Inheritance founded upon relationship

One of the most astonishing truths of the New Testament is the fact that a man or a woman can have a real relationship with Jesus Christ as the living King and Lord of all. To be able to begin to grasp the gravity of that truth it is necessary to hear that declaration with the ears of Jesus’ first century followers.

Family-centredness (i.e. family at the centre) was a core value of all Mediterranean cultures as well as that of Palestine. The idea of the autonomy of the individual is a construct of the modern western world; an idea quite alien from our first century counterparts and quite absent from the cultures reflected in the Scriptures.

The Oriental idea of family was that of a little kingdom over which the father reigned supreme. Every grouping of human beings must have ‘a father’ who is the head of the group. In fact, he who initiates something is considered the father of that which is started or invented (cf. Genesis 4:20&21).

A father is nothing if he is not both a protector and a nourisher. As such, Joseph considered himself the father of pharaoh (Genesis 45:8). In this regard, it will be helpful to consider Abraham as the father of Israel and the father of the household of faith (Genesis 17:5; Romans 4:16; cf. Galatians 3:7-14).

In Old Testament times God was understood to be the Father of Israel (I Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 64:8). The concept of Father presumes, as progenitor, the existence of a family structure. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He commenced with addressing the Father as individually personal to each disciple (Matthew 6:9). He continued in this vein in Matthew 7:11.

Under the most extreme pressure, Jesus appealed to His Father as ‘Abba’, a most personal and intimate form of address and endearment equating to our modern term ‘daddy’ (Mark 14:36). Paul takes up this term of endearment to drive home his point in Romans 8:15 wherein he sets forth the most striking of facts. The ‘Fatherhood’ of God (wherein truly liberty resides) and its pursuant relationships is set against slavery (wherein freedom is alien) as a picture of our former lives outside of Christ.

Jesus spoke often and convincingly of His relationship with the Father as His only begotten Son (Matthew 11:27; John 3:18, 17:1; cf. Matthew 2:15, 3:17, 17:5).

Jesus is the first born among many brethren (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:18; cf. 3:1-4) and stands as the pre-eminent eldest Son. Those who freely put their trust in Jesus become Father’s adopted sons and thus a part of His family (Matthew 12:50). God’s purpose in this is to make us like His Son (Romans 8:29) and ultimately a great redeemed and glorified family that will reign and forever be pre-eminent.

Jesus said that the Father had placed all things in His hands (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:2). In other words, God the Father had given Jesus His ‘inheritance’ (Mark 12:7). It is important to note that Jesus came into this inheritance because of His relationship with the Father. (Hebrews 9:17).

Once Jesus had been physically resurrected from the dead, He came into His inheritance (Hebrews 9:17; Daniel 7:13&14; cf. Isaiah 9:7) and shared it with His adopted family, i.e. the redeemed (Ephesians 1:10d-14; Colossians 1:12, 3:24; I Peter 1:4).

What is this inheritance?

We, as believers by free will, share the Divine sonship by adoption and therefore also Divine heirship (Romans 8:17). And like Isaac we are Abraham’s children, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). We follow in the footsteps of Abraham as heirs of the promise (Romans 4:13&14). This inheritance has been received because of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with anything that we might have accomplished.

The object of the Christian inheritance consists in all that was prefigured by the land of Canaan, and more.

So, what do we inherit?

We inherit the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34; I Corinthians 6:9-11, 15:50-58; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5; James 2:5).

We inherit the earth, i.e. ‘the land’ (Matthew 5:5; cf. Psalm 37:29).

We inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

We inherit a blessing (I Peter 3:9).

We inherit glory (Romans 8:17&18).

We inherit incorruption (I Corinthians 15:50).

Each of these promises (Hebrews 6:12) were not received in their fulfilment by the believers of the Old Testament (Hebrews 11:13, 39&40).

The letter to the Hebrews lays stress upon the New Covenant (testament). It is upon this covenant that the promised inheritance is based as it required the death of a (the) testator (Hebrews 9:15-17).

Is this inheritance in the present or the future?

The full (let the reader understand) consummation of all these blessings will only take place at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The inheritance, in its fullness, is reserved for us in heaven (I Peter 1:4). Our receiving it in its fullness is dependent upon us overcoming until He comes (Revelation 21:7).

The Holy Spirit confirms our status as heirs (Romans 8:16&17). Furthermore, He is given to us as a guarantee of our full inheritance (Ephesians 1:13b&14). He was sent to the Church after Jesus entered His own full inheritance at His ascension.

As the guarantee (down payment, if you will) of our inheritance, the Holy Spirit gives us a taste of that which is to come in terms of our experience of it. The inheritance exists and is reserved in heaven, i.e. already done and in existence (cf. Matthew 6:10). So, through prayer we can experience a portion of that which is reserved in heaven for us (cf. Matthew 6:20 – If one can deposit into, then it must be possible to withdraw from).

When Israel was held captive in Egypt there existed the promise of their possession in the Land of Canaan (Genesis 15:7, 13&14). It is only when their ‘saviour’ Moses led them through the Red Sea that they were in a position to gain full possession of that land (Exodus 12:40&41). In the same way, the Church, like Israel of old, sojourns in the world system of Egypt awaiting our Saviour to lead us through the veil of time and space (I Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11; I Corinthians 15:50-58) and into the full possession of the new heavens and the new earth (II Peter 3:10-13).