My dear readers,

(Extracts from “HEAVEN – a place, a city, a home” by E M Bounds in RPG December 1991, Edited by Dr SH Tow)

1. THE EARNEST OF HEAVEN (Ephesians 1:1-14)

But for the blessed Holy Spirit, we would have no desire or longing for Heaven, let alone a place in Heaven. It is only by the kindness and love of God, and by the washing of regeneration of the Holy Spirit that we are made heirs of God and given the hope of Heaven (Titus 3:4-5). This is part of God's salvation plan. Ponder the words of the Apostle Paul: "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:13-14).

The Holy Spirit in us is said to be the earnest of Heaven our inheritance. What do we understand by this? The "earnest" is the security and assurance of something yet future. The Holy Spirit now indwelling and working in us is the certainty of the Heaven to come. It is the Holy Spirit who seals us, implants in our hearts the taste of Heaven, raises in us the ambition for Heaven, and empowers us to toil for Heaven in the midst of earth's distractions, disappointments, and discouragements. It is the Holy Spirit who kept Abraham faithful and steadfast in following Christ to the end without wavering.

Pray, dear reader, for Holy Spirit anointing and enlightenment. Then we too shall be given faith to sojourn on earth "as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles" (Heb 11:9), then we shall see the Heavenly City afar off, and be fully persuaded of God's promises (Heb 11:13), never to return to the perishing world. Praise be unto God the Father, and to Jesus Christ His Son, for giving us the best gift, the Holy Spirit Comforter: He is the surety and certainty of our everlasting inheritance in Heaven.

THOUGHT: Read Luke 11:13 and act on it!
PRAYER: Father in Heaven, thank you for giving me thy Holy Spirit.

2. CHILDREN AND HEIRS (Romans 8:12-23)

Coming into the family of God is the blessing that exceeds all blessings. This is by no merit or effort of our own, but it is all of God's mercy. Let us give thanks with the Apostle Peter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet 1:3-4).

Inasmuch as no one can give birth to himself, a Christian is begotten only by God, through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God ... but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ ..." (Rom. 8:14-17).

As "joint-heirs with Christ" we are admitted to the heavenly inheritance, even the glory which He has with God the Father at whose right hand He sits, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion ... And hath put all things under his feet ..." (Eph 1:21,22). What our share as "children and heirs will be cannot now be imagined, but it will be something far beyond our most ambitious dreams.

Children and heirs are called to labour for the King today. Entering Heaven is to be evidenced by hard work, "For we are labourers together with God ..." (1 Cor 3:9). As filial sons and daughters of the Heavenly King, let us give Him our very best!

THOUGHT: Children are also servants.
PRAYER: Father in Heaven, make me a filial child.

3. HEAVEN IS OUR INHERITANCE (Ephesians 1:1-23)

Peter one day asked the Lord, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" In reply our Lord said, "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matt 19:27,29). In his unconverted state Peter had doubts and anxious fears. After his conversion, the Spirit of God gave him words of assurance for the flock committed to him. Following Jesus was not in vain.

Then he could write: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet 1:3,4). Now Peter appreciated what Jesus meant by "everlasting life" in God's abundant mercy, we are born again into God's family to become children, with the glorious prospect of an inheritance in the future.

The Apostle Paul has similar instruction for us: if we are His children, then we are heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance (Eph 1:11), and are sealed with the Holy Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance (Eph 1:13,14). Dear reader, fellow-believer in Christ, do you sometimes wonder like the early disciple Peter, "What shall we have therefore?" Pray and not doubt! Pray “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation ... that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Eph 1:17, 18).

Now we understand why Heaven cannot be earned or bought: it is an inheritance! It is only for children and heirs.

QUESTION: How can I become an heir of God?
PRAYER: Thank you Lord for my inheritance.

God bless you dear readers.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,
Dr SH Tow, Founding Pastor