Inheritance In Our Father's House

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?” (Genesis 31:14).

This is the first mention of the word “inheritance” in the Bible and, appropriately enough, its theme is the futility of basing one’s future plans on the hope of any earthly estate.

No earthly inheritance could ever be compared with “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18)—with one exception—one heritage here on earth which the Lord does grant in this life: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward” (Psalm 127:3). This promise applies, no doubt, to spiritual children as well as physical children, but nowhere else in Scripture does God promise any kind of material inheritance to His loved ones. The reason for this exception, is that the only material blessing capable of sharing our eternal inheritance is our children, when we lead them to Christ.

What is the nature of our real inheritance, then? It is called an “eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15), an “inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled” (I Peter 1:4), and a “glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18). In one of the great Messianic psalms (Psalm 16), the Lord Jesus, as the sin-bearing, suffering Son of man, testifies as follows: “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance. . . . The lines [that is, the surveying lines hounding His ‘lot’] are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psalm 16:5,6). In fact, He has been “appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2).

We (and our children) are sometimes better off with little or no earthly inheritance, but when we are born again through receiving the saving death and life of Christ, we become “children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16,17). In Christ, the Lord also becomes the portion of our inheritance. HMM