I.
INHERITANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A discussion of the saints’ perseverance should
begin with a study of the inheritance in the Old Testament. Following is my understanding of the
inheritance of the saints and its relevance to the doctrine of perseverance.
1. There is a difference between inheriting the land of Canaan and living there. The former refers to ownership and the latter
to mere residence.
2. While Israel was promised the inheritance
as a nation, the condition for maintaining their inheritance right to the land of Canaan was faith, obedience, and
completion of one’s task. The promise,
while national, was only applied to the believing remnant within the
nation. Even though many within the
nation were not born again, the New Testament writers use the nation as an
example (1 Cor. 10:6, Gk. typos) of the experience of the born-again people of God
in the New Testament.
3. The inheritance is not be equated with heaven but
with something additional to heaven, promised to those believers who faithfully
obey the Lord.
4. Just as Old Testament believers forfeited their
earthly inheritance through disobedience, we can also forfeit our future reward
(inheritance) by a similar failure. Loss
of inheritance, however, does not mean loss of salvation.
5. Two kinds of inheritance were enjoyed in the Old
Testament. All Israelites who had
believed and were therefore regenerate had God as their inheritance but not all
inherited the land. This paves the way
for the notion that the New Testament may also teach two inheritances. We are all heirs of God, but we are not all
joint-heirs with Christ, unless we persevere to the end of life. The former refers to our salvation and the
latter to our reward.
6. A child of Israel was both an heir of God and
an heir of Canaan by virtue of belief in God
and resulting regeneration. Yet only
those believers in Israel
who were faithful would maintain their status as firstborn sons who would
actually receive what had been promised to them as an inheritance.
The relevance of these conclusions to the doctrine of the saints’
perseverance is obvious. First, if this
is in fact the Old Testament view, it surely must have informed the thinking of
the New Testament writers. If that is
so, then many passages, which have been considered as descriptions of the
elect, are in fact conditions of obtaining a reward in heaven. For example, Paul warns the Corinthians, “Do
you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?”
(1 Cor. 6:9) If “inheriting the kingdom”
means “going to heaven,” then Paul is saying no wicked person can go to
heaven. Such an interpretation would be
consistent with the Experimental Predestinarian system which says that the
permanently carnal Christian is a fiction.
If, on the other hand, “to inherit the kingdom” refers not to entering
heaven but to possessing and ruling in the kingdom as it does in the Old
Testament, then an entirely different interpretation of the passage
emerges. Instead of warning merely
professing Christians that they may not be Christians at all, he is telling
true Christians that, if they do not change their behavior, they may be in the
kingdom, but they will not rule there.
In the Old Testament
An Inheritance was a “Possession” (Gen. 15:3-5; Num. 27:1-11; Num.
36:1-13; Dt. 21:15-17)
An Inheritance could be Merited and Lost (Gen. 17:14; Num. 14:24; Josh. 14:8-9; Josh. 1:13-15;
Dt. 4:21-22; Ex. 4:22-23; Lam. 5:2; Heb. 11:13; Gen. 21:33; Gen 35: 27;
Num. 18:20)
God is our Inheritance (Dt. 18:1-2; Ps. 16:5; Ps. 73:26; Ps. 119;57;
Ps. 142:5; Jer. 31:33)
Inheritance is an Added Blessing (Heb. 3 and 4; Gen. 15:1-6; Gen 15:18;
Heb. 11:29-30; 1 Cor. 10:4-5)
The Inheritance—Promises & Conditions (Dt. 6:18; Dt. 11:22-25; Dt. 19:8-10; Gen. 15:4-5; Gen 15:8; Heb. 11:8, 16; Gen
17:1-2; Gen 17:14;
Gen. 22:15-18; Gal 6:16; Rom.
11:26; Num. 14:14; Num. 14:20; 14:22-24)
It has been seen that the Old Testament notion of inheritance does not
always include the idea of a guarantee.
