The joint-heirs are the partners of the appointed Heir (1:9). Since Christ as the Firstborn Son of God is God’s appointed Heir and we as the many sons of God are His joint-heirs, we are His partners. He and we, we and He, are in one partnership sharing the same interests in the divine corporation. Have you ever heard that we are Christ’s partners? Hallelujah, we are His partners! Suppose you become the partner of a billionaire. You would certainly be assured of having great riches, for whatever the billionaire has is yours. You are one with him in a great corporation. God has the biggest corporation in the universe. The name of this corporation is “Christ and the Church.” We are the partners in this corporation. We have not been hired by this corporation; we are the partners. In the entire universe God has only one corporation—“Christ and the Church”—and this corporation has millions of angels to be the serving ones. The Jews should no longer boast in the angels; the angels are our servants (1:14).
The many sons, who are the joint-heirs of Christ and His partners, compose the house of God, Bethel. The house of God is composed of all His sons. We are the joint-heirs and the partners of Christ. We are also the sons and the house of God. Hebrews 2:10 tells us that we are the sons of God. Then Hebrews 3:6 says that we are the house of God. This house of God is living because it is built with us, the living sons of the living God. It is altogether a matter of God being the Spirit and indwelling our spirit. The living God as the Spirit dwells in our regenerated spirit. Here is the house of God on earth. Hence, it is the habitation of God in our spirit (Eph. 2:22, Gk.).
The first mention of God’s house in the Bible is in Genesis 28. Remember, the first mention of anything in the Scriptures establishes the principle of that thing. In the mention of the house of God in Genesis 28 many spiritual principles are established: that where the house of God is, there is the heavenly ladder; that the house of God with the heavenly ladder is the gate of heaven; and that where there is the house of God with the heavenly ladder as the gate of heaven, there are the ministering angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. Wherever the house of God is on earth, there is the heavenly ladder. This ladder joins earth to heaven and brings heaven down to earth. The place with the heavenly ladder is the gate of heaven. Here the angels ascend and descend as they do their service, which is to take care of the house of God as the gate of heaven. This is the picture of God’s house on earth.
We must remember that in Hebrews we are told that we are joint-heirs of Christ, His partners, and the house of God, today’s Bethel on earth. Since we are the house of God, the real Bethel, the heavenly ladder, which is Christ, is here. Since the heavenly ladder is here, the angels ascend and descend upon this ladder as they do their service. The church today is the house of God composed of God’s many sons with Christ, the Firstborn Son of God, as the heavenly ladder. Therefore, the church is the gate of heaven with Christ as the heavenly ladder joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth. Upon this ladder the angels are ministering as they ascend and descend.
What was revealed in Genesis 28 was confirmed by the Lord Jesus in John 1:51. “And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Here the Lord Jesus tells us clearly that He Himself, as the Son of Man who was born in His resurrection to be God’s Firstborn Son, is the heavenly ladder and that upon Him the ministering angels are ascending and descending as they render their service to the house of God composed of God’s many sons.