Jesus is not the key ...

Sounds like sacrilege doesn’t it? I assure you, however, that it is not. It all started two years ago and just came to completeness last Sunday when my pastor shared the following verse: ‘Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.’ Galatians 4:1-2  

I had read that verse several times and heard a couple of preachers teach on it. Yet for some reason, it did not fully click until last Sunday. But, before I get to Sunday, let me go back to where it all started.

It was the fall of 2008 and my oldest son was going on a senior class field trip. It was very early in the morning and I had to drop him off at the school. So, I grabbed the car key and my purse, closed the door and drove just up the street about ten minutes there and back. I considered taking the house key, but then decided, ‘No, I’ll be right back’. And besides, my mom, who lived with me at the time, was at home. Well, imagine my surprise when I pulled back into our cul-de-sac and her van was gone.

There I was, sitting in my van, locked out of the house, uncertain of where she had gone or when she would be back. As I sat there without a phone or a way to get in the house, I had plenty of time … to think. And this was the thought that came: ‘Everything that belongs to me is right on the other side of that door and I cannot access it because I do not have my key.’

Then I started thinking about the body of Christ and how many believers are in that same predicament – only spiritually.  I sat questioning why that was so. I mean, we have Jesus and He came so that we might experience abundant life (Jn. 10:10). So why were so many people living outside the place of overflowing blessings that He had prepared for us? That is when it came to me. Jesus is not the key. ‘Impossible!’ I thought. How could Jesus not be the key? He is everything! But then I concluded that it must be right. Because despite having accepted Jesus, there are still so many who are not accessing everything that is rightfully theirs.

Eventually, my mom came home and I got back in the house. However, I was still without an answer to my question – a question which would come back to my mind from time to time over the next two years. So, let us fast forward to last Sunday and the sharing of that verse: ‘Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.’

An heir, as long as he is a child, is no different than a slave although he is owner of everything.’ 

Another way to read that looks like this: A son of God and co-heir with Christ, as long as they are childish and immature, is no different than a slave. Though they legally own everything, and all that belongs to them is just on the other side of the door, they are not granted a key to access it until they mature, until they submit to and learn from the leadership that has been placed over them – and even then not until the time that the Father has appointed for them to access those riches.

Jesus is not the key. Jesus is the door, and anyone who enters through Him will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture (Jn. 10:9) [figuratively meaning that ‘he shall not want the needful supplies for the true life’]. This verse is then followed by the much quoted verse that tells us that He came to give us life and life abundantly. And Jesus did make us co-heirs to this inheritance through His blood and sacrifice (Rom. 8:16-17 & Gal. 3:26, 29). However, we cannot access all that He purchased until such a time as we are mature enough to handle what He has prepared for us.

The acknowledgement and acceptance of Jesus Christ are not the sole key to you obtaining all that God has for you. Christ developed in you is a major key in being able to access everything that is part of your blood bought inheritance: revelation, understanding, wisdom, purpose, physical health, financial prosperity and more.

Now, that will make you want to get on the fast track for spiritual development! In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting messages about what that process of spiritual development might look like. In the meantime, commit to growing. And at the appointed time, you shall obtain every promise that God has for you.

Have a Blessed Week!