The Israelite became an heir by birth, but due to disobedience he could
forfeit the firstborn privilege. It was
necessary to obey if he would obtain what was promised. We are therefore alerted to the fact that the
inheritance is not something which comes automatically to all who are sons but
only to those sons who are obedient. The
inheritance was something in addition to salvation and was not equated with it. It was obtained by victorious perseverance
and obedient faith.
With this background in mind we are now in a better position to
understand the New Testament teaching on inheritance.
II.
INHERITANCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Just like the Old Testament there are two kinds of
inheritance in the New Testament. All
believers have God as their inheritance but not all will inherit the
kingdom. Furthermore, inheriting the
kingdom is not to be equated with entering it but, rather, with possessing it
and ruling there. All Christians will
enter the kingdom, but no all will rule there, i.e., inherit it.
There are four words related to the inheritance idea in the New
Testament: the verb “to inherit” (kleronomeo) and the nouns “inheritance” (kleronomia), “heir” (kleronomos), and “lot, portion” (kleros).
In the New Testament
Inheritance is a Possession (kleronomia fundamentally means
a possession) Mt. 21:38;
Mk. 12:7; Lk. 12:13; 20:14; Acts
7:5; and Eph. 1:18
Inheritance is Meritorious Ownership of the Kingdom (In nearly every
instance the verb “to inherit” (kleronomeo) includes, contextually, either the presence or
absence of some work or character quality as a condition of obtaining or
forfeiting the possession.) Mt. 19:29; Mk. 10:17; Mt. 5:5; 25:34-36; Heb. 6:12; Rev. 21:7; 1 Pet. 3:9
An Inheritance can be forfeited (1 Cor. 6:9-12; Heb. 12:16-17
We find the phrase “inherit the kingdom” in Mt. 25:34; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; and Eph. 5:5. In addition, the phrase “inherit the land” is
found in Mt. 5:5. In each instance we
find that, in order to inherit the kingdom, there must be some work done or
certain character traits, such as immorality must be absent from our
lives. The fact that such conditions are
necessary suggests that the term is not to be equated with entering the kingdom
which is available to all, freely, on the basis of faith alone but with
something in addition to entering.
Indeed, the very use of the word “inherit” instead of “enter” in these
passages suggests that more than just entrance is meant.
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SCRIPTURE
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PHRASE
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CONDITIONS
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Mt. 25:34
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Take your inheritance
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Caring for brothers by giving food and drink
during the tribulation
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1 Cor. 6:9
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Inherit the kingdom
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Having none of the following character
traits: immorality, idolatry,
adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, thievery, greed, drunkenness, or being
a swindler
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1 Cor. 15:50
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Inherit the kingdom
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Having a resurrection body
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Eph. 5:5
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An inheritance in the kingdom
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Having none of the following character
traits: immorality, idolatry,
impurity, greed
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Gal. 5:21
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Inherit the earth
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Not having our lives characterized by the acts of
the sinful nature
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Mt. 5:5
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Inherit the land
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meekness
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What does it mean to inherit the kingdom? The Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the
Mount gives us a helpful starting point.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:3).
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5).
Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt.
5:10).
The Lord seems to be equating the terms “theirs is the kingdom of
heaven” with “inherit the earth.” Many
have noted that the term “inherit the kingdom” is equivalent to the promise of
Abraham that his descendents will inherit the land. The verb, to inherit, is an allusion to the
inheritance of Canaan given to Israel.
“But he who takes refuge in Me, shall inherit the land, and shall
possess My holy mountain” (Isa. 57:13).
The prophet exults that in the coming kingdom “all your people will be
righteous; they will possess (inherit) the land forever” (Isa. 60:21 NASB). Throughout the Old Testament the possession
of the earth by the righteous is a common theme and refers to the rule of the
saints in the future kingdom.
