Live Like an Heir | Spiritual Authority – Sons & Daughters

What if you are an heir but still live like a slave?

In Spiritual Authority: Sons & Daughters | Live Like an Heir, Pastor Chad Everett continues through Galatians 4 and reveals a powerful truth about our inheritance in Christ. Through faith in Jesus, we become sons and daughters of God. Our place in His family does not depend on what we earn or accomplish. Instead, we are born into an inheritance.

Paul describes an heir who, while still a child, lives no differently from a slave, even though he is master of all. The inheritance belongs to him, but immaturity keeps him from understanding what is available. In the same way, believers can belong to Christ while still living beneath what Jesus has made available to them.

Grow Into What Is Already Yours

Physical age and years spent following Jesus do not determine spiritual maturity. Chad challenges us to recognize areas where we may know Jesus but still think, respond, and live as though we remain in bondage.

Our inheritance in Christ does not increase as we mature. When we are born again, God brings us into His family and gives us access through Jesus. However, as we mature, our understanding of that inheritance grows.

God calls His sons and daughters to more. Therefore, spiritual growth involves understanding who we are, recognizing who lives within us, and discovering what Jesus accomplished for us.

Discover Your Inheritance in Christ Through the Word

How do we discover what belongs to us? We go to the Word of God.

First Peter 2:2 tells believers to desire the pure milk of the Word so they can grow. Scripture is not a way to impress God or convince Him to give us more. Rather, we read His Word so we can discover what He has already given us.

As Chad says, “We don’t grow in access. We grow in revelation of access.”

God’s Word reveals our inheritance in Christ and gives us truth when our experiences, emotions, or circumstances tell us something different. As our understanding grows, we begin to recognize what Jesus has made available and put that truth into practice.

Live Like an Heir, Not a Slave

Knowing our identity should change how we carry ourselves.

Fear, anxiety, temptation, offense, bitterness, and other forms of bondage may try to take hold of us. Yet we do not have to accept them as our identity or inheritance. God has given us His Spirit, and His Word shows us how to respond with truth.

Walking in what God provides is not pride or arrogance. An heir does not demand something the Father never offered. Instead, an heir receives what the Father has already given.

Stop Measuring by Your Merit

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of two sons who misunderstood their relationship with their father. The younger son failed and believed his failure made him unworthy to remain a son. Meanwhile, the older son stayed home, obeyed, and served faithfully, yet described himself as working like a slave.

One son measured his relationship by his failures, while the other measured it by his accomplishments. Neither understood the generosity of their father.

The father’s response to the older son captures the heart of the message: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”

We cannot measure our inheritance in Christ by our failures, accomplishments, or ability to earn. Instead, we look to the generosity of our Father and what Jesus has made available to us. As we grow in spiritual maturity, we learn what belongs to us, receive what the Father provides, and begin to live like heirs instead of slaves.

“Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:7 NKJV

Scripture References
Galatians 4:1–7, Galatians 3:26–29, 1 Peter 2:2, Luke 15:17–32, Philippians 4:6–7