Your Inheritance in Christ: Why It's Super Marvelous

In this week’s podcast, we are going to take a look at the subject of inheritance. Everybody likes inheritance because everybody likes to receive. A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the hospital, a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided to ask the preacher if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The preacher went, and gradually led up to the question. The preacher asked the patient what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, “I think I would give half of it to the church.” The preacher dropped dead. Now, that’s a funny story that illustrates the general subject of inheritance. Specifically, today, we will talk about our inheritance in Christ, but we will talk about even more than that. Your Inheritance in Christ, Why It’s Super Marvelous — that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

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What Does It Mean to Be a Joint Heir with Jesus?

[Tweet “God provided something better for us under the New Covenant. He provided the Kingdom.”]

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.

This weeks’ Call to Action’ is:

Learn all that you can about your inheritance in Christ. To learn about it, read the will — His Word. /callout]

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question of the Day: What have you learned that you can share about any component of God’s inheritance made available for you in Christ? Please share in the comments section below./callout]

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 42 years ago. He has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 38 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com.

Podcast Notes

Did You realize There’s A Double Inheritance?

Ephesians 1:11–14 (ESV) — 11 In him 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

These verses deal with the subject of inheritance but do so from different points of view — two different sides.
There’s a double inheritance spoken of in these verses: First, there is God’s inheritance.
God the Father received something.
He got something that He didn’t have before.
What could He, the God of the Universe — the Creator of all — the one who owns everything, possibly get that He didn’t already have?

Psalm 50:10–11 (ESV) — 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.

Everything is His — He owns it all.
What do you give a God who owns it all?
You give Him the one thing He didn’t have — that’s you.
You give Him you.
Because of Jesus, God the Father has you for an inheritance.
Jesus took away the wall that separated you from Him.
You are God’s inheritance.
Jesus purchased you — you were redeemed with His blood — you were bought for God the Father by His Son Jesus.
In Him, we have obtained an inheritance; having been predestined is how Ephesians 1:11 starts.
This first word, ‘inheritance,’ is what we want to look at, and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
Verse eleven says we have obtained it, but these words are misleading.
The Greek words ‘we have obtained an inheritance’ — and, I mean words, because these five words are just one word in Greek, means to obtain something by or as if by the random casting of lots; often understood as indicative of the divine will.
Now that’s what the Greek word ‘inheritance’ means here, but the translation of the five words is incorrect.
It should have been translated as ‘God has obtained an inheritance’ not ‘we have obtained an inheritance.
Because of the Greek grammar, the subject is God doing the receiving — not us.

The best Greek texts have, not, “we have obtained an inheritance,” but “we were made an inheritance,” or, “we were designated as a heritage.” Thus, the saints are God’s heritage, His possession through the work of Christ on the Cross.¹

I will repeat it, according to the grammar, God is the recipient of the inheritance.
The saints are God’s inheritance through the finished work of Jesus at Calvary.
What does that mean?
It means God got the best when He got you.
That has to be true because God gave the best to obtain you — He gave Jesus.
God didn’t pay a premium price to get junk.
Don’t be down on yourself — He paid top dollar for you.
What’s the inheritance He has obtained? — you.
The saints are God’s inheritance through the finished work of Jesus at Calvary. *This concept of God’s people being God’s own personal inheritance has roots in the Old testament.

God’s People As His Inheritance Old Testament Style

Israel in the Old Testament is the representative people of God.
Look at this verse in Deuteronomy four concerning how God rescued Israel from Egyptian bondage via the Exodus.

Deuteronomy 4:20 (ESV) — 20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.

The goal was for God to inherit Abraham’s seed as His own people.
You should like that idea — being owned by God.
It should appeal to you.

Psalm 28:9 (ESV) — 9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Read another verse here in the Psalms.

Psalm 33:12 (ESV) — 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Heritage is another word for inheritance.

Psalm 78:62–71 (ESV) — 62 He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage. 63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song. 64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. 65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine. 66 And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame. 67 He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. 69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. 70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; 71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.

This next verse sums it up nicely.

Psalm 74:2 (ESV) — 2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

Israel is designated here as God’s inheritance.
So, first, God is the recipient of an inheritance.
This is such a vital concept that the Lord wants you to pray to receive additional insight about this area.
Dropdown a few verses in Ephesians one to verse fifteen.