Now if the functional equivalence of the terms “inherit the kingdom”
and “inherit the land” are accepted, then our study of inheriting the land in
the Old Testament becomes very relevant to the understanding of term “inherit
the kingdom” in the New. In particular,
the land of Canaan was inherited by Israel on the
basis of faith-obedience and this inheritance was an additional blessing to
those who were already saved. They
obtained the land by being victorious in battle, following the Lord
wholeheartedly, and being obedient to all He said in His law. Similarly, in the New Testament, inheriting
the kingdom is conditioned upon spiritual obedience and not faith alone. Furthermore, in the Old Testament we saw that
entering the land was not the same as inheriting it. There is therefore justification in pressing
the obvious point the inheriting the kingdom is not the same as entering the
kingdom.
We see the verb kleronomeo occurring 4 times in the book of Hebrews. Its usage there is not inconsistent with its
usage elsewhere, a reward for a life of faithfulness. The inheritance can be forfeited because of
disobedience, as in the case of Esau (Heb. 12:17), and it is only obtained by persevering, ie., by
“faith and patience” (Heb 6:12). Jesus has inherited a superior name to that
of the angels (1:4). He achieved this
inheritance by perseverance in suffering (Heb. 2:10; Phi. 2:9-11).
Similarly, His companions (Heb. 1:9, Gk. metochoi) will “inherit
salvation” (Heb. 1:14) in
the same way. We share in that future
glory, the inheritance-salvation, only if we remain faithful to the end:
We have come to share in Christ (i.e., we are metochoi) if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first (Heb.
3:14).
So do not throw away your confidence;
it will be richly rewarded. You need to
persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he
has promised (Heb. 10:35-36).
It must be understood that in this epistle, the salvation in view is
co-rulership with Christ in the coming kingdom; not deliverance from hell.
Consistent with the Old Testament usage, believers in the New Testament
are presented with two different inheritances.
We are, if faithful, heirs of the millennial land of Canaan
and will reign with Messiah there. But
another heirship, which is unconditional, is also presented. As Old Testament believers were heirs of God,
so are those under the New Covenant:
So that, having been justified by his
grace, we might become heirs (kleronomos) having the hope of eternal life
(Ti. 3:7).
If you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs (kleronomos) according to the promise(Gal. 3:29).
Our inheritance is usually conditioned upon obedience, but salvation
from hell is always by faith alone. In
order to become a joint heir with Christ, one of His metochoi (partakers), we
must faithfully endure our sufferings to the end.
It is a trustworthy statrement:
For if we died with Him, we shall also
live with Him;
If we endure, we shall also reign with
Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains
faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. (2
Tim. 2:11-13 NASB).
As in Rom.
8:17 reigning with Christ
seems to be conditioned upon endurance.
The converse, to deny Him, will result in His denying us when He rewards
His church according to the things done in the body, “good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). The possibility of being “denied” does not
refer to loss of salvation, because the apostle clarifies that, even when we
are “faithless,” He remains faithful to us.
But it does mean that we may be “disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor. 9:27) and stand ashamed at His coming
(1 Jn. 2:28) and be denied
a place of co-heirship in the final destiny of man.
The concept of the believer’s inheritance is rich indeed. It means much more than “go to heaven when we
die.” The inheritance in the Bible is
either our relationship with God as a result of justification or something in
addition to justification, namely, a greater degree of glorification in heaven
as a result of our rewards. As is always
the case in interpretation, the context of each usage must determine meaning in
that context. While Experimental
Predestinarians are willing to grant that the inheritance is heaven, and even
that the inheritance in many contexts seems to be a reward, they have failed to
integrate these two meanings into a comprehensive system of biblical
thought. Several factors seem to lead to
the conclusion that it is proper in most contexts of the New Testament to
understand the inheritance of the saints as their ownership of the coming
kingdom rather than their mere residence there.
1. Israel’s conquest of the land was achieved by spiritual
obedience. After the victory they
inherited. The inheritance of Canaan was a merited, earned reward for faithful
obedience.
