Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance….In Christ 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. (Psalm 16:5-6; Ephesians 1:11)
This builds upon our previous post. You can read Christ is My Inheritance
Anthony’s Story
During The Great Depression (1929-1939) Anthony was poor and lived in New Jersey. One day he finally got around to opening an old Bible he had owned for thirty-five years. It was left to him by his Aunt Mabel who was a faithful Christian. Her will stated, “To my beloved nephew I bequeath my family Bible and all it contains.” At the time he received it, Anthony was disappointed. His aunt was wealthy and other family members received better bequests. Anthony loved his aunt so he kept the Bible stored in a box, on an upper closet shelf, and he forgot about it. Thirty five years later, Anthony was asked to read the Scriptures at a funeral. When he took down the old Bible and began to look through it, he discovered that Aunt Mabel had scattered fifty new, crisp hundred-dollar bills throughout the pages of the Scriptures. The total was $5000 in U.S. currency.1 Assuming 3 percent inflation, that would be worth $77,000 in 2020. Anthony possessed the wealth all along, but he failed to realize all that his bequest included. It’s the same for Jesus’ followers.
Our Bigger Inheritance
Believers’ salvation in Christ includes all the blessings of God’s love, grace, and kindness that He takes 1,189 chapters in the whole Bible to explain. Every page mentions or alludes to the benefits God gives to Jesus’ people. No matter how many promises the Lord has made, in both Old and New Testaments, they all find their fulfillment in Jesus. They all belong to us. The Scriptures sometimes call our inheritance our portion and/or our heritage. In Christ, His believers have more than the whole world!
The Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened to understand the hope God has called us to. And boundless and incomparable riches of His glorious inheritance for His holy people.2 Notice, Paul doesn’t ask the Lord to give us more, but to make us appreciate, treasure, and value all that we already possess in Christ.
Our Christian Inheritance Includes These Blessings
- Jesus, our new Lord, Master, Savior, and Elder Brother
- The Holy Spirit, our new Indweller, Comforter, Counselor, Guide, Sanctifier, and Intercessor
- Regeneration (new birth), a new heart, mind, and life in fellowship with God
- Justification, a new record with God (pardon and acceptance)
- Adoption, a new family with God the Holy Trinity and Christ’s followers (His Church)
- Sanctification, a new God-serving way of life and power to live it
- Faith and repentance, new ways of dealing with God as our Father
- Good works, a new way of loving, grateful, obedient, meaningful living
- Preservation, a new guarantee that God will finish what He starts in us
- Assurance, new eternal confidence in God through Jesus
- Glorification, a new forever home and destiny with Christ and His people in paradise.
Benefits of Meditating on Our Inheritance
As Jesus’ followers view the resources and riches we have connected with Christ our Benefactor, the Holy Spirit makes us strong and courageous and takes away our fears. We are reminded that the Lord our God goes with us and that He will never leave or forsake us.3 Let’s ask the Lord to give us great peace. Let’s love Him and obey His Scriptures so that nothing can make us stumble.4 Let’s study our inheritance in Christ, asking Him to teach us how loved we are by God the Father, Son, and Spirit. Let’s never forget that we are chosen by God to be His precious children in His new international family. Let’s never forget that we have been and are being transformed by the Spirit to resemble Christ. With the Spirit’s help, meditating on our inheritance can help us stand firm and hold fast to Jesus and His teachings, and shine for Him as lights among the people of this hostile world.5
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage our hearts and strengthen us in every good deed and word. (2 Thess 2:16-17)
To be continued
Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 This illustration is adapted and expanded from a radio message of Dr. Roy B. Zuck. 2 Ephesians 1:7,18: 2:7; 3:8. 3 Deut 31:6. 4 Psalm 119:165. 5 2 Thess 2:13-15.