Monday, February 22, 2021

Our inheritance in Christ


  to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ Acts 26:18 MEV

 The Word of God records from the first breath of man until the time of Jesus' triumphant return, God's dealings with man. That is how God has dealt with and will ultimately deal with mankind. God gave man this Earth but Adam bowed the knee, committed high treason, if you will, and turned the Earth over to satan.

 Since the fall, God initiated covenants to allow Himself access to this Earth. To legally intervene in the affairs of men. Though we can see individual covenants, such as the one Noah made, there are really only two main Covenants. These two Covenants divide the entire Bible. 

 The Old Covenant was a covenant cut between God and man. The major issue was God always upheld His end, man on the other hand always failed. All was not lost though. God had foreseen this before He even created the Earth and breathed life into man. 

 With the Old Covenant, God gave man insight into his need for a Savior. There is nothing man can do to save Himself. There is no amount of works anyone can do to earn eternal life. This is why we see Heaven rejoicing at the first coming of Jesus Christ. Because with Jesus there was about to be a New Covenant ushered in that would change everything. 

 The Abrahamic covenant was a type and shadow of the New to come. Genesis 15 records it in detail. A furnace of smoke and a lamp of fire passed through the animal sacrifices. This was a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus. God literally made the covenant between Himself with Abraham being the beneficiary. So it is with the New.

 The New Covenant is a Covenant agreement made between the Father and the Son. God the Son, bore all the guilt, the shame, the sins, the sickness and disease, the poverty and lack, the sin and unrighteousness of mankind, the perfect, and Just taking the place of the guilty. The Father was pleased with and accepted and approved once for all time this once for all sacrifice forever. This is the Good News.

 The good and glad news of the Gospel is this New Covenant is not dependant upon mankind. Our works, our performance, and our behavior have nothing whatsoever to do with its blessings and benefits. We are never factored into any equation. This New Covenant is rooted in Christ's Faithfulness and the Father's acceptance and approval of Jesus, never us. 

With such Good News of this New Covenant, we can also see through Jesus Finished Work, we who believe have now obtained an inheritance. This inheritance is incorruptible. No action on our part can disqualify us from receiving and walking in this glorious inheritance.

 What then is our inheritance? This is one of the main reasons why we go to church. We go weekly to hear the reading of the will. The difference between hearing the will of a deceased man and the reading of this Heavenly will is Jesus is the only man to die and rise again to ensure all He left in the will is carried out and received by all who simply trust in Him.

 This inheritance in Christ is all-encompassing over every area of life. Spirit and soul and body nothing is neglected. Let's begin to see what we have in Him. 

  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  John 3:16 MEV

 First and foremost in this inheritance we have new life. When we first trust in Christ, we become a New Creation in Him. Our old man is dead and God literally recreates our spirit. We are completely clean and holy. 

for you have been born again, not from perishable seed, but imperishable, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. 1 Peter 1:23 MEV

 We are born again when we believe. We are brand new. The past is gone, the new has come. We are made alive in Him, partaking of eternal life.

 In summation, there is so much more to discover in who we are, and what we have in Him because of the Finished Work. This inheritance in Christ is priceless. Rejoice in this glorious New Covenant as we continue uncovering all we have inherited because of Jesus.


Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay