Once believers understand the significance of their lineage in Christ, they will be able to walk in the liberty and blessings God intended for them.

"And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29).

Did you know that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are born again, you become Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise? This is a fact that's true for every child of God.

What is Paul talking about when he mentions the word "promise"? When we go back to the Old Testament, we're able to learn more about the promise of Abraham and what it means.

"For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:13,21-22).

We have to understand that Abraham received the promise because he was obedient to God and he was willing to walk by faith. Notice that it says in verse 22 that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteous. Verse 21 tells us that Abraham was fully persuaded about God's promise. When God promised that Abraham would be heir of the world, he simply believed by faith in what God had said.

The Word tells us that the promise made to Abraham is that he would be the heir of the world (Gal. 4:13). So what is an "heir"? An heir is one who succeeds another in the possession of property, title, or an office. You're not an heir until someone has purchased or come in possession of something and then it's willed or given to you.

I want you to notice what Jesus said in Luke 13:11-16 about the woman who had a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. Note what He said about this woman's lineage.

And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity 18 years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? (Luke 13:11-16).

We learn that Jesus encounters a woman who has a physical infirmity which had her bound for 18 years. However, in verse 16, after being opposed by the ruler of the synagogue, notice what Jesus said about the woman's lineage. Even though Abraham was no longer alive, Jesus said that she was a descendent of Abraham. Think about that!

It's important that we understand a few things about lineage. Unless you were in the family lineage, you were not an heir and you had no right to claim anything. But in this woman's case, Jesus said that she was a daughter of Abraham. In other words, He was saying that she had descended from the patriarch Abraham.

Why is it so important that we go back to Abraham? It's because Abraham is the one whom God called when his name was Abram. God had told Abraham to get up and get out of the place where he was, and go to the place where the Lord had prepared for him.

When studying the life of Abraham, you'll learn that he packed up everything and took off, not knowing where he was going. All he knew was that God said to go, and he obediently went. Since Abraham was willing to obey God, the Lord told him that he would become a father of many nations (Gen. 12; 17:4).

The Old Testament has much to say about sacrifices and their significance. When examining the offering of the scapegoat, the Word of God tells us that the high priest was to take two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. It was Aaron's duty to cast lots upon the two goats since he was the high priest. One lot was to be cast for the Lord, and the other was for the scapegoat.

Notice what Aaron does with the goats during the sacrificing process.

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness (Lev. 16:8-10; 21,22).

We learn in verses 8 through 10 that Aaron was to bring one goat to be sacrificed to the Lord. The other goat, which was called the "scapegoat," was to be freed in the wilderness. Before sending the scapegoat into an uninhabited area, according to verse 21, Aaron had to lay his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people.

Realize that the faith of the people was in the scapegoat and the year that it atoned for. The people of that day were not born-again believers, so they had to make an annual atonement for their sins.

The parallel between the Old Covenant and the New is that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ made Him the final scapegoat for mankind because He bore the sins of humanity (John 1:29). His blood was shed for the remission of sins, and since that day in history, there has been no need for a scapegoat.

Under the Old Covenant, the blood of many goats and lambs were offered up to God. But now, we live under a new covenant because Jesus was offered up as the ultimate sacrifice, and He has become the redemption for mankind through the ages (Heb. 9:26,28).

Not only did Jesus fulfill the type by becoming the sin offering and the scapegoat, but He also broke the law of legalism and ushered in the law of faith (Rom. 3:27). No more are we bound by all the rules of the law because Jesus brought us back to following in the steps of Abraham who lived by faith.

According to the Word of God, from the moment that Jesus died on the cross, all the children of God obtained their righteousness by faith (Gal. 3:1-8).

The Word of God tells us that as the children of Israel went through the desert, God allowed things to happen as they followed Him. Realize that the negative things that happened to the children of Israel were not by God's design.

For example, there was a time when they wanted a king, but God didn't want them to have one. The Lord then relented and told them they could have a king, but that it was going to hurt them (1 Sam. 8:6-9).

The Apostle Paul writes that the things that happened to the children of Israel have happened as examples for the Church (1 Cor. 10:6). Did you ever notice that we who have kids tell them all the time to learn by example? Why can't believers learn by example in their spiritual walk with God? Why do believers continually have to do the things the children of Israel did?

