_001-020_ se

(001-020) Sonship Establishment

of 159

SONSHIP ESTABLISHMENT – ROMANS 8:16-39

Welcome to our first session in Sonship Establishment. By this time,you know you are a son of God, you understand that you have beenadopted and you know what it means to have been adopted. And youhave made that cry of “Abba, Father,” which is the first checkpoint inthe sonship education.

Sonship (son-shaped) is the capstone of your sanctified position inChrist. You need to realize that the rest of your natural life, as well asyour eternal life, should be lived out in that framework. Just to makesure you are thinking about it properly, don’t see your adoption as justan event, but as a status that you are to live out of from now on. It is astatus given to you by your heavenly Father.

When you first learn about being an adopted son, you have theorientation-type enthusiasm and ambition (which is a good thing), butthat initial enthusiasm won’t last long. It certainly won’t be the kind oflasting enthusiasm and ambition that you’re going to need to take youthrough the sonship education process.

Because your Father knows this, He is going to immediately dosomething to begin establishing the kind of enthusiasm that will “last alifetime.” So, following the pronouncement that you are an adopted son,the Father takes it upon Himself to tell you some things.

He has to both, say some things, and do some things to your heart, inorder to get you firmly established as His son. And He needs to do thisbefore your initial enthusiasm wanes. This is what is happening inRomans 8:16 and following. Your Father presents you with someinformation that is meant to generate a specific attitude and certainvirtues in you, out of which, you will operate from this point forward.

Don’t overlook what I just said to you. What you are about to hear, asyou move into your sonship establishment is going to change your wholelife perspective! That is a big deal.


of 159

Now I’m going to tell you something that you will hear me repeat overand over again, because I want you to get this nailed down in yourthinking. While there is a lot of information in Romans 8:16-39 andthere is a lot that will get accomplished in you, I can sum up yoursonship establishment into a very simple encapsulation. Here it is:Romans 8:16-39 is written to produce 2 very important things in you:

1. Absolute confidence in your heavenly Father and what He tells you2. Absolute confidence in the curriculum to accomplish what God

designed it to accomplish

To expand on these, the first thing God is doing by all of what is inRomans 8:16-39 is to get you to the place that, no matter what He tellsyou, you will never, ever doubt Him or what He says to you. This isimportant because you will be told some incredible things that you willhave no way of proving whether or not they are true. In fact, there aresome things your Father will tell you which are opposed by Satan’sPOE, and the attack against you is designed to make you doubt whatGod said. (Remember the garden of Eden, “yea, hath God said…?”)

This part of Romans 8 (vv. 16-39), which we are calling your “SonshipEstablishment” is going to provide for a complete assurance that you canbelieve everything your Father says, without a single doubt or hesitation.Can you see how this has got to be developed in you before you beginthe education? How wise God is to anticipate what we need(establishment) and give it to us just when we need it (prior to theeducation).

The second issue is complete confidence in the curriculum. You have tocome to the place where you are absolutely convinced that everything,and I mean EVERYTHING, that you will need to be a fully educatedson of your heavenly Father, everything you need in order to standagainst the varied and subtle attacks and wiles of the devil, everythingthat you will need to fully function in your Father’s business, is includedin His curriculum.

As part of your successful education as an adopted son, there can be no“second guessing” of what is written in the curriculum and that issue has


of 159

to be settled before you ever begin the curriculum. You have to be fullypersuaded that everything you need is contained in the pages of Paul’sepistles, in the order you need to have them and therefore, there is noneed to EVER go outside of the Scripture to get anything. Nothing hasbeen overlooked or left out. You will never encounter a situation thatthe curriculum does not equip you to handle. There is no circumstancethat is so unique that the curriculum fails to allow for it. You have tosettle this issue once and for all. But God doesn’t just tell you to do that,or expect you to do it on your own. He has given you specific doctrinethat will accomplish both of these issues: a complete and utterconfidence in Him and an absolute, unwavering confidence in Hiscurriculum.

Now that you know the “gist” of what Romans 8:16-39 are doing, do notthink that you can now move on to chapter 9 and you don’t need thedoctrine sitting in this chapter. That is exactly the kind of the thinkingthe Adversary wants you to have. He would love for you to place yourconfidence in yourself, rather than in the curriculum. He wants you tothink that you really don’t need that doctrine to work these things in you.He wants you to get impatient and shortcut the process. Because heknows that if you do, then there is coming a time when he will do withyou what he did to the Corinthians and you will suddenly find yourselfon the sidelines, a casualty of the POE.

Do not underestimate your enemy or his tactics. The doctrine sitting inRomans 8:16-39 is not just for a few of the “weaker” brethren, and therest of us get to skip it. It is for every single one of us because, there arethings coming our way that if your confidence is based on anythingother than the effectual working of these verses, our confidence will fail!The “fear” which the POE will seek to impose on us throughcircumstances will overcome us, if these verses have not done theireffectual work in us.

Here is the last thing I want to say about this for now; it is going to takeevery single verse in Romans 8:16-39 to get this confidence established.You can’t afford to leave anything out. You are going to be called upon


of 159

to trust your Father – when every instinct you have, every person aroundyou, and your very circumstances all tell you differently.

Now you see why sonship establishment is serious business. In sonshipestablishment, your Father is going to say some things to you that willignite some explosive thoughts in your mind, and your joy andenthusiasm is going to soar. There are also some sober realities that youare going to have to be confronted with that will demand a level ofcommitment from you to this education unlike anything you’ve everexperienced.

We are now ready to move on to the first verse of our sonshipestablishment. Sonship Establishment runs from vs. 16 all the waythrough the remainder of the chapter.

For now, let’s read the remainder of the chapter.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that

we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of

God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,

that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the

sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with

the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest

expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons

of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not

willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in

hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the

bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of

God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and

travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but

ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we

ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,

the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope

that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet


of 159

hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with

patience wait for it. 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our

infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:

but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings

which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts

knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh

intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we

know that all things work together for good to them that love God,

to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom

he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the

image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many

brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also

called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he

justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these

things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared

not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not

with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing

to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he

that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen

again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh

intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of

Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or

nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we

are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the

slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither

death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor

things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor

any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of

God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


of 159

This is a large section of Scripture that is intended to establish us as

sons. A few weeks back, I asked you to start reading this section of

Romans 8 to see if you could decide how many major components this

sections consists of. Did you give any thought to that?

Do you notice any breaks separating out “packets of information?” In

order to help you see things from the right perspective, think about the

singular thing that sonship establishment is supposed to do. Sonship

Establishment is for the purpose of adjusting our attitude about some

things before we actually begin the education. This attitude adjustment

is necessary if the son is to be successful with the curriculum for sonship

education.

In my way of thinking, this section is broken into 3 main components.

That is not to say that you cannot find each component broken into parts,

you can. But each of the main components has an objective in view.

As you come out of verses 14-15, having been told that you are a son by

way of adoption, and knowing what adoption is about (laboring with

your Father in His business) then there is a natural question the son

would have, or to put it another way, there is something the son would

now expect the Father to say to him. What is that?

Put yourself in that position and try to think about it, not from what I

have already told you, but from the standpoint of a son who has just

been adopted. Before you actually begin to be instructed in your

Father’s business, what do you want/expect to hear from your Father?

Think about yourself and your heavenly Father. If He came down here

in person, and told you that He was adopting you to go to work with

Him in His business, what the natural question you would have?


of 159

You would want to know what His business is about, wouldn’t you?

Wouldn’t you expect Him to say something to you about what it is you

are now going to be involved in with Him?

Sure enough, among the first things you are told in this part of Romans 8

is your inheritance in the business and your position in the creature. But

you are told these things with an objective in mind. In order to see what

I’m after, look down to verse 24.

Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen isnot hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

What is “hope?” This is not the kind of hope that says “maybe it will

happen and maybe it won’t, but I sure want it to.” This kind of hope is a

“desire” or “wish” or “expectation” for something.

But the kind of “hope” that is mentioned here is that of “certain

expectation.” And this “confident expectation” occurs at the end of a

section of information. The information is designed to produce that kind

of hope in you. This “hope” is an attitude of confidence that gets itself

adjusted in your thinking.

The first thing to do is to settle the general breakdown of the Romans

8:16-39 passage. First, let me ask what you see, as you read through the

passage and tried to identity the major divisions of the passage.

My understanding is that there are 3 general sections. To some degree,you may not be able to identify all of the things that are in these sectionsbut that should not keep you from identifying each of these generalsections.

In these 3 sections, our Father is seeking to install 3 initial attitudes orvirtues in us as sons. Therefore, there are 3 specific doctrines that areset before us which are intended to produce these 3 virtues in us.


of 159

As you might imagine, these are not random. They are in a particularorder. There is something else I want you to understand. Part of that“particular order” is that things are given to you in a general way firstand then, afterward, specifics are dealt with. Sometimes, it is quite a bitafterward.

Since this is the way God presents information, as we go through theseverses, there are some things you will encounter that you will want toknow more about. You may be tempted to be frustrated because theverses are not answering all of your questions. But your Father knowsexactly what you need and the order you need to hear it in order for Hiswords to have the impact on you He has designed for them to have. Youhave to be willing for the words to do their intended work.

Don’t rush through the general information in an attempt to get to the“juicy details.” The danger is, if you don’t get the “general” idea of itdown, in an attempt to hurry and get to the details, you won’t be able tohandle them. I can almost guarantee this will happen when you are toldabout the creature. You are going to be told exactly what you aresupposed to hear about the creature. It is likely you won’t be satisfiedwith that, because you will have questions you want answered.

You need to understand that God has a particular doctrine that He isworking to produce in you through the words He has given you. Thesewords are not geared to answer all of your questions; they are geared toproduce something in your inner man. It is true that you will learn somedetails later on that answer your earlier questions, but don’t let those“questions” distract you from the more important issue of what yourFather is doing with the doctrine he has given you.

Again, I would emphasize that in each of these 3 general components,God is installing a certain virtue in you; a virtue that affects yourattitude. If that virtue is not properly installed in your inner man, it willadversely affect your ability to learn the sonship education.


of 159

Session 002

In Romans 8:16-39, God is covering 3 establishment issues that must beclearly established in your thinking before you begin the education itself.Without them, you will have problems with the education.

More than that, these 3 “virtues” make up who you are as a son of yourheavenly Father. As such, these are not things to be learned and thenfiled away somewhere. They are designed in such a way that, in orderfor you to continue in the curriculum, you will have to operate uponthese 3 components every day of your life. These things demonstratewhat a son looks like and sounds like, ever before he starts the actualsonship education.

In preparation for your sonship establishment, I have asked you to bereading through Romans 8, getting familiar with the terminology andcontent. I know that some of you have been doing this and you willbenefit from having done so.

But the interesting thing is this, no matter how many times you haveread Romans 8, as we study through the chapter, your thinking is goingto change dramatically. In other words, by the time we finish Romans 8,you will be thinking thoughts which you presently do not even knowexists. God is not only going to establish those thoughts, but He is goingto put them in your inner man so that they are permanent, never-forgotten truths that fully persuade you of some things.

When these are properly functioning in your inner man, the result is thatyou will be “persuaded,” as Paul declares in vs. 38.

Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, norangels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, northings to come,

Now, before I give you my understanding of the divisions of the chapter,let’s review why properly indentifying these divisions is important. Eachsection presents a doctrine that is designed to produce a particular virtuein you. Without this virtue, you will encounter substantial problems in


of 159

the education that follows your sonship establishment. Therefore, it isnecessary to identify these doctrines and have them accomplish theirintended work in us.

Now, I will give you my understanding of the divisions of Romans 8:16-39. The 3 Sections are:

1. Romans 8:16-252. Romans 8:26-273. Romans 8:28-39

Each of these sections can also be broken into smaller parts, forexample, section 1 can be broken into 3 parts itself:

Vv. 16-17 – Introduction Vv. 18-23 – Body of Information Vv. 24-25 – Conclusion

For now, I’m not so interested in breaking up this first section, but whatI do want to emphasize is that is that out of this fist section, there is avirtuous attitude that your Father is seeking to install in your inner man.

When you look at the first section, there are things there that ought tostand out, maybe surprise you or make you wonder. For example, lookat verse 17.

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may bealso glorified together.

When you read vs. 17, you should be surprised to learn that Christ is still“suffering” something. Most believers think that, after Jesus died on theCross, His suffering was over. But, in this dispensation of grace, He issuffering some things that are particular to this dispensation. You maywonder what it is Christ is still “suffering.”

Another thing that should have caught your attention is the statementthat we “suffer with Him,” and not “for Him.” How do we suffer “with”Christ and what kind of suffering does this refer to?


of 159

Another thing that ought to have caught your eye is the use of the word“children” in vs. 16. After being told about us being sons in vs. 14, andmaking such a big deal out of “sons” as opposed to “children,” why isthere a switch from “sons” to “children?”

As you read through the passage, you should notice how words pick upthe subject and take it into the next verse. For example, verse 16introduces the “children of God,” which is picked up in vs. 17. Verse 17introduces us to the topics of being an heir and suffering which takesyou into vs. 18. Verse 18 introduces us to “the glory.” Verse 19 beginswith a “for” of further detail and the glory issue is picked up again in vs.21 as it pertains to the creature. The “for” of verse 22 takes us from thecreature to the “whole creation” which “groaneth in pain.” Thatgroaning is continued in vs. 23 but the verse applies it to us as we waitfor “the redemption of our body.” The “for” of vs. 24 begins theconclusion of the previous verses and it is here that we finally get thevirtue that is to be produced in our inner man; a “hope” that weconfidently expect and patiently wait for!

Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen isnot hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 Butif we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Verses 24-25 bring us to an end of section 1, or, the first general divisionof the information in this passage.

The 2nd section starts with the word, “likewise.” “Likewise” builds onthe previous verses but introduces a whole new subject.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: forwe know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirititself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot beuttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is themind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saintsaccording to the will of God.


of 159

Verse 26 moves us into an entirely new section. It is built upon theprevious section, but in vv. 26-27 we are given the 2nd virtue that wemust have working in us prior to beginning our education.

I realize that right now, we are not doing the detail work, but we are justtrying to get the sections identified. But I do want to stop for a momentand say that, in this 2nd section, the Father addresses something that theson may have been wondering about since his sonship orientation.

You were told something back in vv. 14-15 that should have made yourealize that you have a problem. Your Father knows about it andtherefore, He doesn’t just bring the subject of sonship prayer up for noreason. He brings it up because, once the son’s virtuous attitude hasbeen developed through the first section, the next thing that needs to bedeveloped in his attitude can be done by addressing the “infirmities” theson has when it comes to prayer. It is not so much that prayer is theissue here, but prayer is the vehicle that allows the son’s attitude to getdeveloped. We will cover this in more detail later on.

That brings us to the 3rd section which is vv. 28-39. This is the largestsection and it takes every bit of the information contained in this sectionto produce what God wants produced in you.

So far, we have identified the three sections to Romans 8:16-39. Next,we need to identify what each section is designed to do. After that, wecan begin looking at the details.

As we went through the 3 general sections, I did say some things aboutcertain “virtues” that your Father wants to install in you. Before we gofurther, what is a “virtue?” I don’t mean for you to name some virtues,but define what a virtue is.

Basically, virtue is “trained goodness put into practice.” A virtue is agood quality or feature. Virtue is actual goodness, as set againstpossible evil in man’s thoughts and deeds.

In Romans 8:16-39, we will be given 3 of these virtues, with themcorresponding to the 3 general sections we just outlined. By the way,


of 159

these are 3 virtues that any father, who has adopted his son or daughter,would want installed in a son or daughter before beginning the educationin the family business.

If a father did install these 3 things in his son, or if the son didn’t have

these 3 virtues in him, then it would not wise to turn the business over to

that son. Why? Because without them, the son will not view the

business the same way his father did and he won’t have the same respect

for the business that his father had. And I’m talking about earthly father

and sons here, with a view to applying that to us and our heavenly

Father.

So how do we get these 3 virtues? We get those virtues by our Father

confronting us with 3 major doctrines which are designed to effectually

produce these virtues in us.

Let’s take them section by section. First, what is the godly virtue that is

produced in Romans 8:16-25? Or to say it another way, as soon as you

begin reading, what is the first real issue you are presented with?

Answer: being an heir; specifically, an heir of God.

Notice how God begins by telling you about what you get when it’s all

over. That’s how David talked to Solomon, if you recall.

Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and

forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an

ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

Do you remember what the “ornament” and the “chains” were about?

They were about a position as a governor, a prince or a ruler; or, in other

words, what you get at the end of the education!

Likewise, Paul talks about the inheritance waiting for the son. There is

an inheritance waiting for every single “child of God.” That is why the


of 159

use of the word “children.” You don’t have to be an educated son to get

that first inheritance, you just have to be saved.



God, …

Every believer is going to be an heir. That includes those who do not

know about or even care about sonship. We are, after all, talking about

heaven and not hell. Even for those sons and daughters who outright

rejected sonship, what they will enjoy in heaven is beyond anything that

has ever been bestowed upon any person on the earth. It will be glorious

even for the last guy on the heavenly “totem pole,” if I can say it that

way.

No, they won’t be occupying a seat of authority in the creature. No, they

won’t be judging angels. But as members of the body of Christ, they

will be up there, they will have glorified bodies, and they will be part of

the “life” of the body.

Think about your own body. You have some major systems that are

vital such as the nervous system and the brain, the circulatory system

and the blood, the digestive system, the pulmonary system, etc. Those

are all major “players” in the body. Being a son is like being in charge

of one of those systems, overseeing it and its interaction with the other

systems. But there are, for example, lots of “nerves” and “blood

vessels” and such like, that are part of those major systems, but not the

critical part. You have a single little nerve in your little toe that, without

it, you could go on living and still function. It’s there – and it is better to

have it than not – and it does make for a fully functioning body – but the

critical nature of that nerve is not of the same as say, that which keeps


of 159

your lungs moving while you are asleep or keeps your heart beating day

and night.

I’m not trying to relegate someone to being less than a genuine part of

the body, but only educated sons will be in charge of the creature and

oversee its functions. Every believer will have a place, but not all places

are created equal.

In spite of that, every single believer in Jesus Christ will be an heir of

God. You got that as part of the salvation package. The moment you

received Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were slated to get that “heir of

God” inheritance, no matter how you lived your life. That inheritance

includes lots of things, such as:

Eternal life

A glorified body

A place in the heavenly places

However, the ones that run the Father’s business have something more

than just that “heir of God” inheritance. They are “joint-heirs” with

Christ.




that we may be also glorified together.

Sessions 003-004

Let’s begin by recapping what we learned in our last session.

1. Romans 8:16-39 is our Sonship Establishment.2. The son’s success in the curriculum is dependent upon being

properly established prior to beginning the education.


of 159

3. Romans 8:16-39 is comprised of 3 main sections.4. The 3 Sections are:

1. Romans 8:16-252. Romans 8:26-273. Romans 8:28-39

4. The exhortations and doctrine contained in each section aredesigned to install a certain “virtue” in the son

We also saw that Paul immediately confronts us with the issue of ourinheritance.

There are two inheritances that may be obtained by the saints: Heir of God inheritance – for all who are saved; unconditional Joint-heir inheritance - for sons who endure the sufferings of

Christ; conditional

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we

are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,

and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we

may be also glorified together.

Now think about what it means to be a “joint-heir with Christ.” That

means that you have an opportunity to share in everything that Jesus

Christ inherits! That statement alone should begin to adjust your

attitude.

This joint-heir inheritance is something you don’t have right now and

you don’t experience right now, but knowing that it is waiting for you

gives you something. In other words, knowing about this joint-heir

inheritance is supposed to produce something in you; something that

will change the way you look at your life and the things that are

happening to you. Do you know what your joint-heir inheritance is

designed to give you?


of 159

It gives you “hope” and that is the very word Paul uses to describe the

doctrine in this first section. You are being given a doctrine of hope!

It is not my intention to take you through the details of these verses right

now. We will do that later on. For now, all I want to do is outline the

chapter and give you a general understanding of what is contained in it.

You already know that this joint-heir inheritance is conditional upon you

“suffering with Christ.” While no one wants to suffer, the truth is,

things happen to people every day that result in varying degrees of

suffering. These sufferings are not ordained by God but they are

unavoidably part of living in a fallen world. But the good news is that

there is way to endure those sufferings that results in a “joint-heir”

inheritance that is of such glory that the sufferings cannot be compared

to it.

This “hope” is what should be in your mind as you go through the

“sufferings” of life. In other words, it is that “joint-heir” inheritance that

you are confidently, expectantly waiting for (hoping for!). That hope is

what enables you to go through the “suffering with Christ.”

Simply put, the first of these 3 doctrines is that of the joyful hope thatwe possess as God’s heirs in His plan and purpose.

It provides us with the virtue of having the proper perspective andattitude we need to have in view of what God is doing in this presentdispensation of grace, along with our role in it as His sons and heirs.

Romans 8:16-25 produces the godly virtue of contentment and patientwaiting for the realization of our hope, especially in the face of any ofthe “sufferings of this present time” that we will experience.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we withpatience wait for it.


of 159

What is it that you are patiently waiting for? You are waiting for yourinheritance! For some of us, we are waiting for both our inheritances!

When these verses have done their effectual work, you are not going tohave a problem waiting until this life is finished to get your reward andyou are not going to have a problem enduring any and all of thesufferings of this present time, no matter what they may be. In otherwords, when these verses have done their job in you, it will not be aproblem when “the other guy” got elected to office. I’m not saying hewill run the country in the right way; I’m saying it won’t be a problem toyou. It also won’t be a problem when gas and food prices go throughthe roof. I’m not saying you will have plenty of money and you willhave all the gas and groceries you want or need. I’m just saying thatthose things won’t be a problem for you in the way they would be now.

It won’t be a problem when you get sick or just get old with all theattendant things that go along with getting old. I’m not saying youwon’t wind up in some nursing home or that you won’t get sick, I’msaying that those things won’t impact you the way they would today.And I know how hard this is to hear, but even the loss of our libertiesthat we presently enjoy in this country, will not be the issue to us that itwould be if we lost those liberties today. That is how much this willchange your attitude. That is how much this doctrine will affect you.

Let me give you an example. I used to wish the rapture would comesoon. I prayed for the rapture to happen. I thought how great it wouldbe to get out of this sin-cursed world and into heaven with Jesus and Ijust wished the rapture would take place. Besides, who wouldn’t rathergo out in a transforming blaze of glory and immortal life instead ofdying a physical death?

But now that I understand sonship and the things involved with it, I’mnot in such a hurry any more. In fact, I’d rather get more of my sonshipeducation before I go. So my “attitude” has been adjusted about thatissue. Now, I’m very content to keep going down here. Instead of justwaiting to be taken out at the Rapture, I’m busy getting my sonshipeducation.


of 159

If you had told me that there was something in the Bible that, if I knew itand understood it, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry for the Blessed Hope totake place, I could not have imagined what that would be. I would havedenied that anything would take away my desire for the Rapture; but Iwould have been wrong. It’s funny how proper doctrine changes yourperspective (attitude) about things.

