02.05a. (continued)

Fellow Heirs with Christ in His Coming Kingdom

Christ has been made “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). When He returns, He will set up the Kingdom on the earth and inherit (possess) it (Luke 19:11-12; Hebrews 1:6-9). We have an opportunity to be fellow heirs, co-possessors of His coming Kingdom, but such a possession is conditional for us. Romans 8:18-20 speaks of the glory of that coming Kingdom. These verses are preceded by Romans 8:17, which speaks of the condition whereby we might inherit this Kingdom. The Greek text may be rendered as follows with only a slight, permissible change in the punctuation: “. . . and if children, then heirs--heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together”. This rendering is by Greek professor Zane Hodges who makes these pertinent comments: “Under this rendering of the text, there are two forms of heirship. One of these is based on being children of God. The other is based on suffering with Christ. This distinction is crucial for understanding the New Testament teaching on this subject”. Christ’s enduring obedience included suffering (Php 2:8; Hebrews 5:8; Hebrews 12:3). As a result, He was given the highest position by God and will rule over all (Php 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:9; Hebrews 12:2). Our sharing of His rulership will also require obedience and suffering (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:26; Revelation 3:21). Conversely, a disobedient life will cause us to forfeit the Kingdom inheritance (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5). According to the context, these warnings of disinheritance are addressed to Christians, as indicated in the passages cited below. “On the contrary you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that your brethren. Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:8-10). In this passage, Paul was warning the believers who were doing unrighteous things. He was warning them, essentially saying, “You who are practicing sin (i.e. defrauding your brother-- 1 Corinthians 6:8), don’t you know, don’t you realize that persons who practice sin shall not possess the Kingdom of God”? That the Kingdom of God referred to here is the coming millennial Kingdom of Christ is proven by a later reference to the Kingdom in First Corinthians. “Then comes the end [of the 1,000 years], when He [Christ] delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father” (1 Corinthians 15:24) (see note 11 for Chapter Two). There is a parallel passage on disinheritance in Galatians: Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). The church in Ephesus received a similar warning: But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:3-5). This has been a long chapter, and yet only some of the verses related to the two principles have been highlighted. This is evidence of how pervasive these principles are in the New Testament. Perhaps an illustration of the two principles will help to clarify this crucial matter in the reader’s mind. Have you ever been to a nice country club for an outing? If so, the club may have had a cloak room at which to check one’s hat and coat. The attendant takes your garments, gives you a check stub, and then puts away the hat and the coat. Let’s imagine that, for the sake of easy retrieval, the attendant puts all the ladies’ hats on one shelf and all the men’s hats on another shelf. A man’s hat on a lady’s shelf would be out of place! These two principles are like the two shelves. There are lots of passages in the New Testament that belong on these two “shelves”, but each passage needs to be placed on the proper one! Otherwise, we will get confused, even about the principles themselves! If one were to look at a shelf with both men’s and women’s hats on it, one might say at one time it is a shelf for men’s hats, and at another time that it is a shelf for lady’s hats. This has happened in the field of Bible doctrine over the centuries. Most teachers have tried to tie everything to eternal salvation. Since they see only this one shelf, the reward verses are also placed there and grace is confused. On the other hand, some have seen the matter of reward (or recompense) for Christians, but have tried to transfer the term of “grace” from the other shelf to at least partially apply to the matter of reward. Some have not allowed “scary” recompense verses to enter the cloak room at all, thinking that surely these are not “hats” belonging to Christians, but only to false believers! All of this confusion is because neither believers nor teachers have a clear view of these two very different but very important principles. And both principles apply to every believer. This chapter has probably been thought-provoking for the reader. These principles help us see how balanced and wise our God is. He knows that we were helpless to save ourselves (Romans 5:6) from the condemnation of sin, so He accomplished this for us through Christ’s redemption. This is His mercy and grace. Yet, He is still a God of justice and expects men to be responsible for their actions. Thus, every man is accountable to God, and the Lord, “the righteous Judge” (2 Timothy 4:8), “will render to EVERY man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6). JUSTICE, not grace, will be active in the coming judgment. The principle of grace does not do away with the principle of reward for the believer. Believers are not exempted from recompense. They have received a stewardship (Luke 19:13) and are highly responsible as God’s stewards (1 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17). Our life in this age is thus a test of our faithful stewardship and our enduring obedience. A recompense that is commensurate with the deeds in this life awaits every believer (2 Corinthians 5:10). This recompense has to do with the coming millennial Kingdom of Christ, however, and not with our salvation in eternity with God, which is secured by grace. It is hoped that by now our reader has a greater interest in cooperating with God in light of these things. The next chapter will highlight some very significant items related to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to prepare us for participation in the coming Kingdom. Before reading the next chapter, therefore, why don’t you take some time now to pray, asking the Lord to enlighten you and grant you grace so that you may cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.