2. In every usage of the verb “to inherit” except one
(1 Cor. 15:50), the action
implies some work of obedience necessary to obtain the inheritance.
3. Usage in the Old Testament, and the common meaning
of the work “inherit” in English, Hebrew, or Greek, implies a distinction
between merely being in the land
of Canaan and owning
it. In a similar way, by extension of
thought, we are justified in drawing a distinction between being a resident of
the future kingdom and being an owner, an heir, of the kingdom.
4. We are explicitly told in Col. 3:24 that the future
inheritance comes to us as a reward for obedience.
5. In every instance the phrase “inherit the kingdom”
is consistent with its Old Testament analog, “inherit the land.” The kingdom is always (except for 1 Cor. 15:50) inherited by means of
works.
6. The phrase “inherit the kingdom” is directly
borrowed from Daniel’s term “possess the kingdom” (Dan. 7:22). It
refers to the rulership over the kingdom of the Son of man given to the
saints. In the Jewish rabbinical
literature this future inheritance was obtained by works. That aspect of jewish theology was not
corrected by the New Testament writers but seemingly accepted.
These conclusions now must be developed more fully. The writer of Hebrews does precisely
this. He explains that, when we have
obtained the inheritance by means of a life of perseverance in good works, we
will have finished our task and hence will enter into rest.
III.
INHERITANCE REST OF HEBREWS
Rest seems to have a
different meaning from “land” in Josh. 1:13 and Dt. 12:10. Its usage elsewhere suggests the experience
one enters into when he finishes his work (Josh. 18:2-3, Josh. 21:43-45). This seems to be confirmed by the fact that
the word for rest (Heb. Nuah)
is used interchangeably with the word for Sabbath (Heb. Shabat). See Gen. 2:2-3 and Ex. 20:11. Rest here includes the notion of completing
one’s work. By the seventh day God had
finished the work He had been doing. The
particular work which Israel
had to complete was the conquest of their enemies and the secure and successful
settlement of the land
of Canaan.
Look at Dt. 12:9, 25:19, Josh 1:13,
and 21:44. In these passages “possession of the land
brings ‘rest’, i.e., both freedom from foreign domination and the end of
wandering. Rest is the inheritance, but
it is also a condition or state of finished work and victory over enemies,
which the Israelite entered into when he obtained the inheritance. Israel entered into rest in Joshua 12 when they received the inheritance. At that point they enjoyed freedom from
enemies and had completed their work, just as God had completed His work in the
creation.
It appears that the land of Canaan is somehow typical of the future
millennial kingdom. Indeed, the numerous
Old Testament promises that one day Israel will return to the land
(Ezek. 37:21-22), be established as an independent state (Ezek. 37:22), be in
possession of the old city of Jerusalem, and become a focal point of global
concern (Zech. 12:1-4) do indicate that such a parallel can be drawn. These land promises are all fulfilled in the
future kingdom. Does not entering the
land equal entering the kingdom? And, if
it does, are not all who enter heirs of that Kingdom?
Obviously not! The book of Joshua supplies at least one
illustration of an Israelite who in fact entered the land but who never
finished the task. As a result, he never
obtained the inheritance and never entered into rest. His name was Achan. After the successful conquest of Jericho, this regenerated
“son” of God (Josh. 7:19)
stole some of the plunder for himself and then lied about it (Josh. 7:10-11). Such impurity among the people of God made
them impotent against their enemies (Josh. 7:12).
Precisely the same
situation existed in the early church when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the
Holy Spirit. They claimed some material
things had been given to the church, but they had in fact been held back for
themselves (Acts 5:3). The result for
Achan was capital punishment (Josh. 7:24-26). The same happened to Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:5).
It is therefore evident
that a man can enter into the land but not obtain the inheritance there and
never enter into rest. The former was
available to all Israelites on the basis of a promise, but the latter came only
to those who obeyed and won the victory.
