“The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.”
Psalm 37:18
There are numerous places in the Bible that speak of the inheritance that God has promised to His people. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” wrote the apostle Peter, “which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). The Bible teaches that Christ the Lord took a human nature in order to accomplish His redemptive work on our behalf (Hebrews 2:14-14). At His resurrection from the dead, He was declared to be the Son of God with power (Romans 1:4), and it was God’s good pleasure to make Him the Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:1-2). The beloved disciple John explained that those who come to God through Christ are brought into God’s family. He wrote of Jesus that, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:11-12). The born-again, adopted child of God is not only forgiven (1 John 1:9) but declared righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Furthermore, as sons of God we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17). This was God’s good pleasure also. In this connection, the writer to the Hebrews expressed a very powerful and profound truth. He wrote, “And for this cause [Jesus] is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth” (Hebrews 9:15-17). The writer here emphasizes the fact that Christ’s redemptive work and our being guaranteed and inheritance absolutely necessitated His dying on the cross. The writer likens this to the common practice of having an executor ensure that a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament is carried out properly; the executor sees to it that intended beneficiaries are given their inheritance. Remarkably, through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus acted as the Executor of His own will. Declaring us to be His brethren (Hebrews 2:11-13), the sovereign, risen Lord absolutely ensures that one day we will receive our promised inheritance. May our faith in these matters come to expression in our confession, in our godly conduct, and in our faithful obedience to the Lord Who promised such things (Colossians 3:23-24).
God bless you,
Pastor John
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