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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(heirship). [
HEIR
.]
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The land of promise is constantly spoken of as the inheritance of
Israel
: the land flowing with
milk
and
honey
was given to them by
God
(
Deut. 4:21
21
Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: (Deuteronomy 4:21)
;
Psa. 105:11
11
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: (Psalm 105:11)
, and more). So when Israel returns to take possession of the land in a future
day
, it is still called their inheritance (
Ezek. 45:1
1
Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. (Ezekiel 45:1)
, and more). This all shows that they were and will be an earthly people, but God blessed them on
earth
in relationship with Himself as
Jehovah
, and will again bless them on earth when they own
the
Lord
Jesus
as their
Messiah
. In connection with this God calls Israel His inheritance: He hath chosen them for
His
own inheritance (
Psa. 33:12
12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)
;
Psa. 78:62
62
He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. (Psalm 78:62)
, and more).
The
Christian
has no inheritance on earth; his inheritance is with the saints in
light
(
Col. 1:12
12
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12)
): an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven
(
1 Pet. 1:4
4
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4)
). In the meanwhile
the
Holy
Spirit
is given as the
earnest
of the inheritance (
Eph. 1:14
14
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
). It is in Christ Himself the inheritance is obtained, for the Lord Jesus will possess all things in heaven and in earth (
Eph. 1:18
18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18)
).
From Anstey’s
Doctrinal Definitions
:
There are two aspects of the
Christian
’s
inheritance
in the
New
Testament
:
• It is
material
things—i.e. every created thing in
heaven
and on
earth
(
Eph. 1:11, 14, 18
11
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)
14
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18)
;
Col. 3:24
24
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:24)
).
• It is
spiritual
things that believers possess in Christ—i.e. our spiritual blessings (
Acts 20:32; 26:18
32
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)
;
Col. 1:12
12
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12)
;
1 Peter 1:4
4
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4)
).
Viewed as
material
things, it is called
“His
(Christ’s)
inheritance”
(
Eph. 1:18
18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18)
) and
“our inheritance”
(
Eph. 1:14
14
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
) because we are
“heirs of
God
, and joint-heirs with Christ”
(
Rom. 8:17
17
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)
).
Paul
said,
“All things are yours”
(
1 Cor. 3:21
21
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; (1 Corinthians 3:21)
), and this includes the inheritance. It is something that is ours
now
(
Eph. 1:11
11
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)
–
“we have obtained an inheritance”
). It has been purchased for us by Christ’s work on the
cross
(
Heb. 2:9
9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)
–
“tasted
death
for every thing”
). However, while it belongs to us now, it has yet to be redeemed (
Eph. 1:14
14
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
). The
redemption
of the inheritance has to do with Christ’s setting it free from
sin
,
Satan
, and
the world
, so that it can be used for the display of His
glory
in the
world to come
(the
Millennium
). This will occur at the
Appearing of Christ
through His warrior-judgments.
Viewed as
spiritual
things, the inheritance has to do with what believers possess spiritually in Christ—i.e. our spiritual blessings (
Eph. 1:3
3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)
).
Acts 26:18
18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)
;
Colossians 1:12
12
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12)
; and
1 Peter 1:4
4
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4)
speak of it in this way. The J. N. Darby
Translation
renders it
“a portion”
in
Acts 26:18
18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)
and
Colossians 1:12
12
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12)
to distinguish it from the material side of inheritance. Seen from the perspective of the Christian being on earth, this aspect of the inheritance is viewed as being
“in heaven.”
J. N. Darby said, “The inheritance is the inheritance of all things that Christ created. But in 1 Peter, or in Colossians 1, the thing is in heaven” (
Notes and Jottings,
p. 101).
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Luke 15:12
12
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. (Luke 15:12)
. The younger of them said to his
father
, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
Neither Jewish nor Roman
law
permitted the father to have the arbitrary disposal of all his estate. The property was entailed on the sons at the father’s
death
, the daughters not being allowed to inherit unless there were no sons. See
Genesis 31:14
14
And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? (Genesis 31:14)
;
Numbers 27:8
8
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. (Numbers 27:8)
. The general application to this law is seen in the fact that, when
Job
gave an
inheritance
to his daughters as well as to his sons, special mention is made of the act as though it were a remarkable occurrence. See
Job 42:15
15
And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. (Job 42:15)
. The
first-born
son
received a double share. See
Deuteronomy 21:17
17
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. (Deuteronomy 21:17)
.
Some commentators, in illustrating this text, suppose that the sons had a right to demand a division of the property during the father’s
life
-
time
, and that the father could not refuse such a demand. The text, however, does not necessarily imply this. For all that here appears, it may have been merely a request urged by
the son
and granted by the father. There is nothing to show that the father was compelled to comply. He did comply, it is true but whether by compulsion or of his own volition is not stated. Mr. Burder (Oriental Customs, 1086) gives an extract from Halbed’s Code of Gentoo Laws, in which it is stated that under certain circumstances the sons had a right to demand of their father a division of his property during his lifetime. There is no evidence, however, that either Jews or Romans had any such law, though they may have been acquainted with it as existing in
India
.
The verisimilitude of the
parable
is sufficiently observed, without any reference to a law of compulsion, by supposing it customary
sometimes
for
fathers
of their own volition to divide their estate among their sons. This is said to have been sometimes done among the Romans, and that it may have been an occasional
custom
among the Jews is evident from the example of
Abraham
, who “gave all that he had” to his son
Isaac
. See
Genesis 24:36; 25:5
36
And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. (Genesis 24:36)
5
And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. (Genesis 25:5)
.
Related Books and Articles:
779. Division of Property
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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