Instead of getting up every day and hoping for the Rapture, I get upevery day wanting to further my sonship education.

In a very similar way, all of the things that just drive you crazy rightnow, the terrible things you would like to avoid and all of the badsituations that may occur; you are going to think about them verydifferently once these verses have done their work in you. That is what Imeant when I said it would change your perspective of life and thethings that happen to you. Things that used to adversely affect us willno longer do so.

In addition to giving you a hope that will enable you to endure thesufferings you will encounter, the doctrine is also producing, in you, adesire to invest your entire life into this sonship curriculum. By givingyou a full understanding of what is being offered to you and the benefitsit holds out to you, the doctrine produces an ongoing desire for you tocontinue in this sonship education throughout your life.

Romans 8:16-25 is designed to give you the “hope” of an inheritance sogreat and so grand, that you see it as worth investing your entire life inthis sonship curriculum. This is designed so that you can truly say, “Nomatter what else comes up in my life, I am going to see my sonshipthrough to its end.” This is an adopted son’s perspective of life.

You are given a “hope” which provides you with the patience necessaryto see this course through to its end. This hope affects your attitude oryou could say that it changes your whole perspective of life.

To recap what we have covered thus far: We qualified for an inheritance by trusting in Christ as Savior


of 159

We may qualify for another inheritance by suffering with Christ Romans 8:16-25 contains a doctrine specific to suffering The effectually working of the doctrine produces a HOPE That HOPE does several things:

o It produces the virtue of patient enduranceo It enables us to endure the sufferings that come our wayo It equips us to continue in the sonship education

Once this is established in you, you are to operate out of this from nowon. This is not just some doctrine that you learn and forget about. Youcan’t just forget about this. There may be some things we covered inorientation that you can’t readily bring to your memory, and that’s okay,but this is different. You really are going to live out of this doctrineevery day of your life.

This prospect of your joint-heir inheritance is to always be in the front ofyour mind. It is a frame of reference for you from this point forwardthat helps you determine “what is worthwhile and what is not, what youshould do and shouldn’t be doing;” in other words, how you will spendyour time.

And just so that you see this as a complete section, look at verse 25; thelast verse in this section.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we withpatience wait for it.

Next, look at the verses which follow. If I’m correct in identifyingwhere the divisions are, we should see something entirely different comeup.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: forwe know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirititself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot beuttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is themind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saintsaccording to the will of God.


of 159

These verses constitute the second division of the verses and, as you cansee, this is an entirely different matter. In fact, this is the first time thatPaul has brought up the issue of prayer at all. The first section (vv. 16-25) had nothing to do with prayer or you praying properly. This secondsection (vv. 26-27) is not addressing the hope attached to yourinheritance as a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. By saying this way, Ihoping that you can begin to notice the break in the sections. Romans8:16-25 is talking about one issue while vv. 26-27 talk about another.

By saying what I just said about a different topic coming up, I do notmean to give you the impression that these are 3 totally unrelated issues.That would not be correct. As we go through the chapter, you will seethat, even though these are 3 separate issues, they are connected in a waythat makes perfect sense.

This second section addresses a particular concern we, as sons, shouldhave developed when we were told something back in sonshiporientation. You know from your sonship orientation that there are“paths” and “ways” you are going to follow. You also know that if thisreally is going to be a Father/son relationship, then you are going to needsome kind of dialog with your heavenly Father. You are going to haveto talk with Him and I mean in more ways than just going over your daywith Him.

These verses do not say that you don’t know how to pray. You do knowhow to pray, it’s just that you don’t know what to pray for “as youought.” And that is an “infirmity.” By the time you get to this verse,you should already know that you have this infirmity.

There is something else sitting in this section; the “searching of theheart.” Even though we have noticed this phrase, we have never talkedabout it in any detail. You may also notice that Paul does not explainwhat that phrase means, which tells you that he expects you to alreadyknow what this is.


of 159

Back in your OT, there is an entire chapter dedicated to analyzing theissue of the “searching of the heart” and we have already spent sometime there in our orientation.

Now, let’s talk about your infirmity a moment. If you have beenfollowing along with the doctrine up to this point, then you realize thatyou have a problem. You have a problem because when it comes toasking for something specific, which you should be able to do, yourealize you can’t do that.

The good news is that your Father knows about this infirmity in advanceand has made a provision for you. This way you don’t have to panicbecause the Father has taken your infirmity into account.

Just like the first section of verses (16-25), these 2 verses also set forth adoctrine that is designed to instill a particular virtue in you.

Verses 26-27 sets forth a doctrine that addresses the “infirmity” and itdoes that by producing a particular virtue in us; a virtue that impacts ourattitude concerning prayer.

We should view sonship prayer as being absolutely vital (life-sustaining)to our daily lives as God’s sons. In fact, if sonship prayer isn’t takingplace, there is something abnormal in your relationship with your Father.We were told about this bi-directional communication back in oursonship orientation, so we know that we’re supposed to be engaging inintelligent communication with our Father. But we were also madeaware of some things in sonship orientation that caused us to have somereal concerns about our ability to ask our Father for some specific things.Our inability to ask for those specific things (which we will identifywhen we come through the doctrine in this passage later on) is whatconstitutes our infirmity. Because we have this infirmity, we are goingto need some help and that is just what we are given.

The effectual working of what is contained in these 2 verses produces aparticular attitude in us towards prayer and instills in us the godly virtue


of 159

of “confident assurance” in our prayer life especially when we “knownot what we should pray for as we ought.”

I want to step aside here and call your attention to what this is meant toaccomplish. These three sections are meant to produce 3 virtues in you.They are given to you in a precise order and when they have done theirjob in you, you will have reached the first level of perfection. Do yourecall those verses that speak of bringing us unto perfection?

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and ofthe knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto themeasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ,saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that yemay stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

So what is this first level of perfection? These 3 sections are designedby God to perfect your attitude about receiving this education so thatyou are just as excited to receive this education as your Father is to giveit to you. In other words, the perfecting of your attitude is to get it tomatch up with your heavenly Father’s.

This moves us to the final section; verses 28-39. It is easy to see thatthis is the largest of the sections. It is also the last of the sections andthere is a very important reason that the issue contained in these verses isthe last of the 3 issues. Even in earthly adoption, a father would leavethis same issue as the last of the issues to set before his son or daughter.

Romans 8:28 is a verse that is very familiar to believers.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for goodto them that love God, to them who are the called according to hispurpose. 29 For…

Verse 29 begins with a “for” of further explanation. Actually,everything from verse 29 all the way to the end of the chapter is going tovalidate and confirm what verse 28 says.


of 159

Unfortunately, Romans 8:28 has been taken out of its context and madeto mean something that it does not say. Most believers take the verse tomean that no matter what things may happen, God is going to turn it intosomething good for them. For example, when someone is held up at ared light that is malfunctioning, God is actually saving them from anaccident they would have been involved in had they not been detained.They think that the bad thing (being held up) was actually working fortheir good (saving them from an accident). But that is not what thisverse is talking about at all.

When a tragedy happens such as a hurricane blew the roof off yourhouse and the rain ruined everything in it, people quote Romans 8:28and think that God is working this for their good.

The virtues being produced in these 3 sections are all working toaccomplish a similar goal; to produce an implicit trust and faith in yourheavenly Father. These virtues are intended to do away with any doubtsor reservations you may have. They are meant to give you such a trustin your Father that no matter what He says to you, you know it is trueand you can rely on it completely.

You will see your heavenly Father as the most trustworthy person withwhom you will ever deal. And He must see you as the most trustingperson with whom He will ever deal. If you want to see some examplesof sons who did not get this establishment properly installed in them,then take a look at the Corinthians and the Galatians.

The reason this has to be accomplished before you begin the education isso that you are not derailed when you are faced with something moreattractive than your sonship life, or when you hear something that ismore believable than what is written on the pages of your Bible.

This trust is not based on God being omniscient and omnipotent, that Heknows everything and He can do anything therefore, I must trust Himbased on the fact that He is God and I am not. That is what is done in arelationship of childhood. But that isn’t what it means to deal with anadult, adopted son.


of 159

This implicit trust is going to be developed, in this 3rd and final section,by the use of 5 probing questions. As read down through the passage,you can identify all 5 of them. All 5 of these questions are completelymisunderstood by mainstream Christianity. Let me give you a hinttoward a proper understanding of these questions: every single one ofthem could be asked by an earthly father to his own adopted son. Inother words, you don’t have to be “God” to ask these questions andtherefore, they should not be answered from that perspective.

When we go through these questions, we will see that there is more tothese questions that meets the eye. For example:

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shalltribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, orperil, or sword?

Most preachers take the “love of Christ” to mean Christ’s love for us.Therefore, they see the verse asking, “What can keep Christ from lovingus? Or “what can stand between us and Christ’s love?”

But that understanding misses the whole point. First of all, it’s not a“what” but a “who” that starts off the verse. Secondly, the “love ofChrist” is not talking about Christ’s love for us. (By the way, neither isit talking about your love for Christ.) What son would ever wonder ifChrist loved him? How dysfunctional would that be? Christ’s love forus is not the issue here.

We had the issue of Christ’s love settled for us back in justification;specifically Romans 5. We aren’t even talking about justification anymore, that is a settled issue! If God loved us while we were “yetsinners,” now that you belong to Him, do you honestly think there isanyone or anything that can keep Him from loving you (separate youfrom the love of Christ)? Don’t be ridiculous.

I’m going to reserve further comment on what this question is talkingabout until we go through this part of the chapter. For now, I just want


of 159

to point out how, without keeping to the context, these questions areentirely misunderstood.

Here is another example.

Romans 8:28 begins this last section. Then, you get vv. 29-30 which aresupposed to generate a certain kind of thinking on your part. Then verse31 says this:

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? …

I’ve only given you the first half of the verse for now. But let’s answerthe question; what are the “these things” Paul refers to? The “thesethings” are the things contained in the previous 2 verses (29-30). Fornow, don’t worry about identifying those “things,” just know that iswhat the first part of vs. 31 is referring to.

Now, let’s read the rest of the verse.

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God befor us, who can be against us?

The obvious answer is “No one.” If that is how you answered thequestion, then you got the answer right, but did you really understandthe question. Let me explain.

When you answered the question, why did you answer “no one?” Was itbecause if “God is on your side, He is stronger than anyone, therefore,no one can “be against you” (the old “one plus God is a majority”cliché)? If that is how you see your answer, then you do not knowenough to go the next verse – even if you “accidently” got the answerright.

Again, we will go through this when we get here, but for now, I am justpointing out that these questions are precise, they are in order and whenyou have gone through them, they are meant to produce “fullpersuasion” in the trustworthiness of your heavenly Father and Hiscurriculum.


of 159

By the end of chapter 8, you will not be the same person you were at thestart of this chapter. At the end of this chapter you will have absolutetrust in your Father and the education that He designed for you.

Session 005

Our last sessions gave us a brief, general look at the 3 sections of yourSonship Establishment as found in Romans 8:16-39. All we wereinterested in doing was a quick overview of the material so you wouldhave an idea of what is in store for you. Now we will go back to the firstsection and begin to go through the details.

You already know this first section is found in Romans 8:16-25. Fornow, we will concentrate on the first two verses, as they do comprise theintroduction for this section. You may have looked at vv. 16-25 andnoticed that there seems to be some divisions in this section and you areright to notice such things. We are not going to spend time examiningthe breakdown of the sections, so don’t worry too much about figuringout how this section divides up.

What we want to do is introduce this section and then work our waythrough it.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, thatwe are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs ofGod, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,that we may be also glorified together.

When you think about biblical adoption as it was practiced by earthlyfather to earthly sons, there was always the possibility that the naturalchildren may not think much of the Father’s business. No doubt, therewere times when the children had no desire to go into the familybusiness with their Father.

In natural sonship, if your father was a farmer, you might not seeanything attractive about that and therefore you don’t have any desire to


of 159

go into that business. Instead, you may want to strike out on your ownand start your own business.

If a father had no children that were interested in the family business, hewould have to go outside of the family to find someone to train andeventually turn the business over to. He would adopt them and theywould hold the strongest possible legal place in the family.

But what would any father really desire to have happen? He would wantat least one of his children to want to follow in his footsteps and beinvolved in his work. Knowing this, what do you think a father woulddo to ensure that when the time came, at least one of the children wouldhave an interest in making the family business their life work? Whatwould you do?

Ever before they were old enough to be in the family business, thechildren would be told some things about the business. Maybe theywould hear how valuable the business was to others. Perhaps theywould be told about the father’s skills and the respect that came his waybecause of it. It might also be pointed out that everything the familyowned and the standard of living the family enjoyed came out of thefamily business. The father’s attitude toward his work would also playan important role in just how impressed his children were with thefamily business.

All of this and more would be done so that when the time came, theFather could look among his own children and adopt one of them to trainand, one day, labor with him. When that time came, the son may knowsomething about the business but he has not seen it “from the inside” soto speak.

Once the son begins to see the business “up close and personal,” there isalways the chance that, for one reason or another, the son will change hismind about laboring with his father. These are the same kind of thingsthat may be in your mind right now, as you begin to get an inside look atyour heavenly Father’s business.


of 159

Possible issues that may discourage the son from pursing the business: Overwhelmed with a feeling of inadequacy (too much to learn) Thinking “I can do better on my own” Will the “payoff” be worth the investment of all that will be

required? Wondering, “is this business really that important?”

Therefore, the first thing the father would do is address these issues rightfrom the start. This is exactly what your heavenly Father does in yourSonship Establishment. He brings to your attention:

You are His heir You have an inheritance in His business That inheritance goes far beyond anything you could ever achieve

on your own His business is so impressive that:

o you become as interested in laboring with Him as He is indoing it Himself

o that you are willing to devote your entire life to beingeducated to labor with your Father in His business

By its effectual working, this Section is designed to permanentlyestablish your attitude and perspective regarding the rest of your life onthis earth. In other words, your motivation to get educated in thebusiness and keep going in spite of hardships will be because theaforementioned things are understood, believed and appreciated for whatthey are.

What I’m driving at is that your motivation as a son can only be basedon the doctrine that your Father gives you and not on anything else.Why? Because nothing else has “staying power.”

Let me give you an example. Many people “serve God” our ofgratefulness for their salvation. I’ve heard the cliché “He died for me, Ishould be willing to live for Him.” I’m not against gratefulness, I’mglad that anyone is grateful. But gratefulness for you being JUEL(justified unto eternal life) will only do the job up to a point. There will


of 159

come a time when that motivation will be insufficient to deal with whatyou are facing.

Your heavenly Father knows exactly what you need to get you throughall of the things you will be faced with. This chapter has everything youwill need to keep from becoming discouraged and quitting your sonshiplife. And here’s the point I want to make, the proper doctrine that will“see us through to the end” does not come out of our justification, butout of our sanctification. The whole reason we were redeemed is so thatwe could be adopted and your adoption as a son is the 3rd component ofyour sanctification.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, Godsent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 Toredeem them that were under the law, that we might receive theadoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forththe Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Remember what is going on here; your attitude is being adjusted. YourFather knows that just being “motivated” is not enough. You have to bemotivated for the right reason. If you aren’t, then your motivation won’tlast.

As good as it is, the feeling of gratitude and the indebtedness you feelfor being saved from the debt & penalty of your sins is not the kind ofindebtedness that will sustain you over the course of an entire lifetimeof investment into your Father’s curriculum for your sonship edification.You will need more than that!

If you feel some kind of “indebtedness” to God, then at least get it fromthe proper place. Take a look at this very issue in Romans 8.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from thedead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall alsoquicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to liveafter the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if


of 159

ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shalllive.

That is the sanctification indebtedness!

Now, getting back to Romans 8:16-17, as you decide just how impressedyou are with this business of your Father’s, you may be asking thequestion, “What’s in it for me?” Or, in other words, “Is the payoff worththe investment?”

To answer that question, you are going to be shown what you have togain and what you can inherit in His business. Along with that, you willbe shown that there is nothing in this world that can compare to yourFather’s business – in any area!

No other business can achieve: the glory of your Father’s business a greater inheritance the value and worth of this business the eternal nature of this business

In short, there is no business that has ever existed that can compare, inany area, with your heavenly Father’s business. This is all designed tosweep away the idea of changing your mind and going into business foryourself or thinking that your Father’s business is no “big deal.”

With that simple overview, we are ready to get into the details of theverses.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, thatwe are the children of God:

A number of folks who like to “trash” the KJV translators like to pointout “itself” instead of “Himself,” as though that was a mistake. I want tomake it clear that the use of “itself” is not a mistake and does notdenigrate the Spirit of God.


of 159

The word “Spirit” is neuter. Yes, this time the word “Spirit” has todo with a He, but the word “itself” has no specific gender attachedto it, therefore the use of “itself” is just fine.

Think of the word “baby.” Because a baby may be male or female, theword “baby” is neuter in gender. Therefore, we often say to a pregnantwoman when enquiring about her baby, “when is it due?” We are notdenigrating her baby when we say such. Neither are we describing herbaby as some kind of “thing” instead of a person.

Not only do we all understand the naturalness of using the language thatway, but the dictionary will bear out the proper use of “it” to refer to aperson. In the OED, the 2nd definition of “it:”- “used to identify aperson.”

Therefore, it is within the proper use of the language to use “it” to referto the Spirit of God. But the verse we are after here uses “itself,” not“it.” When the word “itself” follows a noun, it is often for the purposeof emphasis. I know of at least 9 examples of this in the Bible.

Psalms 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at thepresence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence ofGod, the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 31:24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in allthe cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth withflocks.

Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be deliveredfrom the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of thechildren of God.

1 Corinthians 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, ifa man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places madewith hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heavenitself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:


of 159

In all of these verses, you could leave the word “itself” out and it wouldstill make perfect sense.

In other words, it could have said, “The Spirit beareth witness with ourspirit…” By the insertion of “itself” there is a special emphasis beingmade. In this case, that special emphasis is something that the Spirit isdoing, which is “bearing witness” to something.

In spite of what the scholars say, the use of “itself” is far from beingdisrespectful to the Holy Spirit. The use of “itself” is not only proper,but conveys the more exact meaning.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,that we are the children of God:

Most preachers and commentators see this verse as describing anevidence of our eternal security. They take the verse to mean that theSpirit of God is going to give us some kind of “inner feeling” or“assurance” that we are saved (children of God). This would becompletely out of context because the issue of your eternal security wassettled back in Romans 5. Everything you needed to know to convinceyou of your “at-one” position in Jesus Christ has already been said.

After 3 chapters of talking about your sanctification, Paul does notsuddenly start talking about how you can know you are saved. Thatwouldn’t even make sense because if you aren’t sure about yoursalvation, you have to get that settled way before God begins to educateyou regarding matters of your sanctification.

Looking at verse 16, notice it does not say the Spirit beareth witness “toour spirit,” but “with our spirit.” That is an important distinction. TheSpirit is not bearing witness “TO our spirit” so that we have inner proofthat we are God’s children. To do something “to” someone is verydifferent from doing something “with” someone. The Holy Spirit isn’tbearing witness TO our spirit at all, in vs. 16. He is bearing witness“with” us.


of 159

So what does it mean when it says the Spirit “bears witness?” All weare after here is the simple meaning for what it means when anyonebears witness with anyone else. You can even take this concept out ofthe Bible and still understand what it is saying. If I bear witness of(anything, you fill in the blank) with you, what am I doing?

In answer to the question, you might say a lot of things (like “I’d beagreeing with you” or “to give testimony to something” or “givingevidence of something” and such like). If that is what you werethinking, then you are right on track.

But if I bear witness of something with you, what does that assume? Itassumes that you already know about whatever it is we are “bearingwitness” together. In other words, I can’t ‘agree with you’ aboutsomething you don’t already know. That’s what it means to bearwitness with someone else. But the question is, why would Godintroduce something this way? What is the purpose?

In order for you to see this, let’s suppose we are in your living room andwe are just talking. Then, out of the blue I say this, “Hey, rememberwhat we decided about repainting the living room? Now, why would Ibring that up? I would bring up something like that because I wouldhave a particular reason for bringing up a subject which we both knowand agree about. And what would that reason be?

It would be because I want to turn your attention to something I want tosay some more about, right? So, when I “bear witness” about somethingwhich we both know and agree on, you know that the conversation isabout to deal with this new subject. Now that’s one of the ways thatexpression is utilized in just average conversations between people.

But now, with that understanding, let’s now go back to our passage andput that within the context of our sonship establishment. In verse 16, theSpirit is going to bring up something. He’s going to bear witness withour spirit about something that we already know because He wants us tostart focusing our attention on that specific thing.


of 159

So, what is the issue He brings up (that we already know)? He brings upthe issue “that we are the children of God.” It is by that commonlyknown and understood issue that He is going to capture our attention.

Romans 8:16 will begin generating a series of thoughts that willeffectually work within us to take us step-by-step through the 1st majorissue of sonship establishment and end up producing within us the samegodly virtuous attitude that our Father has about His business and ourrole in it.

So, what is the issue (the specific thing) that the Spirit bears witness toour spirit about? Answer: “That we are the children of God.” By saying“children of God” instead of “sons of God,” the verse turns yourattention to what issue? In other words, how (or when) did you becomea “child of God?” The answer is: by trusting (or, when you trusted)Jesus Christ as your Savior. So, verse 16 turns your attention tosomething you already know, that when you were saved, you became achild of God.Now we have a good idea of what verse 16 is saying to us. But, as wenoticed before, verse 16 does not end with a period, but with a colon.That colon tells us two things: 1) we need to fully appreciate vs. 16before moving on the next verse and 2) Vs. 17 needs to be connected toverse 16 in order for us to get the full understanding of what is beingsaid.

So far, all we know from verse 16 is that the Spirit of God is givingtestimony “with our spirit” about something we both know and agreeon; we are children of God (by virtue of trusting Jesus Christ as ourSavior). Having now met the first requirement of the colon, we can nowadd verse 17’s information to complete the thought.



of 159

Following the colon that ends vs. 16, we get “And if…” This is what isknown as a first class conditional “if.” It is not saying “if” in the senseof maybe it is or maybe it isn’t. It is saying “if” in the sense of takingthe truth and certainty of the aforementioned truth and applying to whatis about to be said. In other words, “if the first thing (which we bothknow and agree about) is true, then this second thing is just as true.”

Verse 16 gives us the thing which we both (the Spirit and us) know andagree on; that we are children of God. How true is it that you are a childof God? It is so true that “the Spirit itself beareth witness!” If the Spiritof God bears witness to the truth of it, can there be any question aboutthe truth and certainty of it? Absolutely not!

Not only does this establish a truth that you yourself understand andbelieve, but by bringing it up this way, the Father turns our attention tothe subject He wants to discuss with us. And don’t forget the context;this is going to be within the context of telling us something about Hisbusiness and our part in it.


Verse 17 brings up two issues and they both have to do with aninheritance. The first is the “heir of God” inheritance and the second isthe “joint-heir” inheritance. If you had been studying your Bible along,you should already know something about both of these inheritances.

