Inheritance of the Saints

The disciples of Jesus are the heirs of Abraham. The future possession of that inheritance is secured by the Gift of the Spirit.

Israel’s possession of Canaan was an earlier stage in God’s redemptive plan, which always envisioned something larger than Israel or a small plot of land in the Middle East. With the arrival of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Spirit, the covenant promises began to find their fulfillment in the true “Seed of Abraham,” and consequently, in his “brethren” and “coheirs.”

The promises are being fulfilled through Jesus Christ. The Gift of the Holy Spirit received by believers guarantees the future consummation of all those promises.

[Photo by Anton Volnuhin on Unsplash]

Scriptural passages that promised land to Abraham employ words like “inheritance” and “heir,” including the Hebrew word translated as “possession,” terms linked to the Abrahamic covenant that referred originally to the “possession” of the Land of Canaan - (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-16, 17:1-8).

In the New Testament, “inheritance,” “heir” and “possession” are reapplied to what God has done through His Son, the true heir of Abraham and all things. The Gift of the Spirit is the “earnest” and “down payment” of the promise - (Matthew 21:38, 28:18, Mark 12:7, Luke 20:14, John 13:3, Romans 8:17, Colossians 1:12, Hebrews 1:2).

Jesus is the “Seed” of Abraham, and his followers become “heirs according to promise” along with him. All men and women who have the “faith of Jesus” become “children of Abraham” and heirs of the covenant.

The inheritance of Abraham belongs to the “brethren” of Jesus, the saints who “are no longer slaves but sons, and if sons, then heirs through God,” both Jewish and Gentile disciples of Christ alike - (Exodus 19:5, Galatians 3:29).

The Gift of the Spirit is the “earnest of their inheritance for the redemption of the possession.” It is the “Blessing of Abraham” for the nations promised by the God of Israel. Because Abraham believed the word of God, it was “reckoned to him for righteousness.” Men and women of the same faith are the “sons of Abraham,” whether Jewish or Gentile - (Galatians 3:4-9).

Believers are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of our inheritance for the redemption of God's possession.” The promised gift has become real and substantial for believers, and the guarantee of their coming possession of the inheritance, especially the bodily resurrection and everlasting life in the New Creation – (Ephesians 1:14).

If the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead “dwells in us,” we are assured that God will raise us from the dead and grant us immortal bodies. Not only so, but the Spirit is the “first fruits” of the final harvest, including the “redemption of our body” - (Romans 8:10-23, 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, 5:5).

When he returns, Jesus will declare to all who have responded with faith, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” No longer is the inheritance limited to Israel and Palestine. Jesus did not abandon the original promises but universalized them, making Abraham a blessing to “all the nations of the Earth” - (Matthew 6:10).

The land that was promised to Abraham has become a universal promise. The Patriarch is now the “Heir of the World” or ‘Kosmos’. The promise will be actualized in all its fullness in the New Creation when the saints inherit all things - (Romans 4:10-13).

Jewish and Gentile believers become children and heirs, a reality and promise affirmed by receiving the Gift of the Spirit. The coming resurrection and New Creation will be nothing less than the culmination of the original covenant with Abraham, and the possession of the Spirit is the foretaste and the assurance of that inheritance.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Life-Giving Spirit - (Jesus dispenses the Life-Giving Spirit without which there is no enduring life. His words are spirit, and they are life)

• Heirs of the Promise - (With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced)

• Age of the Spirit - (The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant, and the first fruits of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations)