The Believer’s Inheritance in Christ
Rev. Aniekan "Mbomboyo" Okokon ·
In him we have obtained an inheritance… [and] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. — Ephesians 1:11, 13–14
An inheritance is not wages. Nobody earns one; you receive it because of whose child you are. The New Testament speaks constantly of the believer’s inheritance, and almost never of the believer’s wages — because sons do not work for a place in the family estate. They are born into it.
Already obtained
Paul says we have obtained the inheritance — past tense. The title has passed. And he says the Spirit is the guarantee, the down-payment — the same word used for a deposit that binds a sale. God has not promised you an inheritance and left you to hope. He has given you the first instalment of it, and the first instalment is Himself.
What is in it
- Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3) — not some, every.
- Christ Himself, and with Him all things (Romans 8:32).
- A kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).
- An inheritance "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4).
- The earth itself, in the end, to the meek (Matthew 5:5).
Now, and not yet
Some of the inheritance is in hand: forgiveness, righteousness, sonship, the Spirit, access to the Father, authority over the enemy. Some is kept for the day Christ appears: resurrection bodies, the new creation made visible, reigning with Him. A believer lives between the deposit and the possession — rich already, and richer to come.
The practical effect is generosity. People who know they are heirs do not clutch. They give, forgive, and spend themselves for others, because the estate is not in danger. Live like an heir today. You are one.