As read through the OT and the gospels, you realize there are manyreferences to an inheritance for Israel and specifically for the little flock.That may get you to thinking there is something for you in your programtoo. But there is something more specific that is talked about, eventhough you aren’t given any details concerning it.

Just before you got to the book of Romans, as you went through thebook of Acts, you would have read about something Paul said to theleaders of the church at Ephesus. As you read through the account, you


of 159

would know that these people were not part of God’s program withIsrael and Paul ded not preach the “gospel of the kingdom” to them. Hepreached the “gospel of the grace of God.” You also know these areGentiles at Ephesus.

Acts 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, becausehe would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it werepossible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. 17 Andfrom Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of thechurch. 18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them,Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after whatmanner I have been with you at all seasons, 19 Serving the Lordwith all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations,which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: 20 And how Ikept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewedyou, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentancetoward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I mylife dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy,and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, totestify the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all thecounsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to allthe flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his ownblood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievouswolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of yourown selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw awaydisciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that bythe space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night andday with tears. 32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, andto the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and togive you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.


of 159

Luke records Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders which made referenceto an inheritance “among them which are sanctified.” Look back atRomans 8:17 where we saw two inheritances being laid out.

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, andjoint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that wemay be also glorified together.

The “heir of God” inheritance you got as a part of your justification;when you became a “child of God” by trusting Christ. That is why youstart out with the “children of God” issue.

The second inheritance is separated from the “children” issue by acomma, and the word “and.” When you see the semi-colon after theword “heirs,” it is explaining what it means to be an heir as a child ofGod.

That “heir of God” is then followed by a comma, ending the definitionof being a child of God heir. The word “and” introduces anotherinheritance; the “joint-heir” inheritance.

Here is what we have so far: Inheritance – as a child – “heir of God” – out of Justification –

produced automatically by Jesus Christ and given by grace – allreceive

Inheritance – as a son – “joint-heir with Christ” – out ofSanctification – produced by the effectual working of the word ofgrace – not all receive

By Acts 20:32, you already knew there was an inheritance that wouldresult from the word of God working in your sanctification.

Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to theword of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give youan inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

The “word of His grace” is the grace message that Paul preachedeverywhere he went. These Ephesians learned not only to be saved by


of 159

grace (justification) but they were instructed by Paul to live for God(sanctification!) by grace. That word of grace included the sonshipeducation which is why you have the book of Ephesians sitting in Level2 of your sonship curriculum.

Even though you knew about an inheritance in conjunction with yoursanctification, you didn’t know much about it. It isn’t until Romans 8that you get the first details about it.


The “joint-heir” inheritance, which is connected to your sanctification(specifically the component of being an adopted son) is directly relatedto the Father’s business. This is how the Father begins to tell you somethings about His business and your role in it, which is exactly what youshould expect after coming out of the pronouncements of vv. 14-15.

Before we get into the final details of vs. 17, let me make sure we seethe connection between the inheritance of being a “joint-heir” and theFather’s business. First of all, the (your!) inheritance comes out of thebusiness. You can’t talk about the “joint-heir” inheritance unless youtalk about the business, because the inheritance is integrally joined to thebusiness. It’s part of the business; it’s where the inheritance comesfrom. If there was no business, there’d be no inheritance, even an “heirof God” inheritance. So, you need to think about your inheritance ineternity is going to come out of the business and specifically, yourinvolvement in the business. So, how involved do you want to be?

Think about a normal family business. Even the children who were notadopted, who had no desire to enter the family business, may get somekind of inheritance at the passing of their father. But even theirinheritance will come out of the wealth of the family business. No, theywon’t get the same inheritance as the adopted son (or daughter), butevery inheritance will come from that business.


of 159

Here is another thought as we look at these two inheritances. When youare just a “child” of the Father, you may get a one-time inheritance. Inthese days, it usually happens at the death of the parents. But the Biblerecords an instance of a young may getting an inheritance while hisfather was still alive. He was not the adopted son, just a “part of thefamily” by birth.

Luke 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And theyounger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion ofgoods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together,and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted hissubstance with riotous living.

Of course you know the story. The young man ended up wishing hecould have the husks that was fed to the swine. He decided to go backhome and be one of the hired servants. Of course, this picture ofjustification has the son welcomed back with joy. The other son hasbeen laboring with his father and he is angry over the good treatment ofhis bother who disrespected the father and wasted his inheritance.

Luke 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he cameand drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 Andhe called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hathkilled the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came hisfather out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to hisfather, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressedI at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me akid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon asthis thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living withharlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

What I’m really after in this is the response the Father gives to hisadopted son. If you aren’t careful with your reading, you will miss it.


of 159

Luke 15:31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, andall that I have is thine.

Did you see it? The father says, “ALL that I have is thine.” What didthe younger son receive? He got a “portion of goods.” But what doesthe elder son have? Answer: ALL THAT IS IN THE FATHER’SHANDS!

I realize we went back into Israel’s program to see this, but all I’m afteris:

The father didn’t have to die in order for the younger son to get hisinheritance.

The younger son’s inheritance was a set “portion” The elder son’s inheritance was “ALL THE FATHER

POSSESSED” Both inheritances come out of the father’s business

Here is the point I wanted to make about another difference betweenthese two inheritances. The saved, JUEL saint who gets to heaven andknows nothing about sonship will still receive a “one-time” inheritance.That inheritance was procured by Jesus Christ and His work in Hisdeath, burial and resurrection. There are no works of the saint involvedin this “heir of God” inheritance. It is not connected with his godlyedification as a son (sanctification) in any way. Think of it in today’sterms of getting your share of an inheritance at the passing of yourparents. You get it and that’s the end of it.

But for the joint-heir inheritance, it is not just a portion that comes out ofthe business, but the whole of the business reflects this inheritance. Andhere is the other significant difference.

The longer the business goes and the more the business does andthe greater the business expands, the greater the inheritance!

In an earthly business, when a son begins to labor with his father, thebusiness may be worth “x” but as they labor together for years and thebusiness grows, and time goes by, the business may then be worth “y.”


of 159

Let me ask you a couple of questions:1. How long will your Father’s business run?2. Do you think that business increases when the creature is delivered

from the bondage of corruption?3. Do you think the business will expand even more when “all things

in heaven and earth are gathered together in one in Christ” duringthe dispensation of the fullness of times?

4. Do you ever see the Father’s business “falling on hard times” orgoing through cutbacks due to a bad economy?

5. What do you think will happen to the Father’s business as it goesfrom the restitution of all things, through the dispensation of thefullness of times and then out into the “ages to come?”

6. Where do you think the Father’s business will be 100 million yearsafter we have been placed in the creature? How about a billionyears? A trillion?

7. In view of all that, what will than happen to your “joint-heir”inheritance? It will GROW with the business, will it not?

That leads me to this final point in our list: Because your joint-heir inheritance is directly tied to the Father’s

business, your joint-heir inheritance will continue to increase (inevery respect) forever! (For eternity!)

Can you even imagine a never-ending increase of your inheritance? So,you tell me, is there a “payoff” waiting for the son who invests hisearthly life in preparing to labor with his Father in this business? Isthere a benefit for attaining your Father’s wisdom so you can be placedin position of authority in the Father’s business?

Let me show you a verse out of Israel’s program that describes thekingdom as it tied to the mandates of the Davidic Covenant.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: andthe government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall becalled Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlastingFather, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government


of 159

and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, andupon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment andwith justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORDof hosts will perform this.

While each of those titles are tied to the 5 mandates of the DavidicCovenant, what I’m after right now is contained in vs. 7.

Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace thereshall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice fromhenceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts willperform this.

I’m not trying to throw the “peace” and the “throne of David” aside likethey are unimportant, but I am highlighting an area that I think of oftenoverlooked and gets lost in the verse. The government of God will haveno end to its INCREASE!

That government is not restricted to the earth and to Israel, but we willfill the government of God in the heavenly places just as Israel will onthe earth. No, Isaiah does not mention the heavenly places here, butthere is a reason for that – it was part of the mystery program which wasnot know by anyone until God revealed it to Paul! All Isaiah knows isabout that earthly government. But it stands to reason, if the part he didknow about was going to increase with “no end” to its increase, then itwould hold true for the heavenly part as well. At least that is theunderstanding that I have come to. And that is very exciting, to say theleast.

If you want to talk about something that motivates you in your sonshipeducation, something that works in you to make your sonship status youpassion and the driving force in your life, then just start thinking aboutthis joint-heir inheritance that is waiting for every son who values andesteems this education like the Father does.


of 159

Understanding that you are about to be educated and trained by yourFather, that He has expectations of you and that you are an heir tosomething that comes out of His business begins the transformation ofyour inner man. The reality of that joint-heir inheritance and all it holdsout to you is the first component of a doctrine that is meant to effectuallywork in your inner man to produce a “hope” that can take you all theway through your sonship education for the rest of your life. Theconfident expectation of this “hope” (joint-heir inheritance) is what willproduce that godly virtue of patient endurance of anything that comesyour way.

And there is plenty coming your way, especially in the “persons” of theevil man (world) and the strange woman (POE). They will offer you acompeting wisdom that will look attractive and be a lot less work. Butyou should view both of them as a trap to stop you from getting thereward of your inheritance.

Let me show you this in the book of Colossians which, as you know, isdoctrine for a Level 2 son. In chapter 3, Paul addresses the counterfeitwisdom and the various ways in which it will seek to take root and, ifleft unchecked, eventually derail your sonship life. Keep in mind that atthis time, it possible to “lose reward” which means you can diminishyour joint-heir inheritance.

Session 007

In our next session we will move to the details about this joint-heirinheritance contained in vs. 17. We may have known something about a“sanctification” inheritance, but we didn’t have it explained to us. Up tothis point (Romans 8:16-17), we have not been given anything thateffectually works in our inner man to prepare us for entering the sonshipeducation. Now, we are about to see the apostle Paul pull back thecurtain and begin giving us some wonderful details.


of 159

In our last session, we were looking at the enormity of our joint-heirinheritance, which is only one aspect of what is supposed to be in yourthinking to produce a patient endurance of the sufferings. This is thereward for a son who values and esteems this education as much as hisheavenly Father does.


This is also the beginning of the transformation of your inner man as youunderstand that you are about to be educated and trained by yourheavenly Father, that He has expectations of you as His son and that youare a joint-heir in connection with His business.

The reality of that joint-heir inheritance and all it holds out to you is thefirst component of a doctrine that is meant to effectually work in yourinner man to produce a “hope” that can take you all the way throughyour sonship education for the rest of your life. The confidentexpectation of this “hope” (joint-heir inheritance) is what will producethat godly virtue of patient endurance of anything that comes your way.

And there is plenty coming your way, especially in the “persons” of theevil man (world) and the strange woman (POE). They will offer you acompeting wisdom that will look attractive and be a lot less work. Butyou should view both of them as a trap to stop you from getting thereward of your inheritance.

Let me show you this in the book of Colossians which, as you know, isdoctrine for a Level 2 son. In chapter 3, Paul addresses the counterfeitwisdom and the various ways in which it will seek to take root and, ifleft unchecked, eventually derail your sonship life. Keep in mind that atthis time, it possible to “lose reward” which means you can diminishyour joint-heir inheritance.


of 159

Colossians 2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile youwith enticing words.

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you throughphilosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after therudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or indrink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of thesabbath days:

Colossians 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in avoluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into thosethings which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshlymind,

Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from therudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are yesubject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after thecommandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things haveindeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, andneglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of theflesh.

All of these things were, is and will be going on in churches in thisdispensation of grace! It’s going to ruin them if they do not discernthese false and counterfeit issues of wisdom. And think about this; ifthese things represent a competing wisdom, what is at the bottom of thatwisdom? The same thing as what is at the bottom of godly wisdom – abusiness! The only difference being that the competing wisdom is not atthe bottom of your Father’s business but the Adversary’s business! Inother words, as you live according to the completing wisdom, regardlessof your motives, you are doing work for the Adversary’s business! Weshould all think about that. That is what is happening in Colossians 2.


of 159

But in chapter 3, he redirects the Colossians toward the things whichwill protect their reputation (conversation) as the Level 2 sons they are.

Notice this is nothing new. Paul takes what we have been looking at inRomans 8 and he picks up on it over here in Colossians 3. Paul is sayingthat this “view toward your inheritance” is supposed to be uppermost inyour thinking. I don’t mean you will quit your job or any such thing asthat. I mean that you will be thinking and examining and evaluating thethings you are involved in with a view toward your future in the Father’sbusiness. You will be evaluating your actions each day with respect tohow it will impact your inheritance.

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those thingswhich are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 WhenChrist, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear withhim in glory.

And now notice how the chapter closes out.

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to theLord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shallreceive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the LordChrist.

The motivation and drive that comes from knowing about ourinheritance is still the issue in Colossians 3. Even in Level 2, the POE isstill seeking to allure the son to a competing wisdom. Both the worldand the POE are engaged in getting the son to participate (evenunknowingly) on the behalf of a competing business to your heavenlyFathers.

In our next session we will move to the details about this joint-heirinheritance contained in vs. 17. We may have known something about a“sanctification” inheritance, but we didn’t have it explained to us. Now,


of 159

we are about to see the apostle Paul pull back the curtain and begingiving us some wonderful details.

Now, let’s recap what we have so far:

To recap what we have covered thus far: We qualified for the “heir of God” inheritance by trusting in Christ

as Savior We may qualify for the “joint-hier” inheritance by suffering with

Christ Romans 8:16-25 contains a doctrine specific to suffering The effectually working of the doctrine produces a HOPE That HOPE does several things:

o It produces the virtue of patient enduranceo It enables us to endure the sufferings that come our wayo It equips us to continue in the sonship education

There is one last thing I want to cover with regard to these twoinheritances and that has to do with how they are related to the Father’sbusiness. It is true that both inheritances come “out” of the Father’sbusiness.

But the “heir of God” inheritance does not include anything to do withthe running of that business, the rewards or that business or the glory ofthat business. Those are the things related to only the “joint-heir”

Heir of God Inheritance: Joint-Heir Inheritance:

For Children For SonsOur of Justification Out of SanctificationReceive Automatically Not AutomaticEvery Saint Receives Not Every Saint ReceivesNo Works Involved Suffering InvolvedAll the Same Not All the SameOne Time EternalSet Portion Ever-Growing


of 159

inheritance. Think of it this way. Let’s say you own a very successfulbusiness. Through the years, that business has produced a personalwealth for you. Applying this illustration to the adoption of sons, youwould divide up your personal wealth between all your children. Thatpersonal wealth came “out of the business.” It did not represent all thatthe business created, for much of the wealth was put back into thebusiness. But whatever personal wealth there was, was produced by thebusiness.

The adopted son would get another inheritance; that which pertained tothe business itself. As the business continued to produce greater andgreater wealth, as the business itself became more and more valuable,only the adopted son would be the beneficiary of that. Not only wouldhe have “personal wealth,” but additionally, he would have “businesswealth.”

That is the same difference between an “heir of God” and a “joint-heirwith Christ.” Both are produced by the Father’s business, but only oneof them will possess the ongoing wealth of the business. Now we wantto begin looking at the qualifications for getting that joint-heirinheritance.


The first “if” of verse 17 was that first-class conditional if thatacknowledges the truth of a thing being carried forward to another thing.This is an “if” of condition. You can tell by the construction of thesentence which kind of “if” is used. Therefore, a saint can only be ajoint-heir if certain conditions are met; in this case, that we “suffer withChrist.”

Before we move into this, let me remind you what this is, it is sonshipestablishment. You are not being given the education itself yet.Therefore, much of what you are given here is very general in nature.


of 159

But you are given exactly what you need in order to get your attitudeadjusted to receive the education.

So what is it that we are being told in vs. 17? You are being told:1. There is a qualification for being a joint-heir with Christ2. That qualification is that you “suffer with Him”3. That suffering will result in being glorified together with Christ

And that’s it for now. No, you have not yet been told what that sufferingis. You haven’t been told what He is suffering today in this dispensationof grace, but only that there is something that He is suffering that we aresupposed to suffer “with Him.” Vs. 17 is not meant to begin taking youthrough a systematic study of suffering. I realize that by raising theissue, you want to know the details about the suffering, but that is notwhat you are given to know.

Most people are surprised to learn that Jesus is suffering anything today.They think that once His suffering on the Cross was over, there wouldbe no more suffering for Him. But that is not the case, as you can seefrom vs. 17 that there is something that we are to suffer “with Him.”

Notice it does not say that we are to suffer “for Him.” That would besomething different. The only thing the last part of vs. 17 is saying to usis that the qualification for being a joint-heir is to “suffer with Christ.”

While I would usually not jump you ahead in the Scriptures, every oncein a while I may show you something that may help you in yourunderstanding. In this case, I want to show you why the issue ofsuffering comes up with regard to our joint-heir inheritance.

If we go forward into Israel’s resumed program, in the book of Hebrews,we can observe several things about Jesus Christ. The first thing is thatHe also will obtain an inheritance. You already knew that He would, sothis is not great revelation, but I still want us to look at the verse.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers mannersspake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these


of 159

last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heirof all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

The first thing I would draw your attention to is that the Fatherappointed Jesus as “heir of all things.” Let’s continue to read.

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and theexpress image of his person, and upholding all things by the wordof his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down onthe right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so muchbetter than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a moreexcellent name than they.

As part of His inheritance, Jesus obtained a “more excellent name” thanthe angels. But that isn’t all; He was made “heir of all things.” And ifyou notice, this inheritance was His “when he had by Himself purgedour sins” and “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Inother words, Jesus, because of His redemptive work in His death, burialand resurrection, received an inheritance. Was there any suffering in Hisdeath? Of course there was. And that is exactly how the Cross wasreferred to; as suffering. And not just the Cross, for Jesus had to suffer“many things!”

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto hisdisciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer manythings of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, andbe raised again the third day.

Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man mustsuffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chiefpriests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, andbe rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain,and be raised the third day.

Luke 17:25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejectedof this generation.


of 159

Luke 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired toeat this passover with you before I suffer:

Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus itbehoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

Acts 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by themouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath sofulfilled.

Having established that Jesus “suffered” as He functioned as Redeemer,and by His death, burial and resurrection He qualified Himself to receivean inheritance, let’s pick this theme up in Hebrews 2. As we read,remember that this is referring to Israel’s program, after thisdispensation of grace has ended with the Blessed Hope. But eventhough this is Israel’s program, there is a sonship parallel to be seenhere.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower thanthe angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory andhonour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for everyman. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whomare all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make thecaptain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Who is the captain of their (the remnant) salvation? It is Jesus Christ!And notice it says that He was “made perfect” how? He was madeperfect through sufferings! When we talk about Him being made“perfect,” we are not talking about sinless perfection, for He was alreadywithout sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, whoknew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God inhim.

If Jesus were not “without sin,” then He would have been disqualifiedfrom being the Redeemer! We know that He was without sin, therefore,the word “perfect” is not talking about that issue. It is talking about


of 159

what then? Does that word “perfect” strike a chord of remembrancewith you? Aren’t you supposed to be made “perfect?” Aren’t yousupposed to be brought unto “a perfect man?”

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and ofthe knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto themeasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Didn’t Paul record Epaphras’ prayer for the saints to stand “perfect andcomplete in all the will of God?”

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ,saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, thatye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

What was that “perfecting” about? It was about the edifying of the bodyof Christ!

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work ofthe ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

What I’m after is that Hebrews 2 says that Jesus, in His sonship life onthis earth, was made perfect through the things He suffered. In likemanner, you are going to be perfected through suffering some things“with Him.” And that suffering is going to qualify you to be a “joint-heir” with Christ.

Just to be clear, you are meant to realize some things because of yoursuffering that you cannot attain to any other way. Just as Jesus’inheritance is connected to the things He suffered, so will yours be.

I want to turn your attention back to the book of Hebrews and let’s pickup again on this theme of an inheritance and a perfection comingthrough sufferings.

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers offlesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;that through death he might destroy him that had the power ofdeath, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of


of 159

death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily hetook not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seedof Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be madelike unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful highpriest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for thesins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered beingtempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

One of the benefits of suffering temptation is to gain the ability to helpothers who will also be tempted. And doesn’t that makes sense? Onlywhen you have gone through something (successfully gone through, Imight add) can you help someone else who is going through a similarcircumstance. Wouldn’t that fall under the banner of “wise counsels?”And isn’t a son supposed to be involved in wise counsel?

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed aboutwith so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run withpatience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus theauthor and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was setbefore him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is setdown at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus was going to “endure the Cross.” Does that word “endure” ring abell with you? Isn’t the godly virtue of “patient endurance” supposed tobe produced in you by the section of Scripture in Romans 8:16-25? TheCross was a deviously devised way of executing criminals. It waspainful and torturous. Jesus did not have any “pain killers” administeredto Him while He was on that Cross. He felt every pain of it.

What else was there in dying on the Cross between two thieves? Therewas shame. How did Jesus feel about the shame of it? Verse 2 says Hedespised the shame. How do you think anyone would feel about dying aslow, painful, shameful, death? No one would like that, including ourSavior. Still, verse two says that Jesus was able to endure the painfuldeath of the Cross and the shame that came along with it because of


of 159

something else. What was that something else? It was “the joy that setbefore Him!”

You could say it this way; there was something that was set before Jesusthat brought Him such joy that He was willing to endure the pain of theCross, endure physical death, endure the ridicule of the mob, and endurethe shame that came along with it. Jesus’ joy was not in the Cross; Heendured the Cross. Jesus’ joy was not in the shame; He despised theshame. Jesus’ joy was in a BENEFIT that was “set before Him” thatcould only be His though His suffering! And that benefit, which couldonly be achieved through the suffering of the Cross and the shame, wasso great that it produced a “joy” that was greater than the suffering! Youcould say that the suffering of the Cross and the shame could not becompared to the thing which was being offered to Him for enduringthem. And that is exactly what is going on in Romans 8!

You are being offered something so great, that the joy of getting thatbenefit (your joint-heir inheritance) is greater than any suffering youcould ever endure on this earth. That is exactly what the next verse isgoing to tell you in Romans 8:18.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present timeare not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall berevealed in us.

I know that right now, you may not be able to make a list of things thatyou will “suffer with Christ.” You may not be able to make a list ofwhat is included with being “glorified together with Christ.” You maynot even understand what all your joint-heir inheritance includes. If thatis the case, it’s okay. You aren’t being called on to make those listsright now. What is happening is a declaration is being made about yourinheritances with emphasis on the joint-heir inheritance.

You are told (vs. 17) that the only way to qualify for the joint-heirinheritance is through suffering

You are told (vs. 17) that if you suffer with Christ, you will also beglorified together with Him


of 159

You are told (vs. 18) that whatever sufferings come your way, theywill not compare to the glory which shall be revealed in you!

Can you believe your heavenly Father when He tells you this? Can youbelieve that there is a grander glory in going through the sufferings thanthere is in being delivered from them? You had better, for there is NOGLORY in being delivered from suffering in this dispensation!

