A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.
—PROVERBS 13:22, NASB
Digging Deeper
If you read through the different covenants (oath-bound promises God had with man) throughout the Bible, we see that God consistently described those He was in covenant with as His very own inheritance. God receives us as His own inheritance. Think about that. You have so much value and importance that God considers you His very own inheritance.
Moses, as well as others whom God told, tried to explain this reality to the Israelites, who lived during what is known as the Mosaic covenant. This inheritance type of language can be seen repeatedly all throughout the cannon that surrounds the Mosaic covenant.
“For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.”
—Deuteronomy 7:6-8, NLT
Read Deuteronomy 7:6-8
Why do you think Moses pointed out that God’s devotion to them had nothing to do with numbers but everything to do with love and promises kept?
The Israelites, who had been heavily oppressed in dry, hot Egypt, a land that was described in First Kings 8:51 as an “iron-smelting furnace,” struggled breaking free from a slave mindset—a perspective that had been passed down to their children’s children throughout the 400 years they were in captivity.
God diligently reminded them of their identity as His inheritance, a chosen people, and He reminded them of the promises that they were to inherit—a land flowing with milk and honey. This land represented abundance, success, and permission to live as free people of God. In all of this, God encouraged them to place their faith in His strong hands, because He honors and protects those He loves, His very own inheritance.
Many of us know the story of the Israelites, and we may even identify with them at times. They have been described as stiff-necked, stubborn people who easily forgot. But because we place our faith in who we are in Christ and in the better covenant that God established, as discussed in Lesson 6, we are co-heirs of a legacy that will be passed down throughout the generations through our faith.
“My choice is you, God, first and only. And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up with a house and yard. And then you made me your heir! The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I have got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell—that’s not my destination! Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.”
—Psalm 16:5-11, MSG
Read Psalm 16:5-11
Circle the passage where David speaks of God giving him a domain of his own.
Just like Adam in the Garden was in charge of naming the animals and overseeing the entire Garden, God gives us all areas of influence in which to spend our inheritance of authority, joy, and victory. Through our faith in what Christ has done and who we are in Him, we use our freedom in Christ to serve those around us by revealing the likeness of our good, good Father and bringing victory into areas of need. Being successful, innovative, and creative demonstrates God’s glory that He releases to us through our faith. List out the realms of influence in every area of life in which God’s given you influence. There is no area too small or too big:
David says that he is happy from the inside out and the outside in and is firmly formed by God. Imagine your life with that kind of security and confidence all wrapped up in joy! As David mentioned in the psalm above, Abba gives you wise counsel during the day and confirms it at night so that you know He’s guiding you.
Read Hebrews 12:2. What does the scripture say was set before Jesus as the reason He endured the cross?
Psalm 2:7-8 says, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession’” (NLT). David prophetically sang of all the nations being Jesus’ inheritance. Just as Hebrews 12:2 says, Jesus endured the cross to receive the joy that was set before Him—an inheritance of the nations that includes you!
Once we have realized that Jesus has brought us into this incredible family and made us a co-heir (see Acts 20:32), we then understand that Jesus’ inheritance of the nations is now ours! Adam and Eve inherited the earth, but God started them off with a smaller domain known as the Garden. As we have learned, they placed their faith outside of God, forgetting who God was and who they were. By placing our faith in God, we can see ourselves how He sees us. Because we know Him, we can trust in the dreams and the desires of our hearts. We are learning that God placed those dreams and desires within us so that we could learn how to be His children and live as free people who are victorious, just as our King Jesus is. We are no longer orphans. We are no longer slaves. We are children of God! The legacy that you will leave for the generations to come will be found in the promises God whispers in your ears and in the plans He shows your heart. The inheritance that He has given you will be manifested through your very unique dreams and desires. Christ has given you permission to live and have an abundant life!
As we know Heaven is our inheritance, we also must know that God gave us the earth to have dominion over. God is a giver. This is who He is, and He gives so that you can be empowered and free!
“For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].”
—Romans 8:19, AMPC
Read Romans 8:19
Do you believe you have a purpose on this earth? Jesus Christ, the solution to every problem in the world, lives within you. What void in the earth is waiting for you to show up and fill it? When you dream of serving, helping, being a solution—what do you see? What pulls at your heart? Are inventions resting within your heart that you have not touched? Are new businesses that could create jobs and wealth for the Kingdom lying dormant in your mind? Journal the first thoughts that pop into your heart. There’s no need to overthink it.
The world needs to experience the fruit of your union with God, your sonship, and to see this fruit manifested in the earth. Every area of your life is groaning for you to reveal your true identity, an identity that has been forgiven, made pure, given a right mind and spirit, and is victorious over everything because King Jesus has overcome the world (see John 16:33). Start by revealing that identity in what’s right in front of you—relationships, home, money, time, health, and so on.
What areas of your life need you, a child of God, to show up? Where can the power of forgiveness, self-control, or creative solutions be applied in your life? Let go of offenses, make choices from grace and truth, and reveal the fruit of the Spirit. Allow Holy Spirit to show you areas of your life that need you to display the grace and truth that has been given to you. Journal what He reveals to you.
Children of God, we carry within us a knowledge that surpasses human reasoning. Our lives are a sweet fragrance as we live out this triumphant identity in Christ and are led by God. We will be known by our faith and by the love that has been lavished upon us by our good Father.
We have a good King who reigns and who has seated us with Him in heavenly places (see Eph. 2:6). He has given us every spiritual blessing in Heaven so that we can reign on earth and demonstrate the Kingdom of God everywhere we go. Our legacies will be carried out as we live out our dreams and pass our faith on to our children and the next generation. As you wake up and respond to the calling on your life, the world will want to know who you are, and you will say, “I am my Father’s child, a child of God!”
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith….”
—Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB
Hearing Moment
You are a child of God with promises spoken over you before you were even born. You were designed to reign with Christ. Let’s take a moment and allow Holy Spirit to speak promises over our lives and our future.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
—1 Peter 2:9
Pray and ask Holy Spirit to share and show you the promises that God has set before you. You may hear one or several. Journal everything you hear and see. With each promise you receive, ask Holy Spirit for practical first steps to begin walking in faith toward that promise.