By John LaVier
The first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians is a most precious portion of the Word of God. In this chapter the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in all His grace and glory, and here also we learn something of the riches that are ours in Him.
After the apostolic greeting we read in verse 3 that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Then some of these blessings are enumerated. In Him we were chosen before the foundation of the world; in Him we have the place of sons; in Him we are accepted of the Father; in Him we have redemption by His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Finally in verse 11 we read, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” And what an inheritance is this! An eternity of endless, fadeless glory!
“We have obtained an inheritance.” Now how did we obtain this inheritance? It was not given as a prize, or as a reward for faithful service, nor because we were deserving in the least. It was all the free gift of God. Israel of old was given an inheritance, and that beautiful land flowing with milk and honey was a picture of our heavenly inheritance. Israel did not receive that inheritance because of any worthiness on their part. God told them that they were a disobedient and stiff-necked people, and warned them against thinking that any merit of theirs was responsible for the grant of the land. He said; “Speak not thou in thine heart, saying, For my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land … Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go in to possess their land.” (Deut. 9:4,5)
God brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, the wilderness, and over Jordan, and gave them the inheritance. They did not deserve it, but it was all His gift. So, like Israel’s land, our heavenly inheritance is His gift to us, all according to the riches of His grace. We have not deserved it, nor earned it, nor suffered for it. He deserved it, He earned it, He suffered for it, and we have it in Him. To Him be the praise and the glory.
What a position is ours, in Him. What possessions are ours, in Him. We have obtained “the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory ” (2 Tim 2:10). Wealth, riches, honor and glory will be ours throughout the oncoming ages. And yet, at very best, how little do we really know of all that is included in this most glorious inheritance. Three facts are known to us, though, but even these are beyond our power to fully comprehend. They are:
- What Christ IS in glory, we shall be.
- “When He shall appear, we shall be like Him.”
- “Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
- What Christ HAS in glory, we shall have.
- “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
- WHERE Christ is in glory, we shall be.
- “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Child of God, think on these things. As the old world totters on the brink of disaster, as the darkness deepens and collapse approaches, how it should stabilize, strengthen, cheer and encourage us to meditate upon our inheritance in Christ our Lord.