Delivering you from afflictions or sufferings of any kind, does NOT putthe power of His grace on display in your inner man! In thisdispensation, God is not putting His Jehovah power on display in thephysical realm, He is putting it on display in the spiritual realm. Godisn’t doing miracles on the outward man, He is effectually working inthe inner man.

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet notdistressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, butnot forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearingabout in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life alsoof Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which liveare alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life alsoof Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 16 For whichcause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet theinward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction,which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceedingand eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the thingswhich are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for thethings which are seen are temporal; but the things which are notseen are eternal.

Was this ever said to Israel in the OT or the gospels? No. Just as thesuffering of the Lord Jesus Christ qualified Him with regard to Hisinheritance, we also are qualified for our joint-heir inheritance by oursuffering with Him.

Jesus Christ has some sufferings that He suffers in connection with whatis going on in this dispensation of grace and in regard to this new


of 159

creature of the church the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Eventhough His suffering on the Cross is over, Christ is currently suffering atthis present time, and we, if we are to be joint-heirs with Him, we are tosuffer along with Him. We are to suffer some things, and they are thevery things Christ is suffering, too.

This is the idea that is carried by the phrase, “if so be that we suffer withHim.”


By the way this is presented to you, what you should not be doing hereis trying to imagine what kind of suffering this is referring to. What youare meant to focus on is that both Jesus and you (every member of thebody of Christ) are suffering something together.

Whatever that suffering is, you know it has nothing to do with the Crossand nothing to do with His earthly life. It has to do with Him right nowand you right now. And the issue is not about giving you a definition ofwhat all is involved in that suffering.

God has determined that, in connection with our sonship in thisdispensation of grace, our sonship inheritance will be determined basedupon our present response to the very things the Lord Jesus Christ isdoing right now in this dispensation of grace. Part of what He is doingis “suffering some things” in this dispensation of grace.

If you think about it, that’s the only logical thing to do. He’s not goingto base our inheritance on something that the Lord was doing in the pastthat pertains to the nation of Israel. Our inheritance can only be basedupon something going on in this dispensation of grace. It can only bebased upon something going on with the Lord Jesus Christ in thisdispensation of grace. That is why Paul locates the “time element” foryou in vs. 18.


of 159

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present timeare not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall berevealed in us.

Most people can’t even conceive of this ever taking place; they don’tknow how in the world that could be true. He’s not suffering for sin.He’s not suffering agony. He’s not suffering pain and affliction, but Heis suffering some things.

When you read vv. 16-17, you do not yet know what those things are.You will know because before you get out of chapter 8, you are going tobe informed about some of the things included in this suffering. Youwon’t be told about all of it in Romans 8 because you don’t need toknow about all of it yet. What you do need to know is that through thissuffering you will get a joint-heir inheritance that is greater thananything suffering you will go through.

You only need to know the first ones that you will encounter. What isbeing given to you is a foundation that will be built upon later on.

What I will tell you now is this:1. Everything in our Sonship Education/Edification (being conformed

to the image of Christ) is tied to our “suffering with Him” invarious manners that are equivalent to how Christ suffers today inthis dispensation of grace.

2. The degree and extent of our heir-ship with Him (our joint-heirinheritance) will be determined at the judgment seat of Christ.

3. The basis for determining that inheritance will be by the amount ofequivalency in our sonship lives to that which Christ is presentlysuffering.

4. The degree to which we “suffer with Him,” is the degree of thereward of our inheritance.

Just to put this into an application, if your response to the things whichcome way are not to “suffer with Him,” then there will be no joint-heirinheritance reward. If that improper response is your response everytime, then you will get “zero” joint-heir inheritance. If you respond


of 159

properly 50% of the time, then you will get half of the inheritance youcould have had.

I am saying it to you this way so you will see how critical the “if so be”of verse 17 is. Your entire joint-heir inheritance is based on this onething. Therefore, this has to be a huge issue for a son.

This is why you cannot decide to put off this sonship education becauseyou think you will get it when you get to heaven. What I am about totell you is something I did not fully understand before when wediscussed this issue way back at the start of our Sonship Orientation.Not being a fully educated son myself, I knew there would come a timewhen I would have more information and therefore, I reserved the rightto “add to” or “tweak” my former understanding. Well, this is one ofthose times.

Out in the creature, when we are in our positions in the heavenly places,there are going to be people out there who are members of the body ofChrist, but who, for various reasons, neglected their Sonship Education.Regardless of the reasons, I told you that they would not be occupyingpositions of authority in the heavenly places. I was right about that. Butthere is an aspect of this that I didn’t have nailed down properly, and ithas to do with their education in eternity.

Even if there are no formal classes to teach godly edification in eternity,it is fair to say that even folks who ignored sonship during their earthlylife will still be able to observe and learn some things in eternity. Afterall, they are saved. They are totally redeemed; body, soul and spirit.Just because they did not participate in sonship while they were on earthdoes not mean that they have to take a “dumb pill” in eternity. They canstill learn some things. They are sanctified and therefore, they can learnsome things about thinking like their Father and doing things His way.In other words, they can get some education when they are in theheavenly places that they did not get while they were on earth.


of 159

While I am not yet willing to say just how far their education can go, Iam willing to say some things with the conviction that I am correct inwhat I understand about them.

If a son waits until he has gone to the heavenly places to be educated inthe Father’s business or to be educated in godliness, then:

1. He will never obtain a joint-heir inheritance2. He will never occupy a seat of authority in God’s government in

the heavenly places3. He will not be glorified together with Christ4. He will never be allowed to function in certain areas of the

Father’s business

All of the above benefits are bestowed upon a son based upon somethinghe does while he is on this earth. During your earthly life is when youwill either qualify for the things listed above, or you won’t. But nothingyou do in eternity is going to change any of those 4 things – ever.

That is a big reason why you can’t say, “I’ll worry about this sonshipstuff when I get to heaven.” It is the Sonship Education and Edificationduring your lifetime on earth that qualifies you for the benefits ofeternity.

Now we are at a place where you should have vv. 16-17 down in yourthinking. You have seen the two inheritances being discussed and youshould understand some vital differences between them. You are alsobeginning to understand the importance of suffering as it pertains to your“perfection” and your joint-heir inheritance.

What you may not have a handle on is what all is entailed in “sufferingwith Christ.” I have already told you that these two verses are onlyintroducing the topic to you, they are not interested in giving you thedetails. But just to send you off at this Christmas break with somethingto chew on, verse 18 is going to begin filling in the answer to yourquestion about what this “suffering with Christ” is about.


of 159

In fact, vs. 18, while it does not contain a list, does describe the “kind”of suffering with Christ that you will encounter. There is more to comeand more “kinds” for you to be aware of later on. But the Scripture willfill these in at the appropriate time. For now, all I am saying to you isthat verse 18 is describing a particular kind (or category) of sufferingand the reason you are introduced to it here is because it is the first kind(or category) of suffering you will encounter in your sonship life.

I hope you will continue to read down through the chapter, at least thisfirst section (vv. 16-25), and get very familiar with the things writtenhere. Carefully reading and rereading this chapter will be verybeneficial to you as we study through it.

Session 009

Toward the end of our previous session, we hurried through some

scriptures that referred to the suffering that Jesus endured as He

performed the Redeemer mandate. I want to revisit that issue and make

sure that we have a good understanding of what we covered. As Jesus

provided redemption for the sins of the world, He suffered on the Cross.

We are told that His suffering not only provided redemption for us, but it

also provided something for Him; it qualified Him to receive an

inheritance and to receive power.

Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,

Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I

shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost

parts of the earth for thy possession.

And following His resurrection from the dead, Jesus says:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All

power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.


of 159

Having established that Jesus “suffered” as He functioned as Redeemer,

and by His death, burial and resurrection He qualified Himself to receive

an inheritance, let’s pick this theme up in Hebrews 2. As we read,

remember that this is referring to Israel’s program, after this

dispensation of grace has ended with the Blessed Hope. But even

though this is Israel’s program, there is a sonship parallel to be seen

here.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than

the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and

honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every

man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom

are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the

captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Who is the captain of their (the remnant) salvation? It is Jesus Christ!

He was “crowned with glory and honour” by “the suffering of death.”

And notice it says that He was “made perfect” how? He was made

perfect through sufferings! When we talk about Him being made

“perfect,” we are not talking about sinless perfection, He was already

without sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who

knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in

him.

If Jesus were not “without sin,” then He would have been disqualified

from being the Redeemer! We know that He was without sin, therefore,

the word “perfect” is not talking about that issue. It is talking about

what then? Does that word “perfect” strike a chord of remembrance

with you? Aren’t you supposed to be made “perfect?” Aren’t you

supposed to be brought unto “a perfect man?”


of 159

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of

the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the

measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Didn’t Paul record Epaphras’ prayer for the saints to stand “perfect and

complete in all the will of God?”

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ,

saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that

ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

What was that “perfecting” about? It was about the edifying of the body

of Christ!

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of

the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

What I’m after is that Hebrews 2 says that Jesus, in His sonship life on

this earth, was made perfect through the things He suffered. It is true

that His suffering on the Cross was a physical suffering linked to Israel’s

program. It is also true that we became the beneficiaries of what Jesus

accomplished in His redemptive act on the Cross.

But no, He is not presently suffering in this dispensation of grace the

same way He suffered on the Cross. But here is the parallel. Just as

Jesus was “made perfect” through the things which He suffered, in like

manner, you are going to be perfected through suffering some things

“with Him” in this dispensation of grace. It is your suffering with Him

that is going to qualify you to be a “joint-heir” with Him.

Just to be clear, you are meant to realize some things because of your

suffering that you cannot attain to any other way. Just as Jesus’

inheritance is connected to the things He suffered, so will your joint-heir

inheritance be.


of 159

I want to turn your attention back to the book of Hebrews and let’s pick

up again on this theme of an inheritance and a perfection coming

through sufferings.

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of

flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;

that through death he might destroy him that had the power of

death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of

death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he

took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed

of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made

like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high

priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the

sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being

tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

One of the benefits of suffering temptation is to gain the ability to help

others who will also be tempted. And doesn’t that makes sense? Only

when you have gone through something (successfully gone through, I

might add) can you help someone else who is going through a similar

circumstance. Wouldn’t that fall under the banner of “wise counsels?”

And isn’t a son supposed to be involved in wise counsel?

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about

with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with

patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the

author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set

before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set

down at the right hand of the throne of God.


of 159

Jesus was going to “endure the Cross.” Does that word “endure” ring a

bell with you? Isn’t the godly virtue of “patient endurance” supposed to

be produced in you by the section of Scripture in Romans 8:16-25? The

Cross was a deviously devised way of executing criminals. It was

painful and torturous. Jesus did not have any “pain killers” administered

to Him while He was on that Cross. He felt every pain of it.

What else was there in dying on the Cross between two thieves? There

was shame. How did Jesus feel about the shame of it? Verse 2 says He

despised the shame. How do you think anyone would feel about dying a

slow, painful, shameful, death? No one would like that, including our

Savior. Still, verse two says that Jesus was able to endure the painful

death of the Cross and the shame that came along with it because of

something else. What was that something else? It was “the joy that set

before Him!”

You could say it this way; there was something that was set before Jesus

that brought Him such joy that He was willing to endure the pain of the

Cross, endure physical death, endure the ridicule of the mob, and endure

the shame that came along with it. Jesus’ joy was not in the Cross; He

endured the Cross. Jesus’ joy was not in the shame; He despised the

shame. Jesus’ joy was in a BENEFIT that was “set before Him” that

could only be His though His suffering! And that benefit, which could

only be achieved through the suffering of the Cross and the shame, was

so great that it produced a “joy” that was greater than the suffering! You

could say that the suffering of the Cross and the shame could not be

compared to the thing which was being offered to Him for enduring

them. What was that “joy which was set before Him?” His inheritance!

And that is exactly what is going on in Romans 8!

You are being offered something so great, that the joy of getting that

benefit (your joint-heir inheritance) is greater than any suffering you


of 159

could ever endure on this earth. That is exactly what the next verse is

going to tell you in Romans 8:18.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time

are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be

revealed in us.

I know that right now, you may not be able to make a list of things that

you will “suffer with Christ.” You may not be able to make a list of

what is included with being “glorified together with Christ.” You may

not even understand what all your joint-heir inheritance includes. If that

is the case, it’s okay. You aren’t being called on to make those lists

right now. What is happening is a declaration is being made about your

inheritances with emphasis on the joint-heir inheritance.

You are told (vs. 17) that the only way to qualify for the joint-heir

inheritance is through suffering

You are told (vs. 17) that if you suffer with Christ, you will also be

glorified together with Him

You are told (vs. 18) that whatever sufferings come your way, they

will not compare to the glory which shall be revealed in you!

Can you believe your heavenly Father when He tells you this? Can you

believe that there is a grander glory in going through the sufferings than

there is in being delivered from them? You had better, for there is NO

GLORY in being delivered from suffering in this dispensation!

Delivering you from afflictions or sufferings of any kind, does NOT put

the power of His grace on display in your inner man! In this

dispensation, God is not putting His Jehovah power on display in the

physical realm, He is putting it on display in the spiritual realm. God

isn’t doing miracles on the outward man, He is effectually working in

the inner man.


of 159

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not

distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but

not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing

about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also

of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live

are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also

of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 16 For which

cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the

inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction,

which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding

and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things

which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the

things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not

seen are eternal.

Was this ever said to Israel in the OT or the gospels? No.

Just as the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ qualified Him with regard

to His inheritance, we also are qualified for our joint-heir inheritance by

our suffering with Him.

Jesus Christ has some sufferings that He suffers in connection with what

is going on in this dispensation of grace and in regard to this new

creature of the church the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Even

though His suffering on the Cross is over, Christ is currently suffering at

this present time, and we, if we are to be joint-heirs with Him, we are to

suffer along with Him. We are to suffer some things, and they are the

very things Christ is suffering, too.

This is the idea that is carried by the phrase, “if so be that we suffer with

Him.”


of 159

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-

heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be

also glorified together.

By the way this is presented to you, what you should not be doing here

is trying to imagine what kind of suffering this is referring to. What you

are meant to focus on is that both Jesus and you (every member of the

body of Christ) are suffering something together.

Whatever that suffering is, you know it has nothing to do with the Cross

and nothing to do with His earthly life. It has to do with Him right now

and you right now. And the issue is not about giving you a definition of

what all is involved in that suffering.

God has determined that, in connection with our sonship in this

dispensation of grace, our sonship inheritance will be determined based

upon our present response to the very things the Lord Jesus Christ is

doing right now in this dispensation of grace. Part of what He is doing

is “suffering some things” in this dispensation of grace.

If you think about it, that’s the only logical thing to do. He’s not going

to base our inheritance on something that the Lord was doing in the past

that pertains to the nation of Israel. Our inheritance can only be based

upon something going on in this dispensation of grace. It can only be

based upon something going on with the Lord Jesus Christ in this

dispensation of grace. That is why Paul locates the “time element” for

you in vs. 18.



revealed in us.


of 159

Most people can’t even conceive of this ever taking place; they don’t

know how in the world that could be true. He’s not suffering for sin.

He’s not suffering agony. He’s not suffering pain and affliction, but He

is suffering some things.

Just as an aside, the “sufferings of this present time” are one of the two

categories of suffering that will come your way. This category of

suffering contains all of the things that may (or may not) happen to you

during your lifetime as a result of living in a fallen world. Car accidents,

cancer, losing a loved one, getting a cold, having a migraine, working

for a complete jerk, living in a bad economy, having policies enacted

which you disagree with, being unfairly criticized are only a few of

things that fall into this category.

The second category is “the sufferings of Christ” which are the direct

attacks of the POE against you to intimidate you out of your sonship life.

But even when you know about the two categories of suffering, when

you read vv. 16-17, you may not yet know what all of those things are.

You will know before you get out of chapter 8, because you are going to

be informed about some of the things included in this suffering. You

won’t be told about all of it in Romans 8 because you don’t need to

know about all of it yet. What you do need to know is that through this

suffering you will get a joint-heir inheritance that is greater than

anything suffering you will go through.

You only need to know the first ones that you will encounter. What is

being given to you is a foundation that will be built upon later on.

Session 011

What I will tell you now is this:


of 159

1. Everything in our Sonship Education/Edification (being

conformed to the image of Christ) is tied to our “suffering

with Him” in various manners that are equivalent to how

Christ suffers today in this dispensation of grace.

2. The degree and extent of our heir-ship with Him (our joint-

heir inheritance) will be determined at the judgment seat of

Christ.

3. The basis for determining that inheritance will be by the

amount of equivalency in our sonship lives to that which

Christ is presently suffering.

4. The degree to which we “suffer with Him,” is the degree of

the reward of our inheritance.

Now read this carefully, for a lot depends on this. What you will learn

about suffering is not what you have learned in the past, but it will be

what Paul teaches you in his epistles. But it is imperative for you to

follow what your apostle teaches you and nothing else. Just to put this

into an application, if your response to the things which come your way

are not to “suffer with Him,” then there will be no joint-heir inheritance

reward.

It is true that as a son, you have the freedom to respond to suffering and

believe about suffering any way you want, but if an improper response is

your response to suffering every time, then you will get “zero” joint-heir

inheritance. If you respond properly 50% of the time, then you will get

half of the inheritance you could have had. In other words, you will

only receive an inheritance based upon your “suffering with Him.”

I am saying it to you this way so you will see how critical the “if so be”

of verse 17 is. Your entire joint-heir inheritance is based on this one

thing. Therefore, this has to be a huge issue for a son.


of 159

This is why you cannot decide to put off this sonship education because

you think you will get it when you get to heaven. What I am about to

tell you is something I did not fully understand before when we

discussed this issue way back at the start of our Sonship Orientation.

Not being a fully educated son myself, I knew there would come a time

when I would have more information and therefore, I reserved the right

to “add to” or “tweak” my former understanding. Well, this is one of

those times.

Out in the creature, when we are in our positions in the heavenly places,

there are going to be people out there who are members of the body of

Christ, but who, for various reasons, neglected their Sonship Education.

Regardless of the reasons, I told you that they would not be occupying

positions of authority in the heavenly places. I was right about that. But

there is an aspect of this that I didn’t have nailed down properly, and it

has to do with their education in eternity.

Even with the absence of any formal classes to teach godly edification in

eternity (and there are not any), it is fair to say that even folks who

ignored sonship during their earthly life will still be able to observe and

learn some things in eternity. After all, they are saved. They are totally

redeemed; body, soul and spirit. They do have a glorified body. They

are in the creature. They are part of the body of Christ.

Just because they did not participate in sonship while they were on earth

does not mean that they have to take a “dumb pill” in eternity. They can

still learn some things. They are sanctified and therefore, they can learn

some things about thinking like their Father and doing things His way.

In other words, they can get some education when they are in the

heavenly places that they did not get while they were on earth.


of 159

While I am not yet willing to say just how far their education can go, I

am willing to say some things with the conviction that I am correct in

what I understand about them.

If a son waits until he has gone to the heavenly places to be educated in

the Father’s business or to be educated in godliness, then:

5. He will never obtain a joint-heir inheritance

6. He will never occupy a seat of authority in God’s government in

the heavenly places

7. He will not be glorified together with Christ

8. He will never be allowed to function in certain areas of the

Father’s business

All of the above benefits are bestowed upon a son based upon something

he does while he is on this earth. During your earthly life is when you

will either qualify for the things listed above, or you won’t. But nothing

you do in eternity is going to change any of those 4 things – ever.

That is a big reason why you can’t say, “I’ll worry about this sonship

stuff when I get to heaven.” It is the Sonship Education and Edification

during your lifetime on earth that qualifies you for the benefits of

eternity.

Now we are at a place where you should have vv. 16-17 down in your

thinking. You have seen the two inheritances being discussed and you

should understand some vital differences between them. You are also

beginning to understand the importance of suffering as it pertains to your

“perfection” and your joint-heir inheritance.

What you may not have a handle on is what all is entailed in “suffering

with Christ.” I have already told you that these two verses are only

introducing the topic to you, they are not interested in giving you the

details. But just to send you off with something to chew on, verse 18 is


of 159

going to begin filling in the answer to your question about what this

“suffering with Christ” is about.

In fact, vs. 18, while it does not contain a list, does describe the “kind”

of suffering with Christ that you will encounter. There is more to come

and more “kinds” for you to be aware of later on. But the Scripture will

fill these in at the appropriate time. For now, all I am saying to you is

that verse 18 is describing a particular kind (or category) of suffering

and the reason you are introduced to it here is because it is the first kind

(or category) of suffering you will encounter in your sonship life.

Now I want to turn your attention to the most important part of what is

being presented to you.



also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this

present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which

shall be revealed in us.

The natural tendency is to be able to identify the things we will be

suffering as we “suffer with Christ.” While you will be instructed in

those things, to simply look for that list is to miss the point. The point is

that Christ is suffering some things in this dispensation of grace. No, He

is not suffering pain and agony, but there are things He is suffering

today. The focus, therefore, is that He is suffering these things and we

are going to suffer “with Him.” And no matter what those things are,

what you are being told in vs. 17 is that suffering those things with Him

will result in being glorified together with Him.

What you should be thinking about this is that the curriculum will fully

prepare you for this suffering, whatever it may entail. You need to be


of 159

confident in the curriculum’s ability to educate, train and qualify you to

receive this joint-heir inheritance.

So where do we stand as we come to Romans 8:16-17? We know there

are two inheritances but we know very little about our “joint-heir”

inheritance. Right now, you don’t know what all that involves. You

have some ideas about it but you haven’t yet been told the details of all

that is included in that inheritance.

The same thing is true about the “glory” mentioned in vv. 17 and 18.

We know that our suffering with Him qualifies us to be “glorified

together” with Him. We also know there is a “glory which shall be

revealed in us.” But we don’t fully comprehend what all is involved in

that. What kind of glory is going to be revealed in us, how is that glory

defined, and what is included as part of it? What is it about that glory

that makes it so special? You may not yet have all the answers, but you

aren’t supposed to – yet.

Again, the same thing is true about the suffering. You don’t yet know

what all is involved in that. All you know is that there are some things

you will “suffer with Him” and that suffering is what qualifies you for

your joint-heir inheritance.

The fact that you don’t fully know about the sufferings, or the glory, or

the inheritances is not a bad thing, it is where you are supposed to be in

your thinking right at this time. You are now being established as a son.

You haven’t received information about these things yet, as you are only

now being introduced to them. And that is all that is being done in vv.

16-17.

The curriculum will educate you in everything you need to know so that

you can suffer with Christ in all the ways the Father has designed, and


of 159

by that suffering, attain the fullness of the inheritance by being a joint-

heir with Christ.

When you get to the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will be evaluated for

these very things. To the degree in which you have done this (suffer

with Christ) will determine the degree to which you will receive the

reward of the inheritance. In other words, to boil this down to a single

question, the Bema Seat will determine, “Did you suffer with Him?”

And that’s it.

Now, before we move on, I want to make sure that the final phrase of vs.

17 is making the kind of impact on you it is supposed to make. In vs.

17, our Father is telling two things in a few, simple words.

