‘HIS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS’
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 2, 2022 under 2022 |
Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message; October 2, 2022 from Ephesians 1:18c
Theme: A godly sense of worth comes from knowing the Father’s inheritance in the saints through Jesus Christ.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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The subject that we come to this morning is a very personal matter for almost all of us. But for some of us in particular, I suspect it can be a painfully personal one. It’s the subject of our own sense of personal value—our sense of worth.
Have you ever seen those posts that people sometimes put up on social media from the Hubble telescope—those pictures that look back on our solar system, and show how tiny earth is in the vastness of space? Sometimes in the post, there’s an arrow that points to the tiny dot that is the earth. And next to that arrow are the words, “This is how small you are. Keep things in perspective.” It’s a way of expressing the idea that, in the grand scope of things, we don’t really matter much—or even matter at all. But no one that I know of ever finds deep fulfillment in such an idea. Both the person looking at that post, and the person posting it, still feel an inward longing to know that they matter. A mere speck of dust doesn’t feel such a longing. We are made by God—in His image; and we have an inward desire to know our own inherent significance. We all need to know that we are more than a speck of dust all alone in the vast galaxy. We need to know that we have true dignity, and value, and genuine worth.
Some of us have had experiences in life that have severely damaged that sense of worth. A lack of it creates a need that is so great that some people will do some desperate things in order to satisfy it. People will work harder than they should, or try to climb the social and economic ladder higher than they can, in order to earn the right to feel ‘worthy’. Others will isolate themselves from family or friends out of the fear that they might lose what precious sense of worth they still have. Many give themselves over to causes that aren’t logically defensible—or fight for things that have nothing to do with themselves and that bring about no ultimate good for anyone—all from of a desire to satisfy that horrible craving to ‘matter’ and to feel ‘important’. I can’t help wondering how many wasteful government programs and destructive social movements have actually been the ultimate products—not of a genuine effort to meet the needs of others—but rather of someone who sought to have their own need of self-worth satisfied. Some folks will even crush other people down in order to elevate their own comparative sense of worth. The history of tyranny in this world has been the story of individuals who have tried desperately to make themselves ‘matter’ at the cost of the freedoms and lives of others.
Well; I’d like to take you this morning to one remarkable line in just one verse of Scripture that points us to the ultimate satisfaction of that great need for worth. What it says is so short that most people might miss it. And yet, if true, what it says is enough to declare our worth objectively—and from the highest possible authority—throughout all of eternity.
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Now; to understand what this one phrase in this one verse tells us, I need to set the context for it. In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul had been writing to his dear believing brothers and sisters in the faith. He had been writing to them about all of the rich blessings that are theirs through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And in Ephesians 1:15-18, Paul told them …
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know … (Ephesians 1:15-18a).
So; he was praying for these believers; asking that God would give them an understanding of the riches they have in Christ. He wanted them to truly ‘know’ these things from the heart. And what were the things that he want them to know about? He went on to tell them;
… that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (vv. 18b-23).
There are three things, then, that the apostle Paul specifically wanted his readers to know. We’ve been taking our time over the past couple of weeks to learn about these things. And one of them—expressed to us in a line that we find in verse 18—is that they would know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints …”
Now, I have to tell you; I have read that line many times over the years. In times past, I had thought that Paul was praying that we would know what the riches of the glory of our inheritance in Christ is. After all, that’s what Paul talked about in verse 11. He said;
In Him [that is, in Christ] 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 … (v. 11).
And that—in and of itself—is a glorious truth. It’s absolutely true that, because of a relationship by faith with Jesus Christ, we’ve been made sharers together with Him in His own rich, glorious inheritance. I’ve often rejoiced in that glorious promise. But that’s not what the line in this morning’s verse is telling us. It’s not telling us about the rich inheritance that we have from God the Father. Rather, it’s telling us about the rich inheritance that we are to Him.
In other words, Paul was praying for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ to know—with wholehearted understanding—that God the Father has a rich inheritance in us! In fact, it seems that Paul went to unusual lengths to describe this inheritance—praying not only that we would know the riches of it, but that we would know the glory of the riches of it—that we would know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints …” Who would have ever dared to even think such a thing unless the Holy Spirit had lovingly revealed it to us in the pages of God’s word!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; in these words, we have the basis—outside of and above ourselves—for a truly enduring, truly overwhelming sense of value, and significance, and dignity, and worth. There couldn’t, in fact, be a greater expression of worth than what this tells us. This truly meets one of our deepest and most personal of needs in an unspeakably great way—if we will wholeheartedly embrace it. It’s telling us that a godly sense of worth comes from knowing the Father’s inheritance in the saints through Jesus Christ.
