Romans 8:12–17 (ESV)
Heirs with Christ
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but
you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children,
then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
The Holy Spirit leads us to trust confidently
that we are heirs, privileged to call God “our Father” and to receive eternal glory at the end of present suffering. The path to glory, however, is not an easy street, for it entails daily rejection of personal sins. When God’s judgment frightens
us, the Spirit assures us that God loves us in Christ.
I pray: Lord, by Your Spirit, comfort us when we are afraid. Lead us to see You as our dear Father and to see ourselves
as Your dear children. Amen.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 1924.