The Inheritance of the Righteous by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 4, 1913

The Inheritance of the Righteous

By John Norton Loughborough

By J. N. Loughborough

IV. The Heirs of Promise

“When God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Heb. 6: 13-20.

THIS same apostle, when writing to the Gentiles—converted heathen—said, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ.” Gal. 3: 16. That Abraham understood that Christ was the Seed, is made plain by the words of Christ, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.” John 8: 56. To the Galatians Paul said, “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s Seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3: 26, 29.

The Jews seemed to think that the Gentiles were excluded from salvation. They said to Christ: “Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you.” John 8: 39, 37. When Paul wrote to the Romans, He said: “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law [that is, those who fulfil law by offering the blood of beasts], but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.” Rom. 4: 14-16. The “us” used here, included the converted Gentiles, as well as Abraham’s natural descendants. Again: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 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.” Rom. 8: 16, 17.

To the Ephesians—Gentiles again—he said, He—Christ—“came and preached peace to you which were afar off.” “By revelation He made known unto me the mystery: . . . which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Eph. 2: 17; 3: 3-6. Here is another testimony to the Romans: “For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe; . . . that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.” Rom. 4: 9-12. Still further: “If some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. . . . If thou wert cut out of the olive-tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive-tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive-tree?” Rom. 11: 17, 18, 24. Again he said: “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Rom. 9: 6-8.

All Who Receive Him Are Sons

John spoke thus of Christ: “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, . . . nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1: 12, 13. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law [under its condemnation], . . . that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Gal. 4: 4-6. James said, “Harken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?” James 2: 5.

All True Believers Are Counted

From the scriptures we have quoted, we see that the believers in Christ, who through His grace obey God’s law, thus walking in the steps of the Abrahamic faith, are counted for the seed, and as real heirs of the kingdom they will receive the fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham and his seed,—a share in the restored dominion lost by the first Adam,—for the Lord says to them in the execution of the judgment, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25: 34. And as showed to Daniel in holy vision: “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Dan. 7: 27.

The seed promised to Abraham was to be innumerable. “I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.” Gen. 13: 16. In the promise, as renewed to David, we read, “As the host of heaven can not be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant.” Jer. 33: 22. And Abraham himself, when permitted at last to meet the mighty throng, is represented as saying, “Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children [apostate Israel], and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? . . . Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up Mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people.” Isa. 49: 21, 22.

The apostle John had a view of the mighty host of the redeemed in the city of God, and said, “I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. . . . These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Rev. 7: 9-14. While the great consummation still lingers, there is a call for heirs, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. . . . And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” If the reader is not already an heir, may the Lord help him to speedily obtain joint-heirship with Christ.