In the parallel to which
the writer to the Hebrews alludes, all Christians enter into the kingdom at the
time of spiritual birth. But not all
Christians finish their work. For the
writer to the Hebrews the predicted Old Testament kingdom has already
begun. He divides history between the
“past” and “these last days” (Heb. 1:1-2).
He tells us that the New Covenant predicted by Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-34),
which will be fulfilled for national Israel in the millennium, has
already been inaugurated by the death of Christ (Heb. 9:15-18).
A proper illustration of
the relationship between the journeys of the children of Israel and the
Christian life is suggested by the following diagram:
From Egypt to Canaan
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Natural Man
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Carnal Christian
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Spiritual Christian
|
Rewarded Christian
|
|
Ex. 1-11
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Struggle
Exodus Generation
In the Wilderness
Ex. 12 – Dt. 34
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Victory
Second Generation
Across the Jordan
Josh. 1-11
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Rest
Receiving the Inheritance
Josh. 12-22
|
|
Non-Christian
|
Carnal Christian
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Battle
|
Victory
|
|
Egypt
|
Wilderness
|
Canaan
|
Canaan
|
|
In the World
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In the Kingdom
|
In the Kingdom
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At the Table
|
|
1 Cor. 2:14
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1 Cor. 3:1-3
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Rom. 12:1-2
|
2 Cor. 5:10
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Entering Canaan
is not to be equated with entering the kingdom.
A Christian enters the kingdom when he is born again. Rather, entering Canaan
pictures the decision by a person who already is a Christian to trust God for
victory, submit to His lordship, and engage in the spiritual battle necessary
to finish our course as victors and, as a result, enter into rest. When the battle is won and when, unlike Achan,
we persevere in obedient faith to the end, we receive the inheritance, our
rewards in heaven. We have completed our
work, and we enter into rest.
To enter into rest was to
possess the land
of Canaan by means of
spiritual obedience and resultant victory over all one would oppose them. So entering rest was more than just obtaining
some real estate; it had a spiritual dimension as well. It involved the completion of their work, a
finishing of their God-appointed task to take possession of the land. For that generation, that was their purpose
and destiny. Similarly, the Hebrews are
exhorted to “make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by
following their example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11). It is
impossible to enter into the rest without entering into the land, but it was
possible to enter the land and not enter rest.
In a similar way, it is impossible to enter into rest without having
first entered into the kingdom which was inaugurated at the ascension, but it
is possible to enter into that kingdom and never enter into rest. To enter into rest is to obtain the
inheritance of Canaan by faithful obedience,
to complete our task and persevere to the final hour.
This magnificent concept
of entering into rest was uniquely appropriate to apply to the readers of the
Epistle to the Hebrews who were in danger, like the exodus generation, of a
failure to complete their life working by doing the will of God to the end
(Heb. 10:36). So He warns them in Heb.
3:14:
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the
confidence we had at first.
The phrase “for we have
come to share in Christ” is literally in Greek, “for we are partakers (metochoi) of Christ” (metochoi gar tou Christou gegonamen) The perfect tense “have come” (genonamen) takes the most basic sense
of the perfect, the intensive perfect.
The genitive “of Christ” is the simple genitive of possession. We may therefore translate, “We are partners
of Christ” or “we are Christ’s partners.”
The danger in Heb. 3:14 is
not that they might lose their justification but that they might lose their
inheritance by forfeiting their position as one of Christ’s metochoi in the
coming kingdom. It is to help them avoid
this danger that the writer applies to them the lesson of the failure of the
exodus generation to enter rest. They
too are in daner of not entering into rest.
Having set before their
eyes the failure of the exodus generation, he now warns them against the
possibility of failure in their Christian lives as well. Heb. 4:1-2 gives the warning. There is no reason for assuming the rest (katapausis) in Heb. 4 is any
different from the inheritance of Canaan
obtained by obedience as described in Heb. 3.
