Our knowledge and understanding of the benefits of Christ’s redemptive work for us is vital to our success in living at God’s best for us. Ignorance, based on inadequate or even a lack  of knowledge altogether, in this area, has been the bane of Christianity for a long time. That was the reason why Paul the apostle prayed for the Ephesian church, saying: “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”(Eph 1:18). There is a hope to which God has called us, and it is in order that we may live in the consciousness and experience of its reality, that God gave Jesus as a ransom for us. What is the hope? It is the hope of our becoming heirs of God.
    An heir is a person who has the legal right to receive somebody’s property, money or title when the person dies (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).
    We can see, then, that being an heir is a legal thing. It has nothing to do with sentiments or emotionalism. It is necessary to state this fact here, because many Christians judge the validity of their right to God’s provision on the basis of how they feel, from moment to moment. For instance, when they feel saved or close to God, then they confidently claim their inheritance in Christ. When, on the other hand, they do not feel that way, they succumb to satan’s lies that, given the way they feel, they are not supposed to expect or receive anything from God.
    We are legally God’s children, if we are in Christ, and as such, have legal rights to His property (Gal 3:29). This is because the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, were all legal undertakings, aimed at buying us back, thereby transferring satan’s ownership of us to God. This is exactly what Colossians 1:12,13 means by saying, “giving thanks to the Father   who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” The next two verses (13,14) tell us that the reason for our qualification to enjoy the inheritance of the saints is that, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins.
    Your position as an heir of God (Gal 4:7) makes all His resources, which are necessary for your fruitfulness and fulfilment in life, potentially available to you. This is for the fact that, as an heir of God, He has given you the legal right to His will (the Bible). However, whether you actually access and enjoy what the will contains for you, or not, is a different matter. This implies that, to benefit from the will, it is not enough to be a potential recipient, but that you must become an actual recipient of the contents of the will in your daily experience.
     It is not automatic for you to enjoy your inheritance in Christ. It is possible for you to live out your life on earth  and not have the pleasure of having tasted much of what Christ provided for you by His substitutionary death. This calls for sober reflection. Those who think that they should, automatically, walk in the experiential reality of their of their inheritance in Christ
because they have been born again are deluded. This kind of ignorance, on the part of Christians, makes satan’s mission against them a walk in the park. The key  then is for the believer to arm himself or herself with the knowledge of what is required of him or her to enjoy his or her inheritance in Christ.
    The acquisition of the knowledge of God’s will by revelation is the first step towards your enjoying your inheritance in Christ. Paul prayed that God would fill the Colossians with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col 1:9). How we know God’s will matters. He specifically prayed that they might know it through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and not through mere intellectual understanding. Until God’s word becomes a revelation to you, it will not bear fruit in your life.

This is the reason Paul gives for his prayer for the Colossians, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,” (Col 1:10).
    The next step is to accept the revealed word of God to you by agreeing with God on the matter so revealed. What this means is that you refuse to doubt or disbelieve God’s word. One of the things satan will do, once you have received a revelation of God’s word on any issue, is to try to persuade you to discredit and disbelieve the word. YOU will have to choose to agree with God irrespective of contradictory evidence around you. God’s word does not regard circumstances, because it is empowered to accomplish what God pleases and prosper in the thing for which it was sent (Isa 55:11). You need to act like the word of God is true because it is. You demonstrate this reality by your confession and actions.
    Furthermore, you need to stand your ground. Perseverance is indispensable in your quest for success in living in the experience of your inheritance in Christ. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NIV). In addition, the Bible says, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Heb 6:12 NIV). Shalom.

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