Christians: Joint heirs with jesus - what does it mean?

[Heneni]

Okay, gonna try it this way.. Someone gives you a free ticket for wonderful and luxurious cruise, just hands you the tickets because he thinks you are an awesome person and he wants you to experience something wonderful,, no strings attached. You say great, thank you! I accept these tickets, how nice. You tell everyone you know how wonderful this person is because he gave you such a wonderful gift, no strings attached, and they are yours to keep and no one will ever take them from you. Now understand this, that ship can still sail on without you! If you read the back of the ticket it tells you how to register for your room, and where the ship docks, and a map on how to get there, as well as how to catch the shuttle bus that will take you right up to check in. It tells you to make sure you have ID, don't be late, don't bring weapons, call if you have questions, yadda yadda yadda.. Some people live in the area so getting over there and checking in may be easy, some live states away, doesn't matter though, if you want to claim this prize that the free ticket entitles you to, you must go through every proper step to get where you are supposed to be, when you must be there, you must follow specific rules and guidelines to gain entry to the ship, etc. But none of this changes the fact that you were given a gift, completely free, and there were no strings attached to receive and keep the tickets.

Romans 5.10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

His death got us that free ticket, a pure gift in every way, and that will never be taken from a single soul. However, saved by His life, Jesus is the way, what does that really mean? Jesus Christ is not a password, but the way, the path, the example. He made it to the gate already and claimed His reward, if we follow His way, His example, we will make it there as well, and join Him, thus becoming joint heirs with Christ. You can't verbally accept the ticket and magically appear on the ship, and you can't verbally and even in your heart accept God's way and Jesus as your savior and think that it ends there, and you will magically appear someday in the Kingdom enjoying your inheritance. You can't admire the path, you must walk it. You can't believe in the good example, you must follow it. You can't say you are a Christian, and believe it in your heart, you must live it.. in a Christ-like way. If you don't read the fine print, if you get on the wrong plane, if you get to the wrong gate, forget your ID, behave crudely while waiting in line to check in, refuse to follow the guidelines laid out well in advance for your benefit, you will not board, if you even make it to the check in line at all. It is your job to read the fine print, understand it, research anything you need to, make your travel plans, be there when, where and how you are told to, but none of these efforts earned you that free ticket.. it remains a gift of great value!

Love analogies, but no, not perfect I know. Just trying to separate the gift/inheritance concept from the work/earn concept in some way.

Thanks for reading!
mik

Hi there. Thanks for the reply. I would fully agree that salvation is a free gift. And that there is nothing you can do to warrant or earn it for sure. I think what happens is that some christians believe that salvation is that point where you convert. In my estimation, salvation is convertion all the way through to being saved out of this world when Jesus comes back. So salvation to me, is the whole thing, from convertion to going to heaven. All of it is salvation. That is where others would disagree maybe, feeling that salvation is convertion and then, you have to work at it to get yourself into heaven. I say that getting into heaven is part of salvation, which is a free gift. So therefore im sure that if there is true conversion there is no way to loose the end of that salvation which is going to heaven. So for some when they unwrap the gift of salvation they see convertion, when i unwrap the gift of salvation is see conversion and going to heaven. When someone opens the gift of salvation they see a remote control. I see the remote control and the TV. I guess many people have different opinions as to what the gift is in its totality.

God bless
Heneni

 

[converted]

The scope of the inheritance is to have most of the capacities of Jesus and our Heavenly Father. The Father has the capacity to create worlds and populate those worlds with His spirit children just as He has done with the world which he created through Jesus. Thus the Heavenly pattern of begetting children continues and adds to His glory by us, His children becoming like Him. Implicit in this doctrine is the understanding that as we have male and female parents, we have a Heavenly Mother. This is why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in eternal marriage. Without an eternal partner, how could a male creator have spirit children?

 

[S-word]

The scope of the inheritance is to have most of the capacities of Jesus and our Heavenly Father. The Father has the capacity to create worlds and populate those worlds with His spirit children just as He has done with the world which he created through Jesus. Thus the Heavenly pattern of begetting children continues and adds to His glory by us, His children becoming like Him. Implicit in this doctrine is the understanding that as we have male and female parents, we have a Heavenly Mother. This is why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in eternal marriage. Without an eternal partner, how could a male creator have spirit children?

A poem that I wrote for my wife over fourty years ago, it's called "Endless Love".

There are countless lives before us like the stars up in the sky
But should the cord be cut to this one, should either of us die
Before our separate spirits are entwined and sing as one
Evermore would we be parted, but now the bonding has been done.

Now we will know each other in the lives still yet to be
Though our forms are ever changing, I'll know you and you'll know me
We will recognise each other, passing through life's endless doors
And when we meet there in the darkness, our souls will join once more

In those countless lives before us, in each one if you'll be mine
I will pluck a star from heaven and in the nights of endless time
I will thread them on eternity, one for every life we live
Then, when the heavens are devoid of light, the universe to you I'll give... By S-word

 

[Heneni]

The scope of the inheritance is to have most of the capacities of Jesus and our Heavenly Father. The Father has the capacity to create worlds and populate those worlds with His spirit children just as He has done with the world which he created through Jesus. Thus the Heavenly pattern of begetting children continues and adds to His glory by us, His children becoming like Him. Implicit in this doctrine is the understanding that as we have male and female parents, we have a Heavenly Mother. This is why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in eternal marriage. Without an eternal partner, how could a male creator have spirit children?

I agree with the first part. I dont quite understand the part about having children in heaven. Me thinks that whoever is there is there. I dont think there will be procreation. If the lamb lies with the lion, youd think the lion will not feel like eating the lamb and so i dont think that making new lambs or lions by procreation would be ....well it wont make sense.

BTW, welcome to the forum!
Heneni