The Saints Inherit The Kingdom With Christ

To be in Christ is to be co-heirs with Christ, and to have an inheritance that is undefinable and unfading.

Today, in our culture, an inheritance can be given to someone through a written will. Maybe you’ve benefited from something like this. But if you’re like most people I know, including me, you probably spend some of your time wishing you had a rich uncle, and that some day you’ll find a check in the mail for a few million dollars.

Perhaps some of you have inherited land, family heirlooms, or estates.

To this day I’ve inherited NOTHING on this earth from anyone. My parents are both still alive, and I don’t think either of them play the lottery, so it’s not looking good for me. Thank God that He has changed my worldview from that of the accumulation of earth’s riches, to the Gospel which assures me of an eternal home, an eternal king, an eternal inheritance.

God is a Father who gives good gifts to His children.

In the beginning, God created the world and then committed it to Adam and Eve. It was theirs to tend and to care for. That was their inheritance, the whole earth, with God as their head, and because they were his son and daughter, created by Him, what belonged to him belonged to them, and it was theirs forever.

But we all know what happened next.

They threw their inheritance away. You might remember the account. In Genesis 3 Satan deceived Eve, and they turned against the love of God, and the inheritance he gave to them. What did they trade it for? Temporary pleasure. Tasting what God did not desire for them to taste - the knowledge of good and evil. And that was the beginning of humanity reject her eternal maker for what they THOUGHT would satisfy them.

Sin is so deceitful, isn’t it?

If we could survey the entire Bible this morning, we would see that this is the story all the way through.

God’s grace to mankind - Mankind’s rejection of His love for worthless things.

But thanks be to God that he does not leave the course of human history to the will of human beings. This is His world and his universe. We are His creation. You are HIS creation. He still has an inheritance for His people, and it is better than what you could ever imagine.

Adam and Eve were banished from Eden, and with them, every person was spiritually and physically banished from the presence of God. They died spiritually that day, and what are we left with? Human depravity! Is there evidence that our world is totally depraved?

Yes, and the kings and kingdoms of Daniel have proven such. The beasts. The wickedness. The persecution against the people of God, are all evidences of the deeper issue in the heart of man.

In our study through Daniel, we began with king Nebuchadnezzar taking the people of God from their homes, and bringing them into a country that was not their own, to be governed by an evil dictators who hated God’s law and God’s people.

You and I need to remember this today. The world opposes God, and we know it does by it’s constant rejection of Him. But Daniel also serves as a type for us. In one way, Daniel typifies the Christian call and what it means to be among the foolish who are chosen to confound the wise.

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Human depravity plummeted the entire world into sin, and yet God has chosen for himself a people. And who does he choose? The weak, the foolish, the needy, the despised…Now is this a prerequisite for salvation. No, but nobody who has met the Savior, Jesus, and is truly saved would ever say they were anything but poor in spirit, and foolish, and weak, not only in the moment of their conversion, but for the rest of their lives.

“Lord, I need you, Oh I need you. Every hour I need you. My one defense, my righteousness, Lord how I need you.”

Daniel, a young Jewish teenager, chosen by God, then exiled, became a reminder to the people of God that He had not forgotten them, and, in fact, he was going to remedy the depravity, and fulfill his promise to Abraham. Look at this prophesy again from Daniel 2.

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” Daniel 2:44-45

This Scripture is extremely significant in shaping your view of the Kingdom.

What this tells us is that when Jesus, the stone from heaven, the stone that the builders rejected, came to earth as the God-man, his work was going to have a crushing effect on the systems of the world. There would be significant change to Satan’s dominion and authority with Christ inaugurated as King.

At the cross, Jesus paid for the sins of the believer, and for all who ever have, and ever will trust in Christ. The resurrection defeated sin, and spiritual death for the believer. To trust in Christ, is to be raised with Him, and seated with him in heavenly places.

The ascension of Jesus to the throne resulted in what I believe was a defeat of the stronghold of Satan, and his ability to deceive the nations through world dominating and demonically controlled territorial empires. Satan is the God of this age, and has some power, and can deceive, but he is not in control. How can he be when we look at texts like this.

