THE GREATEST GIFT
Inheritance of Creation
Inheritance of Creation
Michael D Biggs
Christmas. For centuries
Christmas has truly been a wonderful time of the year, celebrated nearly worldwide.
Aside from our increasingly politically correct and materialistic societies,
the majority of people still enjoy Christmas, and recognize it as the day we
celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus.
* (Note: I am with
the consensus of most scholars that Jesus was not actually born on the 25th
of December. Most likely His birth was in the Autumn months, between the years
7 & 4 BC. So with this article I am not here to debate dates & times;
the emphasis rather being on the promise of God being fulfilled.)
Many would argue -
with very good reason - that the birth of our Lord and Savior is God’s greatest
gift to mankind. This sentiment is obvious in many of our songs &
poems.
“Carols, presents and Christmas trees,
traditions we all love.
But the birth of our dear Savior
transcends all else above.
traditions we all love.
But the birth of our dear Savior
transcends all else above.
When giving gifts to those we love
it is good that we recall,
that the love of our Redeemer
is the greatest gift of all.”
it is good that we recall,
that the love of our Redeemer
is the greatest gift of all.”
- Gerald R. Hill
(The Gift of Christmas)
"This
is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols,
but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ." - Frank McKibben
Oh, if we would
even embrace this attitude as we enter into the Holiday season, and throughout
the year, setting our minds on Christ and contemplating the wonder of the ways
of God.
Throughout the Old
Testament of Scripture, we find references to a promised Coming One, a Messiah,
a Savior, who would deliver God’s people from their enemies. Beginning with
God's promise in the Garden (Gen 3:15), through Moses (Deut 18:15-19) and the
prophets, to Malachi (Mal 3:1) the coming of the Messiah had been foretold by men
who heard and believed the Word of God. This One would not only redeem Israel
to God, but bring salvation to all nations as well. A little over 2000 years
ago, the time had come for the fulfillment of the prophecies to begin.
"But
when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" - Gal 4:4-5 NKJV
When that time had
come, the angel spoke to Joseph these words that must have been staggering to
hear -
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take
Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she
will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people
from their sins.”
– Matt 1:20-21 RSV
What a great gift
of responsibility and privilege, for this couple to care for the Child who was
coming. While Mary literally carried the Seed of the living God in her womb,
the One who would come forth as a physical man, we carry the Seed of God in us as
well, that, as we nourish it, will transform our very nature into that of
Christ. (Gal 4:19, 1John3:2). Yes, each of us who have received Christ into our
hearts by the gift of faith are also privileged and as well have great
responsibility to feed & nourish that Seed planted in us.
And to Zechariah, father
of John the Baptist, came the angels’ declaration -
“Blessed
is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."
- Luke 1:68-75
The long ago promise
to Abraham had not been forgotten. A Child was born, a “horn of salvation” through Whom all the promises given to Israel
would be fulfilled. Indeed, much was fulfilled when Jesus came to the earth and
lived among us for a third of a century, was crucified and raised to Life - but
the bulk and the culmination of the promises will be accomplished when Jesus
returns, including the promise that I believe is God’s greatest gift to man,
which we shall examine shortly.
To be sure, all
must begin with the gift of salvation. All the wonderful promises of God are
contingent on our being received into His body, the Church (with a capital
“C”). God’s Word in 2Cor 6:17-18 promises entrance into His family when we
embrace the salvation offered through Jesus atonement by walking in His
conditions of repentance.
Perhaps the best
known verse in the Bible tells us of God's wonderful gift of salvation to us,
and the result of fully accepting His offering ~
"For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have Eternal Life." - John 3:16
Running a close
second, especially in evangelical circles, would probably be -
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” –
Rom 6:23
Many teach that
the greatest gift we can receive is the love of God in Messiah Jesus and all
that it encompasses: salvation, deliverance, fellowship, Eternal Life. The
opportunity to become who God originally intended us to become. Truly, without the
salvation Jesus brought us by His atoning sacrifice on Calvary we would have no
hope. For this very purpose God sent His Son, that the gift of salvation could
be made available to all mankind.
The Apostle John
declared – “we
have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the
world.” – 1John 4:14 NIV
"Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of
turning."
- James 1:17
NKJV
Indeed, to all has been given the opportunity to Life –
"God has given us Eternal Life, and this
Life is in His Son." - 1John 5:11 NKJV
Our God is a
generous, gracious God. Having my own little son has taught me a lot these last
4 years. It has taught me something about the nature of God and His
relationship to us. I believe I am gaining a deeper understanding of His desire
for His own first-begotten Son, and for us as His sons (and daughters) as well,
as I experience agape love for my own son and family.
