In order to realize that we are the heirs of salvation, we must be aware that, in God’s economy, God has the Firstborn Son and the many sons. How many sons did God have before Christ was incarnated? He had only one, unique Son. In the Bible, this Son is called the only begotten (John 1:14, 18). John 3:16, a verse familiar to every Christian, says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God’s only begotten Son was Christ. Before His death and resurrection, Christ was the unique Son of God. The New Testament reveals that through Christ’s death and resurrection the many sons of God were born (1 Pet. 1:3). Early in the morning of the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus said to Mary, “Go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). He never called His disciples brothers before that morning. Even in John 15 He said, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his lord is doing; but I have called you friends” (v. 15). The most intimate term He used regarding His disciples before His resurrection was “friend.” But after His resurrection, He met one of His female disciples and told her to go to His brothers. This was prophesied in Psalm 22. The first words of this psalm, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” were spoken by the Lord when He was on the cross (Matt. 27:46). The first twenty-one verses of this psalm speak of the Lord’s crucifixion. Suddenly, verse 22 says, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren.” This proves that He passed through death and entered into resurrection. After He passed through death and resurrection, the many brothers were produced. He was that one grain of wheat which through death and resurrection became many grains (John 12:24). Now God has many sons. He not only has the one Son, but the many sons with the Firstborn. Before His resurrection Christ was the only begotten Son of God. After His resurrection, since many sons of God have been produced, He became God’s Firstborn Son with many brothers.
What is a son? A son is the expression of his father. Many times when I see a son I can recognize the father’s face, for the sons express their fathers. Often when I see a little boy I know whose son he is, for when I look at his face I see his father’s face. The father is never the expression of the son; rather the son is the expression of the father. How many sons does God have? Before Christ’s resurrection, God had only one Son. This means that He had one, unique expression. How many expressions does God have today? He has many because He has many sons. All His sons are His expression. An understanding of this is basic to knowing the matter of the heirs of salvation.
In God’s salvation we are not only born of God to be His sons (John 1:12-13), but also made “heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ” (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7; Titus 3:7). To be born sons of God is one thing; to be made heirs of God is another. Do you know the difference between a son and an heir? You may be a son without being an heir. To be a son requires the birth; to be an heir requires the maturity in growth. Before a boy can become an heir, he must be matured. However, even after being matured he is not yet fully qualified to be an heir. In addition to reaching maturity, an heir must be legalized. You may be mature according to age and yet not be legalized to be the heir. Thus, in order to be an heir you need to be both mature and legalized. In order for a person to become God’s heir he needs three things: to be reborn as a child of God, to grow into maturity, and to be legalized.
Suppose a certain king has five sons. Will they all inherit the throne? No. Only the firstborn will inherit the throne of the kingdom. Nevertheless, the firstborn needs to mature and to be designated as the crown prince. Then he will be the legal successor to the throne and will inherit the kingdom. Perhaps when you hear this you might say, “Since Christ is the Firstborn, we have no right to touch the throne of the kingdom.” But I am here to tell you that although the throne of the United Kingdom is just for one person, the throne of the heavenly kingdom is for the Firstborn and His many brothers. We all are His brothers and we are also His co-heirs. When He is on the throne, we shall be there with Him (Rev. 3:21). We shall be His co-kings (Rev. 20:4, 6).
Our Father is a great Father, much greater than Abraham. We, the many sons of God the Father, have so much to inherit with Christ, the Firstborn Son of God. But we need to grow and mature in life that we may be made legal heirs.
What is the destiny of a saved person? What is God’s purpose in saving the many sons? His purpose is that we be joint-heirs of His Son. The Firstborn Son of God is God’s appointed Heir, and we, the many sons, have been saved to be His joint-heirs. The destiny of our salvation is to be the joint-heirs of Christ. We are heirs with Christ! Christ is the appointed Heir and we are His joint-heirs.
What are we going to inherit? Hebrews 2 says that we, the joint-heirs of Christ, will inherit the earth. Of course, we shall inherit something far more than the earth. Inheriting the earth during the millennium is just a prize similar to the prize awarded to a student who receives straight A’s in school. We will certainly inherit a great deal more than this. First Corinthians 3:22 tells us that all things are ours.