Romans 8:16

Romans 8:16 states, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  We can know that we are the children of God because the Spirit of God bears witness with our Spirit.  This is not something we may just long for or hope for, but it is something we can know beyond a doubt.  We just have to live by the faith that God gives us secure in the knowledge that we are His. The Holy Spirit will always give us this assurance.  Verse seventeen adds,  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.   When we become the adopted children of Christ, we become joint heirs with Christ.  Matthew Henry points out that under man's law, the first born often inherited the most, if not all of the estate. This is still true of kingly succession in England for example. The first-born son, until recently, inherits the title and everything that goes with it.  With God, through Christ, we are all joint heirs with Christ.  We will never be pushed down to a lower position when someone else accepts Christ and becomes a part of the family of God, nor will they be under us because we became a part of God's family before them.  We are all joint heirs with Christ.  Paul did say that as joint heirs we may suffer with Christ.  Being a follower of Christ does not promise earthly riches, but instead warns us that the world will hate us.  Now, as followers of Christ, not all suffering that we experience is because of our relationship with Him.  I believe the suffering Paul is speaking of is the suffering that comes when we stand with God.  We are promised not that this will not occur, but only that the Holy Spirit will be with us to comfort and strengthen us.  Verse eighteen continues, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Paul does not say that there would be no sufferings, but that these sufferings are unworthy of being compared to the glory that will be revealed to us.  Following Christ does not remove the pains and problems of this world from us, but simply enables us to overcome them with the joy of knowing this will all one day pass away.  Verse nineteen states, For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  I believe that Paul is reminding us that we are but creatures, but we earnestly await the day that we will live as children of God with all the problems of the world removed.  Verse twenty adds, For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Paul reminds us that as we live in this world, we are still tempted to follow our own way instead of following God. Verse twenty-one continues, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  There is coming a day when we will be totally freed from the corruption of this world and will be totally freed into the glorious liberty of being a child of God.  Unlike what some religions teach, we will not be gods, but simply the people that God intended mankind to be from creation.