Hebrews is a special book. In the New Testament there is only one other book in the same category as Hebrews — the book of Revelation. I myself strongly believe that Hebrews was written by the apostle Paul because at the end of the letter he mentions Timothy (Heb. 13:23). Paul wrote at least thirteen Epistles. Among all the Epistles in the New Testament, Hebrews stands out in a very peculiar way. It is not common; it is quite unusual. Among all the other books of the Bible, Revelation also stands out. Both Hebrews and Revelation are revelations of Christ, revealing Christ in special and particular ways. Many aspects of Christ can only be seen in Hebrews, and other particular aspects of Him can only be found in Revelation. These two books are high, deep, and profound in their revelation of Christ. Because of this, they are closed to most Christians. Although many Christians can talk about the stories in the four gospels, justification by faith, and things such as head covering, the Lord’s table, and the manifestation of the gifts, they cannot touch the depth of Hebrews and Revelation. Some deal with the book of Revelation in the way of talking about horns, beasts, horses, scorpions, locusts, and frogs. Others discuss it in a higher way, talking about the length of the tribulation or the time of the rapture. But I have never heard people talk about it in the way of Christ being revealed so particularly in God’s administration, or in the way of the local churches being the testimony of Jesus. Since my youth, I have heard many messages on Revelation, but I have never heard anyone say that Revelation begins with seven golden lampstands and concludes with a unique lampstand, a golden mountain, holding Christ as the lamp shining with God’s light for eternity. We praise the Lord that in His mercy He has opened up these books to us in these last days. He has opened up the depths of His Christ in these books. I do not call your attention to Hebrews and Revelation because these books are deep in doctrine, but because they are profound in the unveiling of Christ. In no other books can we see Christ in such a way. Christ, our dear Lord, is a wonderful person. He is marvelous, far beyond our understanding and utterance. We simply cannot utter His profoundness. Therefore, Hebrews and Revelation use various expressions to describe, portray, and unveil this wonderful person. I ask you to take full note of the particulars revealed in these two books.
It may seem that this message on the heirs of salvation has nothing to do with Christ. Believe me, if you are going to know Christ, you must know this message, for it contains a particular aspect concerning Christ. Christ is wonderful, profound, unlimited, rich, and marvelous. As such a One, He certainly needs all of us to be heirs of salvation. Salvation is nothing less than the wonderful person of Christ Himself. Christ Himself, as the most profound, marvelous, unlimited, and immeasurable One, is our salvation. To say that we are heirs of salvation means that we inherit this profound, marvelous, immeasurable, and unlimited Christ. Christ’s profoundness requires our partnership. Our partnership with Christ unveils the profoundness of Christ.
In His economy God not only has a great operation, but He also has tremendous riches. In His operation He has accomplished and is going to accomplish many things. He has also created and brought forth many things. For this, He has appointed the Son to be not only the Operator but also the Heir. He also has given the Son the authority to do everything in His purpose and the right to inherit all things in His operation. Hebrews 1:2 says that God made the universe through the Son and that He appointed the Son to be the Heir of all things. Colossians 1:16 says that all things were created by and for the Son. John 13:3 tells us that the Father has given all things to the Son. Thus, the Son is the Lord of all (Acts 10:36).
Firstly, the Son was appointed by God the Father (1:2); then He was anointed by the Father with the Spirit (1:9); and eventually, after the Son had been designated to be the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), being begotten of God in His resurrection to be the Firstborn Son of God (1:5; Acts 13:33), He was inaugurated as the Lord of all into His office at the time of His ascension into the heavens (Acts 2:36). He was not only appointed and anointed by God, but, in His exaltation, was inaugurated as both the Lord and Christ to administrate God’s operation and was designated as the legal Heir to inherit all things in God’s economy. He, as Isaac, the Son of Abraham, is going to inherit the earth (Psa. 2:8), the kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14), the throne (Luke 1:32), and all things (Matt. 11:27). Since He is not only the Son of God, but also the Heir of God, even the legal Heir of God, all that God the Father is and has is for His possession (John 16:15). This is our Savior, the One who is the salvation of which we are heirs.
In order to realize that we are the heirs of salvation, we must be aware that, in God’s economy, God has the Firstborn Son and the many sons. How many sons did God have before Christ was incarnated? He had only one, unique Son. In the Bible, this Son is called the only begotten (John 1:14, 18). John 3:16, a verse familiar to every Christian, says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God’s only begotten Son was Christ. Before His death and resurrection, Christ was the unique Son of God. The New Testament reveals that through Christ’s death and resurrection the many sons of God were born (1 Pet. 1:3). Early in the morning of the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus said to Mary, “Go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). He never called His disciples brothers before that morning. Even in John 15 He said, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his lord is doing; but I have called you friends” (v. 15). The most intimate term He used regarding His disciples before His resurrection was “friend.” But after His resurrection, He met one of His female disciples and told her to go to His brothers. This was prophesied in Psalm 22. The first words of this psalm, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” were spoken by the Lord when He was on the cross (Matt. 27:46). The first twenty-one verses of this psalm speak of the Lord’s crucifixion. Suddenly, verse 22 says, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren.” This proves that He passed through death and entered into resurrection. After He passed through death and resurrection, the many brothers were produced. He was that one grain of wheat which through death and resurrection became many grains (John 12:24). Now God has many sons. He not only has the one Son, but the many sons with the Firstborn. Before His resurrection Christ was the only begotten Son of God. After His resurrection, since many sons of God have been produced, He became God’s Firstborn Son with many brothers.
