A New Ancestor and Heritage In Christ
by Lani W. Finley
Erwin W. Lutzer sums up our new heritage in
Christ in the following statement,
But because of
Christ's death, believers are transferred from being "in Adam" to
being "in Christ". God breaks your past ties and Christ becomes your
new ancestor. That's why Paul refers more than 100 times to
believers as being "in Christ". It is the basis for a whole new
life. ...God identifies all believers with Christ, not in some
mystical or theoretical way, but by changing our legal
relationships. 1 (Emphasis Mine).
The New Testament is in fact, the
Last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ. It is
not just a collection of stories about church history. It is a binding
legal document, which
grants to the
Believer all of God's promises that He has made in His written Word.
The New Testament is the most
powerful
Legal Document that has ever been created. It was authored by Spirit
of Jesus Christ and written in His blood. It grants to His heirs, all
the rights, privileges and possessions that are now enjoyed by God and
Christ.
The New Testament is also
our Legal Adoption Papers.
"For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom
8:14). We are now legally the Children of Our Heavenly Father. A true
follower of Christ is no longer the legal child of Adam and is no
longer subject to the eternal penalty that was passed on to all
generations. Christ now lives in us and has become our
New Landlord. Our old landlord, Satan the Devil,
has no legal claim to us, or our bodies. We are now free to serve God.
Christ has reinstated our family relationship with our Heavenly Father
and we are now entitled to all the gifts, privileges and Kingdom
rights of our new spiritual family.
Webster's Dictionary
defines heritage as: "something transmitted by or acquired from a
predecessor and property that descends to an heir." Let us look at the
contrast between our heritage in Adam and our new heritage in Christ.