Jesus is Heir of All Things

Usually when a royal firstborn son is born in our country, there is great enthusiasm because he is the official heir of his parent to all the riches of his kingdom. Of course, he cannot inherit the kingdom until his parent is incapable of ruling, usually because of death, but sometimes for other reasons. The writer to the Hebrews takes a similar concept and uses it to describe the greatness of Jesus.

When a sinner meets Jesus Christ for the first time, they recognise that he is a great person. But how great he is will take them eternity to discover. The several particulars of these verses in Hebrews 1:2-3 give us some insights into his glory. It is good for us to explore them, to follow the author in his determination to know Christ. But on this occasion I want to reflect on what it means for Jesus to be the heir of all things.

1. The Son was appointed heir of all things

When did the Father appoint him to this august position? Two answers are generally offered to this question. One is that he was appointed heir when he ascended to heaven after his resurrection. It is the case that he was declared to be Lord of all on that occasion. Yet I am not convinced that was the time when he was appointed heir of all things. You will observe that the next detail mentioned about Jesus in verses 2 and 3 is that he is the creator of all things, which suggests that he was first the heir of all things, then the creator of all things. So it looks to me that this appointment was made before the universe appeared.

What took place on that occasion? Jesus gives an answer to this question in Matthew 11:27: ‘All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ In John 3:35, the writer says, ‘The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.’ And in John 13:1, on the night he was betrayed, the writer again says that ‘Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.’ Jesus makes it very clear that throughout his earthly journey he was fully aware that he already possessed all things.

2. The Heir created All Things

Of course, in this transaction, the Son did not follow the order of events that happens to us. In our experience, the inheritance we have was formed by someone else. But here the writer reminds us that the Son brought everything into existence, that he created the all things that were to be his inheritance. Obviously, there is an allusion here to the account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2.

As we think of the creation of the universe, what a range of thoughts come into our minds! Whether we think of its big features and try to grasp something of the extent of its galaxies, or of its microcosmic details, such as its atoms and protons, we are overwhelmed. Yet we turn to it and say to ourselves, ‘The Son of God made all of it for his inheritance.’ And the Genesis account informs us that the highest feature of his creating work was the formation of man in the Garden of Eden, where they were given the great privilege of having the earth as their inheritance.

As we think of the Son of God’s activity as Creator of his inheritance, we must appreciate the delight he had as it all took shape. There in Genesis 1, after the work of each day, we are told that God saw that it was good. What pleasure the triune God knew as the Son formed his inheritance! How interested they were in the items that appeared on each successive day! And their enjoyment reached great heights when Adam and Eve were created. It was now no longer ‘good’, but ‘very good’. And we are not surprised that the Lord appeared in the garden in the cool of the day to meet with his creatures. No doubt they worshipped him, and he conveyed information to them about his inheritance.

3. The Inheritance of the Son was Marred

Yet something went wrong and the world of beauty and delight became marred by ugliness and pain. Into the inheritance of the Son there came a creature so foul and evil, determined to wreak havoc and mar permanently the creation of the Son. This enemy of God did so by tempting those with whom the Son shared part of his inheritance. The devil led Adam and Eve into sin, and when they fell they lost their position as heirs of God.

Nevertheless we should remember three details about the all things. First, the intrusion of the enemy was allowed by the Heir of all things. He could easily have kept out the devil. But he had given a test to his co-heirs, a simple test that was not difficult to keep in order for them to retain their position. Sadly they failed, but they did not fail because the test was hard to pass.

Second, the Heir of all things was not taken by surprise when his inheritance was marred. The ‘all things’ that were given to him include more than geographical extensions. Indeed the term translated ‘worlds’ that he created can be translated as ‘ages’. The Son of God formed the outworking of time, including his future coming into his inheritance.

Third, the Heir who created all things also upholds all things by the word of his power’ (Heb. 1:3). Since all was made for him, he is determined to retain it all in existence. The ideas here are twofold: he preserves it and he governs it. But in order to permanently preserve and govern it, he had to restore it.

Sometimes we look around this world and try and imagine what it would be like if its teeming millions were unfallen and that each of them lived a holy life every moment. Wherever one went, written on it all would be ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ A world without sin, without death, without fear, without pain, without crying. But is such a thought merely a dream, never to be realised.? No, because the Heir intends to restore what has been marred.

4. The Heir restores the all things

What was involved for the Son of God to recover what was marred? The requirement was that he should perform such an action that would ensure that his inheritance was not only restored, but never again marred. How did he do this?

To begin with, he must become a member of the human race. This he did at his incarnation, when the heir became a man without ceasing to be God. His becoming a man involved new experiences for the Son of God. First, the heir knew poverty; as Paul says about Jesus in 2 Corinthians 8:9: ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.’ His poverty was seen at his birth, as he was lain in an animal’s feeding trough. The heir of all things at times did not have a place to lay his head. And when he died, what earthly portion did the heir of all things have?

Second, he must suffer the penalty of sin. His inheritance had been cursed because of human sin, and on Calvary the heir became a curse as he bore the penalty of those who would yet become his fellow-heirs. He who was the lawgiver of his domain came under its penalty. The Heir had to pay the penalty before the inheritance could be restored.

Third, the Heir must restore all those who are to be joint-heirs of his kingdom. Therefore he who possesses all power in heaven and earth sends out his ambassadors to announce to all sinners that they can become members of his family by faith. And those who trust in him are given the marvellous status of being joint-heirs with Jesus. As far as each of them is concerned, each is a new creation in whom all things have become new. Of course, restoration involves more than their spirits. In addition, there must come a day when the Heir of all things will raise from the dead countless millions of his co-heirs who have died, and he will transform all the resurrected saints and those alive at his coming into his likeness. The heirs will be made right first before their inheritance will be restored.

Fourth, the day will come when he who sits on the throne, the Lamb who died and rose again in order for his co-heirs to be rescued, will utter the amazing words, ‘Behold, I make all things new’ (Rev. 21:5). Before the wondering eyes of his devoted people, he will bring into existence the new heavens and new earth, and the Heir will have his inheritance which he will share with his co-heirs.