Ryle: Heirs of God

In ancient times, many things depended on the Heir, the eldest son of a household. He got the inheritance from his father and carried on the family name by becoming the new patriarch of the family when his father died. Ryle uses this fast, as the Bible does on occasion, to illustrate the life of a Christian. Jesus "adopts" us through faith, and we become his "heirs", and what do we inherit? Eternal life.