Today, I would like to share with you a message titled “God’s Inheritance.” The word “inheritance” here refers to what is passed down to his son. That which is handed over is called an inheritance.

The one who receives an inheritance is called an heir. The Bible uses the word “Son” very often—“Jesus is the Son of God,” for instance. But what does it actually mean to be called a “son”? It means being “God’s Heir.” The word “Son” in the Scripture is not making a distinction of a gender. It is declaring, “Jesus is God’s Heir.” And what is passed down to that heir is called, in the Bible, “inheritance.”

Has anyone here received something from their parents? Lucky you-Haha. But in truth, everyone receives something from their parents. We’ve inherited our family name. We’ve inherited a name. In the West, the family name is treated as part of one’s full name, and names are passed down from generation to generation—William I, William II, William III. The name is carried forward, because the name carries the glory.

And our God, too, has passed something down to us. He passed down His own name. And that name holds extraordinary power. What is that name? It is Jesus. “Jesus”—that is the name of God. When Jesus prayed, He said, “Father, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.” So the name “Jesus” originally belongs to the Father—it was the Father’s name. He passed it down to His Son, Jesus.

But Jesus did not stop there. He also prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in Your name which You have given me, that they may be one as We are.” In other words, He prayed that what the Father had given Him would be passed on to us as well. And that prayer is being fulfilled in us even now.

Our God is a God who loves Himself. Do you love yourself? Of course—who doesn’t? But that nature comes from God. “God loves Himself.” The one He loves most is Himself.

When some people hear this, they say, “That sounds terribly selfish!” But that is a misunderstanding. The fact that God loves Himself is actually tremendous good news for us. If God did not love Himself, we would be in serious trouble. Think about it: what would happen to a child if their mother didn’t love herself and wanted to die?

There was once a mother who threw her child out of an apartment window and then jumped after him—all because she hated herself. As a result, her child was destroyed. And it was later discovered that she had even been pregnant at the time. A mother who does not love herself brings a great tragedy upon her children. A mother must love herself.

What if the god we worshipped did not love himself? He would curse everything that belonged to him. Look at those who are possessed by demons. A demon is, by nature, a being that does not love itself. Those under demonic influence often harm their own bodies—striking themselves with stones, wounding themselves. They inflict harm upon themselves. Because the god itself hates himself, his nature flows directly into the person it inhabits. And even when it doesn’t manifest so violently, it brings sickness. Ultimately, it seeks to kill. That is simply what it is—a being that does not love itself—and that nature is expressed through the person it enters. Those who have taken their own lives, having already left this world and become demons, carry that same characteristic within them: the drive to curse and to destroy.

So what happens when such a demon enters a person? It leads that person down the same path. That is why, strangely, when one close friend takes their own life, another is sometimes found to follow not long after—sometimes on nearly the same date. There was once a singer who passed away from liver cirrhosis, and a dear friend who had written songs for him died the very next year on the exact same date. These things happen more often than we realize.

This is why the fact that our God loves Himself is truly good news for us. He loves everything that is within Him. Because He created the heavens and earth, He tends to and cares for all of creation. Because He made human beings, He loves them. Because He made us in His own image, He loves us all the more. And because He has called us to come into Himself, we are loved. This is why it is such a joyful thing that God loves Himself.

And to whom does He pour out that love? To His own Son—Jesus Christ. He loves His son with the very same love with which He loves Himself.

If anyone asks, “Why does God only love His Son and not people?”—that, too, is a misunderstanding. It is a blessing to us that God loves His Son. If God did not love His Son, there would be no hope for us either. Think about it: if a father does not even love his own son, would he love his enemy? Would he love a sinner? It is precisely because God loves His Son so deeply that we are benefiting from it. We receive God’s love because we have become the Bride of the Son, or the Body of the Son, or a part of that Body. Therefore, when we hear that “God loves His Son,” we need to understand that love well. Because that is the very love we are receiving right now. This love was never originally ours. The love God shows us today is not a love we were ever meant to receive.

Sometimes when we are driving, we see signs on buildings that say, “God is Love.” Before I came to faith, I used to ignore those signs. Every time I saw one, my reaction was, “I don’t need it!” Someone always seemed to be offering something—“I don’t need it! Don’t love me!” That was my attitude. I was mistaken. I misunderstood.

Originally, God’s love is not directed at human beings. God loves His Son. And what were we, as human beings? We were His enemies. So, for those who have no knowledge of God, it might actually be more effective to put up a sign that says, “God is fearsome!” or “God is the Judge!”. When someone has no desire whatsoever to bow their knee before God, emphasizing His love will only produce the response: “I don’t need it. Don’t love me. Fine—I’ll go to hell!”