1. We have the opportunity for a joint-inheritance with Christ

2. We qualify to receive that joint-inheritance if “we suffer with

Him”

This issue of you having the opportunity, as a son, to be a joint-heir with

Christ by our suffering with Him is designed to become a permanent,

mind-filling issue that becomes the very life of your mind, that sets your

perspective about everything that happens to you for the rest of your life.

In other words, this is such a big deal and such an enormously important

concept that it is in your thinking every waking hour.

Can you imagine it? Christ is going to inherit headship and control of

the universe and He is offering to share that with you by allowing you to

be a joint-heir with Him. This is a privilege of sonship!

When everything in heaven and the earth are finally “gathered together

into one” in the dispensation of the fullness of times, and the creature is

finally beginning to function in the way it was originally designed by


of 159

God to function, it will be us – adopted, educated, qualified sons – who

will make that happen. We will be the life of the creature.

Just think of the normal human body. Do you have an idea how many

millions of neurons are firing, how many billions of messages are being

sent throughout your body, how many calculations are being conducted,

how many adjustments are being made, just for you to open the back

door of this church building and walk 10 steps? Not to mention that all

of those things have to be done in an exact order!

On the outside, it doesn’t look like much. You just come up to the door,

stop, put your hand on the handle, turn the handle, pull the door open

and walk on through. But what is going on inside your body would

make the inside of a bee hive look like a ghost town. The adult human

brain is estimated to contain from 1014 to 5 × 1014 (100–500 trillion)

synapses. Every cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly a

billion of them.

268 is the speed (in miles per hour) at which signals travel along an

alpha motor neuron in the spinal cord, the fastest such transmission in

the human body. Sensory receptors in the skin, which lack the speed-

boosting insulating layer called a myelin sheath, are among the slowest,

at 1 mph.

100 trillion is the minimum number of neural connections, or synapses,

in the human brain. That is at least 1,000 times the number of stars in

our galaxy.

The human brain contains about 10 billion nerve cells, or neurons. On

average, each neuron is connected to other neurons through about

10,000 synapses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_cortex

http://www.willamette.edu/~gorr/classes/cs449/figs/brain2.jpg


of 159

Now, if that is going on in your body, can you imagine what it is going

to take to run the body of the creature in eternity? Can you imagine the

network of activity and communication that will be necessary to bring

the creature to fullness of function? You are being offered the privilege

of participating in this glorious work of laboring with your heavenly

Father. Not only are you being offered the opportunity for this work but

you are offered a position and an inheritance, all of which stem from

your “suffering with Christ.”

This “joint-heir” inheritance is entirely different from being an “heir of

God.” This is only for those who qualify in their sonship life. Not

everyone will be receiving this joint-heir inheritance because not

everyone will “suffer with Him.”




This last phrase is connected to the condition stated just prior, “if so be

that we suffer with Him.” So our joint-heir inheritance is conditional

and our being glorified together with Him is also conditional upon our

suffering with Christ. We’ll have more to say about his later. For now,

let me be clear that this is not referring to the glorification of your body

at the Blessed Hope. Every member of the body of Christ gets that as a

part of being an heir of God.

There’s a “glory” associated with being part of that creature and with

being part of the nerve-center in the governmental positions in the

creature. That is the place where the very life, power, might and glory

of God Himself is going to be manifested and put on display in order to

bring the creature to function in a way that has never happened before.

And there’s a glory associated with all that.


of 159

You already know everyone will not qualify for that joint-heir

inheritance. I often get asked about what they will be doing or how will

they be involved in the creature. Up until now, I have deflected most of

those questions by saying that they will not be filling any of those

positions of authority in the heavenly places.

But now I think I will show you something out of Israel’s sonship

curriculum, for they too will have some who qualify to rule and reign

with Christ on earth while others, though saved, will not. I see a parallel

issue at work here so that even though this is part of Israel’s sonship

education, I think a similar comparison can be made to the body of

Christ.

You know the breakdown of Proverbs:

Table of Contents – Proverbs 1:1-6

Exhortations – Proverbs 1:7 – 9:18

Doctrine – Proverbs 10:1 – 29:27

Prophecy – Proverbs 30:1 – 31:31

In the doctrinal section of Proverbs, there is an interesting verse given in

Proverbs 17.

Proverbs 17:2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that

causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the

brethren.

A “son that causeth shame” would be a son who is not qualified or

equipped to labor in the Father’s business. Not only will an uneducated

son be “ruled over” by a faithful son, but neither will he have “part of

the inheritance among the brethren.”

Part of what is supposed to impress you about the joint-heir inheritance

is the fact that not everyone will have it.


of 159

But here is a question, “Why, of all the things He could have said about

how to receive our joint-heir inheritance, does he tie that inheritance to

suffering with Christ?”

Why isn’t this issue of suffering just a component of the normal,

everyday, sonship life? Or, to say it another way, why does God make it

so that the thing that qualifies us for the joint-heir inheritance is our

suffering with Christ? And why is it “suffering WITH Christ” and not

“suffering FOR Christ?” Or, for that matter, why isn’t just tied to our

service for God? Or, for saying “no” to sin?

The only way to answer those questions is to understand what it is that

Christ is doing now, and what it is that the Father is doing now, in this

dispensation of grace, within the context of suffering. By saying it that

way, I don’t mean for you to give me a list of all the things the Father

and the Son are doing right now in this DoG, but what are they doing

with respect to suffering in this DoG? In other words, until you can

view suffering from the perspective of what Christ (and the Father) are

doing in this DoG, you are never going to come to grips with this issue

of suffering with Christ.

Or, to restate this one more way, if you do not know what Christ is

presently suffering in this dispensation of grace, then you don’t know

how to suffer with Him in that.

If you are going to understand why God has designed this whole thing

the way He has, you have to stop looking at your sonship education from

your perspective as a son and start looking at it from the Father’s

perspective (as the one giving the education) and from Christ’s

perspective (as the head of the church, the body of Christ).

When you talk about Christ suffering in Israel’s program, you think

about the suffering connected with His function as Redeemer. From the


of 159

verses we read last week, you also know that Jesus “suffered many

things” at the hands of religious rulers of Israel.

In order to set the context, let’s take a look at a chart.

You are familiar with the chart that shows that God interrupted His

program with Israel to bring in this dispensation of Gentile grace. That

dispensation of grace was a mystery that was not known by any man or

any angel until God revealed it to the apostle Paul.

If this chart were to show what was known and revealed up to the time

that Jesus conducted His earthly ministry, then we would have to

remove the dispensation of grace. Then the chart would only represent

Israel’s program.

During the climatic stage of Israel’s program, the Lord Jesus Christ

comes to this earth and accomplishes the 1st mandate of the Davidic

Covenant; the Redeemer mandate.

As the book of Acts opens up, Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost,

warning of the same thing that Stephen sees in Acts 7; that the next

mandate (Deliverance) is about to happen next. In fact, all the

remaining 4 mandates (D, A, K, B) are about to happen.

After the Redeemer mandate has been accomplished, where was the

Lord seen (by Stephen, among others) to be? He was seen to be sitting

on the right hand of His Father’s throne. And being sat down on the

right hand of His Father—the Father makes that declaration to the Christ

in Psalm 2.

Psalms 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine

inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.


of 159

In other words, the Father is saying to the Son, “It’s all Yours!” We see

the same thing in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom

he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Hebrews 2:7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou

crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works

of thy hands: 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the

angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he

by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became

him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing

many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect

through sufferings.

He became “heir of all things” because of accomplishing the Redeemer

mandate. In Israel’s program, the suffering is over. He’s going to have

“his day” & receive His inheritance.

And when you look at Israel’s program, that’s what you see. You see

Christ having suffered it all, having endured it all, and having sustained

it all, and having overcome it all; suffering no more. In fact, in the

Redeemer mandate, He’s done the hard part (the suffering part).

Granted, Satan and his cohorts are going to attempt to thwart His

repossession of the earth but really, it’s not in doubt once the Redeemer

mandate has been accomplished.

The only mandate of the Davidic Covenant that was in doubt is the

Redeemer. He was raised with power according to Paul.

Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power,

according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the

dead:


of 159

What power was that? The power to implement the rest of the Davidic

Covenant and bestow the benefits of the Davidic covenant. But… is that

what happened?

No. Instead, God interrupted and suspended His program with Israel

and ushered in this entirely new dispensation of grace which He had

kept a mystery since before the creation of the world!

Now, think about how you’re told about this dispensation of grace

description-wise, back in the book of Romans. I know that the phrase

“dispensation of grace” isn’t used there, but what I’m after is, when you

have some intelligence of what God’s program with Israel was calling

for at the time He suspended it, think about it in regard to the suffering

of the Christ. Was He to suffer any more, or not? No.

But in Romans ch. 2 we’re given a description of what this dispensation

of grace is—and how is it described (from God’s perspective)

concerning suffering.

Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them

which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape

the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his

goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the

goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

And it’s is easy to get bogged down in the details of an issue like this

and simply overlook what it implies; that God the Father and God the

Son are literally suffering right now at this present time.

Suffering with Christ doesn’t overlook this implication. In fact, even

though God is omnipotent, and Christ is the Messiah, there is a

legitimate suffering that’s taking place because this evil world is still


of 159

usurped by the Adversary, the course of this world is still the charted

course of the Adversary, and it’s de-evolving worse and worse.

And my point is that everything was set for Him to have “His day.” But

He’s not having “his day.” This isn’t even “his times” as Paul told

Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the

blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

The world is still in rebellion and He’s not intervening in any capacity as

He did in His program with Israel to either punish the world and the

wicked individuals in it, or to punish or stop those who say they are

doing things in His “name” that are really being done on behalf of the

Adversary; He suffers though all that.

If we’re going to benefit by being told that we are “joint-heirs with

Christ; if so be that we suffer with him” then we’re going to have to look

at the overall perspective of what it means to be a son in this

dispensation of grace and then we’re going to have to view it (have the

same perspective of it) as He does.





Let’s briefly recap what we have covered so far out of these verses:

5. Everything in our Sonship Education/Edification (being conformed

to the image of Christ) is tied to our “suffering with Him” in

various manners that are equivalent to how Christ suffers today in

this dispensation of grace.


of 159

6. The degree and extent of our heir-ship with Him (our joint-heir

inheritance) will be determined at the judgment seat of Christ.

7. The basis for determining that inheritance will be by the amount of

equivalency in our sonship lives to that which Christ is presently

suffering. Therefore, the degree to which we “suffer with Him,” is

the degree of the reward of our inheritance.

Just to put this into an application, if your response to the things which

come your way are not to “suffer with Him,” then there will be no joint-

heir inheritance reward. If that improper response is your response

every time, then you will get “zero” joint-heir inheritance. If you

respond properly 50% of the time, then you will get half of the

inheritance you could have had.

I am saying it to you this way so you will see how critical the “if so be”

of verse 17 is. Your entire joint-heir inheritance is based on this one

thing. Therefore, this has to be a huge issue for a son.

This is why you cannot decide to put off this sonship education because

you think you will get it when you get to heaven. What I am about to

tell you is something I did not fully understand before when we

discussed this issue way back at the start of our Sonship Orientation.

Not being a fully educated son myself, I knew there would come a time

when I would have more information and therefore, I reserved the right

to “add to” or “tweak” my former understanding. Well, this is one of

those times.

Out in the creature, when we are in our positions in the heavenly places,

there are going to be people out there who are members of the body of

Christ, but who, for various reasons, neglected their Sonship Education.

Regardless of the reasons, I told you that they would not be occupying

positions of authority in the heavenly places. I was right about that. But


of 159

there is an aspect of this that I didn’t have nailed down properly, and it

has to do with their education in eternity.

Even though there are no formal classes to teach godly edification in

eternity, it is fair to say that even folks who ignored sonship during their

earthly life will still be able to observe and learn some things in eternity.

After all, they are saved. They are totally redeemed; body, soul and

spirit. Just because they did not participate in sonship while they were

on earth does not mean that they have to take a “dumb pill” in eternity.

They can still learn some things. They are sanctified and therefore, they

can learn some things about thinking like their Father and doing things

His way. In other words, they can get some education when they are in

the heavenly places that they did not get while they were on earth.

While I am not yet willing to say just how far their education can go, I

am willing to say some things with the conviction that I am correct in

what I understand about them.

If a son waits until he has gone to the heavenly places to be educated in

the Father’s business or to be educated in godliness, then:

9. He will never obtain a joint-heir inheritance

10. He will never occupy a seat of authority in God’s

government in the heavenly places

11. He will not be glorified together with Christ

12. He will never be allowed to function in certain areas of the

Father’s business

All of the above benefits are bestowed upon a son based upon something

he does while he is on this earth. During your earthly life is when you

will either qualify for the things listed above, or you won’t. But nothing

you do in eternity is going to change any of those 4 things – ever.


of 159

That is a big reason why you can’t say, “I’ll worry about this sonship

stuff when I get to heaven.” It is the Sonship Education and Edification

during your lifetime on earth that qualifies you for the benefits of

eternity.

Now we are at a place where you should have vv. 16-17 down in your

thinking. You have seen the two inheritances being discussed and you

should understand some vital differences between them. You are also

beginning to understand the importance of suffering as it pertains to your

“perfection” and your joint-heir inheritance.

What you may not have a handle on is what all is entailed in “suffering

with Christ.” I have already told you that these two verses are only

introducing the topic to you, they are not interested in giving you the

details. But just to give you something to begin thinking about, verse 18

is going to begin filling in the answer to your question about what this

“suffering with Christ” is about.

In fact, vs. 18, while it does not contain a list, does describe the “kind”

of suffering with Christ that you will encounter. There is more to come

and more “kinds” for you to be aware of later on. But the Scripture will

fill these in at the appropriate time. For now, all I am saying to you is

that verse 18 is describing a particular kind (or category) of suffering

and the reason you are introduced to it here is because it is the first kind

(or category) of suffering you will encounter in your sonship life. This

first category of suffering is called “the sufferings of this present time.”

Those sufferings include such things as sickness, accidents, and all the

things that accompany living in a sin-cursed world. We will have

opportunity to speak more about this later on.

Now I want to turn your attention to the most important part of what is

being presented to you.


of 159



also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this

present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which

shall be revealed in us.

The natural tendency is to be able to identify the things we will be

suffering as we “suffer with Christ.” While you will be instructed in

those things, to simply look for that list is to miss the point. The point is

that Christ is suffering some things in this dispensation of grace. No, He

is not suffering pain and agony, but there are things He is suffering

today. The focus, therefore, is that He is suffering these things and we

are going to suffer “with Him.” And no matter what those things are,

what you are being told in vs. 17 is that suffering those things with Him

will result in being glorified together with Him – and that is the main

point that is being made to you right now.

What you should be thinking about this is that the curriculum will fully

prepare you for this suffering. You need to be confident in the

curriculum’s ability to educate, train and qualify you to receive this

joint-heir inheritance.

So where do we stand as come to Romans 8:16-17? We know there are

two inheritances but we know very little about our “joint-heir”

inheritance. Right now, you may not know what all that involves. You

may have some ideas about it but you haven’t yet been told the details of

all that it involves.

The same thing is true about the “glory” mentioned in vv. 17 and 18.

We know that our suffering with Him qualifies us to be “glorified

together” with Him. We also know there is a “glory which shall be


of 159

revealed in us.” But we don’t fully comprehend everything involved in

that.

Again, the same thing is true about the suffering. You don’t yet know

what all is involved in that. All you know is that there are some things

you will “suffer with Him” and that suffering is what qualifies you for

your joint-heir inheritance.

The fact that you don’t fully know about the sufferings, or the glory, or

the inheritances is not a bad thing, it is where you are supposed to be at

this point in your education. You are now being established as a son.

You haven’t received information about these things yet, as you are only

now being introduced to them. And that is all that is being done in vv.

16-17.

The curriculum will educate you in everything you need to know so that

you can suffer with Christ in all the ways the Father has designed, and

by that suffering, attain the fullness of the inheritance by being a joint-

heir with Christ.

When you get to the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will be evaluated for

these very things. To the degree in which you have done this (suffer

with Christ) will determine the degree to which you will receive the

reward of the inheritance. In other words, to boil this down to a single

question, the Bema Seat will determine, “Did you suffer with Him?”

And that’s it.

Now, before we move on, I want to make sure that the final phrase of vs.

17 is making the kind of impact on you it is supposed to make. In vs.

17, our Father is telling two things in a few, simple words.

3. We have the opportunity for a joint-inheritance with Christ


of 159

4. We qualify to receive that joint-inheritance if “we suffer with

Him”

This issue of you having the opportunity, as a son, to be a joint-heir with

Christ by our suffering with Him is designed to become a permanent,

mind-filling issue that becomes the very life of your mind, that sets your

perspective about everything that happens to you for the rest of your life.

In other words, this is such a big deal and such an enormously important

concept that it is in your thinking every waking hour.

Can you imagine it? Christ is going to inherit headship and control of

the universe and He is offering to share that with you by allowing you to

be a joint-heir with Him. This is a privilege of sonship!

When everything in heaven and the earth are finally “gathered together

into one” in the dispensation of the fullness of times, and the creature is

finally beginning to function in the way it was originally designed by

God to function, it will be us – adopted, educated, qualified sons – who

will make that happen. We will be the life of the creature.

Just think of the normal human body. Do you have an idea how many

millions of neurons are firing, how many billions of messages are being

sent throughout your body, how many calculations are being conducted,

how many adjustments are being made, just for you to open the back

door of this church building and walk 10 steps? Not to mention that all

of those things have to be done in an exact order!

On the outside, it doesn’t look like much. You just come up to the door,

stop, put your hand on the handle, turn the handle, pull the door open

and walk on through. But what is going on inside your body would

make the inside of a bee hive look like a ghost town. The adult human

brain is estimated to contain from 1014 to 5 × 1014 (100–500 trillion)


of 159

synapses. Every cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly a

billion of them.

268 Speed (in miles per hour) at which signals travel along an alpha

motor neuron in the spinal cord, the fastest such transmission in the

human body. Sensory receptors in the skin, which lack the speed-

boosting insulating layer called a myelin sheath, are among the slowest,

at 1 mph.

100 trillion Minimum number of neural connections, or synapses, in the

human brain. That is at least 1,000 times the number of stars in our

galaxy.

The brain contains about 10 billion nerve cells, or neurons. On

average, each neuron is connected to other neurons through about

10,000 synapses.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Chemical_synapse_schema_cropped.jpg


of 159

Can you imagine what it is going to take to run the body of the creature

in eternity? Can you imagine the network of activity and

communication that will be necessary to bring the creature to fullness of

function? You are being offered the privilege of participating in this

glorious work of laboring with your heavenly Father. Not only are you

being offered the opportunity for this work but you are offered a position

and an inheritance, all of which stem from your “suffering with Christ.”

This inheritance is entirely different from being an “heir of God.” This

is only for those who qualify in their sonship life. Not everyone will be

receive this joint-heir inheritance because not everyone will “suffer with

Him.”




This last phrase is connected to the condition stated just prior, “if so be

that we suffer with Him.” So our joint-heir inheritance is conditional

and our being glorified together with Him is also conditional upon our

suffering with Christ. We’ll have more to say about his later. For now,

let me be clear that this is not referring to the glorification of your body

at the Blessed Hope. Every member of the body of Christ gets that as a

part of being an heir of God.

There’s a “glory” associated with being part of that creature, with being

part of the nerve-center in the governmental positions in that creature

whereby the very life and power and might and glory of God Himself is

going to be manifested and put on display in order to function in a way

that has never happened before. And there’s a glory associated with all

that.


of 159

You already know everyone will not qualify for that joint-heir

inheritance. I often get asked about what they will be doing or how will

they be involved in the creature. Up until now, I have deflected most of

those questions by saying that they will not be filling any of those

positions of authority in the heavenly places.

But now I think I will show you something out of Israel’s sonship

curriculum, for they too will have some who qualify to rule and reign

with Christ on earth while others, though saved, will not. I see a parallel

issue at work here so that even though this is part of Israel’s sonship

education, I think a similar comparison can be made to the body of

Christ.

You know the breakdown of Proverbs:

Table of Contents – Proverbs 1:1-6

Exhortations – Proverbs 1:7 – 9:18

Doctrine – Proverbs 10:1 – 29:27

Prophecy – Proverbs 30:1 – 31:31

In the doctrinal section of Proverbs, there is an interesting verse given in

Proverbs 17.

Proverbs 17:2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that

causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the

brethren.

A “son that causeth shame” would be a son who is not qualified or

equipped to labor in the Father’s business. Not only will an uneducated

son be “ruled over” by a faithful son, but neither will he have “part of

the inheritance among the brethren.”

Part of what is supposed to impress you about the joint-heir inheritance

is the fact that not everyone will have it.


of 159

But here is a question, “Why, of all the things He could have said about

how to receive our joint-heir inheritance, does he tie that inheritance to

suffering with Christ?”

Why isn’t this issue of suffering just a component of the normal,

everyday, sonship life? Or, to say it another way, why does God make it

so that the thing that qualifies us for the joint-heir inheritance is our

suffering with Christ? And why is it “suffering WITH Christ” and not

“suffering FOR Christ?”

The only way to answer those questions is to understand what it is that

Christ is doing now, and what it is that the Father is doing now, in this

dispensation of grace, within the context of suffering. By saying it that

way, I don’t mean for you to give me a list of all the things the Father

and the Son are doing right now in this DoG, but what are they doing

with respect to suffering in this DoG? In other words, until you can

view suffering from the perspective of what Christ (and the Father) are

doing in this DoG, you are never going to come to grips with this issue

of suffering with Christ.

If you are going to understand why God has designed this whole thing

the way He has, you have to stop looking at your sonship education from

your perspective as a son and start looking at it from the Father’s

perspective (as the one giving the education) and from Christ’s

perspective (as the head of the church, the body of Christ).

When you talk about Christ suffering in Israel’s program, you think

about the suffering connected with Jesus’ function as Redeemer. From

the verses we read last week, you also know that Jesus “suffered many

things” at the hands of religious rulers of Israel.

In order to set the context, let’s take a look at a couple of charts on the

power point.


of 159

You are familiar with the chart that shows that God interrupted His

program with Israel to bring in this dispensation of Gentile grace. That

dispensation of grace was a mystery that was not known by any man or

any angel until God revealed it to the apostle Paul.

The other chart shows what was known and revealed up to the time that

Jesus conducted His earthly ministry. This chart has removed the

dispensation of grace and therefore represents only Israel’s program.

During the climatic stage of Israel’s program, the Lord Jesus Christ

comes to this earth and accomplishes the 1st mandate of the Davidic

Covenant; the Redeemer mandate.

As the book of Acts opens up, Peter is preaching on the day of

Pentecost. In ch.7 Stephen sees that the next mandate (The Deliverer

and His Deliverance) is going to begin to happen next. In fact, all the

remaining 4 mandates (D, A, K, B) are about to happen.

