Romans 8:17 — Heirs of Yahuah and Joint-Heirs with Messiah

Paul names two relationships in one sentence, and they are not the same. Believers are heirs of Yahuah: the estate is His, and He gives it. Believers are joint-heirs with Messiah: Yahushua stands beside them as a fellow heir, receiving from the same Father. Scripture says Yahuah “appointed” the Son “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). An heir receives what belongs to another. The one who appoints and the one appointed are two, not one.

The Greek word for heir is klēronomos (G2818). Strong’s builds it from klēros, the lot (G2819), and the base of nomos, the law (G3551). An heir is one who holds his lot by law. Joint-heir, sugklēronomos (G4789), is the same word with “together” in front: Messiah and His brethren holding the same lot under the same law. That law is written in Torah: “If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter” (Numbers 27:8). The son inherits, which is why Paul says, “if children, then heirs.”

Being an heir is standing in the Law. Being a joint-heir is standing in it beside Messiah. A teaching that throws out the Law throws out the very word that makes a son an heir.