But as it turns out, God is not loving human beings—He is loving His Son. And when I believed in Jesus and became part of that Son, I began to receive, freely, the love meant for the Son. Does the love we receive from God today have anything to do with our own ethics or morality—how good or bad we are? It has absolutely nothing to do with it. God does not love us more because we do good things, nor does He love us less when we don’t. Many people misunderstand this. We had no condition, no qualification to receive this love. So why do we receive it? Because we have become one with the Son of God.

For whom did God make Heaven? We believe in Jesus so that we can go to heaven. But for whom exactly was heaven made? We usually think, “God made heaven for us.” That is a misconception. Heaven was not made for human beings. Heaven was made for the Son of God. It is a place God prepared as a surprise gift for His Son. It isn’t a place where we’re thrilled for a moment and then get bored; it is a place where the Son of God remains eternally happy.

And yet—we get to go there too. But I want to tell you: if Heaven had been designed for human beings from the start, I honestly would not expect very much. It does not take a great deal to satisfy us. When people move from Korea to somewhere like the United States, Canada, or Australia—beautiful scenery, clean air, good social welfare, friendly people—they say, “This is paradise!” Birds singing outside the window, squirrels in the yard, a deer wandering by now and then—”Ah, this must be Heaven!”

Far from it. We are satisfied so easily that even that much feels like heaven to us. So if God were designing heaven for human beings, that would be more than enough. A beautiful view, a spacious house with ten rooms, a wide garden with a pond, mountains behind and a great lake out front—doesn’t that sound wonderful just to imagine? We might already be thinking, “That sounds like heaven to me!” And yes, that would make us perfectly happy. In other words, for most people, emigrating to Canada or Australia would feel like heaven itself.

But God did not make heaven to be just that level. The place He has prepared for His Son is so far beyond human imagination that we will be utterly astonished.

The devil once showed the Son of God all the glory of this world. He displayed every beautiful thing before Him and said, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me!” And Jesus was not even remotely tempted. The place that brings joy to that Jesus—that is heaven.

And we have no idea just how vast heaven is. This universe is already incomprehensibly large. Even if we traveled at the speed of light for hundreds of billions of years, we would still see no end. And yet, compared to heaven, this entire universe is no more than an invisible speck. God created all of heaven and earth in six days. But when Jesus departed for heaven, He made this promise: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

How many years has it been since He left? It has been 2,000 years. And He is still preparing. He said He would return when everything was ready—and it is not ready yet. He created this entire world in six days, and yet our dwelling place has been under construction for over two thousand years. Raise your expectations as high as you can. Your jaw will drop in awe.

Some people imagine heaven as a place where spirits drift about like ghosts. Angels, having no bodies, may exist that way. But we, the children of God, go there through resurrection. We go bodily. Heaven is not a place where ghosts float around—it is a place where we arrive in our bodies. After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples in that very body. And knowing they might mistake Him for a ghost, He deliberately asked for a piece of broiled fish and ate it before them. He also broke bread and ate. He had a body that could eat.

So is there food in heaven? Absolutely. Everything that exists here exists there—and more besides. When I came back from China, people kept asking me, “Do they have watermelon in China?” Yes, they do. “Do they have computers?” What do you think? Here is the simplest way to put it: everything you have in Korea, China has too—and plenty that Korea doesn’t. China is an enormous country. What we Koreans know of China is only a fraction of it—mostly the regions closest to us. When people say, “Chinese products are low quality,” it is simply because only the cheaper goods were imported. China has been launching satellites into space for decades, while we were still just getting started. In the same way, heaven contains everything found on this earth—and far more. In fact, everything on this earth is merely a shadow of what is in heaven.

So look forward to it with everything you have. That is where we are headed — resurrected, in our bodies. You need a body to eat. You need a body to shake hands and embrace one another. And when we get there, we will never grow tired. This body came from dust, and dust wears out—but that body will not. There will be no need to cook meals. No need to marry, or be given in marriage, or bear children. Procreation will not be necessary there. On this earth, because our lifespan is only seventy or eighty years, life must be passed on—so we marry and have children. But in heaven, everyone lives forever. There is no need to raise up the next generation, because there is no end to this one. Everyone will live as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lives—in a resurrected body.