The transition between the chapters is smooth, the application is
precise and without any qualification, and the same work, katapausis, is used. It involved a spiritual victory over all
opposing enemies which was achieved by spiritual faith-obedience to the
King. It was an inheritance merited on
the field of battle:
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the
message they heard was of no value to them because those who heard did not
combine it with faith (Heb. 4:2).
What “gospel” was preached
to them? It probably was not the good
news of forgiveness of sins. There is no
reference to such a gospel in the context of this warning passage. The word “gospel” is simply “good news.” Our Reformation heritage has perhaps caused
us to limit it to only one kind of good news, deliverance from hell. But the good news they received was the
promise of the inheritance of the land
of Canaan and the
possibility of entering into the inheritance by faithful perseverance and
faith-obedience (e.g., Dt. 12:10-12). This gospel was not only preached to them,
but it has been preached to us!
Where? A major theme of the New
Testament is that the church has been grafted into Israel’s covenants and is now heir
of the same promises (Rom. 11:17). The “good news” in this context seems to be
good news about entering God’s rest (4:10)
and not the forgiveness of sins.
Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I
declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the
creation of the world (4:3).
Here he makes it explicit
that only those who believe enter into rest.
His interest is not in those who have believed at a point in time but in
those who continue to believe to the end of life (3:6, 14). It is perseverance in faith, not a one-time
exercise of it, which guarantees that we enter into rest.
The significance of the
statement, “And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world”
is very difficult to interpret precisely.
Why is it included? Our author
probably means that God completed His work of creation and has offered the
experience of completed work to every generation of man since then. This completed work has yet to be entered
into by man but will be when the kingdom of heaven is consummated in the
millennium to come.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on
the seventh day God rested from all his work.”
And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest”
(4:4-5).
The precise connection
between God having finished His work and their not finishing theirs by entering
the land seems to be as follows. Since
God has completed His work, the experience of completed work, rest, has been
available to all since the creation of the world. We enter into that experience the same way
God did, by finishing the task.
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about
another day. There remains, then, a
Sabbath-rest for the people of God 4:8-9).
If the experience of
Sabbath rest had been fulfilled in Joshua’s conquest of the land, David, four
hundred years later, would not still be offering the same promise in Ps. 95:11
and saying it is available “today.” The
writer is evidently setting before his Christian readers the hope of an
inheritance in the land
of Canaan which was made
to Israel. This future inheritance is still to be
obtained, and the experience of finished work is still to be achieved!
For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as
God did form his. Let us, therefore,
make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience
(4:10-11).
We are to enter rest the
same way the exodus generation should have, by finishing our work. This was how God entered into the experience
of rest. That we should make “every
effort” to do this proves that entrance into heaven is not meant. Otherwise a salvation by works is taught!
Entering rest is therefore
more than obtaining the land
of Canaan, although it is
also that. It is the fulfillment of
man’s destiny to “rule and have dominion” (Gen. 1:26-28).
The conclusion is that the
content of the inheritance in Heb. 3 and 4 is the millennial land of Canaan. By being faithful to Christ to the final
hour, we finish our course and obtain an inheritance there; our task being
finished, we then enter into our victorious rest. This inheritance-rest is participation with
Christ in that great messianic partnership, the final destiny of man.
We enter into rest only
when we persevere in faith to the end of life.
When we do this, we will obtain a share in the inheritance, the
millennial land
of Canaan, and will rule
with Christ as one of His metochoi there.
Rest is not just the land itself; it also includes the state or
condition of “finished work,” of final perseverance, into which the faithful
Christian will enter. God has not set
aside His promises to Israel. The promise of the inheritance, the land, is
eternally valid, and those Christians who remain faithful to their Lord to the
end of life will share in that inheritance along with the Old Testament saints.
The kingdom predicted in
the Old Testament was inaugurated at the ascension and will be consummated at
the second coming. God can accomplish
what He has decided to accomplish. The
Christian who “labors to enter into rest” will do so and will have a share with
that great company of the metochoi in the future reign of the servant kings.
