Introduction

This is a study about The Christian’s Inheritance, Lesson #5 in the New Christian Series. In this study we will learn about the different parts of the believer’s divine legacy. Our Father is the King of kings, and our heavenly inheritance is no small thing consider. It is vast and large beyond any earthly comprehension.

As the Bible says:

 

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."     

I Corinthians 2:9

 

In this verse Paul is making reference to Isaiah 64:4. In the context of his letter to the Corinthian church, he is speaking of spiritual truths, and the mysteries of Gods wisdom that are hidden in the scriptures. But, we find that there is an even greater application to be made as we consider our own heavenly inheritance. And what must it be, if our greatest imaginations fall so far short of it?

Part of our future inheritance will be made up of rewards earned by the faithful accomplishment of works done in obedience to the Lords guidance since we were saved. They are called rewards because they are given by our heavenly Father as the due compensation of our labor for Him.

 

As the scriptures say:

 

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."   Romans 4:4,5

 

Romans 4:4 teaches us that we must work for rewards, and that they are awarded, not of grace, but as a debt to be paid to the laborer. This is a very simple but important truth for us to grasp.

• However, it is of utmost importance that we never confuse the earned rewards of our heavenly inheritance with the free gift of eternal life.

In the first lesson of this Bible course, we learned that salvation is the free gift of God, to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, by faith. One of the clearest passages in the Bible concerning this is found in Ephesians 2.

 

 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."     Ephesians 2:8,9

 

Another excellent passage of scripture referring to the free gift of salvation is found in I John chapter 5.

 

                "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."    I John 5:12,13

By the wonderful grace of God, salvation is a free gift: it cannot be earned. We may freely receive this gift from our loving Saviour, because His work alone has already completely paid for it. Scripture is very clear that our works, with their attending rewards, have nothing at all to do with the salvation of our souls.

 

The Christian’s Inheritance

As necessary preparation for this study, we must establish the difference between the kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of God, as found in the Bible. This is imperative because there are some who teach that the two are the same, leading to a host of doctrinal errors. (We will do an in-depth study of this subject in a future lesson, but now we only need to establish from the Bible that these two kingdoms are not the same, but are definitely different.)

 

Let’s examine these two in more detail:

 

·         The Kingdom of Heaven

 

This is a literal, visible, physical kingdom in which Christ will actually reign upon this earth as king, sitting upon a literal throne. This divine reign will last 1,000 years.

(cf. Daniel 2:44; 7:27; Luke 1:30-33; Revelation 11:15; 20:1-6)

 

·         The Kingdom of God

This is the one we are concerned about in this lesson. It is a spiritual, invisible, moral, righteous kingdom. We became part of it by the new birth, when we receive Christ as our Saviour. Being a spiritual kingdom, it cannot be seen. And, we understand from Paul’s letter to the Romans that it is NOT connected with physical things. Luke also confirms that it is NOT an outward kingdom, but a kingdom within us.

 

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."     Romans 14:17

"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo, there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."     Luke 17:21

 

 So, it is seems clear that this is a spiritual kingdom; and the book of Matthew tells us that it is connected with God’s righteousness.

 

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."    Matthew 6:33

 

Christ imputes His righteousness to every believer as they enter into this spiritual kingdom by a spiritual rebirth.

 

In Jesus’conversation with Nicodemus:

 

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water (physical birth) and of the Spirit (spiritual birth), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."    John 3:5

 

At the moment of our spiritual rebirth, the Holy Spirit also placed us into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13) and seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). All these things have to do with the spiritual kingdom of God we have become part of it. Though we are in it now, we cannot see it now. We can only enter this kingdom in the spiritual sense at the present time (John 3:5). But when Christ returns to reign upon the earth, the kingdom of God will become a literal, visible, physical kingdom that we can see. Having merged with the kingdom of Heaven, it will then be made manifest.

