Our Inheritance in Christ (Part One)- Hebrews 1:1-6

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us that the blessings (inheritance) given to Abraham have also been given to all who are in Christ. In Genesis 12:1-3, God promises Abraham three blessings, a three part inheritance. Abraham is told he will be given a people, a homeland and a blessing. The inheritance of these three things is also applied to born again believers in the book of Hebrews, but is given a new application which is also explained in Hebrews. These blessings are listed and described in Hebrews 1:1-6, and explained and applied to our lives in Hebrews 8:10-12. This description in Hebrews 1 begins by telling us that God has spoken to His people in the past through prophets, that God has always been a God who speaks to His people, who always seeks a relationship with them. He is also a God who still speaks to His people, but now not through prophets but through His son. The son has been appointed heir of all things, the inheritance promised to Abraham is His, and now belongs to all who are in Him. The Hebrew word God uses to tell Abraham He will bless him means “to give a gift or show favor to”, and the first two verse of Hebrews one are telling us that Jesus is the gift or favor God has given us, He is the blessing, and He is our “inheritance”. He is a sufficient inheritance because He is the one through whom everything was made. Jesus is also the radiance of God’s glory. The word radiance here is a word meaning “to stamp”, Jesus has the “stamp” of God’s glory upon Him. He is also the exact representation of God’s being, with the word translated exact representation being the Greek charakter, from which we get the English word character. Jesus shows us the character of God, what He is like, and we would not know God’s true character apart from Jesus. Because Jesus was God, He provided purification for sins, sitting down at the right hand of the Father and providing for us the second aspect of our inheritance, our eternal “homeland” in heaven. The land which we inherit is heaven, which Jesus died to provide eternal access to for all who trust in Him. The third aspect of our inheritance is then mentioned in verses 4-6. In verse 4, we learn that Jesus is superior to the angels, for they could not atone for sin or ascend to the right hand of the Father, they are not our inherited blessing and could not secure our place in our eternal homeland. In verse 5, we learn that Christ is also superior to the angels in that He is God’s Son and they are not. Jesus belongs to the “family” of God, and is not ashamed to call us His “brothers” (and sisters). Jesus, in verse 6, is referred to as the “firstborn”. This does not mean He was “born” as we are, for He is not created but is the creator. The use of firstborn here refers to His being the “first among many brothers”, that He is our brother and we are part of God’s people, God’s family, through Him. We have now been told what the inheritance promised to Abraham given to us consists of: we have been given Christ as our “blessing”, heaven as our “homeland” and God’s people the world over as our “nation”. Our next post will examine Hebrews 8 for the explanation of how this three part inheritance applies to our lives.