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  THE KINGDOM:  OUR INHERITANCE 

By Mae Shurow

Redemption is a process, or a journey, that culminates in the receiving of our inheritance, which is final redemption. Our inheritance is the kingdom of Christ and of God.

• 1 Cor. 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
• Ephes. 5:5 “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

In John 18:36, Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world.”  The Theological Dictionary 0f the New Testament says, “The purpose of the kingdom parables is to make it plain that the order in the Kingdom is different from all human order.  The Kingdom of God is ‘wholly other,’ absolutely above and distinct.  It is opposed to everything earthly, to everything here and now.  It is absolutely miraculous" (1964-c1976.Vol. 1, Page 579).

·        The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom where first is last and last is first;  where in our weakness we are strong; where much is little and little is much; where it us better to give than receive; where the meek inherit the earth.  

·        A Kingdom where we are to love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us (Matt 5:44).  A Kingdom where obedience is learned by suffering and being persecuted for His sake is rewarded. 

·        A Kingdom of abiding, not striving; where the yoke is easy and the burden is light; where we walk by faith and not by sight; a Kingdom where life abundant is a simple life.

·        A Kingdom where we are to glory in tribulations (Rom 5:3), and to count them all joy (James 1:2-4). A Kingdom where we should take no thought for our life (Matt 6:25). A Kingdom where we must deny ourselves;  a Kingdom where to truly live, we must die. 

·        A Kingdom where great things are hid from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes (Matt 11:25).  A Kingdom where the wisdom of this world is foolishness; where that which men highly esteem is an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). 

·        A Kingdom where many seek to enter in, and shall not be able (Luke 13:24); where we must count the cost, forsake all that we have, and follow Him (Luke 14:26,33)  where many are called, but few are chosen (Matt 22:14).
 

PREPARATION FOR THE KINGDOM 

The Kingdom of God is so totally other that our hearts must be prepared to receive it, for the natural man receiveth not the things of God.

• 1 Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

• John 14:17 “The world cannot receive [Him], because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. 

“From Israel there is demanded readiness to receive the revelation of God.  This readiness has a ceremonial character…”^1] .  God’s people always had to be cleansed before entering His presence or worshiping Him.  One example of this is:

• Exodus 19:10-11“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

The preparation necessary for receiving the Kingdom is foretold in:

·    Malachi 4:3:  “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple…”

• And Isaiah 40:3  “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” 

"To prepare (6437) means to turn, turn away, prepare, face (pertaining to a position which is in front of an object or a direction of orientation), turn (to have a change of state or transition), look at (i.e. look at an object with the perception of sight, as an extension of turning and facing an object), turn to (i.e. join in an association with another, with a focus on needing or wanting assistance), notice, pay attention." ^[1]

John the Baptist was the messenger who came to prepare the way for the Kingdom of God. 

• Luke 1:16-17  “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

• Luke 3:3-5 “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;”

John’s message was: Prepare yourselves to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, for it is coming! He preached repentance, “a turning; a total change both in thought and behavior" (^[2] Louw, 1996, c1989LN 41.52).   Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Matthew Henry says of John in Luke 1:16, “He shall turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, shall incline their hearts to receive the Messiah by awakening them to a sense of sin and a desire of righteousness.  John’s preaching and baptism turns from iniquity.  And those who through grace are wrought upon to shake off the yoke of sin and the dominion of the world and the flesh will soon be persuaded to take upon them the yoke of the Lord Jesus.”^[3]

It is widely taught today that you do not have to clean yourself up, that we come “Just As I Am,” and then God will clean you up.  I present to you that God prepares His people to receive Him, and that preparation (repentance) must precede remission of sins. 

• Luke 3:3 “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;”
• Luke 24:47, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” This verse means “preach repentance that leads to the forgiveness of sins.^[2]
• Isaiah 55:7 says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
• 2 Chron. 7:14 also speaks of turning preceding forgiveness, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We must turn from the rule of the world for God to begin to rule in our hearts!

 “The love of the world robs the heart of its desire for the true self-denial that enables a man to receive the Holy spirit.  The spirit of the world is the reason…we do not receive the promise of the Father.  May the Lord write this thought deep in every heart: the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit!”  (Murray, 1998, p. 158)

 
NEW BIRTH 

After preparation, the next thing that must happen for us to inherit the kingdom of God is the new birth.  At new birth, we become children of God.  (John 1:12) 

·      John 3:3-5  “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus 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? 5Jesus 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.”