What is a son? A son is the expression of his father. Many times when I see a son I can recognize the father’s face, for the sons express their fathers. Often when I see a little boy I know whose son he is, for when I look at his face I see his father’s face. The father is never the expression of the son; rather the son is the expression of the father. How many sons does God have? Before Christ’s resurrection, God had only one Son. This means that He had one, unique expression. How many expressions does God have today? He has many because He has many sons. All His sons are His expression. An understanding of this is basic to knowing the matter of the heirs of salvation.
In God’s salvation we are not only born of God to be His sons (John 1:12-13), but also made “heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ” (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7; Titus 3:7). To be born sons of God is one thing; to be made heirs of God is another. Do you know the difference between a son and an heir? You may be a son without being an heir. To be a son requires the birth; to be an heir requires the maturity in growth. Before a boy can become an heir, he must be matured. However, even after being matured he is not yet fully qualified to be an heir. In addition to reaching maturity, an heir must be legalized. You may be mature according to age and yet not be legalized to be the heir. Thus, in order to be an heir you need to be both mature and legalized. In order for a person to become God’s heir he needs three things: to be reborn as a child of God, to grow into maturity, and to be legalized.
Suppose a certain king has five sons. Will they all inherit the throne? No. Only the firstborn will inherit the throne of the kingdom. Nevertheless, the firstborn needs to mature and to be designated as the crown prince. Then he will be the legal successor to the throne and will inherit the kingdom. Perhaps when you hear this you might say, “Since Christ is the Firstborn, we have no right to touch the throne of the kingdom.” But I am here to tell you that although the throne of the United Kingdom is just for one person, the throne of the heavenly kingdom is for the Firstborn and His many brothers. We all are His brothers and we are also His co-heirs. When He is on the throne, we shall be there with Him (Rev. 3:21). We shall be His co-kings (Rev. 20:4, 6).
Our Father is a great Father, much greater than Abraham. We, the many sons of God the Father, have so much to inherit with Christ, the Firstborn Son of God. But we need to grow and mature in life that we may be made legal heirs.
What is the destiny of a saved person? What is God’s purpose in saving the many sons? His purpose is that we be joint-heirs of His Son. The Firstborn Son of God is God’s appointed Heir, and we, the many sons, have been saved to be His joint-heirs. The destiny of our salvation is to be the joint-heirs of Christ. We are heirs with Christ! Christ is the appointed Heir and we are His joint-heirs.
What are we going to inherit? Hebrews 2 says that we, the joint-heirs of Christ, will inherit the earth. Of course, we shall inherit something far more than the earth. Inheriting the earth during the millennium is just a prize similar to the prize awarded to a student who receives straight A’s in school. We will certainly inherit a great deal more than this. First Corinthians 3:22 tells us that all things are ours.
The joint-heirs are the partners of the appointed Heir (1:9). Since Christ as the Firstborn Son of God is God’s appointed Heir and we as the many sons of God are His joint-heirs, we are His partners. He and we, we and He, are in one partnership sharing the same interests in the divine corporation. Have you ever heard that we are Christ’s partners? Hallelujah, we are His partners! Suppose you become the partner of a billionaire. You would certainly be assured of having great riches, for whatever the billionaire has is yours. You are one with him in a great corporation. God has the biggest corporation in the universe. The name of this corporation is “Christ and the Church.” We are the partners in this corporation. We have not been hired by this corporation; we are the partners. In the entire universe God has only one corporation — “Christ and the Church” — and this corporation has millions of angels to be the serving ones. The Jews should no longer boast in the angels; the angels are our servants (1:14).
The many sons, who are the joint-heirs of Christ and His partners, compose the house of God, Bethel. The house of God is composed of all His sons. We are the joint-heirs and the partners of Christ. We are also the sons and the house of God. Hebrews 2:10 tells us that we are the sons of God. Then Hebrews 3:6 says that we are the house of God. This house of God is living because it is built with us, the living sons of the living God. It is altogether a matter of God being the Spirit and indwelling our spirit. The living God as the Spirit dwells in our regenerated spirit. Here is the house of God on earth. Hence, it is the habitation of God in our spirit (Eph. 2:22, Gk.).