Just think of what a difference it would make in us if the truth of this sank into our hearts; so that we who are followers of Jesus would know—in a deep and experiential way—how truly much we matter to the heavenly Father!
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Now; this line tells us that the Father has an inheritance in the saints. According to the larger context of this passage, the “He” who is mentioned in that phrase can be no one else but almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But that’s when we run into a problem. When we think of the word ‘inheritance’, we often think of something that is passed on to someone by someone greater. And of course, there can be no one greater than God. So then; how should we understand what it means that we are His “inheritance”? How can God the Father “inherit” anything? How do we understand this?
Well; in the original language, the word itself (klāronomia) means something broader than the idea of an ‘inheritance’ as we’re used to thinking of it. It can simply refer to that which someone looks to as their “portion” or “possession” or “property”; something that is chosen for them, or that they choose for themselves. And I believe that’s how we should understand this. We are—to God—that which He has chosen for Himself as His “portion”—His “possession”—His “property”. God the Father can only have an “inheritance” that He chooses for Himself. And that, of course, is what we’re told about in verses 4-5;
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will … (vv. 4-5).
And that leads us to the first question that we need to ask about these words from Paul; and that is …
1. WHO IS IT THAT’S DECLARED TO BE THE FATHER’S INHERITANCE?
And the answer is that it’s those that the Father has chosen to be redeemed by the blood of His Son. The inheritance spoken of is His inheritance “in the saints”.
We should be careful, by the way, not to misunderstand the Bible’s use of the word “saints”. The word “saint” doesn’t mean what it often means in certain traditions of the Christian faith—that is, men and women who, because of their outstanding spirituality or remarkable works of faith, are canonized into ‘sainthood’ by the church. Rather, a “saint”—as the Bible uses the word—refers to any man or woman that God has graciously called out to Himself for redemption through Jesus’ blood; someone who is called out by God for salvation through faith in Jesus. And it’s only the “saints” in that sense—these who are His ‘called-out’ ones—who are His inheritance. They are His precious possession.
Think of what the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9-10. He wrote to his believing friends and told them;
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Can you think of a greater honor than to be chosen for that? To say that we poor, fallen sinners are “a chosen generation” and “His own special people” is just another way of saying that we have been made the inheritance of God the Father. He chose us for salvation to be His own, and we are now His ‘inheritance’.
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That leads us to another question that we need to ask; and that is …
2. HOW IS IT THAT WE HAVE WE BEEN MADE HIS INHERITANCE?
It’s not by anything we could ever do. No one could ever make themselves worthy to be chosen by God the Father as His inheritance. It can only be by grace—that is, by God’s free gift to us—through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It’s by Jesus’ atoning blood that our sins have been completely washed away from us, and that we are made acceptable in God’s sight. It’s only by the redemption that is in Jesus that we’ve been made worthy to be the Father’s inheritance.
Have you ever considered what we’re told in Hebrews 12:1-2? The writer of Hebrews was writing to encourage a group of persecuted Christians to keep on striving forward in the faith. He told them;
… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
And think of it! Do you know what the “joy” was that was set before Jesus—the Son of God in human flesh—that moved Him to endure the horrible death on the cross? It was the prospect of you and me—redeemed by His blood, washed clean in the Father’s sight—presented to the Father as His inheritance. Jesus Himself shares in the joy of that inheritance with His Father. And it’s only by Him that we are made worthy of it.
And by the way: Don’t trouble yourself or fret over the question of whether or not you are “chosen” by God for redemption by Jesus’ blood. If you have felt the terrible burden of your sin before God, and you’ve heard the good news that Jesus died on the cross for sinners, then place your faith in what Jesus did for you. Pray to the Father and say, “I am a sinner; but I thank you that Jesus died for me. I place my trust in what He did on the cross, and ask that you wash my sins away by His blood. Make me acceptable in Your sight, and receive me through your Son Jesus.”
