Introduction
Galatians 4:7
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
As a child of God, there is an inheritance available for you. Access to this inheritance, however, is determined by your maturity into sonship—for if you are still a child and not a son, then you are a slave. Slaves cannot access their inheritance stored up in heaven for them.
In this module, we explore the importance of maturity in faith and word towards accessing your inheritance in Jesus Christ.
Slaves vs. Sons
Understanding the slave-son relationship is critical to accessing the inheritance. If you have not matured, then you are just like a slave.
Scriptural Reference
- Galatians 4:1: “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.”
Everything can be accessed through salvation. However, the ability to access it depends on maturity to sonship. Consider the desires that God has placed in your heart concerning career, business, marriage, and ministry, among others. These desires are available to us.
Worryingly, because of immaturity and slavery mindsets among believers, God entrusts our inheritance to guardians until we mature.
Scriptural Reference
- Galatians 4:2: “But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.”
Ever wonder why major industries across the globe are dominated by non-believers? It comes down to slavery or immaturity. That is why God has placed the believer’s inheritance in the hands of guardians until they mature.
For example, Solomon was the richest man of his time, and his wealth cannot be equated to any current billionaire. However, today, the richest man in the world is a non-believer. This implies that an immature or enslaved believer is not rising to the occasion to claim their inheritance.
Definition of a Slave
A slave is someone who lacks free will and is controlled by something or someone against their own will. This controlling force is often not aligned with the will of God—for example, money, power, greed, food, lust, and even family.
However, the greatest level of slavery occurs when you are controlled by the doctrines of men or, as scripture refers to them, the elemental spiritual forces of the world.
Elementary principles of the world are man-made religious and philosophical thoughts that dominate modern society.
Scriptural Reference
- Galatians 4:3: “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.”
Defining Sons
Unlike slaves, sons demonstrate maturity in faith and knowledge of Christ Jesus. They walk in Christ and are not enslaved by the vain philosophies of men. Simply put, they think, act, and behave in a Christ-like manner.
Scriptural References
- Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
- Colossians 2:6: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Such maturity implies that even our warfare involves casting down every vain philosophy or human pattern of thinking that opposes the mind of Christ.
Scriptural Reference
- 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Think about any area of your life that contradicts the Word of God. Your first step toward sonship is to begin casting down these thoughts or traditions from your mind.
Areas to Consider:
- Do you work primarily for money rather than purpose?
- Proverbs 23:4: “Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.”
- Do you find yourself in constant debt?
- Proverbs 22:7: “… and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
- Deuteronomy 28:12: “… and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.”
- Do you work for people out of obligation, feeling unappreciated?
- 1 Corinthians 7:23: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”
- Do you labor in vain, unable to enjoy your earnings?
- Isaiah 65:23: “They shall not labour in vain…”
- Do generational patterns or struggles such as poverty, rejection, singlehood, or curses limit you?
- Genesis 27:40: “… that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.”
- Isaiah 10:27: “… and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”
The Inheritance
The day you were born again, God appointed an inheritance for you in heaven through Jesus Christ. It is the enlightenment of the Word of God that grants us access to this inheritance.
Scriptural References
- Ephesians 1:11: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance…”
- Colossians 1:12: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.”
- 1 Peter 1:4: “To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”
This is an eternal inheritance, freely available to you by faith—a spiritual blessing that has already been given to us.
Scriptural References
- Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
- 2 Peter 1:3: “According to his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
Everything you need or desire pertaining to life has been made available to you by God. Every blessing in any area of your life that you desire is likewise freely accessible. For instance:
- That dream career or job
- That ministry
- That ideal marital partner
- That business empire
- That humanitarian or philanthropic mission
Many believers, however, have not manifested these blessings and inheritance primarily because of two things: faith and knowledge.
1. Faith
The mystery of faith is often misunderstood because many do not grasp how faith works. So, what is faith?
