An opponent of the heir vs. joint-heir issue has claimed that, the notion that being an “heir of God” and a “joint-heir with Christ” in Romans 8:17 constitutes two separate inheritances stands in opposition to Col 3:24. Pastor Ron Knight brought up a great point about that verse: Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. -Col 3:24&25 It is clear in that verse that the receiving of the reward of the inheritance is dependent upon something: serving the Lord... FOR (i.e. because of the reality that) ye serve the Lord. The next verse makes it clear that the opposite (i.e. not serving the Lord) is going to result in receiving for the wrong which he hath done. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to understand that receiving for the wrong which he hath done doesnt equate to receiving the reward of the inheritance, it equates to receiving something else, i.e. NOT the reward of the inheritance. Thus those that serve the Lord will receive the reward of the inheritance and those that do NOT serve the Lord will NOT receive the reward of the inheritance. Simple, basic, common sense logic. Not all members of the body of Christ serve the Lord: Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such SERVE NOT our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. They that serve not our Lord is a reference to evil worker members of the body of Christ (Phil 3:2), also known as enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil 3:18). Paul is not talking about lost people. Its a given that no lost person is going to serve the Lord, Paul wouldnt waste anyones time by telling them lost people dont serve the Lord, that is blatantly clear by definition. All members of the body (all members are heirs of God) will receive an unearned inheritance from God the Father (everlasting life/glorified bodies and everlasting citizenship in the heavenly places) as a free gift of grace for simply believing on the shed blood of Jesus. However, not all members will receive the inheritance being rewarded to the members that serve the Lord (only those that DO indeed serve the Lord) mentioned in Col 3:24. Theres your two separate inheritances! When presented with that rebuttal, a common tactic of the opposition is to claim Paul only speaks of one inheritance when addressing members of the body of Christ. He ALSO speaks of the reward of the inheritance in Colossians 3:24. So the attempt here is to claim that the reward of the inheritance is a separate issue that has nothing to do with the inheritance and only has to do with reward. Hmmm... well then why is it called the the reward of the INHERITANCE!? Does the opposition think its a reward disguised as an inheritance but it isnt really inheritance?? By the way they then dont ever clarify what the reward is. I really cant fathom the thinking process of someone who would try and sell a claim that the reward of the inheritance is not an inheritance. Thats like saying the reward of the blue ribbon is not a blue ribbon. Or like telling a 1st place Olympic winner that the reward of the gold medal isnt a gold medal! Hello??? Again, the correct understanding is that the reigning in the heavenly places is an earned (rewarded) inheritance bestowed by God the Father to God the Son, and the Lord Jesus Christ is offering to share that inheritance of His as a REWARD to those that serve Him (Col 3:24), to those that suffer (for the mystery given to the Apostle Paul) with Him (2 Tim 2:15, Rom 8:17), thereby making it a joint-inheritance with members of the body of Christ that SERVE HIM/suffer WITH HIM as Col 3:24 & Romans 8:17 point out.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:12:21 +0000