Christ is the head of all (Jew, Gentile, bond, free, male, female, living, or dead), Scripture is profitable for all (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and Satan is the common enemy of all. But once a man is saved, he is not to live his life independent from all other believers under the so-called impulse of the Spirit (Judg. 17:6, 21:25), nor is he to live under the watch care of one huge, global assembly or multiple smaller assemblies. Rather, he is to join a local church and to be faithful to her.

[Editor’s note: this article appears in the form of an allegory or parable. It makes a serious point, one which Christians should listen to carefully.]
Nathan the preacher spoke to David the layman, saying: “There were four men in a city, each married to a different woman. The first man’s wife excelled in hospitality. The second man’s wife excelled in encouragement. The third man’s wife excelled in discernment. And the fourth man’s wife excelled in child-rearing.
“The first man praised his wife for her gift but was disappointed to see that she was not equal to the others in encouragement, discernment, and child-rearing. He decided it would be good for his well-being if he lived three days a week with the other ladies to benefit from their strengths.”
David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan: “As the LORD lives, this man ought to be confronted. He has committed adultery.”
Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I gave you your wife in your youth. You vowed to be faithful unto her from that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part. Yet, you have “dealt treacherously” with her and sought out mistresses (Mal. 2:14-15).
“‘You say, “How have I done this?” Five years ago, you covenanted with a local church here in this town, promising to be faithful to her with your presence, your tithes, and your prayers. But you have despised the commandment of the Lord by absenting yourself and your family from the assembly of believers (Heb. 10:25). You have attended the corporate worship services of your church each Lord’s Day, as you affirm its doctrinal statement and reverent worship. However, you have refused to attend the adult Sunday School class because the teacher’s personality is not to your liking, and he only has a Bachelor of Arts in Bible. You therefore have dropped off your children for their classes at your church, and then walked across the street to listen to a different Bible teacher who has a Master of Divinity degree, a friendlier personality, but a different eschatological position than yours.
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Whatever psychologists have advocated, or etiquette experts advised, thanksgiving has always been the holy response of God’s people. Not just for one day per year, but our whole lives long, God desires that His children be filled with gratitude: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col 3:17).  

There is no doubt that gratitude has become a popular topic in recent years.
A quick foray into social media reveals that #thankful continues to be the subject of many pretty memes. A discerning shopper can fill her home with daily reminders of the need for gratitude, from the ‘Give Thanks’ exhortation on her coffee mug to the ‘Grateful’ artwork on the living room wall.
Thankfulness has been the subject of many best-selling self-help books in the last couple of decades. There has also been a profusion of scientific research into the psychology of gratitude. Numerous experts have touted the importance of thankfulness for leading a happy and healthy life.
For instance, studies have demonstrated that people who regularly express thankfulness enjoy its results through an alleviation of stress: “When you are grateful, all the signposts of stress, like anger, anxiety and worry, diminish.”i  Similarly, making a commitment to gratitude is said to enrich interpersonal love, encourage mental and physical well-being, improve patterns of sleep, and even increase your life expectancy.
In order to promote thankfulness, psychologists recommend mindfulness practices like the Daily Gratitude Inventory. Individuals may cultivate a more grateful spirit by pausing in the midst of the daily busyness, reviewing their various gifts, relishing the value and worth of these gifts, and then responding with appreciation.
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All of our suffering ceases to be meaningless. All of our suffering has divine purpose wrapped up into it so that we know, we can be assured, that what we are going through is meant to bring about our future glory. It must be so! In Christ we have become inheritors of God, redeemed sinners who will know God and be with God forevermore as his children, enjoying him as our Father. Therefore, every little bit of suffering we go through is just another step closer to glory. 

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. – Romans 8:16-17
Paul has been moving us from one degree of glory to another as his argument in Romans 8 progresses. Beginning in verse 1 with some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture, that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, he has brought us to what is some of the most encouraging words in Scripture, that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God… [For] the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:14, 16).
His whole purpose here is to encourage Christians that they are indeed recipients of grace. Consider how Paul, inspired by the Spirit Himself, is actually writing into our hearts an assurance of faith. These verses are real promises given to us, which means, these words should be read and reread by us continually; we ought to be meditating on these verses precisely because through them we’re strengthened in our faith. Paul will later tell us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) and Romans 8 contains some of the most beautiful, faith-producing words of Christ! Read and hear and be filled, friends – what we’re reading here is some of our Lord’s richest food and finest wine all meant to nourish our souls.
Now, in verse 17, Paul elaborates upon the truth that we are children of God by reminding us that we are also heirs of God and, indeed, fellow heirs with Christ! The early church father and preacher John Chrysostom wonderfully points out how Paul is “enhancing the Gifts of God little by little, for since it is possible to be children, and yet not become heirs (for not all children are heirs), he adds this – that we are heirs!”[1] Paul is adding grace to grace as he shows us not just our adoption by God in Christ but that we’re also heirs of God in Christ. To be an heir is to be a recipient of all that a father has. It’s a curious statement though since an heir receives his inheritance only upon the death of the parent. But here it is absurd to conceive of the death of God the Father. Instead, we’ve become heirs of God the Father through the death of the Son! And so now, insofar as God is eternal and we, by the Spirit, are bound up in the resurrection of Christ, we become eternal heirs of God, inheritors of life eternal in God.
I think John Stott is right to ask the question, “is it possible… that the inheritance Paul has in mind is not something God intends to bestow on us but God himself?”[2]  This certainly is in keeping with Paul’s major emphasis in Romans 8 on our union in and with Christ. Receiving the blessings of salvation (our justification, our sanctification, our adoption, and glorification) means becoming one with the Son of God in whom all those blessings are found. And insofar as we become one with the Son, we also become one with God the Father. This was Jesus’ prayer in John 17, when he asked the Father that all “those who will believe in me… that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us… I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one” (John 17:20-23).
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