How is the gospel tied to an inheritance?
Orientation
The gospel is often reduced to a message of personal forgiveness, severing it from God's eternal purpose and the inheritance Christ secured.
- The gospel is not just a ticket to heaven or a message of moral reform.
- It is the announcement that God's purpose to bring many sons into glory is accomplished.
- Christ alone is the rightful heir, and He secures the inheritance for us.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
— Galatians 3:16
Clarification
The inheritance is not a reward for our effort but is secured by Christ's representative work, qualifying us fully.
- Our sin made us unfit, but Christ's redemptive work alone qualifies us to share in the inheritance.
- Believing the gospel makes us joint-heirs with Christ; we lack nothing He has secured.
- This is a finished qualification, not a probationary status based on our performance.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15)
— Hebrews 9:15
Structure
The gospel fulfills God's eternal purpose, revealed through promises to the patriarchs and realized in Christ as the Seed.
- God's promises to Abraham pointed to a single Seed—Christ—the rightful heir.
- Christ, as our representative, inherits the promises on our behalf.
- God's purpose is to produce many sons in glory, forming the Bride and Body of Christ.
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (Ephesians 1:11)
— Ephesians 1:11
Weight-Bearing Prose
The gospel is intrinsically tied to an inheritance because it is the means by which believers are incorporated into God’s eternal purpose. This purpose, set before the foundation of the world, is to bring many sons into glory, conformed to the image of His Son. The promises were made to Christ as the singular Seed. He righteously inherits as our representative, securing everything for us. His redemptive work deals with sin, which was the sole barrier to our qualification. Thus, the inheritance is not a conditional reward but a testament secured by Christ’s death and given freely to all who believe. Paul’s categories are clear: we are joint-heirs, sons, members of His body. Any teaching that separates the gospel from this inheritance or makes our share conditional upon our works undermines Christ’s finished work and our justification by faith.
Integration
Your place in God’s purpose is secure because Christ secured it. The inheritance is yours, not because you earned it, but because He is your representative and heir. When you believed the gospel, you were included. There is no pressure to advance or qualify yourself. Christ is your qualification. Rest in the assurance that God’s eternal plan to have many sons in glory includes you. This is the good news: you are a son, an heir, a part of His body, forever included in what Christ has done. Let this truth anchor you. The work is finished, the inheritance is sure, and your place is guaranteed in Him.