STUDY OF INHERITANCE

SUMMARIZED BY JOHN KAUL

USING “THE REIGN OF THE SERVANT KINGS”

BY JOSEPH C. DILLOW AS PRIMARY SOURCE

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.

SCRIPTURE	PHRASE	CONDITIONS
Mt. 25:34	Take your inheritance	Caring for brothers by giving food and drink during the tribulation
1 Cor. 6:9	Inherit the kingdom	Having none of the following character traits: immorality, idolatry, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, thievery, greed, drunkenness, or being a swindler
1 Cor. 15:50	Inherit the kingdom	Having a resurrection body
Eph. 5:5	An inheritance in the kingdom	Having none of the following character traits: immorality, idolatry, impurity, greed
Gal. 5:21	Inherit the earth	Not having our lives characterized by the acts of the sinful nature
Mt. 5:5	Inherit the land	meekness

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

Natural Man	Carnal Christian	Spiritual Christian	Rewarded Christian
Ex. 1-11	Struggle Exodus Generation In the Wilderness Ex. 12 – Dt. 34	Victory Second Generation Across the Jordan Josh. 1-11	Rest Receiving the Inheritance Josh. 12-22
Non-Christian	Carnal Christian	Battle	Victory
Egypt	Wilderness	Canaan	Canaan
In the World	In the Kingdom	In the Kingdom	At the Table
1 Cor. 2:14	1 Cor. 3:1-3	Rom. 12:1-2	2 Cor. 5:10

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.