Ephesians 1:18-23 “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Did you see that? Our resurrected, and ascended Messiah, who is head over all things, was given to the Church. And who is the Church? We are the chosen of God, not for our merits, but according to grace alone. In Christ, we have everything, including the kingdom over which he reigns today - a people of both Jews and Gentiles, a called out people from every nation, tribe, and tongue - - And why is this happening?

Because it was the plan, and the promise. Jesus would inherit the nations, and it would not come easy. He would pay with His life for the sins of His people, and by divine right rule as King over them, and rule through them. The kings of the earth, including men like Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, all Pharaoh's, the Herods, and the Caesar’s of Rome, would all try to stop it, BUT THEY Could NOT.

Look at Psalm 2 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Have you taken refuge in the King, in Jesus? Because to him belongs the Kingdom, and all who oppose Him will perish.

Watch how this ties in with Daniel 7.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

Do you remember what this is? This is not the second coming, as some believe it to be, but the ascension into the throne room, the Son of Man, going to the ancient of days. And what is he receiving from the Father? Dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

And what does this have to do with us? Well, it has everything to do with those who are in Christ. In Christ, all the promises of God are fulfilled. The paradise forfeited by Adam, and God’s desire to share his dominion as an inheritance comes to fruition in Christ.

Watch what this says...

Daniel 7:14 told us that Christ was given dominion.

Daniel 7:15 says Daniel is anxious and alarmed as he watched this vision unfold, but the angel sums up the interpretation with this. “These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’”

Daniel sees that Christ get’s the dominion. But then, what about the beasts. Yes, there will be beasts. There will be kings who arise from the earth to oppress the saints, but who shall receive the kingdom? THE SAINTS. For how long? Forever, forever, and ever.

How long is that? The same Aramaic word, ALAM, is actually used 4 times at the end of v18. Alam, alam, alam, alam. And it means perpetuity.

But Daniel looks closer and inquires of that devilish little horn that arises from the 4th beast. What about him? What about anti-Christ’s who seek to wear out the saints? Yes, even then, God wins, and so do His people.

Daniel 7:26 “But the court shall sit in judgment,

and his dominion, (the little horn) shall be taken away,

to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;

his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,

and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’”

It’s easy to focus on the beasts, and the little horn, and the wearing out of the saints. And to take those things and try to line them up with the events of this day. But how often do we just enjoy the truth that in Christ we inherit all things?

WE possess the eternal Kingdom. WE receive the Kingdom forever, forever, and ever. Believers in Jesus Christ share in His inheritance.

You might never receive the kind of earthly inheritances that you daydream about. When you look around you, and you are constantly reminded of the temporal nature of things…possessions get stolen, homes wear out, things break down, and money gets sparse, that is when you need the gospel truth preached to your heart.

In a broader sense, the nations of the world are often led by beasts, there are lawless people who want to wear out the church and efforts to suppress the Gospel in every society…and it is then that we need the gospel of the truth spoken into our hearts.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

The inheritance of the church is as sure now as it ever will be.

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Your guarantee is the Spirit of God within you, who was given when you believed. And you WILL take possession of it.

And the sureness of our possession of it is because of Grace, not merit.

Colossians 1:12-14 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Give thanks, saints. Because by grace you have this inheritance. Jesus is the qualifier. To reject Christ is to reject an eternal and unfading inheritance.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

Oh how sad that many, many, many will not receive this inheritance, for they will love themselves, love the world, and love pleasure rather than God, just like Esau who traded his birthright for a bowl of porridge. But OH how incredible that many, many, many, are joining the Kingdom of Christ, and many more throughout this generation and the next will join His Kingdom, because he keeps his promises, and the nations have been promised to Christ as an inheritance.

Are you in Christ this morning? Then His victory is yours, his world is yours, his Father is yours, his people are your people, and you get the Kingdom alongside Christ! AMEN AMEN and AMEN!