At salvation, or new birth, the Holy Spirit enters in.  We are marked with His Holy Spirit, which is a promise of our inheritance.  

• Ephes. 1:13-14  “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed (marked) with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”.  

This is the beginning, the down payment of our actual inheritance, until we are fully redeemed.  But this is only the beginning: 

• Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

The Holy Spirit is the firstfruit, (5046-“the gifts of the Holy Spirit as a foretaste of the believer’s eternal inheritance.^[4]"As wonderful as the new birth is, it is just a taste of what is to come!  We wait for the adoption
(5206), which means “…in every respect in the position of a son by birth, same rights and obligations.^[4]”  

“Redemption itself is rooted in the Jewish hope of the kingdom of heaven, but it is given new depth by the word and destiny of Jesus. All present spiritual possessions are simply an installment on the inheritance, which will consist in the whole existence of man being given up and made conformable to the Spirit, (1 C. 15:44). Redemption is also used eschatologically in Eph. 1:14 and 4:30. In both verses the relation between possession of the Spirit and future redemption is strongly to the fore.  Believers are redeemed, but only in such a way that they wait for (the consummation of) redemption. Christ Himself is our redemption! (1 Cor. 1:30) Redemption will come to its consummation and full manifestation only at that day when we attain to union with Him (1 Th. 4:17), to glorification in His image (1 C. 15:49). Only then will it be truly present” (Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976).

THE JOURNEY TO REDEMPTION  

Hebrews 6: 1 says, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.”

·   Principles is Strong's number 746, “first principles or elements of faith, elementary principles or Christian teachings; the beginning of the confidence of faith in Heb 3:14.^[4]”

• Perfection is Strong's number 5047,  teleiotos noun from teleios (5046), perfect, one who reaches a goal. Perfection or perfectness, stressing the realization of an end in view, the state achieved when a goal has been accomplished (Col. 3:14; Heb. 6:1).^[4]” 
• Strong's number 5046 teleios; means “Finished, complete, full, wanting in nothing.^[2] (II) Specifically of persons meaning full age, adulthood, full–grown, of persons, meaning full–grown in mind and understanding (1 Cor. 14:20); in knowledge of the truth (1 Cor. 2:6; Phil.  3:15; Heb. 5:14); in Christian faith and virtue (Eph. 4:13)…the final destination of the believer…This image of fully completed growth is contrasted with the infancy and childhood of the babes in Christ (1 Cor. 2:6; 14:20; Eph. 4:13, 14; Phil. 3:15; Heb. 5:14). The teleios is one who has attained moral maturity, the goal for which he was intended, namely, to be a man obedient in Christ.^[4]”  

Jesus was perfected through suffering. 

• Hebrews 2:10 says:  “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons (hulos) unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

• Hebrews 5:8-9 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

And we are perfected by suffering and tribulation. 

• Romans 8:17-18 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

• James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect (5046, teleios) and entire, wanting nothing.”
• 1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
• 2 Thes. 1:4-5 “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:”
• 2 Tim. 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him”
• Acts 14:22 “[Paul and Barnabus went about] Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Read the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8:5-15.  Here we have unprepared ground; full of stones and thorns.  And when the trials come that are intended to bring maturity, (tribulation, persecution, cares of this world), they “in time of temptation fall away.”  “…and bring no fruit to perfection” (“to bring to end, goal, perfection, completion”^[4]).  

“And other fell on good ground” (Luke 8:8). “Good, having the proper characteristics or performing the expected function in a fully satisfactory way; good or fertile soil" (^[2]Louw, 1996, c1989,LN 65.20). “…and bring forth fruit with patience” (Patience means perseverance; “a bearing up under; endurance as to things or circumstances ^[4]”).  

The Kingdom is totally other.  Suffering, tribulation, and trials are part of the process to conform us to the image of Christ, (Rom. 8:28-37) so we can enter in.  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom!

• 1 Cor. 15:49-50 “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”  

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*All emphasis  mine.

Copyright ©2005 by Mae Shurow 
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution 
provided proper citation of authorship is included.

Murray, A. (1998). God’s Best Secrets. Whitaker House, PA. 

   Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald
             Pitkin.  (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (Vol. 1, Page 579). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

^[2]Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996, c1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains.  
                  New York: United Bible societies.

     ^[3]Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume  
                   (Lk 1:5). Peabody: Hendrickson.

    ^[4]Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, 
               TN: AMG Publishers.