Through this
deeper understanding I believe I see the gift God has in store for man that,
dare I say, far surpasses that initial salvation we receive when we come to
Christ. For it is not what we were saved from,
but now what we were saved for.
A portion of the
oft-read Christmas story from Luke's Gospel sets the stage ~
“In the
sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called
Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the
house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel
came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But
she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this
could be. 30 Then the angel told her:
Do not
be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.”
31 Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.”
- Luke 1:26-33 HCSB
The last two
verses above have stirred my spirit the last couple years, especially since I
became a father to my own little boy. Here in Gabriel’s oracle to Mary I see
the relationship between the Father and Son clearly defined - "The Lord God
will give Him the throne...”
God’s gift to us
of salvation, grace & the opportunity for Eternal Life has been well taught
over the centuries; but here I want to look at the gift that Father God has
given to His Son, the Man Jesus, and to those who are one with Jesus in Christ.
The gift of dominion - the right to restore Life to creation and rule over all
the works of God’s hands!
Even from a
strictly human perspective, I believe all parents reading this want the best
for our children; to leave them a lasting inheritance. On a personal level, I
want to give to my son Joshua something that he will appreciate, something that
will bless my heart to grant him. Oh, to give him that which would last for
eternity!
That is our
Heavenly Fathers heart. To impart to His begotten, beginning with Jesus, the
best He can offer. In the Old Testament Book of Psalms, we find God speaking to
His Son long before He came to this earth as a physical being, a baby, born of
woman.
“I
will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession."
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession."
- Psalm 2:7-8 NKJV
Many generations
later, after His atoning sacrifice, death and Resurrection, Jesus would declare
to His disciples – “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has
been given to Me.” (Matt 28:18 AMP)
God’s promise
became reality. All has been given over to Jesus. He IS in control.
And yet we still
see chaos everywhere. Man & creation appear to be in bondage still.
Something further
needs to take place.
In the Revelation
to John, the Lord Jesus Himself speaks these incredible words concerning those physical
human beings who truly walked worthy of their calling to be conformed into the
image of God’s Son.
“He who overcomes, and keeps My works until
the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’-
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’-
as I also have received from My Father.”
– Rev 2:26-27 NKJV
– Rev 2:26-27 NKJV
Jesus is waiting
for His counterpart, His body, to be perfected. Together, the physical Christ,
Head and body will rule over creation, and bring righteousness, peace and joy
to the nations. Then will there be order instead of chaos, gladness instead of
hopelessness, Life instead of death.
Friends this is
what gives me great hope! These promises are what helps me endure through the
trials of life, and lifts me from despair when I see the horrors of what sin
has done to mankind.
PROMISED TO MAN
Dominion over
God’s creation, rulership of the earth was given to man way back in Genesis
Chapter 1:28. As we shall discover, God created the physical to even have
dominion over the spiritual as well.
When God brought
forth Adam from the dust and breathed His life into him, Adam had no sin
nature. He was made in the “likeness of God” (Gen 5:1). In the NT Adam is called the “son of God”
(Luke 3:38), and a "type of Him who was to
come." (Rom 5:14). God created everything and called it all “good”. Then He created man, called
it “very
good” and then presented His creation to Adam to rule over. It was a
gift.
"When
I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than God,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than God,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You
have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet." - Psalm 8:3-6 NKJV Heb
You have put all things under his feet." - Psalm 8:3-6 NKJV Heb
After Adams fall
and following the dispersion of man at the tower of Babel, the promise came to
Abram -
“I will make you exceedingly fruitful;
and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you
in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your
descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your
descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” – Gen 17:6-8 NKJV
This “everlasting
covenant” continued to David -
“I will not violate My covenant
or alter what My lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before Me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.” - Psalm 89:34-37 NIV
or alter what My lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before Me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.” - Psalm 89:34-37 NIV
God created man
to have dominion over all His creation. Adam failed. And in doing so, forfeited
that right to rule, and infected mankind with sin. For the next 4000 or so
years mankind continued to fail. Yet our Heavenly Father’s desire still is to
have man rule over all the works of His hands. That fiat never
changed. In the Book of Hebrews, we read –
“And there is a place where someone has
given this solemn testimony:
“What is mere man, that You concern yourself
with him?
or the son of man, that You watch over him with such care?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels,
You crowned him with glory and honor,
8 You put everything in subjection under his feet.”
or the son of man, that You watch over him with such care?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels,
You crowned him with glory and honor,
8 You put everything in subjection under his feet.”
In subjecting everything to him, He
left nothing unsubjected to him. However, at present, we don’t see everything
subjected to him — at least, not yet.”