After the Redeemer mandate has been accomplished, where was the

Lord seen by Stephen to be? He was seen to be standing on the right

hand of His Father’s throne. But “standing” is the position that the Lord

would take when He is ready to usher in His day of wrath. Up until that

time, he would be “seated” at the Father’s right hand. And being sat

down on the right hand of His Father, the Father makes that declaration

to the Christ in Psalm 2: “8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen

for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy

possession.” In other words, it’s all His!

In Hebrews 1 & 2 we read that He is “heir of all things.”

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners

spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these


of 159

last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir

of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

As the Redeemer mandate gets accomplished, Jesus Christ becomes

“heir of all things.” His suffering is over, and He’s going to have “his

day” and receive His inheritance. In the Redeemer mandate, He’s done

the hard part (the suffering part), for this was the only mandate that was

ever in doubt. What I mean to say is that if this one gets done, then the

other mandates cannot be thwarted.

When Jesus was raised with power (Matthew 28:18/Romans1:4) that

was the power to implement the rest of the Davidic Covenant. While all

of this is true, did the Lord Jesus usher in His day of wrath in Acts 7?

Stephen testifies that He was standing and we know from the OT that

His standing indicates the start of Daniel’s 70th Week. So the question

is, did Daniel’s 70th Week begin in Acts 7?

No, it did not. Instead of beginning the day of the LORD’S wrath, God

interrupted and temporarily suspended His program with Israel and

ushered in this entirely new dispensation of grace which He had kept a

mystery since before the creation of the world. Instead of ushering in

His day of wrath, the standing Lord secretly returns to intercept Saul of

Tarsus on the Damascus Road, save him, call him to be an apostle and

give him the “revelation of the mystery.”

In fact, that is what the book of Acts is about. Acts is the historical

record, written by Luke, of Israel’s “fall” and “diminishing.” In other

words, Acts is the written account of how God communicated to Israel

that He was temporarily suspending His program with the nation and

bringing in an entirely new dispensation of grace which would allow

Him to deal directly with Gentiles apart from Israel (not through Israel


of 159

as it was in Israel’s program) and deal with them by grace (and not

under the law).

So, by the time you get to Romans, you know about the interruption of

Israel’s program and God’s dealings with the Gentiles under grace. And

even though Jesus has already suffered and died on the Cross, was

buried and resurrected from the dead, none of which would ever be

repeated, Paul uses an unusual turn of phrase to describe this present

time (the dispensation of grace) in the book of Romans.

Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them

which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape

the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his

goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the

goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Under the Law of Moses, God had used the “stick” to deal with sin.

There was a “recompense” made to men according to their actions. For

example, if a man obeyed God’s Law, then he received the blessing for

doing so. If he broke God’s Law, then he received the curse. (See

Leviticus 26:3ff. and Leviticus 26:14ff.)

But under grace, God is not imputing men’s sins unto them while they

are living on the earth. Grace is not a performance system, the Law is a

performance system. Grace is “the goodness of God” that was meant to

lead men to repentance. Grace was the “carrot” as opposed to the Law’s

“stick.”

Under the Law, men were punished for their actions. Under Grace, God

is “longsuffering.” Look again at Romans 2:4.


of 159

Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and

forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of

God leadeth thee to repentance?

Grace is “the riches of God’s goodness.” Under grace, God is

“forbearing” which means that He is “refraining” and “holding back”

His wrath against men. God is “longsuffering” which means that he is

“allowing,” “enduring,” and “tolerating” some things right now.

His suffering is not that of pain and agony, like it was on the Cross. But

He is “putting up with some things,” enduring some things,” “suffering

some things” right now in this dispensation of grace. Because of how

God has chosen to deal with men in this dispensation of grace, God is

“suffering” some things right now. Now, please get what I’m about to

say, your “suffering with Him” does not overlook this aspect of

suffering.

God is suffering some things because of what He had chosen not to do.

That is why He is “forbearing” some things. He is “refraining” or

“holding back” from doing some things under grace. In other words,

there are things He DID under Israel’s program that He is NOT DOING

under grace. In this DoG, God is “allowing, tolerating, enduring,

suffering” some things that He did not “suffer” under the Law.

Even though Christ has accomplished the Redeemer mandate, God is

still suffering this world to be usurped by the Adversary. He is still

suffering the “course of this world” to continue. He is suffering this

world to wax worse and worse. He is suffering the sinfulness of

mankind to continue.

By “suffering” these things, there is something that God is not doing.

What is it that He is not doing? Or, to say it another way, what will God

do in response to all the above mentioned things, once He has resumed


of 159

His program with Israel? He will begin His day of wrath to purge out

those things! Is He doing that today? He is not.

In this dispensation of grace, God is not having His day. In this DoG,

God is not even having “His times” which will not take place until the

kingdom (Millennium).



Even though everything was in place for God to usher in His day of

wrath back in Acts 7, He didn’t do that. The world’s rebellion had

reached the zenith that it deserved the day of wrath. But instead of

bringing in that day, God was “forbearing” and “longsuffering” in that

He did not punish the world for its evil.

In this DoG, God is not intervening in any capacity as He did in His

program with Israel to either punish the world and the wicked

individuals in it, no matter what they are doing. That means that God is

not punishing America for her foreign policy with Israel. God is not

sending hurricanes to punish America for abortions. God is not sending

tornadoes through Oklahoma and Texas to punish Americans for her

“backsliding.” God is suffering men to do evil, even when they do it in

His name! (Like the crusades.)

But let me flip the coin over for a moment. Not only is God not sending

the tornado to destroy some trailer park in Oklahoma, neither is He

steering it around some guy’s house to keep it from being destroyed.

If it happens, then someone will interpret the circumstance as God’s

divine intervention. But again, I would ask you to point out where your

apostle told you to expect God to do such things.


of 159

Here is my point. If grace does not work like the Law, and if grace is

not a performance system, then consider this:

In the dispensation of grace, God is not presently:

punishing wicked men for their evil as He did in Israel’s program

punishing nations for worshipping other gods

punishing Christians for their lack of commitment

All three of these are self-evident to be true. All you have to do is look

around. Now, is there any evidence to the contrary? Not in the

scripture, for it declares that God is not imputing men’s sins to them

while they are living.

Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are

forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to

whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not

imputed when there is no law.

2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the

world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;

and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

It is only after men are dead that their sins will be imputed back to them,

if they have not trusted Christ as their Savior.

It is at this point I should address a misunderstanding. Some think that

because Christ died for the sins of the world (and He did) then all of

men’s sins are forgiven and the only sin that a man would be

accountable for is rejecting Christ as Savior. That is a misunderstanding

of several issues.


of 159

Firstly, if Christ’s death automatically made every man “forgiven,” then

men would not need to trust Christ as Savior. Therefore, failure to “trust

Christ” would not be a sin. The mistake is to think that because Jesus

death was for every sin that those sins automatically were forgiven in

every man. Christ died to make forgiveness possible, but that

forgiveness for their sins must be received volitionally. In other words,

God does not force forgiveness on a man against his will and neither

does a man receive forgiveness apart from his will.

Romans 2 is clear. It is not the “sin of rejecting Christ” that makes a

man undergo the judgment of God; it is his sins. Take a look at the list

given by Paul at the end of Romans 1.

Romans 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,

wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,

debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God,

despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to

parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without

natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the

judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy

of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do

them.

And what does Paul say about those who do such things? And by the

way, “rejecting Christ” isn’t in this list.

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever

thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou

condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth

against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou

this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest


of 159

the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or

despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and

longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee

to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart

treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and

revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to

every man according to his deeds:

Let’s break this passage down by verse:

Vs. 1 – the man who condemning others is guilty of doing “the same

things” in the list that you read at the end of chapter 1. Therefore, these

are “sins” (plural) not the “sin” (singular) or rejecting Christ.

Vs. 2 – God’s judgment is against them “which commit such things”

(plural). What are the “things?” They are the items in the list of

chapter 1. You see, God’s judgment isn’t against them for rejecting

Christ, it is against them over their sins. In other words, this verse says

that God will judge them for “committing such things” as in the list in

chapter 1. He isn’t judging them FOR rejecting Christ, He is judging

them BECAUSE they rejected Christ. Do you see the difference?

Vs. 3 – They who “do such things will not escape the judgment of God.”

Again, the emphasis is not on their rejection of Christ as though all their

other sins were forgiven by the death of Jesus. They are held

accountable for the things they have done.

We have already commented on vs. 4, so let’s skip to vs. 5.

Vs. 5 – These people, by the “things” which they have done, are

“treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.” Why does the Bible say

it this way? They are “treasuring up wrath” because God is not


of 159

executing His wrath on them while they are under grace. But, when they

die, God will hold those sins against them in his “day of wrath.”

As we learned back in our study of justification, the day of wrath for a

person who has died is “hell” and the day of wrath for a person who is

living is “the day of the Lord’s wrath” or Daniel’s 70th Week.

Therefore, as a man does evil, he is storing up wrath against the day he

dies or goes into the Tribulation!

Vs. 6 – God will render to every man according to his deeds – plural!

That is the definition of “imputing” a man’s sins back to him! That is

why Paul can say that while a man is alive under grace, his sins are not

being imputed to him. But when his life is over, so is the opportunity for

grace. If a man rejected God’s goodness, forbearance and longsuffering

(vs. 4) then God will impute every one of his “deeds” back to him in the

day of wrath.

But there is another point that needs to be made. If grace is not the Law

and grace is not a performance system (as the Law is) then not only does

God not render judgment on us for our sins while we yet live, but there

is something else that God is not doing. We will discuss this issue in our

next session.

Session 013

What we are learning in Romans 8:17 about suffering runs counter to

what you will hear in almost any other church in America (around the

world) regardless of denomination and regardless of religion.

Under the Law of Moses, God dealt with Israel in a very particular way

and they did not have to guess what that way was, for the Law spelled it

out in no uncertain terms. One aspect of how God dealt with them was


of 159

to punish them for their sin and ungodly actions. When they violated the

Law, there were consequences.

In other words, there was a “recompense” made to men according to

their actions whether those actions were good or bad. For example, if a

man obeyed God’s Law, then he received the blessing for doing so. If

he broke God’s Law, then he received the curse. (See Leviticus 26:3ff.

and Leviticus 26:14ff.)

Leviticus 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my

commandments, and do them; 4 Then I will give you rain in due

season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the

field shall yield their fruit…

Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not

do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise my

statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do

all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 16 I also

will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror,

consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes,

and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for

your enemies shall eat it…

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day

against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and

cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may

live:

But under grace, God is not dealing with men according to the Law.

Under grace, God is not imputing men’s sins unto them while they are

living on the earth. The Law is a performance system in which God

deals with you according to your conduct, Grace is not a performance

system. The good things that you get from God are not based on your


of 159

conduct, because Grace is not a performance system. By its very nature,

Grace is the free gift offered to everyone without distinction and without

condition. In Romans 2, God’s grace is called “the goodness of God.”

It was that “goodness” that was meant to lead men to repentance. Grace

was the “carrot” as opposed to the Law’s “stick.”

Under the Law, men were punished for their actions. Not only did the

nation suffer the prescribed consequences, but there were civil penalties

for breaking God’s Law. Under Grace, God is “forbearing” and He is

“longsuffering.” Look at Romans 2:4.

Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and

forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of

God leadeth thee to repentance?

Grace is “the riches of God’s goodness.” Under grace, God is

“forbearing” which means that He is “refraining” and “holding back” on

doing some things. One of the things God is “forbearing” concerns His

wrath against the sinfulness of men. There are some other things that

God is “forbearing” which we will take a look at later.

In addition to forbearing, God is also “longsuffering,” which means that

he is “allowing,” “enduring,” and “tolerating” some things right now.

His “suffering” is not that of pain and agony, like it was on the Cross.

But He is “putting up with some things,” enduring some things,”

“suffering some things” right now in this dispensation of grace.

Because of how God has chosen to deal with men in this dispensation of

grace, God is “suffering” some things right now. Now, please get what

I’m about to say, your “suffering with Him” does not overlook this

aspect of suffering.


of 159

God is suffering some things because of what He had chosen not to do in

accordance with Grace. That is also why He is “forbearing” some

things. He is “refraining” or “holding back” from doing some things

under grace. In other words, there are things He DID under Israel’s

program that He is NOT DOING under grace. In this DoG, God is

“allowing, tolerating, enduring, suffering” some things that He did not

“suffer” under the Law. The way to know what these things are is to

locate them in the Scripture.

Even though Christ has accomplished the Redeemer mandate, God is

still suffering this world to be usurped by the Adversary. He is still

suffering the “course of this world” to continue. He is suffering this

world to wax worse and worse. He is suffering the sinfulness of

mankind to continue.

By “suffering” these things, there is something that God is not doing.

What is it that He is not doing? Or, to say it another way, what will God

do in response to all the above mentioned things, once He has resumed

His program with Israel? He will begin His day of wrath to purge out

those things! Is He doing that today? He is not.

In this dispensation of grace, God is not having His day. In this DoG,

God is not even having “His times,” (which will not take place until the

kingdom).



Even though everything was in place for God to usher in His day of

wrath back in Acts 7, He didn’t do that. The world’s rebellion had

reached the zenith that it deserved the day of wrath. But instead of

bringing in that day, God was “forbearing” and “longsuffering” in that

He did not punish the world for its evil.


of 159

In this DoG, God is not intervening in any capacity as He did in His

program with Israel to either punish the world and the wicked

individuals in it, no matter what they are doing. That means that God is

not punishing America for her foreign policy with Israel. God is not

sending hurricanes to punish America for abortions. God is not sending

tornadoes through Oklahoma and Texas to punish Americans for her

“backsliding.” God is suffering men to do evil, even when they do it in

His name! (For example, the crusades, false preachers, etc.)

But let me flip the coin over for a moment. Not only is God not sending

the tornado to destroy some trailer park in Oklahoma, neither is He

steering it around some guy’s house to keep it from being destroyed.

If it happens, then someone will interpret the circumstance as God’s

divine intervention. But again, I would ask you to point out the

Scriptures where your apostle told you to expect God to do such things

in this dispensation of grace. Everyone has stories, but what you need is

Scripture to accurately access the stories.

Here is my point. If grace does not work like the Law, and if grace is

not a performance system, then consider this:

In the dispensation of grace, God is not presently:

punishing wicked men for their evil as He did in Israel’s program

punishing nations for worshipping other gods

punishing Christians for their lack of commitment

All three of these are self-evident to be true. All you have to do is look

around. Now, is there any evidence to the contrary? Not in the

scripture, for it declares that God is not imputing men’s sins to them

while they are living.


of 159

Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are

forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to

whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not

imputed when there is no law.

2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the

world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;

and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

It is only after men are dead that their sins will be imputed back to them,

if they have not trusted Christ as their Savior.

It is at this point I should address a misunderstanding. Some think that

because Christ died for the sins of the world (and He did) then all of

men’s sins are forgiven and the only sin that a man would be

accountable for is rejecting Christ as Savior. That is a misunderstanding

of several issues.

Firstly, if Christ’s death automatically made every man “forgiven,” then

men would not need to trust Christ as Savior. Therefore, failure to “trust

Christ” would not be a sin. The mistake is to think that because Jesus

death was for every sin that those sins automatically were forgiven in

every man. Christ died to make forgiveness possible, but that

forgiveness for their sins must be received volitionally. In other words,

God does not force forgiveness on a man against his will and neither

does a man receive forgiveness apart from his will.

Romans 2 is clear. It is not the “sin of rejecting Christ” that makes a

man undergo the judgment of God; it is his sins. Take a look at the list

given by Paul at the end of Romans 1.


of 159

Romans 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,

wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,

debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God,

despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to

parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without

natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the

judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy

of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do

them.

And what does Paul say about those who do such things? And by the

way, “rejecting Christ” isn’t in this list.

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever

thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou

condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth

against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou

this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest

the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or

despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and

longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee

to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart

treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and

revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to

every man according to his deeds:

Let’s break this passage down by verse:

Vs. 1 – the man who condemning others is guilty of doing “the same

things” in the list that you read at the end of chapter 1. Therefore, these

are “sins” (plural) not the “sin” (singular) or rejecting Christ.


of 159

Vs. 2 – God’s judgment is against them “which commit such things”

(plural). What are the “things?” They are the items in the list of

chapter 1. You see, God’s judgment isn’t against them for rejecting

Christ, it is against them over their sins. In other words, this verse says

that God will judge them for “committing such things” as in the list in

chapter 1. He isn’t judging them FOR rejecting Christ, He is judging

them BECAUSE they rejected Christ. Do you see the difference?

Vs. 3 – They who “do such things will not escape the judgment of God.”

Again, the emphasis is not on their rejection of Christ as though all their

other sins were forgiven by the death of Jesus. They are held

accountable for the things they have done.

We have already commented on vs. 4, so let’s skip to vs. 5.

Vs. 5 – These people, by the “things” which they have done, are

“treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.” Why does the Bible say

it this way? They are “treasuring up wrath” because God is not

executing His wrath on them while they are under grace. But, when they

die, God will hold those sins against them in his “day of wrath.”

As we learned back in our study of justification, the day of wrath for a

person who has died is “hell” and the day of wrath for a person who is

living is “the day of the Lord’s wrath” or Daniel’s 70th Week.

Therefore, as a man does evil, he is storing up wrath against the day he

dies or goes into the Tribulation!

Vs. 6 – God will render to every man according to his deeds – plural!

That is the definition of “imputing” a man’s sins back to him! That is

why Paul can say that while a man is alive under grace, his sins are not

being imputed to him. But when his life is over, so is the opportunity for

grace. If a man rejected God’s goodness, forbearance and longsuffering


of 159

(vs. 4) then God will impute every one of his “deeds” back to him in the

day of wrath.

But there is another point that needs to be made. If grace is not the Law

and grace is not a performance system (as the Law is) then not only does

God not render judgment on us for our sins while we yet live, but there

is something else that God is not doing. We will discuss this issue in our

next session.

In the old days, when I was still under the influence of systematic

theology, when it came to suffering “for” Christ, I would think of

passages such as Acts 5, where the apostles were dragged before the

council, beaten and then commanded not to “speak in the name of

Jesus.” I would remember this story and think of the apostle’s reaction.

Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the

apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not

speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed

from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were

counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in

the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach

Jesus Christ.

This was a suffering simply because they had preached the name of

Jesus and those apostles “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to

suffer for his name.” If I had known then what I know now, I would

have notice a few subtle differences between what happened to them and

what I was being called to do in Romans 8; “suffer WITH Christ.” But

there is a parallel here with regard to the suffering.

In this dispensation of grace, the things we suffer will not always be

because we have preached the name of Jesus; it won’t always be that

noble. But here is the point I want to make: because we are suffering


of 159

WITH Him, it is an honor to do so. Seeing that He is “suffering” these

things with us, we should not see this suffering as a bad thing, but rather,

there is reason to rejoice in that through the things which we suffer, we

are being conformed to the image of Christ! By a right response to the

things which we suffer, we are gaining a joint-heir inheritance. Through

the things which we suffer, we are being equipped to bring comfort to

others who suffer in the same way. By patiently enduring the things

which we suffer, we put the power of God’s grace on display to the

entire creation.

By understanding all that is being accomplished by our suffering, we can

actually begin to see it as opportunities for future glory, opportunities for

our perfection and therefore, we can see past the pain and discomfort to

perceive times of suffering as an honor and a privilege. In a way,

suffering is a badge of sonship. What I mean is that you are not

suffering because God is punishing you.

In Israel’s program, they suffered because they “despised His

commandments, etc.” They got relief by repenting and serving the true

and living God; by obeying His Law.

Our suffering is not because we have broken His Law. Quite the

contrary, as Paul has informed us over and over that it is impossible for

us to please God by keeping the Law.

The goal of Israel’s suffering was to bring them back to God. The goal

of our suffering is to conform us to the image of Christ. For Israel,

suffering was punishing them; for us members of the body of Christ,

suffering is perfecting us.

While Israel’s suffering was a punishment indicating their rebellion

against God, our suffering is an opportunity for reward in the heavenly

place. While Israel’s suffering was a source of sadness, ours is a source


of 159

of rejoicing. I’m not talking about rejoicing in the pain of what we

suffer, but rejoicing in what the suffering will ultimately produce.

Israel’s suffering was in no way “with” God, whereas our suffering is

“with Christ” and also with our heavenly Father. Israel’s wasn’t

emulating the sufferings of Christ, they were being punished. We are

not being punished, we are emulating the things that Jesus Himself

suffers in this dispensation of grace.




What Romans 8:17 is doing is giving you an attitude toward suffering

that you are meant to carry with you for the rest of your sonship life. It

is giving you the same attitude and perspective toward suffering that

your heavenly Father possesses. Vs. 17 is asking you to look at the

suffering the way your Father looks at suffering.

As a Son, Jesus was perfected by the things He suffered. He suffered in

every way a man can suffer, including physical pain (the Cross) and

emotional pain (the shame and humiliation). He suffered at the hands of

evil men (He was scourged). He suffered temptation from the

Adversary (the temptation in the wilderness). He suffered hunger

(fasted 40 days). He suffered disappointment from those closest to Him

(Peter denied Him). He suffered libelous accusations (cast our devils by

the power of Beelzebub). He suffered setbacks (the kingdom was

postponed). He suffered rejection (He came to His own and His own

received Him not). He suffered a lowering of Himself (made lower than

the angels). He suffered lack (no house to “lay His head”). He was

doubted by some of His closest followers (Thomas). He suffered death

at the hands of His enemies.


of 159

As a son, through all that Jesus suffered, it made Him “perfect.” Now,

He is suffering some things in this dispensation of grace. As we “suffer

with Him” we are being perfected. Through the same means, suffering,

we are being conformed to His image. We are being made like Him by

enduring the sufferings of this present time.

One day, you will be given the power to overcome all of the things

which you will suffer in this life. One day, you will have a body that

will never get sick. One day, your body will never grow old. One day,

your body will never suffer from an accident. One day, your body will

never die. One day, disappointments will end. One day, libel and

defamation against you will stop. One day, sufferings, of every kind,

will come to an end, including death! One day, you will get your

inheritance, but not yet! One day, Jesus will get His inheritance, but not

yet! And until that time, we are going to suffer some things together!

We need to recognize that we’re going to go without things that are

rightfully ours. We’re going to have to suffer with Christ as He suffers

today. And we’re going to have to see that it is a privilege to “suffer

with Him.”

The join-heir inheritance is contingent upon a right response to the

suffering that our heavenly Father is going to allow to come upon us. A

wrong response to that suffering would be:

seeing your suffering as being like Israel’s (as punishment)

believing that suffering has no place in the life of a believer (sin,

lack of faith)

asking God to intervene when you are supposed to endure it

expecting God to intervene by His omnipotence

Complaining about the suffering

Questioning God (Why me? Etc.)


of 159

It stands to reason that if by suffering we gain the reward of our joint-

heir inheritance, there must be quite bit said about “suffering,”

“enduring suffering,” “persecutions and afflictions,” and such like. In

Paul’s epistles, this is no small subject. Just to settle this issue once and

for all, let’s take a look at just some of the verses that address this very

subject of the sufferings that may come our way and our response to

them. This is not a complete list, by any means, but it is enough to give

you an idea of the magnitude of the subject of suffering in this

dispensation of grace.

