The frequent recurrence of this idea in the Old Testament supplies Paul
with a thought which he uses to set forth the most characteristic
blessings of the New. The promised land belonged to Israel, and each
member of each tribe had his own little holding in the tribal territory.
Christians have in common the higher spiritual blessings which Christ
brings, and Himself is, and each individual has his own portion of, the
general good.
We must begin by dismissing from our minds the common idea, which a
shallow experience tends to find confirmed by the associations
ordinarily attached to the word 'inheritance,' that it is entered upon
by death. No doubt, that great change does effect an unspeakable change
in our fitness for, and consequently in our possession of, the gifts
which we receive from Christ's pierced hands, and, as the Apostle has
told us, the highest of these possessed on earth is but the 'earnest of
the inheritance'; but we must ever bear in mind that the distinction
between a Christian life on earth and one in heaven is by no means so
sharply drawn in Scripture as it generally is by us, and that death has
by no means so great importance as we faithlessly attribute to it. The
life here and hereafter is like a road which passes the frontiers of two
kingdoms divided by a bridged river, but runs on in the same direction
on both sides of the stream. The flood had to be forded until Jesus
bridged it. The elements of the future and the present are the same, as
the apostolic metaphor of the 'earnest of the inheritance' teaches us.
The handful of soil which constitutes the 'arles' is part of the broad
acres made over by it.
We should be saved from many unworthy conceptions of the future life, if
we held more steadfastly to the great truth that God Himself is the
portion of the inheritance. The human spirit is too great and too
exacting to be satisfied with anything less than Him, and the possession
of Him opens out into every blessedness, and includes all the minor joys
and privileges that can gladden and enrich the soul. We degrade the
future if we think of it only, or even chiefly, as a state in which
faculties are enlarged, and sorrows and sins are for ever ended. Neither
such negatives as 'no night there,' 'neither sorrow nor crime,' 'no more
pain,' nor such metaphors as 'white robes' and 'golden crowns' and
'seats on thrones' are enough. We are 'heirs of God,' and only as we
possess Him, and know that we are His, and He is ours, are we 'rich to
all intents of bliss.' That inheritance is here set forth as being 'in
light' and as belonging to saints. Light is the element and atmosphere
of God. He is in light. He is the fountain of all light. He is light;
perfect in wisdom, perfect in purity. The sun has its spots, but in Him
is no darkness at all. Moons wax and wane, shadows of eclipse fall,
stars have their time to set, but 'He is the Father of lights with whom
can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.' All that
light is focussed in Jesus the Light of the world. That Light fills the
earth, but here it shineth in darkness that obstructs its rays. But
there must be a place and a time where the manifestation of God
corresponds with the reality of God, where His beams pour out and there
is nothing hid from the heat thereof, nothing which they do not bless,
nothing which does not flash them back rejoicing. There is a land
whereof the Lord God is the Light. In it is the inheritance of the
'saints,' and in its light live the nations of the saved, and have God
for their companion. All darkness of ignorance, of sorrow, and of sin
will fade away as the night flees and ceases to be, before the rising
sun.
The phrase 'to be partakers' is accurately rendered 'for the portion,'
and carries a distinct allusion to the partition of the promised land to
Israel by which each man had his lot or share in the common inheritance.
So the one word inheritance brings with it blessed thoughts of a common
possession of a happy society in which no man's gain is another's loss,
and all envyings, rivalries, and jealousies have ceased to be, and the
other word, 'the portion,' suggests the individual possession by each of
his own vision and experience. Each man's 'portion' is capable of
growth; each has as much of God as he can hold. The measure of his
desire is the measure of his capacity. There are infinite differences in
the 'portions' of the saints on earth, and heaven is robbed of one of
its chief charms unless we recognise that there are infinite differences
among the saints there. For both states the charter by which the
portion is held is 'Be it unto thee even as thou wilt,' and in both the
law holds 'To him that hath shall be given.'