- Heb 2:6-8 CJB
“Not yet.” Something has caused Gods plan
to be postponed. And that something is sin.
That first man, Adam,
lost the position of rulership when he fell to temptation. God’s gifts are
indeed free, but they are only retained upon conditions. As God freely set His
people free from Egypt, the majority did not enter the promised land because of
their disobedience, so too our salvation from the world is freely given but
must be held onto by our walking daily with Jesus in obedience & submission
to His commands. When Adam succumbed, his sin became a weakness with which all who
followed were born with, and also unfit to rule. So does that nullify the
promise of God? No...
THE MAN JESUS
Enter the Word
(the Logos).
"In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through
Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him
was life, and the life was the light of men.”
- John 1:1-4 NKJV
The Word. The very
expression of God, of El Shaddai. A Spirit, not a physical man, this being who
would become Jesus, had been with the Father at the creation of all things. We
find Him sharing His heart in the Proverbs ~
"Jehovah
(Yahweh) possessed Me in the beginning of His way, Before His
works of old.
23 I
was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was.
24 When
there were no depths, I was brought forth (begotten),
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before
the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth (begotten);
26 While
as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust
of the world.
27 When
He established the heavens, I was there: When He set a circle upon the face of
the deep,
28 When
He made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong,
29 When
He gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress His
commandment, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 Then
I was by Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing
always before Him,
31 Rejoicing
in His habitable earth; And My delight was with the sons of men."
- Prov 8:22-31 ASV
More than all the wondrous
universes, above all the glory of creation, more than any other being, physical
or spiritual, (all which had been created through Him as the Word) the Son of
God found great delight in man. But to inherit all things had been promised to
man, and the Son was still a spiritual being at this time.
Even so, that
greatly pleased the Father. Seeing the potential and destined end for man, the
Son yearned to fellowship with this physical creation. All that was good and
right, everything that was holy and righteous to the Father is what His Son
loved. I pray that all that I love that is holy and righteous will be the delight
of my little boy Joshua.
And so as we read
earlier, the Father prophetically promised His Son -
“I
will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession."
- Psa 2:7-8 NKJV
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession."
- Psa 2:7-8 NKJV
The Father loved
His creation even though sin had entered in. His desire was always to set all
that He had made free. Indeed, Creation itself groans to be delivered (Rom
8:20-22)
So the Word, the
Becoming One, became human, that He might fulfill the promise. He had to be
like us, born of a woman, a flesh and blood man, to be eligible to be our
Redeemer, our King. He had to become flesh in order to conquer the spiritual
enemy of man and creation. Jesus greatly emphasized His humanity in His
teaching, always referring to Himself as the “Son of Man.”
He rose from the
grave as a physical Man (Luke 24:36-43). He ascended as a physical Man (Acts
1:4-11). And He is coming again to set up His Kingdom on the earth as a
physical Man (Matt 24:29-31)
“Since then the children have shared in
flesh and blood, He also Himself in the same way partook of the same, that
through death He might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that
is, the devil.” – Heb 2:14 WEB
We tend to think
of Jesus always having been Jesus. We picture Him a grown man walking the streets
of Jerusalem teaching & healing the sick, and we picture Him as having
looked that way from eternity. The Foursquare Denomination (of which I am a
part) has the verse from Hebrews 13:8 posted in every one of their church
buildings – “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Amen. And that
is True. But when did that “yesterday”
begin? For we know from the same Spirit-lead writer that “Although He was a Son, He learned
obedience through what He suffered; 9 and being made
perfect He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him...”
(Heb 5:8-9 RSV)
The man Jesus was perfected here on earth, and became salvation. So the Son, as the
Word of God, was not qualified to be our Lord and Savior; not without a
physical body; and in that physical body tested in “all points like as we” (Heb 4:15)
The apostle Peter,
in his sermon after being filled with the Holy Spirt, preached this Truth concerning
the Son of Man -
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ.”
– Acts 2:36 NKJV
Jesus was made
Lord and Christ, because as a Man He “did not sin” even though He faced every
temptation that man can face, “suffered as He was tempted”, and “Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:8 NAS)
Where Adam had
failed, when he disobeyed and disappointed God, Jesus would be tested. To see
the fulfillment of the promises, He had to leave His place by the Father's
side, to come to earth as a helpless babe, born into a poor family, and grow up
in the face of persecution and temptation and ultimately great suffering, so
that He could return to the right Hand of God as His rightful heir, and ruler
over all creation - as a Man.
”And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld
His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." - John 1:14 NKJV
And by this He
made a way for us to come out from the shadow of Adam, and into His Light. To
be born again as the sons and daughters of God that we were ultimately meant to
be: reborn into a New Creation.