Ephesians 1:15–18 ESV — 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

‘…that you may know…’ — the Lord wants you to know some things.
He doesn’t want you to be ignorant.
The Lord wants you to realize and understand some things.
What things does God want you to understand?
He wants you to know the hope of His calling, but that’s not all.
That’s only one thing he wants you to pray about to receive revelation on.
God also wants you to pray that His Holy Spirit would give you insight into the riches of His glorious inheritance in the Saints — in you.
Not, and listen to a close now, we are not talking about receiving revelation on what your inheritance is from Him but what His inheritance is in you.
You need revelation from God about your value to Him.
Most of us don’t have that — we struggle with this area of self-worth.
You know that so — it must be so — that’s why I told us to pray about it.
So, God has an inheritance in you.

Your Inheritance from God

Now because He did, because He inherited you, you got something — you got something from Him.
What you received from Him — or that process — is what the following Greek word for ‘inheritance’ in verses thirteen and fourteen is all about.

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

This second word ‘inheritance’ means any piece of property passed by law to an heir on the owner’s death, sometimes regarding God’s promises to His people, like the land of Israel or a heavenly kingdom.
And, that’s exactly right because, in the Old Testament, the inheritance was the land.
Land was a big deal.

Joshua 21:43–45 (ESV) — 43 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

And if you look at the political landscape in the Middle East, you can see that it still is a big deal.
But land is dirt — land is rocks and mud — land is natural.
Land is the building block of man but not by itself.
Man was made from the land — from the dust of the ground, but land is nothing without God’s power.
God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
Without the breath of God, we’re just a pile of mud.
So the whole process of God delivering in Israel from the land of Egypt and providing for His people — this emerging nation — a piece of real estate by which they can dwell was a big deal in the Old Covenant — under the Old Testament.
It was such a big deal that God commanded Israel to make sure that the land was passed from generation to generation.

Leviticus 25:23–24 (ESV) — 23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

Genesis 17:8–9 (ESV) — 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

Here’s another verse in the Old Testament that speaks to this.

Deuteronomy 21:15–17 (ESV) — 15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

But under the New Covenant, for the new people of God, the born again race of man that has never existed before, the land is not the big deal.
God doesn’t want us to have rocks and mud – that’s natural.
God gave us something so much better– He gave us spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
God provided something better for us under the New Covenant.
He provided the Kingdom.
Listen to it again – under the Old Covenant; the inheritance was land but, under the New Covenant, the inheritance is the Kingdom of God.
Get it now – under the Old Covenant, God made man from the land and then created a nation from that man for the land.
He then took that man He made from the land and gave him some land he was supposed to pass on to his descendants.
But under the New Covenant, things are radically different.
Physical mud and dirt is no longer the big deal because the emphasis is not on the physical man but the spiritual man.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) — 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The New Creation is not made out of water and dirt.
The new creation — the man on the inside — the hidden man of the heart — the man created by the Holy Spirit when you said yes to Jesus — that man God gave Him territory but not mud and dirt — a spiritual kingdom — the Kingdom of God.
You should know about that land — that inheritance you received in Christ Jesus and because of Christ Jesus.
Remember, you didn’t receive this inheritance because of your goodness: you received it because of Jesus and, to be technical about it, Jesus received the inheritance, and you are joint-heirs with him. *Now, let’s talk about the value and the criticality of knowing what belongs to you.

Your Inheritance: A Small Sample

Now, mark it down when you first came to Jesus, you had no clue, no imagination at all about what happened to you.
All you did was answer an altar call or bow your head in front of a message delivered over social media or television.
Maybe it was your parents who had talked to you about Jesus and led you to the Lord.
Now you knew something was different, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.
If you had to explain what happened to you and what you received from God because of your decision, you wouldn’t have been able to articulate it.
You knew you had joy.
Something was different — maybe you now had a love for people that you didn’t have before.
But as far as inheritance goes, or could we say it this way — “what happened to you the day you got saved,” you had no earthly clue.
So, once you received Jesus as Lord in your life, how do you find out all about what happened to you, and you now hear me telling you that you received an inheritance — how do you find out about that?
Listen to this verse in Romans.

Romans 1:17 (ESV) — 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

How do you learn about your inheritance? – the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
Righteousness, or right standing with God, or the spiritual position in Jesus whereby all of your sins have been eradicated to such an extent that it is as if you have never sinned in your life, is received from faith to faith.
What does that mean from faith to faith?
Well, it means that everything starts by faith and leads to faith — or we could say it this way.
You trust God to give you the knowledge that you need by asking Him for a spirit of wisdom and revelation to that end.
And, you do that in faith, and when you receive the answer to your faith, it generates increased faith, leading you from faith to faith.
Or, we could say from one level of faith to another level of faith.
So, you gradually learn what happened to you when you were born again.

