“Our Inheritance” is a Biblical image of the abundant blessings (both material and spiritual) set aside and waiting for every believer in Heaven. However, in order to receive our full reward (2 John 1:8), we must be obedient to God and follow in the steps of Abraham, the archetypal man of faith. We must be faithful servants of God.
The image of the inheritance starts to take shape in Chapters 12 through 15 of the Book of Genesis. However, the inheritance was not specifically mentioned until Genesis, Chapter 15. The Lord said to Abraham, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess [inherit] it” (Gen. 15:7). The land grant was described as being located “[f]rom the river of Egypt [the Nile] as far as the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18). During the reigns of King David and King Solomon, Israel’s boundaries did expand to the size mentioned in the original Genesis land grant.[1] However, for most of Israel’s history, its boundaries have been much smaller.
To the idea of the land grant, the reader should attach the ideas of a “homeland,” “security,” and “abundant blessings.” Later, the Exodus Generation, after escaping from Egypt, journeyed toward the same “Promised Land,” described as “a land of milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8). The land grant was a gift from God to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 15:7) because of Abraham’s unique walk of faith (Heb. 11:8). The Hebrew verb yāraš is defined as “to take possession of or inherit.”[2] God’s choice and act of rewarding His faithful servants is the key historical consideration. Contrary to what is taught on most college campuses, human history is shaped by God’s blessings to His faithful servants, not by other made-up theories and bitter resentments of men.
The ideas of heirship and the permanency of the inheritance were connected in Genesis 15:3-4. The passing of one’s property to one’s heirs is indicative of permanency. Abraham was promised a son, who was going to inherit Abraham’s possessions, to include the promised land grant. Interestingly, Abraham and his immediate descendants never took possession of the land grant while they were alive. At Hebrews 11:9, we read, “By faith he [Abraham] lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Issac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise.” Yet, while living as nomads, they could legitimately think, “one day, we are going to possess and own all of this land (from the Nile to the Euphrates).”
In our study of the Old Testament, we learn that being a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough, by itself, to inherit and take possession of the land grant. The Israelites were required to listen and be obedient to God (Lev. 20:22). They were warned that if they were not obedient to God, the land would vomit the Israelites out (Lev. 20:22). In fact, the vast majority of the Exodus Generation died in the desert and never made it to the Promised Land. The Lord said, they “did not listen to My voice” (Num. 14:22). However, there were a few notable exceptions, like Caleb. At Numbers 14:24, we read,
But as for My servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants will take possession of it.
At Matthew, Chapter 5, we read about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Both Matthew and Luke made it clear that Jesus’ lecture was directed at His disciples, meaning His students and followers, not the general audience or crowd (Matt. 5:1; Luke 6:20). At one point, Jesus taught, “Blessed are the gentle for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). Here, Jesus provided an important description of the inheritors. The Greek adjective praus is most often defined as “mild, meek, or humble.”[3] However, the Blue Letter Bible added this important insight: “Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His [God’s] dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.”[4] Of course, this appears to be an accurate description of Abraham. The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1), and Abraham did what God commanded. Abraham was humble and obedient. The inheritors are humble and obedient to God. The inheritors accept God’s dealings with them as good.
At Matthew 5:5, the “gentle” were described as inheriting the “earth.” The Greek noun “ge” is defined as “land, the ground, or the whole earth.” For example, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth [gē] as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Here, gē refers to every place inhabited by humans other than Heaven. Jesus made it clear that the inheritance includes far more than land in the Middle East. The New Testament writers and Paul’s mission to the Gentiles also made it clear that that there is an inheritance set aside for faithful Gentiles. In fact, it is only logical to conclude that if Abraham and his faithful descendants will inherit from the Nile to the Euphrates, the Gentile faithful servants will inherit the remainder of Planet Earth.
The New Testament writers often emphasized the doctrine of the believer’s inheritance. At 1 Peter 1:3-4, we read:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…
The reader should notice a few things regarding the above verses. The Greek noun klēronomia is defined as an “inheritance or possession.”[5] The inheritance is reserved for us in Heaven. The inheritance is permanent and connected to our resurrection. We will obtain our inheritance in Heaven, but our inheritance is connected to our resurrection and our next life here on Planet Earth. At 1 Peter 3:9, Peter added that we were called for the very purpose of receiving our inheritance, which is intended to be a special blessing from God. Our awareness of our inheritance set aside for us in Heaven is an important motivation for us to stay engaged in our spiritual journey.
At Ephesians 1:11, Paul wrote that in Christ, we have obtained an inheritance. Paul also wrote that the gift of the Holy Spirit residing in us is the guarantee and down payment of our inheritance (Eph. 1:14). Paul prayed that “the eyes of [our hearts] may be enlightened, so that [we would] know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). However, of great significance, the Apostle Paul warned that our inheritance could be lost by things like sexual immorality, idolatry, and greed (Eph. 5:5). At Galatians 5:19-21, Paul again warned that our disobedience to our walk of faith could jeopardize our inheritance.
As previously discussed, the New Testament writers emphasized that the promised inheritance has expanded far beyond a land grant in the Middle East, to include the entire world, if not the Universe. To some degree, the Old Testament writers emphasized the importance of the believers’ spiritual life and the needed faithfulness of the inheritors. The New Testament writers further emphasized the importance of the believer’s spiritual life. Additionally, the New Testament writers placed a greater emphasis on the spiritual characteristics of our inheritance over the material blessings. Appropriately so, the spiritual must take precedence over the material. For example, Jesus spoke of faithful believers inheriting eternal life. At Matthew 19:29, Jesus said,
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms [land] on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
As stated above, our inheritance will include material possessions, but the spiritual must be emphasized over the material. Further, as mentioned in previous blogposts, our Eternal Life is much more than a never-ending existence. Eternal Life is God’s life that He wants to share with us. To be a faithful servant is equivalent to being an experiential son or daughter of God. To be an experiential son or daughter is to share in your Father’s ownership and rule of His creation. As Jesus stated, “The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21).
Our potential inheritance includes ruling with Christ. Similarly, our inheritance also includes inheriting the Kingdom of God. Life in the Kingdom of God is described as a place of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:7). Spiritually, we can lay hold of this life now, and if we lay hold of this life now, we will be rewarded with the privilege of participating in the rule of God in the Kingdom of God. This is the fulfillment of God’s intent that humans would share in God’s rule over His creation as recorded in the Book of Genesis (Gen. 1:26).
In closing, the Apostle Peter noted that we will experience various trials and tribulations in this life, but “the proof of [our] faith being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ….” (1 Peter 1:7). If we prove to be faithful in our journey of faith, we will receive our inheritance reserved for us in Heaven. But John, the Elder warned, “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward” (2 John 1:8).
[1] “Ancient Map of Israel – Biblical Boundaries of the Land of Israel.” The Israel Bible. 7 Apr 2016, https://theisraelbible.com/biblical-boundaries-land-israel/
[2] “H3423 – yāraš – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Nov, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3423/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
[3] “G4239 – praus – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Nov, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4239/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[4] “G4239 – praus – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).”
[5] “G2817 – klēronomia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Nov, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2817/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.