“He was
in the world, and the world was made through Him... To as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in
His Name."
- John 1:10-12 NKJV
God's plan was
that His Son would become one of us, that He might be tested, perfected, and
found worthy to inherit all things. He came with the blessing of God, but
indeed He came as a physical man. And like the first Adam, He came without a
sin nature. He came to do the will of God, to fulfill the prophecies written
about Him in the Law and the Prophets. He said, "I
have come to do They will, O God, Yea, Thy Law is within My heart." (Psalm
40:8, Heb 10:7) He would example this resolve throughout His ministry even
up to the Garden on the night of His greatest test, the eve of His crucifixion,
"Not My will, but Thine be done."
Jesus came to be
that example for us to follow. He tells us - “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23 NKJV) The Holman
translates “come
with Me” and Phillips renders “follow Me” as “follow in My footsteps.” We’ve been
called to “come with Him” through death and resurrection into Eternal Life as a
new creation, of which Jesus is the “Firstborn”. (this is Paul’s desire in Phil 3).
Again, where Adam
failed, Jesus would succeed. The first Adam broke the only commandment God had
given him. Jesus would be obedient to the entirety of God's Eternal Law, even
to death.
"Have
this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who,
existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be
grasped, (that
is where satan fell, and how he tempted Adam to fall) 7 but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And
being found in human form, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, yes,
the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted
Him, and gave to Him the name which is above every name; 10 that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth,
and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
- Phil 2:5-11 WEB
And oh, the reward
for His obedience!
“Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
– Psalm 45:6-7 NIV
God's own Son came
that first Christmas as a baby boy to became the Man who would fulfill His
Father's greatest desire. Christ Jesus would inherit all things. The promise to
man would be fulfilled. And God would be reconciled to all His creation. He
will one day walk again with Adam in Eden.
" The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him
and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things
hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He
is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He
might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all
his fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself
all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through His blood, shed on the cross." - Col 1:15-20 NIV
The Son strove not
for this position, but rather sought just to please God His Father. In this, He
obtained - by humility and obedience - the Greatest Gift.
A verse many
attribute to satan describes the selfish ambition and desire for preeminence
that drove the enemy of our souls from the very Presence of God -
"I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds,
I will be like the Most High."
I will be like the Most High."
- Isaiah 14:14 NKJV
And this too he
spoke to Adam & Eve in the garden –
"God knows that when you eat from
(the forbidden tree) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God." - Gen 3:5
Whereas satan
sought to “be like the Most High” and
many men since have desired or even claimed to be “like God”, Jesus “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.”
(Phil 2:6)
In the end of days, (which I believe is fast approaching, based on Scripture and personal revelation) the anti-Christ we are told “will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2Thess 2:4 NIV)
In the end of days, (which I believe is fast approaching, based on Scripture and personal revelation) the anti-Christ we are told “will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2Thess 2:4 NIV)
Attempting to
achieve God’s plan for mankind apart from God Himself this arrogant man will
not “regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.” (Dan 11:37b)
Without going into
all the incredible prophecies found in Daniel concerning the end times, and the
spiritual battles regarding the “thrones” upon which the brothers of Jesus will
eventually sit, let us just recognize that after all has come to pass the Man
Jesus, along with His body, the First Resurrection saints, will be given the
dominion that so many others had sought to obtain by their own power.
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and He came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before Him.
14 And to Him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve Him;
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.”
there came one like a son of man,
and He came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before Him.
14 And to Him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve Him;
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.”
– Dan 7:13-14 RSV
MANS INHERITANCE OF CREATION
The inheritance of
the nations did not come to Christ Jesus because He who possessed them had
died, as is usually the case with an “inheritance” here in modern
understanding. Jesus received the nations as His inheritance because He had
been born into a new Life! And those who follow Him into that New Life, again
not by death of God, but by their actual transformation into a new creation
filled with His Life join Jesus the Firstborn as co-heirs of creation.
In Biblical Greek
the words κληρονομησουσιν (inherit)
& κληρονομιας (inheritance) give
the understanding of a gift, a reward for obedience to the Father. (Strong’s
Grk # 2816 & 2817)
To those who will
truly submit themselves to the Lord and are walking by His Spirit comes the
promise –
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” – Rom 8:16-17 NIV
Paul exhorts us to
serve the Lord above all others – “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
– Col 3:24 NKJV
That promise given
to Abraham will ultimately be fulfilled when the fullness of Messiah (Christ,
Head & body) is complete.
“if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according
to the promise.”
– Gal 3:29 NKJV
So… who will
receive this gift? To whom, along with Jesus, will be granted the greatest
gift?
