308. Heirs
Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
We are justified by His grace; therefore, we have the promise of being heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Heirs will inherit everything that their father owns upon his death. Heirs of God the Father will inherit everything that the Father owns upon their death.
By faith we have already received the inheritance since we have died with Christ. The problem is that Sin and unbelief get in the way, mess up, and hinder the full reception of the inheritance Christ earned for us. We are presently saved and we have already entered into the kingdom of God, except that we do not see it with our eyes, nor do we usually feel it with our senses. But faith is the substance of the things not seen. We are now in the Kingdom, which is our inheritance, but we will not see it until we die. But we have been granted faith by the Spirit through the Gospel. We have eternal life now, which is our inheritance, but we are at the same time subject to Death and in bondage to Sin. We cannot fully see it until we die.
Meanwhile, until we die we have the hope of eternal life. Hope sees the unseen, visualizes the invisible spiritual things, and enjoys the future. All of this Wonder is given by grace and received by faith. We have the hope of eternal life: Hope is the present reality of the life we can’t see. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The heir does not earn the inheritance: he receives a fortune free just because he is a son, or he is an otherwise graced and favored person. The heir of God does not earn the kingdom: he receives the fortune free because God made him a son and heir and a favored person. He is justified by grace for Christ’s sake. It boggles the mind to try to dwell on what we have inherited. It boggles the mind even more to know that it is by grace and favor. We have the blessing and the promise of the things of God.