or the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13(ESV)
What a promise. Like so much of the Bible, there are diamonds of truth laying along the path as we simply read. Paul drops a phrase as he unfolds the power of a faith-filled life. The phrase is “heir of the world.” God promised Abraham and his spiritual descendants that by faith an inheritance is given them!
We are all interested in INHERITANCE. Such gifts are valuable not only for the monetary value but also for the heritage of those bequeathing them to us. God almighty made a promise to Abraham that was world-impacting — that he would be “heir of the world.”
That promise comes down to us by faith in Jesus Christ. I behooves us to learn what this means. For many, the promise of the Gospel is a promise of HEAVEN. We certainly agree with that, but the promise here is not final destination but present circumstance: a life in the world.
It is worth unpacking the vast implications of the promise God makes to each of us today that as the seed of Abraham we would be “heirs of the world.” I think this means (at least in part) that we are called to lead our world rather than follow our world — we are called to influence and redeem or world rather than flee it and curse it.
The followers of Jesus are to be a REDEMPTIVE FORCE in the world that will usher in Christ’s peaceable and blessed Kingdom. We are ambassadors who have been given an inheritance that was lost millennia ago by our original father Adam. By faith in Jesus, we participate in the work of redeeming a fallen world. We are “heirs of the world.”