Does being a
Christian as we define the term today qualify us all to sit with the Lamb on
His throne and rule creation? This is another area of study we’ve looked at
before, but briefly what does the Word declare concerning those who go by the
Name of Christ yet still walk in sin? Writing to those in the churches Paul
says -
“For this you know, that no fornicator,
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and God.” – Eph 5:5 NKJV
The Apostle
addresses this in more than one of his epistles: writing to the saints in
Corinth -
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God?” – 1Cor 6:9 NKJV
And in Revelation
we read -
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
– Rev 21:7 NKJV
– Rev 21:7 NKJV
Those, who like
Jesus, love righteousness and hate wickedness, who surrender their lives to God
in humility & obedience in all things are those who overcome.
And oh the reward
for their obedience!
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit
with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne.”
– Rev 3:21
NKJV
Just as it was “not good”
for Adam to be alone, and needed Eve to be complete, so too the Man Jesus needs
a body for Christ to be complete. That Kingdom presented to the Son of Man in
Daniel 7:14, will as well be a gift to the overcomers. And together Christ,
Head & body, will set creation free and usher in that eternal Kingdom of
righteousness!
“Then the kingdom, the rulership and the
greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the holy
people of the Most High. Their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
rulers will serve and obey them.” – Dan 7:27 CJB
The Revised
Version translates -
“And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey them.”
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey them.”
- Dan 7:27 RSV
In vs 14 dominion
is given to the Son of Man, who we recognize to be Christ Jesus. In vs 27
dominion is given to the saints. The Lord Jesus is King of kings and Lord of
lords. I used to believe this meant He was King over all earthly kings, but in
Revelation the context is that along with The King (Jesus) will rule other
kings and lords over all creation (His body, the Church are co-heirs with Him).
These kings &
lords who sit with Jesus on His Throne are the First Resurrection saints who
were raised at His coming on the clouds (1Thess 4:16, 1John 3:2). Together they
will judge the physical & spirit realms (1Cor 6), and inherit the countless
people from the beginning of time who were welcomed into the Kingdom of God based
on their works, although they may have never known Christ in this life, and
even many who claimed His Name yet walked not in His ways. They will be the
inheritance of the overcoming victorious saints of all ages, from Abel to the
last individual who will complete the full number of Gentiles called to be a
stone in the wall of the New Jerusalem. (Luke 19:11-17, Matt 19:28, Rom 11:25,
1Pet 2:5)
“See, a King will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.”
and rulers will rule with justice.”
– Isaiah 32:1 NIV
To the royal
priesthood, of which the saints are called (1Pet 2:9), the promise of dominion
is presented, where the Lord says - “If you will walk in My ways and keep My requirements,
then you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts” (Zec 3:7 NRSV).
Those who have
overcome will triumphantly sing, “You have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall
reign on the earth.” (Rev 5:10 NKJV)
These are those
who have been truly conformed into the image of God’s Son, who have been raised
a new creation having received their physical bodies in the likeness of Jesus
and now live, not by blood life, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s
gift to Jesus and His brethren is His creation; to minister to, to love and be
to them the revelation of God Himself.
Amen.
So when we
celebrate Christmas, we remember the birth of the One who became the Man who
would bring redemption and restoration, and paved the way for man to inherit
creation.
Christ Jesus. The
Firstborn of the Spirit God. The firstborn of physical Mary. The firstborn of
the Resurrection. The Firstborn of the New Creation.
“For it
was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who
are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call
them brethren, 12 saying:
“I will
declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
13 And
again:
“I will
put My trust in Him.”
And
again:
“Here am
I and the children whom God has given Me.”
- Heb 2:10-13 NKJV
“For if we have become united with Him in a
death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection
like His.”
– Rom 6:5 ISV
A Resurrection like
His! Raised to incorruptible Life, in the likeness of the Man Jesus, fully
Divine and fully man. Oh, there is so much more to the plan of God than modern
Christianity has taught or even knows much about.
Dear friends, may
we grab hold of these Truths and not let go. May the Fathers desire for each
one of us be fulfilled as we cooperate with Him in transforming our very nature
into that like Christ Jesus.
My prayer for us
all would be that like Paul ~
“I pray for you constantly, 17 asking
God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you the Spirit of wisdom
and insight so that you might
grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will
be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has
given to those He called, and the rich
and glorious inheritance He has given to His holy people.
19 I also pray that you will understand the
incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same
mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him
in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now
He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not
only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has
put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all
things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his
body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere
with Himself.”
- Eph 1:16-23 NLT
Amen.
Peace &
Blessing,
Michael