The Word of God talks about believing God. According to God's Word, there are two ways you can go. You can have bondage or you can have freedom. The Bible says that we are the sons of God (Rom. 8:26). This is not something that we're going to be, but it's present, meaning we are at this very moment free through our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's by faith in Him and in His blood that we've been made righteous.

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15).

If you're in fear, then you're in bondage and you're not in the Word. If you have confusion or depression in your life, you're not in the Word.

It's vitally important that believers know who the Bible says they are. If, however, you've never accepted Jesus Christ, or if you're in a position that you have once known Him, but turned your back and went away, then you will probably be in fear, confusion, and depression.

The world will tell you that they are free. It will say that people are free to do whatever they choose as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. The world will tell you that you are free to say what you want to say.

Jesus told His disciples that the things that are happening in our world today would come to pass at the closing of the ages. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars, and degradation of every type (Matt. 24:6,7).

This has all been done in the name of freedom. The world says that people are free to do as they please. They're right. God said that He made each of us free moral agents who can choose how we should live. Since we are heirs of God and have true freedom through Jesus Christ, we can choose to live in the liberty that belongs to us in God's Word.

The story about the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is a good example of freedom because it depicts a boy who left home to live his life, as opposed to his brother who stayed with his father. Yet, despite his prodigal living, the young man was still an heir of the family. When the son returned home from his life of pleasure and sin, his father immediately killed a fatted calf and had a party. The older son came in and said, "You never gave me a party. You never did anything for me."

His father told him in modern day language that you and I understand, "Son, you are an heir to everything that's here. If you want to have a party, all you have to do is have one. If you want a fatted calf, you can have one. It's all yours! It belongs to you! You can have what you want!"

The same applies to someone in the church. The devil can pit an older believer against someone who was recently born again. The older believer might say, "Bless God, I've been believing God all these years and look there, that young Christian just came in, was born again, and he has received what I've been believing God to give me for the last five years. I don't understand it!"

Let's realize that we have become heirs of what Jesus purchased for us. We have become heirs because we have become the spiritual descendents of Abraham by faith. Righteousness has been given to us and we are free from sin. We are free from sickness according to Deuteronomy 28.

When you look at the curse and the blessing, you'll notice that as believers we are free from defeat. Paul said, "I thank my God we always triumph in Christ Jesus" (2 Cor. 2:14). Not part of the time, but always!

Our deliverance and our receiving, go back to understanding who we are in Christ. It goes back to understanding how we came to where we are today. We have access to receive from God because we are descendents of Abraham. It's up to us to receive the promise. No one is going to force you to take anything. The Lord is not going to come down and knock you on the head. If you will stand up and demand your rights and privileges in Christ, because of who you are in Him, you shall receive.

Suppose you were to arrive home one day, for example, and you see someone loading all of your belongings into a truck. You'd walk up and say, "What's going on?"

A fellow would say, "This is my place, I'm moving your stuff out and I'm going to move in."

You're not going to turn around and walk back to the car and tell your wife and kids, "I thought this was our place. We've been paying all the money on it and we have the legal documents, but that man says it belongs to him."

No, you're not going to do that. You're going to look that guy in the eye and you're going to say, "Now wait a minute! We have a legal right to this place. It's ours!"

You know what belongs to you, and you know what your rights are. Yet, the devil walks in and he starts taking advantage of you at home and on your job, bringing in sickness, and taking advantage of your finances.

You may say, "Well, I thought God said He was going to bless us, but I don't know now."

The way you had to take your stand on the Word of God, you have to do the same regarding circumstances that come against you. You are an heir of God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have to remind the devil that you're an heir of God. Quote the Word to him, and tell him that he doesn't have any right or authority to be on your premises.

The Bible says that the devil goes around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). It doesn't matter if you are an heir, if you will allow the devil, he will take advantage of you.

When you receive salvation, you become an heir of God, and with this comes all the blessings God promised Abraham. But it's up to you whether they work in your life or not. Its not up to God, it's not up to the preacher. It's not up to your husband, or your wife, or anyone else - it's up to you.

Copyright © Kenneth Hagin Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.