 

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear."    Luke 19:11

 

While we know it has not appeared yet, we are just as sure that it will one day. Now look at the parallel passage in John 3 and notice the difference in the wording:

 

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."    John 3:3

 

John 3:3 says "see the kingdom of God," but John 3:5 says "enter the kingdom of God", these are two different things. Spiritually speaking, we enter it when we are born again, but later on (when Christ returns) both kingdoms will be manifest upon the earth as a physical kingdom we can actually see. Verse 5 has to do with the inheritance in the kingdom of God we have not received yet, and that is what we are going to study in this lesson. So while we do have eternal life right now, as a present possession (John 3:18,36; John 5:24; I John 5:12,13), we cannot receive our divine inheritance until we get our new glorified body.

 

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."     I Corinthians 15:50

 

For now, we are trapped in bodies of flesh and blood that cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but when His literal earthly kingdom is established, we will have a new glorified body like our Saviour; flesh, but no blood. Compare I Corinthians 15:50 with Luke 24:39.

 

"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."          Luke 24:39

 

I Corinthians 15:50 shows clearly that "flesh and blood" CANNOT inherit this spiritual, heavenly kingdom. But Luke 24:39 shows that Jesus did have "flesh and bones" AFTER the resurrection. We see then that flesh and bone CAN enter this kingdom, while flesh and blood CANNOT. Flesh can, bone can, but blood cannot. So it is clear that we cannot receive our inheritance until we get our new glorified bodies.

 

What is Our Heavenly Inheritance?

 

What makes up this inheritance? There are two parts of the believer’s inheritance. One part is fixed and has already been secured for us; the other is variable and must be earned by us.

 

   I. Part of it is Already Fixed

 The part that is already fixed, is secure and is already waiting for us in Heaven. Praise God, we cannot lose it!

"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance [it is ours already, we just haven received it yet] being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:"     Ephesians 1:11

 

  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

 

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you.

 

Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."    I Peter 1:3-5

 

Because this part of our inheritance is already reserved for us in Heaven, there are two things we are going to get for sure:

 

A glorified body (like the Lord Jesus Christ).
(cf. Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:20,21; I John 3:1,3)

 

A mansion in Heaven (John 14:1-3). All of Revelation 21 is about the New Jerusalem which will come down from Heaven. It is the new city believers will live in one day.

 

   II. The Variable Part of Our Inheritance

          This second part of our inheritance must be earned. Therefore we do not know for certain all that we will receive, we will have to wait until that glorious day to see just what has been accounted to this variable part of our inheritance.

 

God promised Abraham that he and his seed (descendants) would inherit the world (Romans 4:13). As believers, we are promised a share in that inheritance because the Bible says we too are Abraham’s seed (Galatians 3:29). We are not Abraham’s physical seed of course, but we are his spiritual seed. We became spiritual Jews (Romans 2:28,29) when we were adopted as the sons of God. Therefore, part of our inheritance will consist of a literal reign with Jesus Christ upon this earth. It will last for 1,000 years after He establishes His visible kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

 

"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."     Revelation 5:10

 

  "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."     Revelation 20:6

 

Throughout the Old Testament, God promised the children of Israel that they would one day possess a land upon the earth, but they never did get it. However, we know that they will get it when Christ sets up His Millennial (1,000 year) kingdom on earth.

• The Old Testament saints had to earn this inheritance.
• The tribulation saints will have to earn this inheritance.
• We (the church age saints), also have to earn whatever part of this inheritance we expect to receive.

 

While we cannot lose our salvation (eternal life), we can lose the right to reign with the Lord Jesus Christ during the Millennium. We do not want to lose our inheritance, because it will be an inconceivably wonderful reward, accompanied by power and honor. Many Christians know nothing about this precious Bible doctrine or about how to earn their inheritance; therefore, they live their whole Christian life adding nothing to their divine legacy. When they stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where rewards are given out, they will find they have lost the right to reign with Christ. During that 1,000 year reign, the earth will again be like the Garden of Eden, and the bride will enjoy a 1,000 year honeymoon with the Lord Jesus Christ. In this lesson, we will learn from the Bible how to earn this part of our inheritance. Let be sure we get our part of this wonderful reward by working for Jesus all the days of our lives. The Bible tells us how we can earn this part of our inheritance.

