November 10th, 2021
Have you ever stopped to think about your inheritance? The word itself is not common terminology in our culture. When I first think of an inheritance, the thing that comes to mind is a wealthy family from centuries ago (Is that just me?). However, if we truly understood our inheritance as Christians, as servants of the Lord, it would absolutely change our lives.
Inheritance is defined as “something passed to those entitled to succeed; a portion, birthright, or heritage.” What, though, makes a person entitled to receive it? Usually, nothing. An inheritance is that which you receive, not because of anything that you do, but because of who you are. Your natural inheritance is dependent upon the family you’re born into and no one gets to choose that. There is, however, a supernatural inheritance that does depend upon our choice. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus, we are brought into the family of God. Romans 8:16 says, “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.” When we become a child of God, we become an heir to the same inheritance that Jesus has. How do we receive it? By faith in God’s promises. Galatians 3:18 says that “if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.” Jesus paid the highest price so that we could receive not only salvation, but the fullness of our inheritance as children of God. Let’s look at what Paul says about our inheritance in his letter to the church in Ephesus:
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:11-14).
The Holy Spirit is the down payment, the guarantee, of all that God has promised that we’ll receive. However, there may be things that are part of our inheritance that we don’t even know we have a right to and the only way we can receive them is by faith! Paul goes on to pray for the church a few verses later, like this:
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:16-18)
His prayer was not that God would give them anything, but that He would give them revelation of the inheritance they already had, so they could walk in the fullness of it. The same is true for us. God has already made provision for every single thing we need, whether that’s financial provision, direction, or healing (physical, mental, and emotional). What we need is a revelation of those promises, as Paul prayed!
Isaiah 54 gives us a beautiful picture of some of the things we’re entitled to, as God’s children. The last verse says, “this is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD and their righteousness is from me.” So, we have to look at the whole chapter to see what exactly the inheritance is that He’s talking about! These are truths about what belongs to us, as children of the living God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. I’ve changed the verbiage to make these personal and would encourage you to say them aloud:
• My descendants will inherit the nations. (vs. 3)
• I will not be ashamed or disgraced. (vs. 4)
• My redeemer is the Holy One of Israel (vs. 5)
• With everlasting kindness, He has mercy on me. (vs. 8)
• The mountains and hills may be removed, but His kindness will not leave me. (vs. 10)
• His covenant of peace will never be removed. (vs. 10(
• My children shall be taught by the LORD. (vs. 13)
• Great shall be the peace of my children. (vs. 13)
• I will be established in righteousness. (vs. 14)
• I will be far from oppression. (vs. 14)
• I will not be afraid. (vs. 14)
• Terror shall not come near me. (vs. 14)
• Whoever assembles against me shall fall for my sake. (vs. 15)
• No weapon formed against me will prosper. (vs. 17)
• I will condemn every tongue that rises against me in judgment. (vs. 17)
• My righteousness is from Him. (vs. 17)
God has made provision for anything His children could possibly need, but, living in the world, we may forget who we are. The truth, though, is that no matter where we’re from or what our history is, whether we have a large natural inheritance or absolutely nothing, we have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us], who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). All of the promises listed above and so many more belong to us. We will come into the fullness of our inheritance in heaven, but God’s purpose is for us to walk in the abundance of life, right now. I encourage you today to grab ahold of these and every promise that He’s made to us, by faith. An heir doesn’t try to be an heir and an inheritance is not given because of anything an heir has done. An inheritance has only to do with the one making provision for it. As children of God, all that matters is who our Father is, and we have a Father who absolutely delights in giving us the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Inheritance is defined as “something passed to those entitled to succeed; a portion, birthright, or heritage.” What, though, makes a person entitled to receive it? Usually, nothing. An inheritance is that which you receive, not because of anything that you do, but because of who you are. Your natural inheritance is dependent upon the family you’re born into and no one gets to choose that. There is, however, a supernatural inheritance that does depend upon our choice. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus, we are brought into the family of God. Romans 8:16 says, “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.” When we become a child of God, we become an heir to the same inheritance that Jesus has. How do we receive it? By faith in God’s promises. Galatians 3:18 says that “if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.” Jesus paid the highest price so that we could receive not only salvation, but the fullness of our inheritance as children of God. Let’s look at what Paul says about our inheritance in his letter to the church in Ephesus:
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:11-14).
The Holy Spirit is the down payment, the guarantee, of all that God has promised that we’ll receive. However, there may be things that are part of our inheritance that we don’t even know we have a right to and the only way we can receive them is by faith! Paul goes on to pray for the church a few verses later, like this:
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:16-18)
His prayer was not that God would give them anything, but that He would give them revelation of the inheritance they already had, so they could walk in the fullness of it. The same is true for us. God has already made provision for every single thing we need, whether that’s financial provision, direction, or healing (physical, mental, and emotional). What we need is a revelation of those promises, as Paul prayed!
Isaiah 54 gives us a beautiful picture of some of the things we’re entitled to, as God’s children. The last verse says, “this is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD and their righteousness is from me.” So, we have to look at the whole chapter to see what exactly the inheritance is that He’s talking about! These are truths about what belongs to us, as children of the living God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. I’ve changed the verbiage to make these personal and would encourage you to say them aloud:
• My descendants will inherit the nations. (vs. 3)
• I will not be ashamed or disgraced. (vs. 4)
• My redeemer is the Holy One of Israel (vs. 5)
• With everlasting kindness, He has mercy on me. (vs. 8)
• The mountains and hills may be removed, but His kindness will not leave me. (vs. 10)
• His covenant of peace will never be removed. (vs. 10(
• My children shall be taught by the LORD. (vs. 13)
• Great shall be the peace of my children. (vs. 13)
• I will be established in righteousness. (vs. 14)
• I will be far from oppression. (vs. 14)
• I will not be afraid. (vs. 14)
• Terror shall not come near me. (vs. 14)
• Whoever assembles against me shall fall for my sake. (vs. 15)
• No weapon formed against me will prosper. (vs. 17)
• I will condemn every tongue that rises against me in judgment. (vs. 17)
• My righteousness is from Him. (vs. 17)
God has made provision for anything His children could possibly need, but, living in the world, we may forget who we are. The truth, though, is that no matter where we’re from or what our history is, whether we have a large natural inheritance or absolutely nothing, we have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us], who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). All of the promises listed above and so many more belong to us. We will come into the fullness of our inheritance in heaven, but God’s purpose is for us to walk in the abundance of life, right now. I encourage you today to grab ahold of these and every promise that He’s made to us, by faith. An heir doesn’t try to be an heir and an inheritance is not given because of anything an heir has done. An inheritance has only to do with the one making provision for it. As children of God, all that matters is who our Father is, and we have a Father who absolutely delights in giving us the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
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