Rich Inheritance in the Saints
What if you were told that you were going to receive an extravagant inheritance from your very wealthy Father? When I think about inheritance, I think about Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church. In fact, if you ever participated in one of my Bible studies you probably heard that I believe Ephesians 1:17-19 Is The Most Powerful Prayer You Will Ever Pray. This is the most consistent prayer that I pray for myself and my family.
Right at the heart of the passage is the knowledge of our rich inheritance in the saints. Paul wanted his beloved Ephesian church to know and experience the glory of Jesus’ inheritance in the saints. God’s calling and His inheritance link together because God’s calling invites us to know and experience this rich inheritance.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18
Did you notice these four weighty words in Ephesians 1:18: riches, glory, inheritance, and saints? The hope of our calling is that we partake of this rich inheritance.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
Hebrews 3:1
Because of God’s calling, we can confidently expect to partake in this glorious inheritance in the saints. These are spiritual things, gifts from God that diminish the value of earthly treasures.
Predestined, Positioned, And Qualified to Partake
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to
the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
Ephesians 1:11
Two hundred and ten times the term, inheritance is used in the Bible.
Our God wrote us into His will before we took our first breath. In fact, Jesus said that God prepared the inheritance for us before the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34) In Romans 8:15-17, Paul explained that as adopted children into God’s family we are joint heirs with Christ. Jesus positioned us in His heavenly family, the family of God to partake of His rich inheritance.
Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Colossians 1:12
Qualified in the original language means to make sufficient, render competent or worthy. It comes from a root word which means, It is enough. Where we were deficient, God made us sufficient. In all areas we lacked competence or worth, He poured Himself out as an offering to fill us with His own ability and value.
In Philippians 1:7 Paul said that we are partakers of grace. Grace also reminds us that we received something completely unavailable to us based on our merit alone. Since God Himself predestined believers, positioned us in His family, and qualified us as His beloved children that we might partake of this rich inheritance, we have reason to be thankful to Him and Him only.
The truth is, without Jesus and His work, we are spiritually destitute.
What Is This Rich Inheritance?
Titus 3:7 says we are heirs according to eternal life. Over and over again the Bible shows us that as believers in Christ, we inherit eternal life and His kingdom. Hebrews 6:12 says we inherit God’s promises and 1 Peter 3:9, a blessing. Since Jesus lives forever and we are joint heirs with Him, we also live forever. Whatever inheritance Christ received when He stepped into eternal glory, we share in that.
· He is perfect. We will be perfected.
· He reigns. We will reign.
· He lives forever. We will live forever.
· He is healed and whole. We will be healed and whole.
· However, on this side of eternity we also share in His sufferings.
Partakers of His Suffering and His Power
And if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:17
We all tend to like the message of sharing in the riches of Christ’s inheritance, but sharing in His sufferings doesn’t have the same appeal. However, found within a rich rewarding life are elements of good and bad experiences. While we want to avoid the pain and suffering in this life, those very experiences illuminate the blessing of the good like nothing else can.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18
In Revelation 21:7 John records Jesus saying,
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My Son.
You see, the good news about the inheritance and the suffering is that in these we also share in His power to overcome. Surely that points to the reason Paul also prayed for the Ephesian church to know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:19) Through His own power, Jesus overcame the sufferings of this world and now extends His exceeding great power to those who believe.
So, while we wait for the completion and fulfilling of His inheritance, we face problems, issues, struggles, and even tragedy in this world. However, 1 Peter 1:3-5 says we have a living hope.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Jesus Is Our Living Hope.
Through our faith in Jesus awaiting the inheritance in its completion, God keeps us by His power. Scripture says He is our very present help in times of trouble. Jesus is I am, the one true God who is present, active, and powerful in the lives of those who belong to Him, who follow Him, and who put their complete trust in Him.
Jesus is the contradiction to the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Jesus is the only one who can handle your everything because He is IAM your everything.
I want to encourage you with the words of a hymn that I grew up singing, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Dear Sister,
You have Jesus’ power through His Holy Spirit in you; therefore, you are an overcomer. God empowered you with all that you need to face your present sufferings, to go through trials and difficulties, and to come out on the other side victorious. Look to Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith and made you a partaker of His rich inheritance in the saints.
