In Him we also have obtained an inheritance
We have not only an inheritance, but a heritage from God. A heritage is something that is handed down from the past. It can be a character or manner of living, a reputation, traditions, or a status in life. It is a legacy. The Bible has a lot to say about heritage and the fact that children of God are given a spiritual inheritance and heritage.
When God told Abram that he would become the father of a great nation, God was establishing a new people: Genesis 12:1–2 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you into a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing; And, God gave the land where Abram sojourned as his descendants’ heritage forever Genesis 17:8 8 And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” And when Abraham’s grandson Jacob moved his family to Egypt because of famine, they remained there for four hundred years, but the Israelites left Egypt and eventually entered the Promised Land. And immediately God reminded them of His promise to give them the land. Joshua 1:6 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Although they had lived in Egypt for four hundred years, and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, God’s people still retained their heritage as Israelites. Although they had lived in Egypt for four hundred years, and had been unfaithful to God, His People still retained their heritage as Israelites, because God had promised it to them, unconditionally.
As the people of God, we look at His guidance, and specifically His Word as our heritage: Psalm 119:111 “Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart” Our life should be lived thinking of our spiritual, eternal heritage from God. Our heritage as Christians is eternal life: John 3:16–17 16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. And our citizenship in heaven, and being with Jesus, in brand new bodies in glory is guaranteed. Phil 3:20-21 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. As our great Benefactor, God gave His Son to purchase our salvation.
The Bible urges us to set our sights on an eternal heritage: Matthew 6:19 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Colossians 3:1–4 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
In God we have obtained an inheritance and in whom we were made a heritage. God’s purpose in Christ was to adopt us a children. And He has done this through Christ, for it is in Him that God accomplishes his purposes and we receive the many benefits of living our lives in Christ. Jesus is our lot, He has acquired us, bought with a price, and we have acquired Him. He is our bridegroom, the Head of the Church. He is in us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we are in Him. We have both received an inheritance ourselves, having a heritage now, in Him, but we also are His inheritance out of all the peoples on the earth.
We, as Christ-followers, bought with a price, are given the status of Children of God, and fellow heirs with Christ. Romans 8:15-17 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. We have been made partakers of the inheritance We have been assigned or appointed a portion. That’s past tense, because we are already children of God through the Holy Spirit, and we already receive redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit is a seal signifying our status as Children and our future inheritance. And, of course, since we are made one with Him in Christ, then we are made a heritage of God. God gets to show off His righteousness by saving us through saving us by the death of Jesus on the cross. 2 Cor 5:21 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We are God’s possession, because of all that He has done for us. And we are His inheritance or heritage, because, since we are His, He gets to spend eternity with us, and walk and talk with us, and dwell with us, just as He has wanted from the beginning of creation.
having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,
We are predestined as God’s possession. The word for predestined here means “to pre-set a boundary, determine beforehand, to mark out beforehand, to predestine.” So, God set our destiny, He chose us, before the creation of the earth. We, the believers, are the recipients of this great blessing of God. And the reason we become God’s heritage is because our destiny as his inheritance was predetermined beforehand by Him. Jesus, who was loved before the foundation of the world wanted us to see His glory in heaven, and so God chose Us as His inheritance out of the world. John 17:24 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. We are Jesus’ inheritance, His Bride. God chose us before the world was even created, that is, in eternity past.
in order that we might be to the praise of his glory
So that we would be able to praise Him and give Him Glory. “The chief aim of man is to glorify God”. And He wants us to be able to love Him, and He love us throughout eternity. We praise Him, because of His Grace toward us in saving us, and adopting us as sons and daughters. All of the actions of the Father have as their goal the praise to God. He wants to show us that He loves us, and is good to us. So, when we read 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory then we understand that God’s purpose in predestining us is so that we would glorify Him. And we were made a heritage in order that we might be to the praise of his glory, given because of who He is, and what He has done for us.
the ones who already hoped in Christ.
So, we who have placed our hope, our future in Christ’s hands, through putting our trust in His sacrificial atonement are the ones who are adopted by God, according to His Will. We believers who already have hope because of the work of God in Christ, bring praise to his glory. Our hope is in Christ.