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:

knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs

with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also

glorified together.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are

not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and

travaileth in pain together until now.

Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the

firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,

waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall

tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or

peril, or sword?

Romans 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day

long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing

instant in prayer;

1 Corinthians 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being

reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:


of 159

1 Corinthians 9:12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not

we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all

things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the

members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members

rejoice with it.

2 Corinthians 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we

may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort

wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2 Corinthians 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our

consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your

consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the

same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is

for your consolation and salvation.

2 Corinthians 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our

trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of

measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we

are perplexed, but not in despair; 10 Always bearing about in the body

the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made

manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto

death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest

in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our

outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,

worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;


of 159

2 Corinthians 7:4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is

my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in

all our tribulation.

2 Corinthians 7:6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast

down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

2 Corinthians 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance

of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their

liberality.

2 Corinthians 11:25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned,

thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,

and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in

times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

Galatians 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in

vain.

Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I

yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they

constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer

persecution for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my

body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Philippians 1:16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely,

supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only

to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the

excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have


of 159

suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may

win Christ,

Philippians 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to

abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and

to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Philippians 4:14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did

communicate with my affliction.

Philippians 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of

the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated

with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,

having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy

Ghost:

1 Thessalonians 2:2 But even after that we had suffered before, and

were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in

our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

1 Thessalonians 2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the

churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have

suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the

Jews:

1 Thessalonians 2:15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own

prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are

contrary to all men:

1 Thessalonians 3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions:

for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

1 Thessalonians 3:4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you

before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye

know.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in

all our affliction and distress by your faith:


of 159

2 Thessalonians 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of

God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and

tribulations that ye endure:

2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous

judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of

God, for which ye also suffer:

2 Thessalonians 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to

recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,

because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men,

specially of those that believe.

2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things:

nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and

am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto

him against that day.

2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of

Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto

bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny

him, he also will deny us:

2 Timothy 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life,

purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions,

afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what

persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall

suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the

work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

No wonder Paul said what he did in 2 Corinthians 12:9.


of 159

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for

thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly

therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of

Christ may rest upon me.

I want to end this session by making a few points that are important:

1. By allowing us to suffer with Christ, we are not worse off

2. We are better off than if He were delivering us from troubles and

tribulations

3. By allowing us to suffer with Christ, our heavenly Father is not

indifferent to the sufferings we are going through

4. We are not suffering alone, Christ has been “suffering” these

things the entire dispensation of grace

5. If you ever tell anyone about this doctrine, part of your suffering

will be that they will look at you like a heretic

6. It is an honor and privilege to suffer with Christ

Session 015

Let’s begin this session by way of quick review:

7. Our joint-heir inheritance is predicated upon our “suffering with

Christ”

8. We are not suffering alone, Christ also “suffers” these things

during this dispensation of grace

9. By allowing us to suffer with Christ, our heavenly Father is not

indifferent to the sufferings we are going through

10. We are given doctrine which produces a “patient endurance”

of the things which we suffer

11. That “patient endurance” results in a reward that far greater

than the suffering


of 159

12. By allowing us to suffer with Christ, we are not worse off

than if we were being delivered from our sufferings

13. Deliverance does not:

1. entail any eternal reward

2. produce endurance in the inward man

3. appropriate grace living

4. bring us to a perfect man

5. conform us to the image of Christ, negates

6. permit the Father/son relationship but rather it insists on God

dealing with us by His omnipotence

7. allow for God’s design to put the power of His grace on

display in us to all creation

14. Because grace living does produce the above mentioned (a-

g),we are better off, both now and in eternity, not being delivered

from troubles and tribulations

15. Understanding how God is working in this dispensation of

grace means:

1. We will not be asking God to deliver us from sufferings

2. We will not be complaining about the sufferings

Warning: Discussing this doctrine with anyone outside this assembly

may result in your being branded a heretic.

You may not understand it yet, but by the time we get to vs. 25 of

Romans 8, you will no longer be asking God why you are going through

the things you do. Instead of asking God to deliver you from the

sufferings, you will see them as a great opportunity.

In Romans 8:15-25 we will discover the reason why God is not going to

intervene to stop the sufferings and also why He is suffering them too.

As you will see when we get to that point in the chapter, you will see


of 159

that God has something (a hope) that is bigger and greater that occupies

His mind.

God has specific plans for the church, the body of Christ in eternity.

Right now, it is being trained and educated for a task that is His “hope.”

His “hope” includes installing you into a glorious position in the creature

and having you competently make decisions as to putting His glory, His

life and His character into operation in the creature. That is something

that has never yet been done! Part of His “hope” is that you will make it

so that everything in creation, animate (the plants and animals) and

inanimate (the stars and planets), will properly respond to His glory.

We see a very similar thing mentioned in Luke 19.

Luke 19:35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their

garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he

went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 And when he was

come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the

whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God

with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the

Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the

Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke

thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you

that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would

immediately cry out.

There is a day coming in which all of creation will respond to the Most

High God. That is His “hope,” or at least it is a part of it. In order for

you to achieve that “hope,” your Father has put this dispensation of

grace into effect where He can train you and educate you. Because it is


of 159

grace, that means that He will “forbear” some things and He will

“suffer” some things.

When bad things happen to His sons, He does not intervene on their

behalf in the circumstances, but rather they appropriate His sufficient

grace. When preachers misrepresent His word and even tells lies in His

name, He does not punish them through circumstances; he forbears.

When men deny His existence, He does not intervene to stop them, but

He suffers it. Why does God not intervene in any of these

circumstances?

God does not intervene in the physical realm to change circumstances

because He is holding out for something that is far better (His hope). He

knows that this dispensation of grace will produce something in His

business with us that is so glorious that the things He (and we) suffer

and forbear are not worthy to be compared.



revealed in us.

It is imperative that we have the same “mind” about the things we suffer,

for until we do, we will be unwilling to “suffer with Him” in some areas.

Look at it this way: God has not yet had “His day.” He has not yet

reconciled the earth back to Himself. This is still a sin-cursed world and

we are having to live in it. Therefore, there are things which anyone can

suffer which may be unavoidable no matter how spiritual you are.

For example, when gas prices go up, they don’t just go up for evil

people. When the cost of living goes up, it goes up for everyone. When

the flu is going around, it doesn’t skip over you because you are living

for Jesus. That is all part of the “sufferings of this present time.”


of 159

As I said earlier in our review, your heavenly Father is not indifferent to

your suffering. There is the pendulum swing of Deism that is also in

error. Many argue that many of our founding Fathers were not

Christians as we think of the word, but rather they were Deists.

While I appreciate our constitution, it is still a document written by men

without the inspiration of God. Whether they were Deists or not makes

no difference to me. Deism is the belief that God created everything and

“got the ball rolling” and then walked away to let matters take their own

course. By telling you that God is not intervening in the physical

circumstances of your sufferings, I am not espousing Deism. That is

why I can say that He is not indifferent to what you are going through.

You see, people tend to see God only acting in one of two ways. Either

He is actively intervening (by sending punishments or stopping

calamaties) or He isn’t doing anything (Deism). People have a hard time

thinking God is doing nothing in the world, so they default to the idea

that God intervenes and delivers (mostly if we meet certain criteria or if

it is His will). I should probably explain the criteria aspect.

What I mean when I say that people believe that God will intervene if

they meet certain criteria is this:

If they ask

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;

knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh

receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it

shall be opened.

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and

cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

If they ask, believing


of 159

Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,

believing, ye shall receive.

If they have enough faith

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for

he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief:

for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard

seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place;

and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard

seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the

root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

If they confess their sins

Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear

me:

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your

God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

If they keep on asking

Luke 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend,

and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me

three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I

have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer

and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are

with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though

he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of


of 159

his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye

shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one

that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that

knocketh it shall be opened.

If they claim the promises

2 Corinthians 1:18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not

yea and nay. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached

among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not

yea and nay, but in him was yea. 20 For all the promises of God in

him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Exodus 12:25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land

which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that

ye shall keep this service.

Deuteronomy 15:6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he

promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt

not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not

reign over thee.

If they live for God (this assumes punishment is for sin, God

punishes sinners but not the righteous)

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve

them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the

iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth

generation of them that hate me;

Deuteronomy 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor

serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the


of 159

iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth

generation of them that hate me,

Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken

diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to

do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the

LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if

thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

There is something obviously wrong with every one of these references.

For all but one, they come out of Israel’s program and do not have

application for the body of Christ in the dispensation of grace. For the 2

Corinthian reference, it is a passage out of Paul’s epistles but the

“promises of God” to which he refers are all spiritual in nature! If you

need further help with any of the aforementioned passages, then I

suggest you watch this portion on the DVD, as I have made comments

on the video (and audio) which are not included in these notes.

Getting back to the Romans passage and the issue of our sufferings, let’s

take a look at the other pendulum swing of Deism. There is a third

option for what God is doing in this dispensation of grace. He is doing

something. He has not just “walked away” from everything.

Just because God is not intervening the physical aspects of what is

happening in the world does not mean He is doing nothing. He is doing

something about the things we suffer. So, if He isn’t putting His hand

between us and the sufferings of this present time, then how is it that He

is doing something? Good question.

The answer is that your Father has made a provision for the sufferings.

His provision is not to deliver you from going through the sufferings


of 159

and, more importantly, His provision is not inferior to being delivered

from sufferings as in Israel’s program.

I say it that way because most people cannot imagine anything better

than out and out deliverance from bad things. Actually, that outlook is

pretty short sighted. It completely overlooks what is at stake in all this.

It isn’t that your Father wants you to hurt or that He doesn’t care if you

suffer.

Session 017

So let’s talk about this provision your Father has made for us. Because

of what has been provided to us as adopted sons (our identity in Christ)

along with the effectual working of the exhortations and the doctrine

(the sonship curriculum) we have been given the ability to deal with

suffering in a way that no one before us has ever done. By our proper

response to the sufferings that come our way, we are able to make an

impact that can travel light-years across the entire creation and have an

effect on the entire angelic realm; both good and evil!

The good angels are impressed to see the effectual working of God’s

word equip us to go through the sufferings without being destroyed by it,

without complaining and murmuring about it. The evil angels are

devastated to see the power of God’s grace put on display by our patient

endurance of the sufferings.

What those evil angels are hoping for is that the sufferings you endure

will destroy your “hope.” The effectual working of the word of God

makes it so that your hope is actually strengthened by the sufferings you

endure and that makes the angels of God in heaven jump for joy and it

demoralizes Satan’s angels. All of those angels are watching you being


of 159

perfected by the things you suffer. Those angels are watching you being

conformed to the image of Christ and it is cause for rejoicing to the good

angels and it is a threat against those evil angels.

And just so you remember, the “hope” that you are given right off the

bat in Romans 8:17 is that your suffering will result in an inheritance

that is beyond anything you can imagine. Your joint-heir inheritance

has a grandeur and a glory that outshines, surpasses and exceeds any

suffering you could ever encounter.

As we go through the sufferings, the question to our Father is not, “How

do I get out of this?” The right question is, “How do I deal with this?”

The way we deal with suffering is by filling our mind with what Jesus

thinks as He is suffering. By what you are told in Romans 8, here is

what you are to fill your mind with: you are being prepared and educated

to function in the creature and you will have an inheritance out in the

creature based upon the sufferings you endured here on earth that is of

such magnitude that the sufferings will pale in comparison. That’s your

hope!

Do you know what fills the mind of Jesus Christ every moment of this

dispensation of grace? His mind is filled with:

What this dispensation of grace is aiming to achieve

Reconciling the heavenly places back to the Father

He is the Head of the body

His body will function to bring fullness of function to the creature

What His Father’s business will accomplish in eternity

His inheritance

Paul prays for the Ephesians to understand about Christ’s inheritance.


of 159

Ephesians 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention

of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and

revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your

understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the

hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his

inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness

of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of

his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised

him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the

heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and

might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in

this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all

things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things

to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that

filleth all in all.

Those things are in the mind of Jesus Christ every moment of this

dispensation of grace. Not just when He is “suffering” something, but

constantly. It should also be our mind as well, not just when we are

going through some kind of suffering, but all day, every day. You mind

is to be on your “hope.”

Therefore, your mind should be filled with:



Christ, as the Head of the body, is suffering with you

You, as part of His body, will function to bring fullness of function

to the creature

What your Father’s business will accomplish in eternity

That you will extend your Father’s glory throughout the creature


of 159

Your joint-heir inheritance

I hope you noticed that Romans 8:16-17 does not focus upon the

suffering, but upon the glory at the end of the suffering. That is the

same mind-set as our Savior in both programs!

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our

faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne

of God.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not

robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no

reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was

made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a

man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even

the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted

him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at

the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and

things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every

tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God

the Father.

His exaltation did not make the Cross go away, but it put it in the

perspective an adult son should have. Our being glorified with Him will

not make our sufferings go away, but we should have the perspective of

an adult son of our heavenly Father; the same perspective as Jesus

Christ. The only difference is that He has been suffering this entire

dispensation of grace (almost 2000 years), while ours is for less than a

hundred years.


of 159

What I think we ought to do now is go back and look at the last phrase

of verse 17. Since vs. 17 goes right along with vs. 16, let’s look at both

of them together.





You may be wondering what it means to be “glorified together” with

Christ. In verse 17, the word “glorified” is a very general term. If you

look up the word “glorified” it means “to be invested with glory” or

“rendered glorious.” Well, that didn’t help very much.

When you look up glory it can mean: “honored, dignified, exalted.”

Again, not much help. But even though this is a general term, we will

discover the richness of its meaning by the context (which is very

specific) in which we find it. I want you to remember that not every

believer will receive the joint-heir inheritance. Therefore, not every

believer will be “glorified together with Christ.”

What I’m getting at is that we are not talking about being glorified in

connection with our being justified (because we are saved). This is the

glory that only comes from “suffering with Christ.” Neither are we

talking about a glory that comes from just being “in heaven” and getting

to hang around with the angels. This is something different.

The good news is that even though this is a very general term (glorified),

as we progress through Romans 8, you will learn more and more about

what this is referring to. And not only in Romans 8, but also in other,

more advanced parts of the curriculum we will be given more details of

what it means to be glorified together with Christ.


of 159

But even without getting into the details, when you read the word

“glorified,” you start thinking in a certain way. No matter how well you

did or did not do in your high school English class, we have an innate

understanding of the proper use of the word “glory.” For example, there

have been acts of heroism that we would refer to as “glorious.”

We also know that we would not use the term “glorious” to describe a

game of checkers. Why is that? Even if we cannot think of a proper

definition for the term “glory,” we understand that we reserve that term

for an even event when someone is “impelled to extraordinary efforts

and to great undertakings.”

So, what “event” is connected to the use of the term “glorified?” It is

the event of receiving our joint-heir inheritance. The use of the term

“glorified” tells us that this is no small event to our heavenly Father; He

thinks it is glorious!

In our next session, I want to pick up on what we have done so far and

connect this up with what it means to be “glorified together with Christ.”

In our previous session we were examining the two pendulum swings

concerning our suffering with Christ. The first one was that God is

physically intervening in our suffering, which as we saw last week,

would defeat the whole purpose of what God is doing and why He is

doing it.

The opposite swing into error is Deism. As we defined last time, Deism

is the idea that God created everything and like winding up a clock, He

got everything going and then walked away to let things happen without

any intervention on His part. But, there is a third option for what God is

doing in this dispensation of grace. He is doing something, but it is not

what most people think He is doing. He has not just “walked away”

from everything because He is vitally interested in what is taking place.


of 159

Just because God is not intervening in the physical aspects of what is

happening in the world does not mean He is doing nothing. He is doing

something about the things we suffer. So, if He isn’t putting His hand

between us and the sufferings of this present time, then how is it that He

is doing something? Good question.

The answer is that your Father has made a provision for the sufferings.

His provision is not to deliver you from going through the sufferings

and, more importantly, His provision is not inferior to being delivered

from sufferings as in Israel’s program.

I say it that way because most people cannot imagine anything better

than out and out deliverance from bad things. Actually, that outlook is

pretty short sighted. It completely overlooks what is at stake in all this.

It isn’t that your Father wants you to hurt or that He doesn’t care if you

suffer.

So let’s talk about this provision our Father has made for us. Because of

what has been provided to us as adopted sons (our identity in Christ)

along with the effectual working of the exhortations and the doctrine

(the sonship curriculum) we have been given the ability to deal with

suffering in a way that no one before us has ever done. By our proper

response to the sufferings that come our way, we are able to make an

impact that can travel light-years across the entire creation and have an

effect on the entire angelic realm; both good and evil!

The good angels are impressed to see the effectual working of God’s

word equip us to go through the sufferings without being destroyed by it,

without complaining and murmuring about it. The evil angels are

devastated to see the power of God’s grace put on display by our patient

endurance of the sufferings.


of 159

What those evil angels are hoping for is that the sufferings you endure

will destroy your “hope.” The effectual working of the word of God

makes it so that your hope is actually strengthened by the sufferings you

endure and that makes the angels of God in heaven jump for joy and it

demoralizes Satan’s angels. All of those angels are watching you being

perfected by the things you suffer. Those angels are watching you being

conformed to the image of Christ and it is cause for rejoicing to the good

angels and it is a threat against those evil angels.

And just so you remember, the “hope” that you are given right off the

bat in Romans 8:17 is that your suffering will result in an inheritance

that is beyond anything you can imagine. Your joint-heir inheritance

has a grandeur and a glory that outshines, surpasses and exceeds any

suffering you could ever encounter.

As we go through the sufferings, the question to our Father is not, “How

do I get out of this?” The right question is, “How do I deal with this?”

The way we deal with suffering is by filling our mind with what Jesus

thinks as He is suffering. By what you are told in Romans 8, here is

what you are to fill your mind with: you are being prepared and educated

to function in the creature and you will have an inheritance out in the

creature based upon the sufferings you endured here on earth that is of

such magnitude that the sufferings will pale in comparison. That’s your

hope!

Do you know what fills the mind of Jesus Christ every moment of this

dispensation of grace? His mind is filled with:



He is the Head of the body

His body will function to bring fullness of function to the creature


of 159

What His Father’s business will accomplish in eternity

His inheritance

Paul prays for the Ephesians to understand about Christ’s inheritance.

Ephesians 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention

of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and

revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your

understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the

hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his

inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness

of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of

his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised

him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the

heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and

might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in

this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all

things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things

to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that

filleth all in all.

Those things are in the mind of Jesus Christ every moment of this

dispensation of grace. Not just when He is “suffering” something, but

constantly. It should also be our mind as well, not just when we are

going through some kind of suffering, but all day, every day. You mind

is to be on your “hope.”

Therefore, your mind should be filled with:



Christ, as the Head of the body, is suffering with you


of 159

You, as part of His body, will function to bring fullness of function

to the creature

What your Father’s business will accomplish in eternity

That you will extend your Father’s glory throughout the creature

Your joint-heir inheritance

I hope you noticed that Romans 8:16-17 does not focus upon the

suffering, but upon the glory at the end of the suffering. That is the

same mind-set as our Savior in both programs!

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our

faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne

of God.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not

robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no

reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was

made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a

man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even

the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted

him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at

the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and

things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every

tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God

the Father.

His exaltation did not make the Cross go away, but it put it in the

perspective an adult son should have. Our being glorified with Him will

not make our sufferings go away, but we should have the perspective of

an adult son of our heavenly Father; the same perspective as Jesus


of 159

Christ. The only difference is that He has been suffering this entire

dispensation of grace (almost 2000 years), while ours is for less than a

hundred years.

The best thing that can happen is for this assembly to get this issue

settled once and for all because there is coming a time when the policy

of evil will send some folks our way for the purpose of putting us back

under the deliverance of Israel’s program, destroying the display of

God’s grace in us and beguiling us out of our reward.

There is a parallel to this in the book of Acts and the book of

Corinthians. In Acts, there was an attempt to import the keeping of the

Law to Gentiles. In Corinthians, there were divisions created by those

who wished to show allegiance to various doctrines. Let’s briefly take a

look at both of these. First, the Acts example.

Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees

which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them,

and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

So far in Acts 15 we have “certain men” which came from Judea to

Antioch and raised the controversy of circumcision being necessary for

salvation. Then, in verse 5, we read that “certain of the sect of the

Pharisees” are not only pushing circumcision, but they are insisting on

the Gentiles (the “them” in vs. 5 is the Gentiles) keeping the Law of

Moses.

It is interesting that these men are not going outside the word of God to

promote some off-the-wall religion, but they are referring to the

Scriptures themselves. When these men promote circumcision and the

keeping of the Law of Moses, they are talking about things that are

actually contained in the Bible.


of 159

For most believers, that is enough. If we can find it in the Bible, we say

that it is “scriptural.” But it is not enough to be scriptural, because, like

these in Acts 15, you can put people under the Law who were never

intended by God to be under the Law. That is why learning to rightly

divide the word is so important.

This is the cleverness of Satan’s policy of evil, to deceive and “beguile”

by using the very word of God to do so. This is being done in churches

around the world today.

Let’s turn to Acts 15:24 and observe what James says about this issue.

Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went

out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls,

saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we

gave no such commandment:

When James uses the word “subvert” it means to weaken, destabilize,

challenge and undermine. That is a strong criticism of what these men

were doing by attempting to put Gentiles under the Law. In other words,

these men are weakening your very souls!

James and Peter understand that the Gentiles are not under the Law.

They also understand that to put the requirement of circumcision on the

Gentiles for salvation is to destroy the preaching of grace that Paul is

doing.

When James says that certain men “troubled you with words,” what

words were those men using to trouble everyone? They were using the

words of Scripture! How clever of Satan to use God’s own word to trip

up believers.

Just as today, there were also back in Paul’s day, a group of people who

were working to get the members of the body of Christ to go back under


of 159

that Law system. Paul provides some details about how these people

operate. Please turn to I Corinthians to see this.

1 Corinthians 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my

brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are

contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of you

saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of

Christ.

The people in the church at Corinth were fragmented in their doctrinal

allegiances. As Paul said, “are there not divisions among you?” They

had no real unity regarding Paul’s doctrine of grace. They had no unity

regarding any doctrine! In fact, just as people today divide up under the

banners of political parties when it comes to politics, so the church at

Corinth divided up into groups, each heralding the doctrine espoused by

a particular teacher.

Can you imagine the confusion among that group? No matter what was

being taught, the opposing groups would debate and disagree. As verse

12 said, “There are contentions among you.” For example, if a teacher

got up in the pulpit at Corinth and taught that they were not under the

law, but under grace (Paul’s doctrine), he would immediately be

opposed by those who would quote Christ from the sermon on the

mount:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the

prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Now you would have this huge debate going on about whether or not

they were to be under the law or not.

As verse 12 tells us, there was a group that held to Paul and his doctrine.

