Understanding the Glory of Your Inheritance
To pray for other believers, you may follow Paul’s example. He thanked God for his brothers and sisters in Christ (Eph 1:15-16). He also asked God to give them an understanding spirit (Eph 1:17). First, he prayed that they would increase in understanding the full scope of their calling (Eph 1:18). Then he prayed that they would more fully understand something else – the glory of their inheritance (Eph 1:18).
The Inheritance of Believers
Paul refers to this inheritance twice in this chapter (Eph 1:13-14, 18). He teaches that the Holy Spirit is the “seal” of our inheritance as believers (Eph 1:13). The word seal means a “down payment,” “first installment,” or “deposit.” We receive this first installment the moment we trust in Christ for salvation, and God will provide the full payment of this inheritance in the future when we enter his eternal kingdom and the new world that he will make. This “down payment” of the Holy Spirit indwelling our lives serves at least two purposes.
First, it guarantees our place in God’s family and kingdom forever because it is a permanent seal, which no man may break nor alter. (For more about the unbreakable seal of the Holy Spirit, click here.) Second, it provides believers with a taste now of the kind of life we will enjoy with God forever. In this sense, the indwelling and partnership of the Holy Spirit today is a small preview of our life in the future world that God will make for his children.
This concept of an inheritance originates in the Old Testament, when God “redeemed” the nation of Israel out from slavery in Egypt. In this context, it referred to the Promised Land of Canaan that God promised to give them as a possession and inheritance. New Testament writers borrowed this terminology to refer to something larger and more profound, using “inheritance” language to refer to the eternal kingdom which God will establish forever for all his people, not just for the nation of Israel (Matt 5:5, 25:34; Rom 8:17; 1 Cor 6:9; Jam 2:5).
Under Construction
Paul teaches us that believers are a “purchased possession” of God. He has purchased us at a very high price and continues to preserve us with great effort and care, and so we belong to him. Even so, the restoration process which he has begun for us all, transforming us into the likeness and glory of Christ, remains incomplete and “under construction.” This ongoing project will end in the future when he sets us free from the influence and effects of sin completely. This will include the full liberation of our bodies and the physical, material world from the influence, effects, and tendencies of sin (Rom 8:18-23; Eph 1:14). At that time, God will also give to us a portion, a share, an allotment in the future world that he will make and the kingdom that he will establish for eternity.
Paul describes this future inheritance as “riches” or “wealth,” which indicates that our eternal inheritance from Christ will include a high degree of both value and abundance in God’s eternal world and kingdom (Eph 1:18). The ultimate purpose for this lavish blessing from God, in both a spiritual and [eternally] material sense, is not the pleasure and enjoyment of God’s people, which certainly will be the case. Though our enjoyment will be replete, this sheer enjoyment will bring about a far greater result – the resounding praise of God himself for his extravagant goodness to his children (Eph 1:6-7, 12, 14; 2:7; 3:21).
The Ultimate Outcome
World, national, and business news touts Top 10 lists, like the Top 10 Companies to Work For, the Top 10 Happiest Countries, and the Top 10 Happiest States. Yet no place on earth can begin to compare in any way to the happiness of God’s people when he redeems them from sin, gives them a full inheritance, and invites them into his kingdom forever. Our praise will echo the words of the heathen nations and the Jewish nation when God delivered them from captivity, though our praise will certainly exceed them (Psalm 126:2-3).
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
When you trusted in Christ for salvation, did you know that he was giving you an eternal, glorious inheritance in heaven that will never fade away? Peter echoes this encouraging news when he said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet 1:3-5).
Implications for Today
By learning more about your future inheritance and by understanding its implications for your life today, you will be able to make better choices as a Christian living in an upside-down world. According to Jesus, you avoid stockpiling and accumulating excessive material resources in this life, devoting your attention to accumulating treasure in heaven instead (Matt 6:19-21). Paul elsewhere urges you to focus your attention on eternal pursuits rather than earthly ones (Col 3:1-4). Peter teaches us to embrace the promised outcome of this coming eternal inheritance as a guide through the suffering and loss that we experience in this present life as believers (1 Pet 1:3-5).
Thomas Overmiller serves as pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Corona, NY and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, used here with permission.