On the Move: From Pauper to Heir

Romans 8:16-17

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Maybe you have heard the very famous story of Hetty Green. She was known as America's Greatest Miser. She died in 1916 and at her death, her estate was valued at over $100 million. She ate cold cereal because she knew that to heat it would cost money so she refused to pay the cost. Her son lost a leg to amputation all because she waited too long to take him to a doctor while trying to find a free clinic.

She was rich but she lived like a pauper.

Or maybe you have heard of John Wendel. He, too, was a miserly old millionaire who died in 1915 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. He and his six sisters were vast millionaires because of the fortune inherited from their family. He remained a bachelor his whole life and also managed to make 5 of his sisters stay unmarried just so they could keep the wealth in the family.

The last of his sisters died in 1931 some sixteen years after his death and at her death, it was determined that her estate was valued at over $100 million. Yet she never owned a telephone, never had electricity, never drove an automobile, and had only one dress that she had worn every day for nearly 25 years.

Both of these families represent people who were financially rich, in fact, you might say extremely rich for their day. Yet they choose to live as paupers.

These stories are sad and frankly, inconceivable to me. But let me tell you something even more sad. Those who belong to Christ Jesus are spiritually wealthy. After all, we are heirs of God. Yet, many Christians choose to live as spiritual paupers, bankrupt of possessing the riches of God.

We have been considering the move that God made when we trusted Him alone for our salvation. He moved us from enemies to friends and He also moved us from sinners to saints. And here is another wonderful move He made. He moved us from being poor to being rich.

“Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” - James 2:5

James 2 is a passage warning us about showing partiality among Christians. To illustrate this truth, James gives us a spiritual principle. The principle is that before Christ we were “poor.” That means we were bankrupt without Jesus Christ. Oh, we might have possessed some kind of material or financial wealth, but spiritually, we were poor. And when God saved us, we became heirs to all that God has in His Kingdom. We were moved from paupers to rich heirs of all that belongs to God.

Romans 8:16 - 17 makes it very clear. When we were saved God made us “heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ.” All that belongs to God, belongs to us. Remember now, we are talking about spiritual wealth, not financial wealth. In fact, there is no hint of the health and wealth false gospel intended in this blog today.

Our Father owns it all and has freely given to us a full spiritual inheritance. We have moved from poor to rich, from paupers to heirs. Do you want to know what those spiritual blessings are that you have inherited? Well, a great list to start with is found in Ephesians 1:3 - 14.

Okay, so now that we understand that we are spiritually rich, what is the point? The point is now we are to live like we are spiritually rich.

Do you remember the song Praise the Lord that was popular in the early 1980’s recorded by the Christian group, The Imperials?

“Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think that we are paupers when he knows himself we're children of the King.”

This phrase captures the challenge I want to place before you today.

Let’s live out the glorious riches of our salvation. Let’s fully embrace the fact that God has made us heirs of His spiritual blessings.

Here is a challenge for you today. Read Ephesians 1:3 - 14. Consider each of those spiritual blessings and then determine how to live out these in your daily life. Yes, these have implications for your eternal life, but they also have implications for your daily life and walk with Christ.

As you finish reading today, take a few minutes to thank God that He has turned your empty, poor life into a life that is free to embrace the blessings of God as His heir!