Scriptural Reference
- Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the power or raw material that translates what you possess in the spiritual realm into the physical realm.
Faith requires you to believe in the possession of something that has not yet manifested in the physical realm. Everything seen in the physical realm originated from the spiritual realm. Faith is the force that brings that creation into physical manifestation.
Scriptural Reference
- Hebrews 11:3: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
This means you must confess what you believe to possess, even before it is seen in the physical world.
Scriptural Reference
- 2 Corinthians 4:13: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
This revelation means that you do not wait for the manifestation of your wealth, ministry, career, or marriage before confessing it. Instead, you believe and, therefore, begin to confess before you possess.
2. Knowledge
The second power necessary for the manifestation of your inheritance is knowledge. God gives you an inheritance, but He does not automatically grant you the power to enjoy or manifest it.
Scriptural Reference
- Ecclesiastes 6:2: “A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it…”
God does not grant you the power to enjoy your inheritance unless you grow in wisdom, knowledge, and stature. Just like the example of the richest man in the world, many believers today have their inheritance in the hands of guardians or caretakers because they have not matured in knowledge and wisdom.
Even Jesus, though the Son of God, had to grow in wisdom and knowledge before fully walking in His divine nature, power, and majesty.
Scriptural Reference
- Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature…”
The Law of Inheritance
The law of inheritance dictates that knowledge grants you the power to translate spiritual blessings into physical manifestations. You must understand how to bring your God-given inheritance into reality. Your inheritance is stored up in heaven, but you must reveal it to the world for it to benefit mankind.
Everything that God gives as an inheritance comes in the form of a seed. It is your responsibility to make that seed grow and bear fruit.
Scriptural References
- 2 Corinthians 9:10: “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower…”
- Luke 8:11: “…the seed is the word of God.”
Therefore, believers must learn how to translate this seed into fruit. This ability to translate is found in the realm of knowledge, not merely in giving or prayer. Moreover, the seed given by God is His Word.
God is Not a Waster
You must also understand that God is not a waster; therefore, He will not give you an inheritance for you to waste. God wills that nothing He has given to you should be lost.
Scriptural Reference
- John 6:39: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing…”
Knowledge – Epignosis
Knowledge (Greek – Epignosis) is the understanding of all things ethical and divine. This knowledge serves as the key that unlocks the doors to your inheritance, granting you access to what is rightfully yours.
Scriptural References
- 2 Peter 1:3: “According to his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
- Luke 11:52: “… for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves…”
This knowledge is given to all believers equally but requires growth through study and meditation on the Word of God. Your engagement with the Word determines how you translate your inheritance into reality.
Scriptural References
- 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
- 1 Timothy 4:15: “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”
Ultimately, meditation on God’s Word is the key to manifesting your inheritance. Through meditation, you grow in knowledge and wisdom, which in turn empowers you to access and demonstrate your inheritance in the world.
Scriptural Reference
- Psalms 1:2-3: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Key Aspects of Your Inheritance
- You have an inheritance in Christ Jesus stored up for you in heaven.
- Your inheritance is incorruptible, undefiled, and everlasting.
- God does not intend for you to labor to earn what He has already made available to you.
- God has created and provided more for you than you could ever labor to obtain.
- No human reward can ever match the inheritance that God has prepared for you.
Learning Points
- Understand the mystery of faith as the power to manifest your inheritance in the physical realm.
- Grow in wisdom and knowledge of God.
- Recognize that the knowledge of God is your true inheritance in the kingdom.
- This knowledge is the Word and the seed that God gives you.
- God does not take part in translating the seed into fruit; that responsibility is yours.
- It is your duty to learn how to apply knowledge to cultivate and grow the seed.
Further Activities
- Engage with the Word of God – the present truth.
- Meditate on the Word day and night so that your progress is evident to all.
- Study and understand God’s principles and patterns in Scripture.
- Connect with a man of God who has received and manifested their inheritance.
- Commit yourself fully to following Jesus Christ.
