s love. We desire to live differently because His grace has already transformed our relationship with Him. Gratitude becomes one of the strongest motivations for Christian obedience.

Trials Cannot Cancel Our Inheritance

One of the greatest benefits of thinking about our eternal inheritance is the stability it provides during difficult seasons. Life can change dramatically in a short period of time. A person may experience sickness, financial pressure, rejection, grief, or another situation that makes the future appear uncertain. In those moments, believers need truths that remain firm when circumstances do not.

Our adoption is not cancelled because we have a difficult month. God’s promises do not disappear because we experience suffering. The inheritance remains secure because its foundation is outside the changing circumstances of earthly life. This allows Christians to grieve honestly while still possessing hope, because present suffering is not the final chapter of their story.

The believer can therefore say, “I do not understand everything happening around me, but I know to whom I belong.” That knowledge does not answer every question about suffering, but it provides a foundation beneath those questions. Our heavenly Father remains our Father when the road is peaceful and when it passes through a valley.

We Should Live for What Is Eternal

If our inheritance is eternal, our priorities should reflect that reality. Human beings naturally devote enormous amounts of energy to temporary achievements. We work for possessions, recognition, comfort, and experiences that can be enjoyed only for a relatively short time. There is nothing inherently wrong with many of these things, but they become dangerous when they capture the place in our hearts that belongs to God.

Knowing that our future is eternal should help us invest in things that matter beyond the present moment. We should value the gospel, Christian character, family faithfulness, service to others, generosity, worship, prayer, and the proclamation of Christ. Our time on earth is limited, and wisdom means using that time in a way that acknowledges the world to come.

A Christian does not need to reject every earthly pleasure in order to live eternally minded. Rather, we learn to receive good gifts without worshiping them. We enjoy what God gives while remembering that the Giver remains infinitely more valuable than the gift. This protects our hearts when circumstances change and earthly blessings are no longer available.

Salvation Is Found in Jesus Christ

None of these promises should be separated from the central message of the gospel. The inheritance belongs to those who belong to Christ. Scripture does not teach that every human being automatically possesses eternal life regardless of his relationship with Jesus. The biblical message continually directs sinners toward repentance, faith, and the Savior whom God has provided.

This is why understanding salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ is essential. We do not become heirs through religious heritage, family tradition, charitable works, or personal morality. These things cannot deal with the guilt of sin. Christ alone accomplished the work necessary for sinners to be reconciled to God.

Therefore, the message of inheritance is both comforting and evangelistic. It comforts believers because they know what God has promised, but it also calls those outside Christ to consider where their hope is placed. The greatest inheritance imaginable is offered not through human merit but through the Savior who died and rose again.

We Have Received What We Could Never Deserve

The more deeply we understand adoption and inheritance, the more difficult spiritual pride becomes. What did we contribute that could force the holy God to make us His heirs? We brought our need, our guilt, and our dependence. God brought the grace, the Savior, the sacrifice, the forgiveness, the Spirit, and the promise of eternal life.

This does not make believers insignificant; it makes grace magnificent. Our privilege is enormous precisely because it was undeserved. We were not appointed as heirs because God discovered extraordinary merit within us. We were saved according to His mercy through Jesus Christ, which means our response should be worship rather than self-congratulation.

Whenever pride begins to grow, the cross reminds us where our inheritance came from. Whenever despair tells us that our failures are greater than God’s grace, the same cross directs us back toward Christ. Both arrogance and hopelessness lose their power when our eyes are fixed upon the Savior rather than ourselves.

Our Future Is Secure in the Hands of God

An earthly inheritance can produce uncertainty. Wills can be disputed, fortunes can disappear before they are distributed, and circumstances can change. The Christian inheritance does not depend upon unstable human arrangements. It rests upon the promise of a God who cannot be defeated, surprised, impoverished, or removed from His throne.

This gives believers extraordinary reason for peace. We do not know every detail of our earthly future, and Scripture does not promise that every chapter will be easy. But our ultimate destination does not depend upon knowing what tomorrow contains. The Father who adopted His people already knows the entire road and remains faithful to the salvation He has provided through His Son.

For this reason, Christians can continue walking through uncertainty without surrendering to despair. Our confidence is not that nothing difficult will happen; our confidence is that nothing can overthrow God’s saving purpose. The inheritance remains because God remains, and His faithfulness is stronger than every changing circumstance around us.

Give Glory to God for This Eternal Inheritance

When we meditate upon Galatians 4:4-7, gratitude should fill our hearts. At the proper time God sent His Son. Christ came to redeem. Through Him we received adoption. God gave His Spirit to His children, and those who were slaves are now described as sons and heirs. The entire passage directs attention toward the extraordinary generosity of God.

What earthly inheritance could compare with this? The greatest fortune eventually ends in the hands of another generation. The most magnificent house will not survive forever. Every possession we see around us belongs to a world that is passing away. Yet God has promised His people something corruption cannot touch and death cannot steal.

Therefore, let us walk with confidence but also with humility. We are heirs, but we became heirs by grace. We are children, but we were adopted through Christ. We have access to the Father, but that way was opened through the sacrifice of the Son. We possess eternal hope, but its foundation is God’s faithfulness rather than our own merit.

How privileged we are to have been received into the family of God and given an eternal inheritance through Jesus Christ. Let this truth strengthen us when earthly possessions disappear, encourage us when trials arrive, and motivate us to live faithfully while we wait for the full enjoyment of everything the Father has promised. Our greatest treasure is secure, our Savior has accomplished redemption, and those who belong to Christ can rejoice that they are no longer slaves but children of God and heirs according to His grace.