Embracing Our Inheritance in Christ
The Ground of our Inheritance
Promises.
Do they mean much anymore?
In our time, it seems like everyone makes promises, but not everyone keeps them. Politicians, banks, advertisers, you name it, seem to lie all the time. However, there is one Person who makes promises and never breaks them—our God! In Hebrews 6.17-18, the Hebrew writer makes the application for us, drawing off God’s promise and oath to Abraham:
Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
For Christians, God’s promise of an inheritance is so sure that we can set our worries behind us and grasp or seize the hope before us. The Christian operates from a position of victory (1 Corinthians 15:57), not fear. We work from our salvation — not for it. The hope we’ve been given is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure, Hebrews 6.19. Jesus, our high priest always lives to intercede for us, Hebrews 7.25.
Your continued spiritual life is based on a promise — from the God who cannot lie.
A similar teaching is found in Ephesians 1.11.
In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,
Let the text speak for itself. See the certainty. See that your salvation is not tenuous. What God promises, God delivers.
Paul writes in such a way that expresses the reality is so certain, it is as if it has already happened.1 God always keeps His promises.
In Christ
Of course, these certainties and assurances are only available to the Christian. We see this throughout Ephesians 1, where Paul uses the words in Him ten times. There is no way to get anything God offers apart from Jesus. We are blessed because we are in Christ.
Listen to the entire sermon here.
How we get into and remain in Christ
Remember, most of the New Testament was written to those who were already Christians. In Romans 6.3-6, Paul reminds his readers of the significance of their salvation. They (and us) died with Christ in baptism to have their sins paid for. They rose out of the water in newness of life. They (and us) are one with Him. We are not just followers of Jesus; we are in union with Him—a total relationship involving our complete transformation over time. Your baptism meant something. Now, working inside your new status, you walk in complete trust, reliance, and confidence in Him every day. Your works reflect the new you — all produced by the Spirit who lives inside you.
And it’s all motivated by love. God has and is doing so much for you that it melts your heart. You love Him so much for rescuing you from Satan, forgiving you when you didn’t deserve it, adopting you as His child, and giving you an inheritance that you humbly, gladly, and joyfully do what He says, 1 John 5:3. This is why, in the next verse, John can say keeping his commands is not a burden. We don’t do the things we do in Christ to keep from being punished; we do them because he has given us victory! That victory is ours because of our faith in Christ. We continue to live in dependence on His work on our behalf. You are saved, and your work does not add to your status — it reflects it!
Back to Ephesians 1
In verse 11, Paul says our salvation is according to a predetermined plan set up before time began, where God determined to work all things according to the counsel of his will. “Work” here comes from the word we use for energy. Whatever God plans, he energizes. If he wants something to happen, it happens. He is “energizing” the accomplishment of his will.
You will receive the inheritance. God is energizing his plan, just like he energized your spiritual life on the occasion of your baptism, Titus 3:4-5; Ephesians 1:19. And with the same power that he used in resurrecting Jesus from the dead, so he will accomplish the gift of our inheritance, Ephesians 1.20.
Why? For what purpose?
So that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory, 1:12. You have been recreated for His glory. You are a living testimony of His grace — a masterpiece, Ephesians 2:10.
Do you believe it?
Finally, let’s look at Ephesians 1.13b. When they see the word believe in the New Testament, many think only of a profession of belief in Jesus, in other words, a mental assent. This is not what is involved in belief. Your faith in Christ is not the mere acknowledgment that Jesus is the Christ (your savior); it is inseparably tied to action. We don’t just hear the word of truth. We believe it, which is demonstrated by our active dependence on God. We can’t save ourselves, but He can. And because He can and has, we live for Him. He is our Savior and Lord.
Praise God for the gift of our great inheritance!
During Paul’s time, when Greek speakers wanted to express something about the surety of a future event and the impossibility of being changed, they would say it in the past tense. Some linguists call this past-future tense. There are several instances where Paul uses this type of language to describe the certainty of what lies ahead for the Christian.