 

A.    The First Element Is Our Service To Christ.

 

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

 

But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons."     Colossians 3:23-25

 

We can add to our reward by faithfully serving Christ. Paul wrote, "ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance:" The reward he is speaking of is not salvation, because salvation is not a reward or an inheritance it is a free gift. We must distinguish between the free gift and the reward. One can be lost, but the other cannot.

 

Verse 23 says "do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Any work done for recognition or the praise of men, is done in vain and will earn us nothing. We are to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do, and never ourselves. I Corinthians 3 indicates that believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to be rewarded for the things done in their bodies. There we will learn what rewards we have laid up in Heaven and what has been lost.

 

                "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

 

Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s  work of what sort it is.

 

If any man’s  work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

If any man’s  work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." I Corinthians 3:11-15

 

Paul does not say "the fire shall try every man’s  work? to see how much work he had done. Rather, the trial is to determine "of what sort" the work is. God is looking for quality, not quantity. So when we do things for the Lord, we must do them "heartily, as unto the Lord." Notice that the fire burns up vain works, not the believer himself (vs. 15). Our faithful service to the Lord will lay up gold, silver, and precious stones for us, while the wood, hay, and stubble represent our dead works (things done according to our fleshly desires). When the purging fire comes across the precious fruit of our labor, all the wood, hay and stubble of our lives will be burnt up. Only the gold, silver and precious stones will be left to become part of our earned reward.

 

• It is important to remember that Colossians 3:24 is not talking about salvation, because that is not a reward and nor is it a part of an inheritance, it is a gift.

 

I Corinthians 15:50 says that: "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." So we know we will not get our inheritance while we live on this earth in our natural bodies. Our inheritance is something we are still waiting to receive.

 

God gave us the Holy Scriptures to teach us about Himself and how we should live for Him. If we will read them, we will learn how we should serve Him, and what He wants us to do for Him.

·         For example, Colossians 3 is a chapter that tells us all kinds of things the Lord wants us to do.

·         Another example is I Thessalonians 5.

 

It is a good idea to mark each verse the Lord especially brings to our attention and try to do what it says. If we do not study the word of God, we will not learn how to serve Christ, and we will miss a wonderful part of our future inheritance. It grieves the Holy Spirit that many Christians have attended Sunday School classes for 30, 40, or even 50 years (ever since they were children), but still know little or nothing about their great inheritance or the other precious Bible doctrines. Many know only the basic Bible stories about Jonah and the whale, or Joseph, or Jacob and Esau, but never learned how to serve Christ. To their great sorrow and loss, they will wind up at the Judgment Seat of Christ with little or nothing to show for their lives on earth. It will be no one’s fault but their own, because they had the word of God and they had the Holy Spirit to give them understanding. Don’t be just a statistic, a believer whose life produces nothing for themselves or for God. Take heed to what James says, and "be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).

 

   B. The Second Element In Earning Our Inheritance Is Suffering For  Christ.

 

Paul tells us that:

 

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; [notice there is a condition] if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."       Romans 8:16-18

 

Romans 8:17 says the children are "heirs." Imagine a millionaire who has written his last will and testament. If he wanted to, he could exclude his son from his will, and deny him part of the inheritance. That would not make the boy any less a son, because nothing could change the fact that he was his son, by birth. It is the same with believers. Born into God’s family, we are God’s sons. If we turn away from Him to a life of sin, God will deny us our inheritance, but nothing can change the fact that we are His sons.

