Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). There is the saying, “The road to riches is paved with inheritance.” But even if we are a part of a wealthy family and in line to receive an inheritance, we have to hire an attorney and go through all the legal procedures, and then there are the taxes that will have to be paid to the state and federal governments before we get to see any of our inheritance. And besides all that there are those who will try to steal our inheritance if it is at all possible. There are thousands of lawsuits in the courts of the United States where people are arguing over who deserves to inherit the wealth of someone who has died.
Even if we inherit or make millions of dollars, we have only a short while to spend it on this earth. About the longest lifespan we can hope for is to live to be around 100 years old; and then we will leave everything behind to someone else.
Jesus tells us about a rich man whose crops were so good that he didn’t have enough barn space to store them. So he decided to build bigger barns so that he would have enough laid up for years to come to take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” And then Jesus said, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
The material wealth we leave to our descendants is very short-lived; it is only our spiritual legacy that will have eternal value. Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).
Paul calls this world a wicked and perverse place (Philippians 2:15). John tells us that this worldly system is under the control of Satan (1 John 5:19), and Jesus said that Satan is the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30). In a world that is disdainful of purity, holiness, righteousness, and of Jesus Christ, a Christian often times find themselves feeling out of place in this ungodly and wicked world. Jesus said to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, cf. 1 John 5:5). John tells us not to love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (cf. 1 John 2:15). Christians need to remember that this world is not our home; we are only passing through. “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5).
In contrast to any inheritance we might receive from our family or friends, God’s inheritance to us is free, undeserved and will last for all of eternity. But on what basis does a person become an heir of God? First of all, it is on a basis of relationship. Because all humans are born spiritually dead, we must become spiritually alive, and to do that we must be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again… Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit...The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 3:3, 6, 6:63). But how can we be born again and have this eternal inheritance? Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God has an eternal inheritance for all of us who have chosen Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
It is by faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we become a child of God, and an heir of God. Paul wrote, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:17). Peter wrote, “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 Peter 1:3-5). The psalmist wrote, “The Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever” (Psalm 37:18).
We are to set our minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, not on earthly things; because our life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3). We are God’s people and members of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19), our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). It is through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we become heirs of God. John wrote, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believed upon His name. Who were born not by the will of man, nor by the will of the flesh, but by the will of God” (John 1:12).
God has a glorious inheritance for us; as heirs of the kingdom of God we will live and reign with Him in His kingdom forever. We are going to experience the glorious presence of God for all eternity—what an awesome thought! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).