From Heirs to Inheritors
The desire of God is for all of us, His Children, to come into this status found in Christ Jesus our Lord and Forerunner—to attain that maturity of the Son, that we might enter into our full inheritance as joint heirs with Him. But, to get to this place, we must pass through trials and tests, like He did. “It is a faithful saying: For if we are dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:11-13).
Gifts are free. They are given at the benevolence of the giver. But the throne of Christ is reserved for those who would overcome with Him. It is reserved for those who would press forward with Christ to maturity and overcome.
“And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Rev 2:26-27). “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Rev 3:21). “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Rev 21:7).
The Son of God is the heir of all things. He is the Ruler and the King of kings. And to those that press forward into maturity and become overcomers, He will grant the privilege of sitting with Him and reigning with Him on His Throne. This is not just for any child of God you may meet in a church meeting.
Every child of God is in the Kingdom and is a potential inheritor of all the promises of God. But only those who make becoming like Christ their goal will share the glory of inheriting the Kingdom with Him. There’s a difference between seeing or entering the Kingdom and inheriting it.
Ten spies were sent into the land of Canaan. All ten of them saw the Land of Canaan. All ten of them entered the Land of Canaan. In fact, all ten of then tasted the “grapes of Eshcol,” the fruits of Canaan. But only two inherited a portion in the Land of Promise.
Many Christians have a faulty idea concerning ruling and reigning with Christ. They think that by sheer grace, they will somehow be caught up into heavenly realms of power and glory and find themselves sharing the Throne with Christ Jesus. But the Spirit of God teaches us clearly that “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Rev. 21:7). The twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation speaks of three classes of people in relation to the Kingdom. First, there’s the unconverted, those who have their part in the lake of fire. Second are the saved peoples of God, who dwell in the New Jerusalem, with God Himself dwelling among them. These people have entered the Kingdom and are enjoying the presence of God and the blessings and benefits of the New Jerusalem. And then there’s the third group—the fully grown sons, the overcomers, the heirs of all things, who sit on the throne with the Lord and reign and rule with Him.
In the shadow picture presented in the Old Testament, we also see three groups of people. First we see the inhabitants of Egypt and all those left behind in Egypt after the people of God crossed the Red Sea. These are the unconverted.
The second group are all those who were delivered out of Egypt into freedom, but were still in the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of testings, prunings, and preparation. It is not meant to destroy but to prepare us, mature us, and make us ready for our inheritance in the Land of Canaan.
This second group can be said to have tasted the fringe benefits of their inheritance. They have not entered in yet, but they have tasted the power and riches of the world to come on the other side of Jordan. They can be said to have seen the Kingdom in a way, but they have yet to enter it and definitely could not inherit it. They saw and partook of the grapes of Eshcol, but did not enter into the land nor inherit any portion of it.
“And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
“And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
“So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
“And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days” (Num 13:17-24).
But when the spies returned and shared the grapes from the brook of Eshcol, the land that flowed with milk and honey, ten of them brought an evil report of unbelief. This evil report gave birth to fear and unbelief in the heart of these “second” group and prevented them from entering in and inheriting the Land of Promise.
The third group in the Old Testament shadow includes Caleb, Joshua, and all the younger ones who entered into the Land of Canaan and obtained their inheritance. They saw the Land, entered the Land, and possessed the Land. The Lord Jesus told Nicodemus:
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:3-7).
When one enters a country or kingdom, he is a citizen and enjoys the benefits of that country, but he is a subject of that country. However, when one inherits a kingdom, he is not just a subject of the kingdom, but the controller, the authority, the power, and the governor of that territory. Inheriting the Kingdom is much more than merely entering into it and enjoying the blessings and rights of citizenship.
As stated above, there are different classes of people in relation to the Kingdom of God. There are those who see and enter the Kingdom of God. Then there are those who press in and possess the Kingdom. And finally, there are those, the Overcomers, who inherit the Kingdom. To inherit the Kingdom is to fully possess its riches and abundance and exercise its power and dominion. Those who inherit the Kingdom are those who sit with the Lord Jesus upon His throne and rule with Him.
The Kingdom of God is for us to inherit. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Forerunner, has already entered into His inheritance and now sits upon His Father’s throne. He is the Heir of all things. But He has moved on from being an Heir: He has become an inheritor. He now possesses the key to all things in heaven and on earth. What He opens, no one can shut, and what He shuts, no one can open. He’s the Possessor of all things.
Yes, we are joint heirs with Him, but we are not yet joint inheritors of the Kingdom with Him. We are heirs of God—not yet inheritors. God’s plan and desire for us is to walk in His steps and press in until we reach that place where we begin to fully possess our possessions. The word of the Lord is coming to us today to press into the Land of our inheritance, and move from heirs to inheritors.
“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions” (Obad 1:17).