 

Romans 8:19-22 has to do with the curse being taken off the animal kingdom when Christ reigns upon the earth in His millennial kingdom (cf. Isaiah 11). We know too, that the redemption of the believer body takes place at the rapture of the church (Romans 8:23). So we see from the context of this passage of scripture, that Paul is speaking of the time of the Millennium. In this context, suffering is mentioned in connection with our divine inheritance.

What was Paul thinking about when he used this word "suffer?" Well, suffering can be emotional or physical. One definition of the word suffer in Webster’s dictionary is "to bear what is inconvenient" or "to endure things." If we serve Christ, and do our best to live a godly life, we are going to suffer some persecutions he world will make sure of that (II Timothy 3:12). Paul the apostle suffered this sort of persecution because of the life he lived as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."     II Timothy 3:12

 

We have this promise from God, that if we try to live godly in Christ Jesus we will suffer some persecution. It is by this suffering that we earn this part of our future inheritance. Our persecution could also be physical, as in the early days of Christianity when Rome tortured and killed so many Christians.

 

As an example of this, see Acts 5:

 

"And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

 

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."    Acts 5:40-42

 

In this instance, the apostles were beaten and told not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore. Afterwards, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, and they continued teaching and preaching about Him. In this, they earned an inheritance. We don’t see this sort of thing taking place in America today, but it could happen in the future. We very well may find that before we die, we will have an opportunity to suffer physical persecution for the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

 

For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

 

Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me."

Philippians 1:28-30

 

 A study of the apostle Paul life shows clearly that he suffered for the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible says that he is an example of the way a believer should suffer. The Lord Jesus Christ also suffered, and I Peter 2 tells us that He is our example regarding suffering also.

 

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:"     I Peter 2:21

 

In the future we may well expect more physical suffering to fall upon the servants of Christ, as in past centuries. It will certainly be that way during the Great Tribulation (although the body of Christ, the New Testament Church, won’t be there). In fact, the real persecution of believers may begin before the rapture of the church. Things could get tough in a hurry for real Christians.

 

Having discussed physical persecution and its reward, let’s think for a moment; are there any other ways we may be made to suffer persecution and still earn this inheritance? Yes, for one thing, we can win this part of our inheritance by enduring hardship (one of the definitions of the word suffer). When we are mistreated, undergoing trials of mental distress, or enduring emotional abuse because of our testimony for Christ, our flesh is afflicted, because it does not want to be subjected to those things. We will encounter these afflictions if we go out on the streets and distribute gospel tracts, go door to door and witness for Christ, rebuke sin in the people that we work with, or get out on the street and preach (cf. Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:27; Galatians 6:14). If we deny our flesh and obey the Holy Spirit we will suffer some persecution Satan will see to that.

 

   C. The Third Element In Earning Our Inheritance Is Steadfastness In The Faith of Denying Christ.

 

It should be quite clear from the scriptures that there are some who get saved, but later return to the world and deny Christ. If they were truly born again, these people are just as much the sons of God as we. They will be in Heaven, but having denied Christ they will lose part of their inheritance. They were ashamed of Christ and unwilling to endure the fiery trials that this life holds for believers (Romans 10:11; Luke 9:26; I John 2:28; I Peter 4:16). Although the Lord Jesus Christ will also be ashamed of them, they will not lose their salvation.

 

See what Paul says:

 

"Therefore, I endure all things for the elect’s  sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."     II Timothy 2:10

 

Notice the two things Paul says may be obtained:

 

1.      "Salvation which is in Christ Jesus"

2.      "Eternal glory" which is an earned reward. (Compare this with Romans 8:18, which speaks of "the glory that shall be revealed in us.")

·         Salvation is the free gift of God,

·         But the eternal glory has to be earned.

 

Now let’s  look at two verses used by those who would try to convince us that it is possible for born again believers to lose their salvation.

 

  "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him [and if we’re saved, our flesh is dead with Christ] we shall also live with him:

 

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: [that is our inheritance; a reign with Jesus Christ during the millennium] if we deny him, he also will deny us:   

II