Our Inheritance (Ephesians 1:11)
Hi. I'm Rich Averett, and this is Verse by Verse, a short podcast about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of God.
Speaker 2:In this episode, we discuss Ephesians 1 verse 11. In him also, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Let's discuss that word inheritance. What do you think of when you hear the word inheritance? What is an inheritance, and how does it differ from a gift?
Speaker 2:How does it differ from a payment? When you receive a gift, it's normally associated with some sort of achievement in your life. You receive a check for your birthday, a silver tea set as a wedding gift, a gold watch for retiring from a company. You even get a free toaster when you open a bank account. Now, how does that differ from a payment?
Speaker 2:A payment is a transaction based on the exchange of goods or services. You sell a car, cash out a stock certificate, you receive a paycheck for working for your employer. But how is an inheritance different from a gift and a payment? An inheritance isn't something you receive for an accomplishment or for services or goods rendered. An inheritance is something you receive simply for who you are.
Speaker 2:When a person receives an inheritance, they have done nothing to earn it. It's normally associated with being a family member of the person granting the inheritance. That's why I personally love this passage so much. We are children of the living God and with that incredible blessing comes the greatest inheritance in the universe. As the apostle John wrote in 1st John 3, verse 1, behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God.
Speaker 2:Let's dive a bit deeper into what an inheritance entails. When you're granted an inheritance, it's a promise, a covenant, if you will, between the person granting the inheritance and the one receiving the inheritance. The promise cannot be taken by any third party. As the children of God, we fight constantly against the most powerful adversary in history. As we're told in 1st Peter 5, verse 8, your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Speaker 2:While that can be terrifying, there is good news. Satan cannot steal our inheritance. As powerful as Satan is, he has no power to take away our God given inheritance. However, while Satan can't take our inheritance, we can, and many have willfully given it away. Why would anyone do that?
Speaker 2:Who would willfully give away an inheritance? The Bible gives us a perfect example. Jacob and Esau were twin sons of Isaac, son of Abraham, and while they were twins, Esau was born first and thus entitled to the greater inheritance as the firstborn. This inheritance was to be the father of many nations as the grandson of Abraham. Esau had it made.
Speaker 2:All he had to do was not give his inheritance away. He would be blessed beyond all measure. His children would become many great nations. He would have become the very ancestor of king David and eventually Christ. But we all know the story.
Speaker 2:Jacob understood the true value of that inheritance, but Esau focused on the physical, namely his growling stomach, and Esau traded everything for a bowl of stew. While Satan can't take away our inheritance, he is a master of convincing us to freely give it away. The world we live in is ripe with opportunity to trade our immense inheritance in God's kingdom for the physical realm of Satan's world. For Esau, it was a bowl of stew. What would it take for us to trade away our inheritance?
Speaker 2:Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. As we struggle, let's remember our incredible inheritance and the one that's trying to take it away. Stay away from the stew.
Speaker 1:Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.
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