Heirs of the Kingdom

Today's sermon by Peter Desmond Wee was entitled "Prepared for Good Works" and the Scripture passage was from Titus 3:1-8.

Titus 3:1-8 (ESV)
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

He highlighted why, how and when God saves us:
Why? Because we are by nature objects of God's wrath
How? By the grace of God and the renewal of the Holy Spirit
When? As we become heirs of his kingdom

What struck me was when he gave a definition of the word "heir". He gave a definition of the word, which I think would be according to the dictionary: that an heir is a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.

I remember this song I sang a very long time ago, if I did not remember wrongly should come from the musical piece If My People:

We are heirs of the Father
We are joints heirs with the Son
We are children of the Kingdom
We are family
We are one

It now dawned upon me: if an heir shall only inherit upon the death of another, how does that square in relations to God?

Romans 8:16-17
It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

In the ISBE Bible Dictionary, I see that the word group an heir, to inherit and an inheritance should read in terms of a recipient of a gift from God, to possess and a possession. As an example, when God is said, for instance, to have given Palestine to Israel as an inheritance in Lev 20:24, nothing more need be meant than given as a possession.

So I guess that settles it. We cannot read it literally to mean heirs in human terms when it comes to being heirs of the Kingdom. God is after all, the Everlasting Father.

pearlie