What kind of body we will have then depends on how well we have nourished our spirits here on earth. A weak and frail spirit will result in a weak resurrected body. But a spirit that has grown strong through obedience to God’s Word will rise in a body that is gloriously fit and full of life. In that sense, people who work hard to get in shape are actually a living parable. That is exactly what we are doing now—training our spirits for a more glorious resurrection. So even those who feel weak and worn down in this life, take heart. Some people carve out time to work out, build up their shoulders, and shape their bodies—and honestly, I want to do that too. I really do. But no matter how hard we train, by the time we are in your eighties or nineties, that body will shrink back down and eventually be gone. It is simply not a good return on investment. If we are going to build a body, build one that lasts forever. That is why we nourish our spirits—so that when the resurrection comes, we rise in a body worth having.

This is why we choose to obey. This is why we endure even when we feel wronged. In the world’s terms, we might want to throw up our hands and walk away—but for the sake of our spirits, we bring ourselves under the Word of God. “Let us be humble. Let us be obedient. Let us give thanks to God. Let us not complain.” All of this is for one reason: to nourish our spirits.

When we get to heaven, we will receive something. And everything good in that place—for whom was it originally made? For the Son. God’s inheritance belongs, at its root, to the Son. And yet, in Jesus Christ, we get to share in that inheritance. “We have received God’s inheritance! In Jesus, we have received God’s inheritance!” What joy that is.

But as wonderful as that is, there is something even more wonderful. The Bible speaks of “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”—not only that we receive an inheritance, but that we ourselves are His inheritance. What does that mean? We have become the inheritance God is passing down to His Son.

Think about it. The Son of God is in heaven right now. But who else is there—as a human being? Is there anyone in heaven besides Jesus? No. Not yet. Jesus alone is there as a man. No other person has gone to heaven yet. So is it empty? Is He there alone in a vast, desolate place?

Not at all. There are beings who fill that place completely. Who are they? Angels. Heaven is filled with angels. In Scripture, angels are sometimes referred to as stars—and even as clouds. Think about what a cloud is: countless particles packed together. The stars are the same way. I didn’t fully grasp this until I was traveling through the rural countryside of northeastern China. I happened to look up at the sky and was stopped in my tracks—I thought I had somehow landed in outer space. High above me, a thick, luminous river seemed to be flowing across the sky. I thought, “Why is there a cloud floating so high up?” But it wasn’t a cloud. It was the Milky Way. It stretched out in one long, unbroken band—looking like a cloud, or like a river. Each individual particle was invisible to the naked eye, and yet every single one of those particles was a star. That is how many beings fill the heavens.

Scripture often refers to these angels as angels of glory. The heaven God made for His Son is filled with glory—but what makes it so glorious? It is the angels, radiating that glory outward. Just as electricity alone produces no light without a bulb to shine through, God’s glory, though boundless, requires beings to reflect it. That is what the angels are. And it was into that place that the Son of God entered. When did He enter? Two thousand years ago. Only two thousand years ago. This was a plan laid before eternity itself—and yet the moment of His entry was a mere two thousand years ago.

How did the Son of God enter? First, He became a man. He was put to death, and then He rose again. And then God raised Him up and at last brought Him into heaven. Can you imagine what it was like when He arrived? Those angels had been created and waiting—for that very day. When the Son of God ascended, what do you think they did? All those countless angels filling the heavens — they welcomed Him. “The King has come! Welcome, O King!” They cried out, they clapped, they sang His praise. Something extraordinary happened two thousand years ago.

I once witnessed a similar scene in China during the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Communist state. I couldn’t get to the actual site, but I saw the massive crowds nearby. When the national president passed by, the roar of the crowd was so immense that it gave me a chill I had never experienced before. We can feel that kind of thrill at a concert hall or a baseball stadium, too. Watching baseball or soccer on TV isn’t nearly as exciting, but they say it’s a completely different story when we’re there in person. Just imagine tens of thousands of people cheering and shouting together! Isn’t it different when the whole believers gather to praise God during service, compared to when we’re praising alone in our room?

But now consider this. Every one of those countless angels filling the heavens — each one breathtakingly beautiful — all of them pouring out their glory upon one person. Directing every bit of it toward Him. Toward Jesus. And that Jesus is the very One we serve as our Savior.

But now—what do you think He felt when He first entered? Did He say, “This is wonderful! I couldn’t be happier!”? It doesn’t seem so. There is an emptiness. His heart is somewhere else. He is in heaven, and yet His heart is elsewhere. What would there be to pray about in heaven? He could simply rest and enjoy it all—and yet Scripture tells us He intercedes day and night without ceasing. He keeps on praying, because someone is on His mind. Even the angels don’t know what to do with themselves. The King has arrived—surely He should be resting, feasting, enjoying His glory and authority—and yet He is always bowed down in prayer. His heart is somewhere else.