There was another group that held to Peter and his doctrine. But out of


of 159

all of the groups, just look at the list and ask yourself, which of these

groups do you think considered themselves to be the most spiritual or

having the most authority? The group with Paul? The group with

Apollos? The group with Cephas (Peter)? Or the group with Christ?

Obviously, the group waving the “Christ” banner is the group that would

appear to be the most spiritual, the most faithful and have the most

authority, because Christ is obviously above all men. The people in this

group are claiming that they are Christ’s ministers and they are serving

the Lord Jesus Christ. And do you know what they did with that? They

turned an entire ministry against Paul!

You can see this not just in I Corinthians but also in 2 Corinthians. They

are questioning the validity of Paul’s apostleship and also his message.

The argument got so ugly that they even began to look at Paul’s physical

appearance and they decided that Paul doesn’t even look like an apostle.

That is presumptuous, isn’t it? I mean, what does an apostle look like?

This is nothing more than looking for ways to discredit Paul.

So we find in 2 Corinthians that Paul is having to defend himself against

the “Jesus group” which was at Corinth. We are going to look at this

and I want you to read carefully.

2 Corinthians 10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward

appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him

of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we

Christ's.

Paul says to this group, if you think you are Christ’s, then think again.

Those are pretty strong words. Why would Paul say such a thing?

When you understand that there a group in Corinth that is going after

Paul to attack and undermine him, then what Paul says here begins to

make sense.


of 159

Look at the passage as we continue to read.

2 Corinthians 10:8 For though I should boast somewhat more of

our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not

for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: 9 That I may not

seem as if I would terrify you by letters. 10 For his letters, say

they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak,

and his speech contemptible.

Here is another criticism of Paul. He doesn’t have a strong physical

presence and we don’t like the way he talks – that is the accusation

against Paul. Was it the sound of Paul’s voice they didn’t like? Was it

his accent that bothered them? Was it his manner of speaking and

speech that they didn’t like? Was Paul too “high brow” for the

Corinthians or was he too much a “commoner” and not good enough for

this group in the Corinthians church?

Now let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul is going to inform the

entire Corinthian assembly about this threat that exists among them.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,

transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

The next thing Paul reveals is that Satan is behind this group who

identified themselves as “apostles of Christ.” Paul tells the assembly

that it is Satan who have transformed his ministers into “ministers of

Christ.”

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is

transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing

if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of

righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.


of 159

The essence of what Paul is saying is that just because someone is

waving the “Jesus” flag does not make them an apostle of Christ. Paul

says that this element is part of a satanic plot to destroy godly edification

in the Corinthians church. Notice that Paul never says that this group

wants to destroy the church. Oh no! This group is not at Corinth for the

purpose of getting them to disband. They want them to keep on having

services and doing all the things they are doing. What they are after is

the destruction of Paul’s message and influence. And what better way to

do so than by claiming to be “for Christ!”

Now, before we read our next verse in 2 Corinthians, let me ask a

question. Who were those guys in Acts 15 that were trying to put the

Law on the Gentiles? I mean, what nationality were they? They were

Jews from the Jerusalem church. They were Hebrews. And as such,

they positioned themselves as the “Christ” group. Now look at 2

Corinthians 11:22 where Paul begins to compare credentials.

2 Corinthians 11:22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they

Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

Paul is showing that he can match these guys in “pedigree.” No doubt

that this group was playing up that they were “Hebrews, Israelites and of

the seed of Abraham.” But Paul can match all of that. But now, look

where Paul takes the argument.

2 Corinthians 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a

fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above

measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

When Paul asks if they are ministers of Christ, he follows with (I speak

as a fool). The reason he says “I speak as a fool” is because they are not

true ministers of Christ. To even acknowledge them as real ministers of


of 159

Christ is foolish. Sure, they can claim to be ministers of Christ, but so

can anyone.

In history, were there ever any Jews that believed in Jesus Christ and

taught the Law? Yes! You can see them all through the gospels. As we

have already seen from Matthew 5, Christ did not come to destroy the

law at His incarnation, but to fulfill it.

But when Paul comes along, he teaches that which Jesus Christ Himself

revealed to Paul – that in this dispensation of grace, we are not under the

Law, but under grace. So how will Satan thwart Paul’s message? We

go back to 2 Corinthians 11 to find the answer.

Before we read, let me make a statement. Paul is not preaching against

Christ and Paul is not being unfaithful to Christ and Paul is not setting

himself up as more authoritative than Christ. Paul is preaching Jesus

Christ – and he says so. But Paul is not preaching Jesus Christ

according to the program with Israel, he is preaching Jesus Christ

according to that which was revealed to him by Christ Himself!

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you

according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept

secret since the world began,

Paul is preaching Jesus Christ, but he is preaching Jesus Christ

“according to the revelation of the mystery!” In other words, Paul is

preaching Jesus Christ in accordance with this new dispensation of

grace! Paul is not preaching Jesus Christ according to the prophetic

program because that program was put on hold back in Acts 7. Paul is

not preaching Jesus Christ according to the Messianic program which is

recorded in the gospel accounts, because that program is in abeyance.


of 159

Paul is preaching Jesus Christ in perfect accordance with what God is

doing in this dispensation of Gentile grace! And guess who gave him

that message? Jesus Christ Himself!

Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from

my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his

Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen;

immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither

went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me;

but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then

after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode

with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save

James the Lord's brother. 20 Now the things which I write unto

you, behold, before God, I lie not.

Paul was educated by Jesus Christ in the mystery during those 3 years

before Paul ever went to Jerusalem and he tells you that in Galatians 1.

Galatians 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which

was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of

man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus

Christ.

Paul got his message from Jesus Christ and what Paul preaches about

not being under the law but under grace is part of the message that Jesus

Christ gave him to preach. Paul isn’t opposing Christ, for Christ

Himself no longer operates according to the program with Israel. Today,

Christ is promoting a different program than the one He lived under

when He was on earth.

This is not a matter of Paul being over Christ because Paul got his

message from Christ. This is a matter of following Christ in accordance

with the program that is in effect. Today, in 2013, Christ is not still


of 159

thinking of the Law of Moses and how much He wishes it were in force.

Today, Christ is not thinking about the nation of Israel as He did in

“times past.” Today, Christ is thinking about the church, the body of

Christ, He is thinking about their godly edification, He is thinking about

their sonship education and the role they are being prepared for in the

heavenly places.

Today, Christ is not thinking about the gospel of the kingdom, He is

thinking about the gospel of the grace of God. He is not thinking about

the Davidic Covenant, He is thinking about Grace. He is not thinking

about the Day of the Lord’s Wrath, He is thinking about the dispensation

of Gentile grace.

One day, His thinking will change back to Israel, it will change back to

His little flock, and it will change back to the day of wrath. But not

today. And to promote those things today, as though they are part of

what God is doing today, is to be utilized by Satan in his attempt to

“subvert the souls” of the members of the body of Christ.

And how does he intend to do it? By preaching Jesus! But he is not

about to preach Jesus according to the revelation of the mystery, he will

preach Jesus from Israel’s prophetic program. But notice what Paul says

about this to the Corinthians. He tells them that if someone shows up

preaching Jesus from the wrong program, they will allow it! That’s how

gullible and ignorant they are.

2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,

whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which

ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not

accepted, ye might well bear with him. 5 For I suppose I was not a

whit behind the very chiefest apostles.


of 159

The reason for going back and taking a look at these two issues is to see

the importance of an assembly to be single-minded. No, I can’t be your

tutor and governor. But when the POE finally gets the “green light” to

come against this church, it will be the areas it can cause division. The

crack might be small now, but Satan’s emissaries will seek to exploit

that weakness and widen it until there is genuine division among the

assembly and confusion reigns. The next thing you know, someone will

be calling for us to take our doctrine before some group or council for

approval or not, as they did in Acts 15.

What I think we ought to do now is go back and look at the last phrase

of Romans 8:17. Since vs. 17 goes right along with vs. 16, let’s look at

both of them together.





You may be wondering what it means to be “glorified together” with

Christ. In verse 17, the word “glorified” is a very general term. If you

look up the word “glorified” it means “to be invested with glory” or

“rendered glorious.” Well, that didn’t help very much.


Again, not much help. But even though this is a general term, we will

discover the richness of its meaning by the context (which is very

specific) in which we find it. I want you to remember that not every

believer will receive the joint-heir inheritance. Therefore, not every

believer will be “glorified together with Christ.”


connection with our being justified (because we are saved). This is the


of 159

glory that only comes from “suffering with Christ.” Neither are we

talking about a glory that comes from just being “in heaven” and getting

to hang around with the angels. This is something different.








did or did not do in your high school English class, we have an innate

understanding of the proper use of the word “glory.” For example, there

have been acts of heroism that we would refer to as “glorious.”




for an even event when someone is “impelled to extraordinary efforts

and to great undertakings.”

So, what “event” is connected to the use of the term “glorified?” It is

the event of receiving our joint-heir inheritance. The use of the term

“glorified” tells us that this is no small event to our heavenly Father; He

thinks it is glorious!

In our next session, I want to pick up on what we have done so far and

connect this up with what it means to be “glorified together with Christ.”

Session 19 – What it Means to be Glorified Together

Let me take this opportunity to remind you to be reading and rereading

the entire chapter of Romans 8, and especially this first section


of 159

comprised of vv. 16-25. As you read this section over and over, you are

setting the stage for understanding and effectual working of the doctrine.





In this session I want to focus on the phrase, “that we may be also

glorified together.” You may be wondering what it means to be

“glorified together” with Christ. In verse 17, the word “glorified” is a

very general term. If you look up the word “glorified” it means “to be

invested with glory” or “rendered glorious.” Well, that didn’t help very

much.


Putting it together you at least get a sense that that we will be “honored

and exalted together with Christ.” But even though this is a general

term, we will discover the richness of its meaning by the context (which

is very specific) in which we find it. I want you to remember that not

every believer will receive the joint-heir inheritance. Therefore, not

every believer will be “glorified together with Christ.”


connection with our being justified (because we are saved). There is a

glory associated with our “heir of God” inheritance. This is the glory

that only comes from “suffering with Christ.” Neither are we talking

about a glory that comes from just being “in heaven” and getting to hang

around with the angels. This is something different.





of 159





did or did not do in your high school English class, you already have an

innate understanding of the proper use of the word “glory.” For

example, there have been acts of heroism that we would refer to as

“glorious.”




for an event when someone is “impelled to extraordinary efforts and

to great undertakings.”

The way glory works is like this: an event takes place in which glory is

obtained by the extraordinary actions or great undertakings of those

involved (usually a few). Afterward, that glorious event is revisited for

the purpose of formal acknowledgement, citation and reward.

For example, in battle there have been those who have exhibited

extraordinary efforts, usually in the face of overwhelming odds and their

efforts resulted in a glorious victory, whether it be that of taking control

of an area from the enemy, defending a piece of ground from enemy

takeover or saving the lives of comrades in battle. I want to give you an

example of such “extraordinary actions” that resulted in the medal of

honor being awarded to Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez.


of 159

On 2 May 1968, 12 Green Berets were surroundednear Loc Ninh, South Vietnam, by an entirebattalion of NVA. They were thus outnumbered,12 men versus about 1,000. They dug in and triedto hold them off, but were not going to last long.

Benavidez heard their distress call over a radio in town and boarded arescue helicopter with first aid equipment. He did not have time to graba weapon before the helicopter left, so he voluntarily jumped into the hotLZ armed only with his knife.

He sprinted across 75 meters of open terrain through withering smallarms and machine gun fire to reach the pinned down MACV-SOG team.By the time he reached them, he had been shot 4 times, twice in the rightleg, once through both cheeks, which knocked out four molars, and aglancing shot off his head.

He ignored these wounds and began administering first aid. The rescuechopper left as it was not designed to extract men. An extraction chopperwas sent for, and Benavidez took command of the men by directing theirfire around the edges of the clearing in order to facilitate the chopper’slanding. When the aircraft arrived, he supervised the loading of thewounded on board, while throwing smoke canisters to direct thechopper’s exact landing. He was wounded severely and at all timesunder heavy enemy crossfire, but still carried and dragged half of thewounded men to the chopper.

He then ran alongside the landing skids providing protective fire into thetrees as the chopper moved across the LZ collecting the wounded. Theenemy fire got worse, and Benavidez was hit solidly in the left shoulder.He got back up and ran to the platoon leader, dead in the open, andretrieved classified documents. He was shot in the abdomen, and agrenade detonated nearby peppering his back with shrapnel.


of 159

The chopper pilot was mortally wounded then, and his chopper crashed.Benavidez was in extremely critical condition, and still refused to fall.He ran to the wreckage and got the wounded out of the aircraft, andarranged them into a defensive perimeter to wait for the next chopper.The enemy automatic rifle fire and grenades only intensified, andBenavidez ran and crawled around the perimeter giving out water andammunition.

The NVA was building up to wipe them out, and Benavidez called intactical air strikes with a squawk box and threw smoke to direct the fireof arriving gunships. Just before the extraction chopper landed, he wasshot again in the left thigh while giving first aid to a wounded man. Hestill managed to get to his feet and carry some of the men to thechopped, directing the others, when an NVA soldier rushed from thewoods and clubbed him over the head with an AK-47. This caused askull fracture and a deep gash to his left upper arm, and yet he still gotback up and decapitated the soldier with one swing of his knife, severingthe spine and all tissue on one side of the neck. He then resumedcarrying the wounded to the chopper and returning for others, and wasshot twice more in the lower back. He shot two more NVA soldierstrying to board the chopper, then made one last trip around the LZ to besure all documents were retrieved, and finally boarded the chopper. Hehad lost 2 quarts of blood. Before he blacked out, he shouted to one ofthe other Green Berets, “Another great day to be in South Vietnam!”This battle lasted six hours. He had been wounded 37 times.

The actions of Master Sergeant Benavidez qualify for the proper use of

the word “glory.” Those actions were glorious and they resulted in a

recognition of such actions which also was a “glory.”

For those who “suffer with Christ,” your actions of doing so are counted

by your heavenly Father as glorious and they will result in a public

display of “glory” when you receive your joint-heir inheritance.


of 159

By the very use of the term “glorified” we are made to know this is no

small event to our heavenly Father; He thinks it is glorious, and

“glorious” is not used to describe small or insignificant matters. When

you are called to “suffer with Christ,” you are not being called to a

small, insignificant task.

If you think about it, conducting yourself as the son you have been made

to be, engaging in the education that your Father is offering you, and

laboring with Him to put the power of His grace on display will require

extraordinary efforts that can only be described as “glorious.” This is

why this entire venture (sonship) is both an honor and privilege. It is an

honor to be God’s son, it is an honor to be adopted by Him, it is an

honor to engage in our sonship education, it is an honor to labor with

Him now (which is what you are doing when you “suffer with Him) and

it will be an honor to labor with Him in eternity. By “suffering with

Christ,” you are engaging in a glorious endeavor that results in a “joint-

heir” inheritance.

Look at that definition of “glorious” again: “an event when someone is

impelled to extraordinary efforts and to great undertakings.”

If you recall the breakdown of the chapter from Romans 8:16-39, we

saw the first section was Romans 8:16-25. It is going to take that entire

section to fully produce this attitude in you, but verses 17 and 18, by use

of the words “glorified” and “glory,” begin to turn your thinking this

direction. In other words, this is the start of the attitude adjustment that

needs to take place in your inner man. The process of producing the

godly virtue of patient endurance begins right here.

By now you realize that this whole understanding of our suffering with

Christ is a radical departure from mainstream Christianity. That is going

to happen over and over again as you adopt your Father’s thinking and


of 159

begin to see things from His perspective. Patient endurance of “the

sufferings of this present time” is not what we were taught, we were

taught to pray for deliverance from all our troubles. We were taught to

ask God to intervene, not to patiently endure.

We were not taught the bigger issue of what our Father was

accomplishing through the trials that came our way. We were not taught

about our joint-heir inheritance being directly connected to a proper

response to the things which we suffer. But that is exactly what this first

section (vv. 16-25) does as it introduces you to the “glory” that awaits a

son who really does “suffer with Christ.”

As we are surveying this section of vv. 16-25, I want to show you

something about vs. 18.



revealed in us.

One of the criteria that indicates when this has effectually worked in you

is in vs. 18. It is true that the glory you will receive is greater than the

suffering you endure. But when it says that the difference is so great

that the suffering “is not worthy to be compared with the glory,” it isn’t

trying to make a comparison; it is demonstrating that there is no

comparison.

If something is “not worthy,” what does that mean? It means the

suffering “does not deserve” to be compared with the glory, it is “not fit”

to be compared with the glory.

If someone is undeserving of praise, do you praise them? If someone is

not worthy of a promotion, should you promote them? Then, if the


of 159

suffering is not deserving (worthy) of comparison, then do you compare

it? You do not.

Therefore, one of the ways you know when this has effectually worked

in you is that you will stop trying to compare the suffering you endure

with the glory (the reward of your joint-heir inheritance). In other

words, you won’t be focusing on the suffering, but your mind will be

stay on the glory.

And that is what should be in your mind all the time. The proper place

that suffering plays is that it reminds you this is an opportunity for glory.

You don’t have to worry about measuring out the suffering so you can

calculate the glory – as if you are determining if this is going to be

worthwhile or not. That should be a settled issue as you have been told

there is no comparison to be made.

This first section (vv. 16-25) not only introduces you to the “glory”

concept, (which is meant to start you thinking properly about the

suffering you are called to endure) but you are also introduced to your

Father’s business and your part in it. And there is a “glory” associated

with your heavenly Father’s business.

You do understand that the business itself will be glorious, don’t you?

There is a glory associated with what that business will accomplish.

Your part in that business will have glory attached to it.

I don’t know what impresses you, and I’m not trying to denigrate

anyone’s work (it is all honorable, if done properly), but when I hear

someone say there are a greeter at Walmart, I’m not overly impressed

just as they are probably not too impressed if they hear I am a preacher.

But when I meet a guy that can perform open heart surgery, and by that

surgery extend the life of my earthly dad, I’m impressed. When I meet a


of 159

guy that can put a man on the moon, that is impressive. I’ll give you

another one: when I meet a young person who has character (integrity,

reputation), who is respectful to parents and adults in general, who

knows how to work hard without complaint, who can be trusted to do

what is right without someone looking over their shoulder, and exhibits

propriety, I am extremely impressed.

And since I mentioned the door greeter at Walmart, I want to correct

myself on that one too. I did meet a man, who was a door greeter at

Walmart in Decatur, TX, in whom I was impressed. He was not only

cheerful but He was genuine and he put himself totally into that job. He

had made up these little ditties (rhyming songs) that he sang as people

came in the door. Those songs welcomed you to the store and made you

feel valued. He wasn’t embarrassed to sing them out loud, he smiled as

he sang them and he didn’t do it in a way that embarrassed you.

To get back to the point, there are some mundane jobs that can be done

impressively. There are events that just by their nature are impressive.

(Who doesn’t know about Seal Team 6?) The glory of all these things:

killing Bin Laden, going to the moon, and performing heart surgery will

pale in comparison with the glory of your Father’s business.

That glory should color all which you suffer and that glory should be the

very fabric of your thinking because it is your Father’s thinking and

Christ’s thinking as they are “suffering” in this dispensation of grace. In

other words, God is thinking about His glorious business, the

gloriousness of what His business will produce and the glory of making

you a joint-heir with His son in that business!

That is on His mind all the time. He isn’t sighing and impatiently

tapping His fingers through the things which He presently suffers. He

isn’t rolling He eyes or checking His watch. He is smiling because He is


of 159

thinking of the glory on the other side of the suffering. And this is the

beginning of the doctrine that will produce that very attitude in you.

Let me jump you over to Philippians to show you this very concept in an

advanced epistle:

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have

learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Now, I want to hearken back to something that we looked at back in our

Sonship Orientation. Right now, as we are in our Sonship

Establishment, where are we in the table of contents?

Proverbs 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the

words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,

justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple,

to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5 A wise man will

hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall

attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the

interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

Just divide off Level 1 of the Sonship Education. Level 1 (both phases)

is found in verses 2-3. Now, identify what fits where:

The correct answers are:

Part 1 – (SO) Proverbs 1:2a (to know wisdom and instruction)

PHASE ONE

Part 1 – ( ) Prov. 1:

Part 2 – ( ) Prov. 1:

PHASE TWO

1. Wisdom

2. Justice

3. Judgment

4. Equity

LEVEL ONE


of 159

Part 2 – (SE) Proverbs 1:2b (to perceive the words of understanding)

The reason I bring this up is to make a comment on the word we are

examining; glorified. You learned something in your sonship

orientation that is now being enlarged (built upon) in your sonship

establishment.

Back when you were given “to know wisdom and instruction,” you were

supposed to: a) know this education exists and b) know it has value

And when it came to the exhortations that accompanied your Sonship

Orientation, part of understanding the value of it was given to you in

Proverbs 1:7-9.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of

knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son,

hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy

mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,

and chains about thy neck.

Looking at the first phrase: what is an ornament for your head? It is a

crown! That speaks of a position of rulership, governorship and

administration. Does Paul ever speak of this? He does.

1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is

temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible

crown; but we an incorruptible.

2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do

the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I

am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at

hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I

have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of

righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me


of 159

at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his

appearing.

Just notice in vs. 5: “endure afflictions.”

Verse 6 shows us Paul is about to executed.

Verse 7 can really only be said by a son who has reached the level

of education that Paul attained to; a fully educated son. The “good

fight” is describing the kind of fight Paul was engaged in, not a

description of his fighting ability.

Verse 8 gives us the “crown” or “ornament” that goes on your

head.

Looking at the second phrase: what are “chains about thy neck” about?

As we saw back in our orientation, they are indicative of promotion!

That promotion is within the government and administration of God (in

our case, in the heavenly places).

We saw this issue back in Israel’s program in Daniel 5.

Daniel 5:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the

Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to

the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and

shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet,

and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third

ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 5:29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed

Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and

made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third

ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel already had been given, under Nebuchadnezzar, a position of

authority. This time, Belshazzar promotes Daniel to being president


of 159

over 1/3 of the kingdom. To signify the promotion, chains were put

about his neck, just as we read in Proverbs 1:9 as it applied to a son.

I know we have been looking at this from the standpoint of Israel’s

program, but for us in this dispensation of grace, it is the issue of being

“glorified together” with Christ. This is the first way in which we are

told about the glory, in connection with our joint-heir inheritance which

comes out of and is directly related to His business.

Having said that, it makes perfect sense that our Father would tell us

something about His business and our part in it. And that is exactly

what comes up next in Romans 8. Therefore, Romans 8:16-17 function

as an introduction to our Sonship Establishment.

But before we continue down through the chapter, I need to make sure

that you have an understanding of what we are looking at in these first

verses. In order to do this, I am going to introduce you to something

very important in Paul’s epistles.

_001-020_ se

Documents

sonship establishment

sonship establishmentpage

sonship sonshaped

heavenly father

son of god

adopted son

sonship education process

kind of enthusiasm