… since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
Summary: In this passage, Paul introduces the concept of our “inheritance in the Lord.” How we understand our spiritual life has a lot of influence on how we understand this passage.
Ah! Now we get down to brass tacks! If we do all this stuff for Jesus, what do we get out of it?
This is where theology gets hard.
Isaiah, the prophet, quotes God encouraging us to think about these things. He says:
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord …” (Isaiah 1:18)
So let’s do that. Let’s reason this “self-interest” thing out.
Isn’t “self-interest” a sin?
Well, yes, if it is the interests of the “flesh” we are talking about. But what about the interests of the “spirit?”
Peter describes it this way when he says, “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside…” (2 Peter 11:13-14)
The “I” in Peter’s sentence is who he is. The “tent of this body” is what we call the “flesh,” with all its desires and cravings for the things of this world.
Paul expands on this concept in his letter to the church at Rome:
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7: 14-15)
Let’s add some context to Paul’s words and see if it helps.
First, notice that Paul distinguishes between the spiritual and the unspiritual (i.e. – the “flesh”). He says, in effect:
“I (the spiritual “me,” what Paul calls his “inner being” [Romans 7:22]) do not understand what I (the flesh) do. For what I (the inner spiritual me) want to do I (the flesh, the “tent of this body”) do not do, but what I (my inner being) hate I (my tent body) do.”
Confusing?
Sorry! We are stuck with a dual nature in this life. Our old sinful nature and the new reborn self that Jesus promised in John’s Gospel:
“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6)
Meanwhile, we know that even though the body dies, the spirit, our “inner self” lives in Christ. That is our “inheritance from the Lord.”
Application: Trust Jesus!
Food for Thought: What happens when we try to put Paul’s promise of an “inheritance in the Lord” into worldly terms?
In worldly terms, I think most people tend to look at an earthly inheritance as something to possess. Like it is theirs by right to do whatever they want. If we apply that same concept to our inheritance from the Lord, we lose sight of love, grace, redemption, and restoration. We may be inclined to think of what we will do with the grace we have been given, instead of living up to the grace that we have been given thus far.
Luke 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
I think if we look at Paul’s promise of an “inheritance in the Lord” into worldly terms, we may fall into the trap of covetousness. It sounds very strange to me to say it like that.
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Our inheritance is given to us through Christ and by the grace of God. It is eternity in the presence of our God and Lord.
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Chris,
Thank you for wrestling with this topic. You are right that the world thinks in terms of “possessions.” Possessions, in turn, lead to other thoughts that are not necessarily spiritual. Well said!