If you have sincerely prayed that prayer and trusted Jesus as your Savior—and if you keep on walking with Him in obedience—then it’s proof that you have already been chosen by the Father. Rise up now and live faithfully for Him. You have already been chosen as part of His inheritance.
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Now; just think of what a glorious thing it is to be God’s own special people—His inheritance. Paul prayed that we would know “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”. As I said earlier, Paul seems to go out of his way to express the great ‘worth’ of the Father’s inheritance in us.
And so, another question for us to ask from these words is …
3. HOW IS OUR WORTH AS HIS INHERITANCE SHOWN TO US?
It wouldn’t be possible for us to grasp the glory of the Father’s inheritance in us until the day when we—ourselves—are finally fully glorified in Christ. Then we’ll finally have the eyes to see it, and the hearts to grasp it. But the Bible does give us some hints of the greatness of the Father’s inheritance in us.
First of all, we can know something of it by the great price paid to have us. The value of a thing can be determined by the price someone is willing to pay to have it. And the price that the Father paid to have us as His own is the greatest price ever paid in all the universe. The apostle Peter spoke of this in 1 Peter 1:17-21; when he wrote;
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:17-21).
The price that the Father paid to have us as His inheritance was so great that it could never be measured in terms of any amount of silver or gold. The price He paid was the lifeblood of His own sinless, spotless, beloved Son. Dear brothers and sisters; if you ever have doubts about your worth, just remember the immeasurable price that the heavenly Father willingly paid—and that His Son willingly suffered—in order to save you and make you His own inheritance.
Second, we can know something of our worth as His inheritance by the relationship that we’ve now been brought into. The Father didn’t pay the price of the blood of His own Son for us just to set us on some shelf somewhere and have nothing more to do with us. He didn’t choose us for Himself in order to lock us away in His safe somewhere. He chose us as His inheritance in order to enter into the deepest possible relationship of love with us.
Just how deep that relationship of love is was told to us by the Lord Jesus Himself. On the night before He went to the cross for us, He prayed for us. He spoke to the Father about His apostles in John 17:20-23, and said;
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23).
Think of it, dear brothers and sisters! The goal of the Father having chosen us as His inheritance is that we would be brought into the depth of the relationship that He enjoys with His own precious Son Jesus. It’s that we would bask eternally in the glorious overflow of the immeasurable love the Father has for His Son and that Jesus has for the Father. It’s not that we just be permitted to stand by and observe that love (which would be glorious enough); but rather that we would actually be brought into that relationship so that we are one just as the Father and the Son are one. And it’s all because the Father loves us as much as He loves His Son Jesus.
Jesus prayed further in verses 24-26; and said,
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (vv. 24-26).
To be promised this relationship eternally; to behold forever the glory that the Father has given to Him; to be promised the blessedness of enjoying the love that the Father has for Him forever; to be welcomed into that love fully and eternally—that’s how our worth as the Father’s inheritance is shown to us.
Third, we can know something of our worth as His inheritance by the eternal destiny to which we’ve been established. The Bible tells us that it is God’s plan to—one day—destroy the present heavens and this present earth, and to create a new heavens and a new earth. And out of all that currently exists in the present creation, the Father plans to keep only one thing as His inheritance. And that is us—we who are in Christ. In Revelation 21:1-5, the apostle John wrote;
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful” (21:1-5).
What a picture this gives us of our immeasurable worth to God the Father as His inheritance! He will keep nothing of the old heavens and the old earth except those of us who have been redeemed by the blood of His Son.
We will dwell with Him forever as His inheritance! What a picture this gives us of “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”!
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Now; Paul prayed that his readers would “know” this. And so a final question to ask is …
4. WHAT SHOULD KNOWING THIS MEAN TO US?
It should mean that, while we certainly value the relationships we have with other people—and while we cherish the sense of worth we may have in their eyes—we don’t look to them for ultimate meaning and value. It doesn’t, in the end, matter how much anyone else values us. It doesn’t ultimately matter whether or not we have achieved fame, or notoriety, or importance, or significance in the eyes of this world. We no longer have to behave like the people of this world do—desperately seeking a sense of meaning, or significance, or worth out of our own efforts. We have been chosen by the Father as His precious inheritance in Christ—and we are already more immeasurably worthy in His sight than we could ever be in the eyes of this world.
Oh; may we be given the spiritual insight to truly know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”! It would truly transform our lives if we did!
AE
