Joint Heirs
“And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.” Romans 8:17 Amplified Bible
Verse 17 is such a powerful statement and serves to remind us that there is nothing promised to us that is not already ours by a legal contract in the spiritual realm. As God’s children, we are heirs (other versions use the phrase “joint heirs”) with Him. This verse says that you as a believer share in His inheritance. Realize what that means, whatever is His is yours as well. We may not always fully receive this or embrace and accept all that we have, but it is ours none the less. Strong’s Concordance says this about the meaning of “joint heirs”: it is “personal equality based on an equality of possession.” What is His is yours and you can rightfully claim it as your own. You are equal with Jesus Himself when it comes to the things that He possesses. Say that to yourself and let that sink in, you are equal!
What then do those possessions include? Well, it begins with the victory over all the things of the enemy (all the things!). That means that the enemy does not have any right to touch you in any way because He is already defeated. He has been publicly humiliated by Jesus and since you share His possessions, you have the right to remind Him of that humiliation anytime he even tries to interfere with your life. What else does Jesus possess? How about total health and deliverance from all sickness. Sickness has no right to even touch Him and therefore it cannot. You are a joint heir with Him and that is your shared inheritance as well.
What about finances, what is your inheritance there? Quite simply He owns it all. There is nothing that is not His and we are joint heirs so there is never a reason for lack in our life as long as we remember that we are His children and this is our heritage. It is no different than if you went to the reading of a will from a wealthy family member. If you were told at the reading of the will that your inheritance was $1,000,000, you could walk out of there with the confidence that you had the million dollars. It was not in your possession at that moment and you had no more actual money in your wallet, but you believed and knew that it was yours, even though you could not see it. The same is true with this inheritance. You may not see it but that does not diminish its reality.
If you have any doubts regarding the reality of your position with Him and your joint heir relationship then just look at what the Word re-confirms for us in Ephesians 2:6:
”And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us] joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). “
You have been raised up “together” with Him and are seated jointly with Him! That is where He has placed you because of your relationship with Him. Realizing this truth allows you to step forward and boldly take your place beside Him!
J Todd Hostetler