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Octavius Winslow, 1856 (edited for
today's reader by Larry E. Wilson, 2010)
Bible Verse
"Fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17).
Devotional
That we are "fellow heirs with Christ" must be understood in a limited—though still very large—sense.
In regard to the essential Deity of our Lord, he is the heir of all things. All worlds and all souls are his. All things were created by him and for him. Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. We cannot participate in his heirship in this sense.
Nor can we join with Christ in the merit that purchased our redemption. Here again he is alone. No creature aided the work. No creature divides the glory.
But mediatorially, in consequence of the union between Christ and his people, we become heirs with him in all the privileges and hopes pertaining to his kingdom. Our union to the Lord Jesus brings us into the possession of vast and untold blessings.
We build our claim on the basis of his atonement. He merits all, and we possess all. All the blessings and glories of our present and future inheritance flow to us through Christ. "In him we have obtained an inheritance" (Eph. 1:11). "If a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4:7).
You cannot give too much weight to this truth. You possess nothing except through Christ. You receive nothing except through Christ. You expect nothing except through Christ. All is given to you in consideration of a righteousness which upholds and honors God's righteous rule. Jesus is the meritorious Recipient, and you receive only through him.
Alluding to your right to, and your possession of, your inheritance, God's Word traces both to the atonement of the Son of God—"Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant" (Heb. 9:15).
Thus it is only through the "fitness" imparted by Jesus Christ, the merit he substitutes in your behalf, and the righteousness he imputes to you, that you "share in the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).
O Blessed Redeemer! To what dignity and honor, to what privilege and blessing, to what hope and glory, my union with you has advanced me!
I was fallen, and you have lifted me up!
I was poor, and you have enriched me!
I was naked, and you have clothed me!
I was an alien, and you have made me your child!
I was a pauper, and you have made me an heir!
I lost all from fatal union with the first Adam; I receive all, and infinitely more, by my glorious union with you, the Last Adam!
Oh, for a heart to love you! Oh, for grace to glorify you! Oh, make yourself increasingly precious to me! Oh, make us increasingly devoted to me!
How lovely shines the Morning Star!
The nations see and hail afar
the light in Judah shining.
Thou David's Son of Jacob's race,
my Bridegroom and my King of Grace,
for thee my heart is pining.
Lowly, holy, great and glorious,
thou victorious Prince of graces,
filling all the heav'nly places.
O highest joy by mortals won,
true Son of God and Mary's Son,
thou highborn King of ages!
Thou art my heart's most beauteous Flower,
and thy blest gospel's saving power
my raptured soul engages.
Thou mine, I thine; sing hosanna!
Heav'nly manna tasting, eating,
whilst thy love in songs repeating.
Now richly to my waiting heart,
O thou, my God, deign to impart
the grace of love undying.
In thy blest body let me be,
e'en as the branch is in the tree,
thy life my life supplying.
Sighing, crying, for the savor
of thy favor resting never
till I rest in thee for ever.
A pledge of peace from God I see
when thy pure eyes are turned to me
to show me thy good pleasure.
Jesus, thy Spirit and thy Word,
thy body and thy blood afford
my soul its dearest treasure.
Keep me kindly in thy favor,
O my Savior! Thou wilt cheer me;
thy Word calls me to draw near thee.
Thou, mighty Father, in thy Son
didst love me ere thou hadst begun
this ancient world's foundation.
Thy Son hath made a friend of me,
and when in spirit him I see,
I joy in tribulation.
What bliss is this! He who liveth
to me giveth life forever!
Nothing me from him can sever!
Lift up the voice and strike the string,
let all glad sounds of music ring
in God's high praises blended.
Christ will be with me all the way,
today, tomorrow, every day,
till traveling days be ended.
Sing out, ring out, triumph glorious,
O victorious, chosen nation;
praise the God of your salvation.
Oh, joy to know that thou, my Friend,
art Lord, Beginning without end,
the First and Last, eternal!
And thou at length—O glorious grace!—
wilt take me to that holy place,
the home of joys supernal.
Amen! Amen! Come and meet me!
Quickly greet me! With deep yearning
Lord, I look for thy returning.
(Philipp Nicolai, 1597; tr. composite)
Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.
Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.
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