“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Hebrews 11:8)
Abraham gave up the inheritance from his worldly life, and opted instead to walk a different path that led him to the true LORD God. He chose the spiritual inheritance from his Father God, over the natural life inheritance from his physical father. That inheritance is a crucial point to both Jews and Christians in their walk toward the LORD God.
We’re going to get to the deep meanings of Christian inheritance through the study of Ephesians 1:3-14. Open your Bibles, read the source Scripture, and then let’s take a detailed, and examine the path that God has placed in front of every Christian, as recorded in His Word.
“Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:3-14)
“Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:”
1. The inheritance includes all spiritual blessings that are in the Heavens through Jesus Christ. “Spiritual Blessings” are hard to describe with our natural life comparisons. The closer you walk with the Lord, the more you allow His Holy Spirit to touch your own and direct His ways, the more understanding you will have Spiritual Blessings.
”According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
2. The LORD God chose every person that He willed to come toward Him from the beginning of His Creation. He chose certain people specifically, and wanted them to come before him in a holy state, without blame of sin; He wanted them to come according to their will, because they loved Him. But sin came to mankind, and it looked as if God’s Will for a loving and holy people could not be. His Chosen people were stiffnecked and disobeyed His Laws, and their actions removed holiness and caused blame to come to them. They did not act in love toward the LORD God, but rather feared Him while at the same time rejecting His Ways.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
3. The LORD God decided that one day He would send His Son Jesus Christ to come to earth in human form, to become the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He predestinated a holy and clean people able to approach Him, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He promised redemption of sins to those whom called His Son Lord, and followed after His ways.
Now some argue that predestinated people were individually planned and formed by the Hands of God before time, and that they were in some sort of stasis until their time to be born.
Some think that predestinated people came from the specific creation of man in His Image who are given the choice to come toward Him.
Some even think that there is no free will among those predestinated people, and that when God chooses them, they automatically respond.
Some believe the predestinated people are only the “big” people in God’s Kingdom that are chosen to be the prophets and the priests.
Some believe that it is merely a reflection of God’s knowledge that the redeemed blood of Christ will provide Him with some people that are holy and clean.
Predestinated is a fun word to cause division among believers as they argue amongst themselves about the meaning of that word. But, in the grand scheme of God’s plans, it matters little. If you are learning His things today, you have been one that he predestinated to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. For you, that word means SALVATION and HOLINESS and CLEANESS and ETERNAL LIFE! For you, the argument of meaning matters little! You have been chosen by Him to come closer, and you also chose, to stand and walk toward Him with your Lord!
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:”
4. Through the LORD God’s grace, He made a way for the blood of Christ to redeem our sins. One day, the LORD God will do just that! He has PROMISED!
Now be aware: Redemption has not happened yet; first, all of the people that He has chosen, must receive the Lord as Savior. It is only after that is completed, that the sins of all people will be redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ to His Father. And when that happens, the LORD God will forgive all sin as He promised.
That’s what FAITH is you know! It is the belief that the LORD God will keep His Promise, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, walked among men as a human, was crucified, died, buried, and then Resurrected, and that His blood was sacrificed to cleanse believers of sin. In faith we believe that one day the Lord will present us to the LORD God, and we will be accepted into His Presence, because of His Promise.
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
So where does the adoption of Christians, and the right to the same inheritance of Jews given to them by the LORD God, fit with the faith of salvation? We know that the LORD God first chose Abraham and his descendants as His children; these descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel and are known today as the Jews. They have full inheritance rights.
When the LORD God decided to designate those brought to Him by His beloved Son as His children also, He drew up a legal document to make it so. He wrote it down in the most authoritative Book known to mankind. He put it in writing for all to see!
”And for this cause he 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. Whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This [is] the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and. without shedding of blood is no remission. “[It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that lookfor him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:15-28)
The LORD God made a promise, and then bound it legally for all mankind to know! Christians were adopted into His Promise, and eternal inheritance given to the Jews, would also be shared with the Christians. His adopted children were loved and prepared to receive inheritance as surely as His Chosen people were!
But the LORD God did not stop there. He wanted His adopted children to know with certainty that they belonged to Him. So, He sent His Spirit of Adoption to rest within each believer as they received the Holy Spirit.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:14-17)
All Christians receive the Spirit of Adoption which gives them the right to call the LORD God their Father. When they call upon the LORD God, they are heard by Him! The Spirit of Adoption reassures Christians of their status as a Child of God, and gives faithful confidence that you have equal standing with the Abraham’s generations as children of God. As a result of the Spirit of Adoption’s witness inside believers, they are able to claim their right to the inheritance of those things promised to the children of God.
”And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23)
Through the Spirit of Adoption, the Christian receives the right to inherit jointly with Christ one day. Those things given to Christ through inheritance will also be given to the followers of Christ, as they all are “sons of God.” You have the same inheritance rights as Jesus Christ because you are also a son of God.
The Spirit of Adoption rests in you and joins with your spirit to witness to the LORD God that you are His Child. The LORD God allows His Spirit of Adoption to rest in you through the Spirit of Christ because it is His Will to do so. The LORD God chooses you to be His child and to have all rights and privileges associated with that honored position, including the same inheritance first promised to Abraham at beginning of the journey toward belonging to the LORD God. Praise be to our Father in Heaven!
