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Vol I No. 10

Belonging to Christ: Child and Inheritor

by
The Revd. Fr. Gavin Dunbar

Question. Who gave you this Name? Answer. My Sponsors in Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

ADOPTION AND GRACE

In ancient Rome it was not uncommon for wealthy, powerful but childless adults to adopt some worthy young man with all the privileges that involved, including the right to inherit, in order to perpetuate their name. Thus Julius Caesar adopted Octavian, his great-nephew, who became Augustus Caesar; and Augustus in turn adopted Tiberius, his stepson, who also became emperor. It was a terrific leg up for an able young man. His debts and other legal obligations were taken over by his adoptive father, his prospects expanded immensely, already he enjoyed something of the authority that comes with being son to such a father, with prospect of inheritance. Despite the fact that God already has a beloved Son in whom he delights – or rather, precisely because he already does! – we too may receive the Adoption of Sons, and be made the children of God, and heirs of God, for the glory of his Name, and for our salvation.

NAMES AND IDENTITY

Who and what I am is something that is given, something I receive, in and through the community which God has established in relationship with himself. “My Sponsors in Baptism”, my godparents, represent and speak for the spiritual family of the Church into which I am reborn by Baptism; but Baptism not only brings me into relationship with a human community, but with the God who acts through it: “wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven”. To know myself, therefore, I must know God, and the Catechism’s instruction is designed to help me do so. It is a manual of instruction in what it means to be what God has made in Baptism, “a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.”

CHILD OF GOD

That’s why, in addition to being made “a member of Christ”, the Catechism also says that I am made “the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven”. As in the case of the language of “membership”, this means more than we might think. One often hears that every one is naturally “a child of God” – but with the exception of an isolated text (Acts 17:28), Scripture does not speak this way.

Far from being a universal fact of nature, entered into by birth, divine Sonship (to give it its proper name) is a supernatural grace bestowed on the elect people of God (Exodus 4:22), the seed of Abraham, which is constituted by faith and baptism into Christ (Galatians 3:26ff). That God should be our Father, and that we should be his children, is not a given of our nature, but a gift of his grace, in Jesus Christ.

Our adoption by God is a free and unmerited act of grace, by which we share in the Sonship of Christ. And it is the gift of the Spirit which elevates and ennobles us as sons: “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption” – that is Sonship “whereby we cry, Abba, Father”. By evoking in us this wholehearted response to and awareness of God as our Father in Christ, the “Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:14-16).

As Catechism implies, it is as “a member of Christ”, that I am “the child of God and the inheritor of the kingdom of heaven”. As a member of Christ, I can look to God as the righteous and merciful Judge who for his dear Son’s sake has accounted me righteous, despite my sins, and delivered me from my sins, through faith in the gospel. But that is not all: because “my beloved is mine, and I am his”, everything that is his is also mine: as a member of Christ, I also share in his Sonship, as the child of God, I am also the inheritor of his kingdom: God gives himself to me as Father, and receives me as his own dear child, from whom he can withhold nothing – not even the Kingdom of heaven.

INHERITOR OF KINGDOM

Yes! As “the child of God” I am also therefore his heir, “an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven”. There is nothing God will withhold from us; indeed we are to be made “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), god-like beings sharing in his life and glory in the resurrection of the body (Romans 8:18-23), when death is conquered, and “God shall be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). The “first fruits” or “earnest” (down-payment) of this inheritance is nothing less than the gift of the Holy Ghost in us. As Peter said to the crowds on Pentecost, after his preaching of the gospel, “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). That grace of the Holy Spirit is the beginning of glory in us. In his grace do we begin to experience the power of the Kingdom of Heaven at work in us.

BELOVED AND LOVING

Of course sonship runs both ways: it brings responsibilities too, as we shall see further on in the Catechism. Sonship is being loved and it is loving in return; it is both the assurance of God’s unmerited and unconditional favour, and it is also the dedication of total commitment to him. As a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of his kingdom, I am not my own, but he possesses me; but precisely as such, I possess him. Here is the assurance of total security – here is the demand of total surrender. “My beloved is mine and I am his”.But before rushing to consider how we might love and serve him, we must first ponder how he has loved us: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God”! (1 John 3:1). As a fine old hymn puts it, “Love for the loveless shown/That they might lovely be”.1“My Song is Love Unknown”, by Samuel Crossman, Dean of Bristol, 1624-1683. It is this Spirit-imparted consciousness of ourselves as God’s children, of God as our Father, this assurance of being loved down to the very roots of our being, this is what we call faith. And it is in this faith, this knowledge of being loved by God, that we ourselves may learn to love others.

FURTHER READING:

• Galatians 3:22- 4:7 – Belonging to Christ, Son, and Heir of God.

• Romans 8:18-39 – Assurance of God’s love.

• 1 Corinthians 15:20-end – The hope of resurrection.

• Heidelberg Catechism, Question 1: “What is your only comfort in life and death? Answer. That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto him.

Prayer Book, Collect for Christmas, p. 96

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW

• Review the benefits of baptism? What does God make me in Baptism?

• What does it mean to say that I am made “the child of God” and how do I become “an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven”?

• What is the difference between sonship by nature and sonship by grace?

• What is the role of the Spirit in this?

• What are the benefits of being child, and inheritor?

• What is my present relationship with God, and what is its basis?

• What can I expect to inherit?

• Why is it important to think of God’s love for us before considering our love for him?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• A secure sense of self is important to a well-lived life. Where does the Catechism direct us to find that security?

• How might we strengthen our sense of God’s love for us?

• How would you compare the Catechism’s three benefits of Baptism with the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism? What other connections does that suggest to you?

Footnotes

  • 1
    “My Song is Love Unknown”, by Samuel Crossman, Dean of Bristol, 1624-1683.
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