The first mention of God’s house in the Bible is in Genesis 28. Remember, the first mention of anything in the Scriptures establishes the principle of that thing. In the mention of the house of God in Genesis 28 many spiritual principles are established: that where the house of God is, there is the heavenly ladder; that the house of God with the heavenly ladder is the gate of heaven; and that where there is the house of God with the heavenly ladder as the gate of heaven, there are the ministering angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. Wherever the house of God is on earth, there is the heavenly ladder. This ladder joins earth to heaven and brings heaven down to earth. The place with the heavenly ladder is the gate of heaven. Here the angels ascend and descend as they do their service, which is to take care of the house of God as the gate of heaven. This is the picture of God’s house on earth.
We must remember that in Hebrews we are told that we are joint-heirs of Christ, His partners, and the house of God, today’s Bethel on earth. Since we are the house of God, the real Bethel, the heavenly ladder, which is Christ, is here. Since the heavenly ladder is here, the angels ascend and descend upon this ladder as they do their service. The church today is the house of God composed of God’s many sons with Christ, the Firstborn Son of God, as the heavenly ladder. Therefore, the church is the gate of heaven with Christ as the heavenly ladder joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth. Upon this ladder the angels are ministering as they ascend and descend.
What was revealed in Genesis 28 was confirmed by the Lord Jesus in John 1:51. “And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Here the Lord Jesus tells us clearly that He Himself, as the Son of Man who was born in His resurrection to be God’s Firstborn Son, is the heavenly ladder and that upon Him the ministering angels are ascending and descending as they render their service to the house of God composed of God’s many sons.
The church as the house of God, the habitation of the living God on earth, is the gate of heaven. Wherever the house of God is, there is the heavenly ladder, which is Christ. Where is Christ? He is both in the heavens and on the earth in the church. Hence, He becomes the ladder in the church that joins earth to heaven and brings heaven to earth. Here is the place for us to stay. We as God’s saved ones, the many sons of God, the joint-heirs and partners of Christ, should live and have our being in the church while we are on earth. It is here that we enjoy the open heaven of God. It is here that we participate in Christ as the heavenly ladder. It is here that we have so many angels ministering all kinds of services to us. Above all, it is here that we express God in His glory.
At the end of such a glorious chapter, chapter one of Hebrews, concerning the unlimited Son of God, we are told that the angels are our servants. “Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation?” Christ is God’s Heir and we are the joint-heirs of Christ. Even more, we are His partners in the divine interest. What a high position is this! It is much higher than that of the angels. The angels in God’s economy are only the ministering spirits rendering service to us, the joint-heirs of Christ and the partners of God’s appointed Heir. In God’s universe we are the owners and the angels are our servants. They serve us, the many sons of God, the heirs of salvation.
Let me share with you some real examples of the ministry of angels. When Peter was put into prison, an angel came, opened the door, and led him out of the prison (Acts 12:5-16). Peter then went and knocked on the door of the house of Mary. When Rhoda, a maidservant, opened the door and told the people in the house that it was Peter, they said that it must have been his angel. We all have at least one angel. Matthew 18:10 proves this. “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” We should not wrong our brothers because their angels are in the presence of the Father. The angels of God are ascending and descending on the heavenly ladder ministering to the heirs of salvation. We could also cite the example of Cornelius who was visited by an angel when he was praying (Acts 10:1-4). Furthermore, Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” If you love God and seek Him, He will send angels to camp round about you.
Who are we? We are the heirs of salvation. Who are the angels? They are our servants that minister to us continually. How have we become such heirs? Because of Christ. He is the Firstborn Son of God, and we are the many sons of God. He is the appointed Heir, and we have been saved to be His joint-heirs. We are partners in the heavenly corporation of “Christ and the Church,” and have millions of angels ministering to us. May the Lord open our eyes to see this.
Now we may summarize the main points of this message. Christ, the Firstborn Son of God, is God’s appointed Heir of all things. We, the many sons of God, are His “joint-heirs,” inheriting not only salvation but also all things with Him. Hence, we are the partners, joint-owners with Him of the universe, while the angels are merely our servants, not only inferior to Him but also to us. The Son has been appointed to be the Heir, and we have been saved to be His joint-heirs, sharing in His inheritance. The “so great a salvation” referred to in 2:3 is able to save us to such an extent that it brings us into the partnership of His appointment. Thus, we share in whatever He inherits. We, as partners of the Son, are the house of God, the real Bethel, the gate of heaven, where the Son is the heavenly ladder, joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth. Upon this ladder the angels of God are ascending and descending as ministering spirits for service to us who inherit so great a salvation. What is covered in the book of Hebrews is like the gate of heaven. Here we enjoy Christ as the heavenly One who joins us to heaven and brings heaven to us that we may be a heavenly people living a heavenly life on earth and inheriting all the heavenly things. How could the Hebrew believers withdraw from this and return to their old religion and boast in the angels? The angels are simply our ministering servants, whereas we are the glorious heirs of God’s marvelous salvation.