Characteristics of Your Inheritance

What are some of the characteristics of your inheritance?
For one, we know it has to be good.
It has to be good because it came from God, and God is good.

Psalm 136:1 (ESV) — 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

James 1:17 (ESV) — 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Remember that a good God has a good plan for your life, and good things from His hand go along with that plan.
You can’t complete the plan empty-handed.
So, the first trait is that your inheritance is good — it’s packed — it’s stacked.
Here are some other traits about your inheritance.

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Your inheritance is imperishable.
The word ‘imperishable’ means imperviousness to corruption and death, imperishable, incorruptible, immortal ²
You don’t have to worry that someone might try to beat you out of your inheritance.
Have to hire people to watch it — to make sure that no one siphons off a portion of what’s coming to you.
That’s one of the problems that wealthy people face; they always have to watch out for their money.
They always have to look over their shoulder.
Well, you don’t have to do that because you have a great high priest in that heavenlies Christ Jesus and, no one is going to steal the inheritance from him.
Your inheritance is undefiled — that means untainted or totally clean.
It is unfading, which means pertaining to not losing the wonderful, pristine character of something ³
It is kept in heaven for you.
As we already said, no one is going to break into heaven and take anything from you.

The Holy Spirit: A Down Payment on Your Inheritance

Well, when am I going to get this extraordinary inheritance?
You might be thinking, “I sure could use some of it now.”
According to our opening passage in Ephesians chapter one, verses 13 to 14, we have a down payment, which is a small portion of what is to come of what has been reserved in heaven for us.
Listen to it again.

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Sealing implies ownership.
When we’re talking about the concept of sealing, don’t think Mason jars.
That is, don’t think sealing something with a tight seal like you do when you’re canning fruits and vegetables for the winter.
No, this sealing is a 1st-century term whereby a king would take a signet ring and dip it or press it into hot wax.
That imprint left behind by the signet proved that the letter was authentic and that the letter was the king’s personal property.
That’s how they sealed letters and kept communications pure in the first century.
The Holy Spirit himself has sealed you.
When you came to Jesus, when you said yes to Him, the Spirit of God entered into your heart certified before the courts of the universe.
You have been authenticated before devils, demons, and evil spirits and all of the host of the regions of the damned — there is not one of them that can say that you don’t have Jesus.
No one can say that you are not authentically saved — no one can say that you are not the personal property of the king of kings and the Lord of Lords because the Holy Spirit is in there.
He is in you, and he has signified you with his own self that you belong to God.
Now, earnest or a down payment on your inheritance
You may ask the question, why does that help me?
I need money now.
Here’s the thing, the Holy Spirit, the Great Teacher, is inside of you.
You’ve received Him as a down payment, and if anyone knows where the money is, He knows.
And if anyone knows how to get you connected, hooked up, and networked, if anyone can give you favor with people and employers, it’s Him.
Peter was stuck one day — he had to pay his taxes.
Jesus knew exactly where the money was; He told Peter to go fishing and the first fish that you hook, open its mouth, take the money out and pay the tax for you and me.
The Spirit of God, the down payment of your inheritance, knows.
And, if he did that for Peter, He’ll do that for you
You may say the same thing about health, healing, and wholeness.
Your testimony may be that I’m sick — that my body is breaking down — the doctors have given me up to die.
How’s having the Holy Spirit in me going to help me?
The Great Teacher is on the inside of you, who came to you by inheritance, the Holy Spirit. He will lead you and guide you into all truth and reality, and he will show you things to come.
He will lead you to health, healing, and wholeness — He will show you and guide you in the Word of God and show you how to receive health and healing from heaven.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
So, the leading of God’s Spirit — having access to this ministry of God and all the wonderfulness that’s connected to it, is just a tiny part of your inheritance in Christ.
It’s an earnest — it’s a down payment which can only mean one thing — the best is yet to come.
Your Inheritance in Christ, Why It’s Super Marvelous.
You guys have a great God week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light On Life.

___________
References:

Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 46–47. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 155. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 695. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Your Inheritance in Christ: Why It’s Super Marvelous

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 43

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Did You realize There’s A Double Inheritance?

God’s People As His Inheritance Old Testament Style

Your Inheritance from God

Your Inheritance: A Small Sample

Characteristics of Your Inheritance

The Holy Spirit: A Down Payment on Your Inheritance

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Did You realize There’s A Double Inheritance?

God’s People As His Inheritance Old Testament Style

Your Inheritance from God

Your Inheritance: A Small Sample

Characteristics of Your Inheritance

The Holy Spirit: A Down Payment on Your Inheritance

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