Where? It is here. With us. No matter how magnificent the place, joy is impossible when the one you love is not there. My wife once went out to the United States for work after we were married. I asked her when she got back, “Was it wonderful?” Wonderful? She said, “Not at all!” “Why?” I asked. She said, “Because you weren’t there with me.” She said she couldn’t take in anything around her. That is what love does. The one you love is never far from your thoughts.

When the Son of God entered heaven, He inherited everything. But even so, the most important thing is missing. The angels are there, passed down from the Father. Every glorious thing fills that place. But the most precious part of His inheritance—what is it? His bride. His body. His church. Our spirits. Every person who has believed in Jesus and walked through the hardships of this earth alongside Him. They are the ones on His heart. And because they are not yet there, He could not rest—not even in heaven. That is why He is not simply saying, “I am so happy.”

Something very similar happened once before, right here on this earth. In the Kingdom of God, the same kinds of things keep recurring.

There was once a man named Moses. The name Moses means “drawn out of the water.” His mother gave birth to him at a time when all Hebrew baby boys were to be put to death. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, and as their numbers grew, Pharaoh issued a command: “Kill every newborn boy!” So his mother placed him in a basket, sealed it against the water, and set it among the reeds along the riverbank. As it happened, Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe. She noticed something and had it brought to her—and there was a baby. She drew him out of the water, and that is how he came to be called Moses.

Later, when Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt toward the land God had promised, they had to cross the water. The Red Sea lay before them. The Egyptian army was closing in from behind. They were trapped and facing death. But Moses lifted his staff as God commanded, and through the night a great east wind blew. The sea parted. Dry ground appeared. And the people walked through on foot. When the Egyptian soldiers rushed in after them, God closed the waters back—and every last one of them drowned. The Israelites should have died in those waters. Instead, by the grace of God, they came out alive. Israel was a people drawn out of the water.

In this way, the same thing keeps happening—being drawn out of the water. And what does Scripture call us to do after we believe in Jesus? To be baptized. We go into the water and come back out. It is God drawing us out of the water once again.

And when does this happen yet again? When we leave this universe—when we finally go to heaven. Because this universe itself is, in essence, water. It began as a mass of water, and as space opened up within it, the universe came to be. And in the end, the Son of God entered that mass of water and came back out. He was baptized. And we too will come out of that mass of water. Baptism. The same pattern keeps unfolding, over and over. This is why Scripture calls these things parables—shadows of a greater reality.

In the same way—when we finally enter heaven, what do you think Jesus will say when He sees us? The moment He lays eyes on us, He will burst into joy. He will cry out. What will He say? I will tell you in a moment—because first, there is a story that mirrors it exactly.

Here is what happened. God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden—and yet, seeing him there alone, God’s heart went out to him. Adam looked lonely. So God decided, “I will make a companion for him—someone to be close to him, to bring him comfort.” And one by one, He brought the animals before Adam.

When God brought a dog before Adam, did Adam throw his arms around it and cry, “This is my companion!”? People today might very well have done exactly that. We call them “pets” —or rather, we’re not supposed to say that anymore. The proper term now is “companion animal.” Say “pet” these days and you might get a scolding. We live in a time when people say, “I could live without my husband, but I couldn’t live without my dog!” The dog even looks down on the husband. When the wife ignores her husband and keeps the dog by her side, the dog will snap at the husband the moment he tries to sit down—because dogs understand hierarchy, and this one knows it ranks second in the household.

But when God brought the dog before Adam, he didn’t say, “I’m not lonely anymore!” He simply gave it a name. “Dog.” Then came a horse— not “Great! I can ride this everywhere!”— just “Horse.” Then “Donkey. Bird…” Name after name, creature after creature. Adam was completely indifferent.

So God said, in effect, “There is no suitable companion for him among any of these,” and caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of his ribs and made a woman—a being of the same spiritual nature as Adam. Not an animal, but a spiritual being, just like him.

And when Adam woke and saw her—everything was different. This time, it was not “Hm. Woman.” and nothing more. Why? Because this was his own flesh and blood—a spiritual being capable of true fellowship with him. The moment he saw her, he cried out: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” He was overwhelmed with joy. “We are one!” For all the creatures that had passed before him, not one had satisfied him. Not one had been what he was looking for. Not until Eve appeared did Adam find what his heart had been waiting for.

In the same way, Jesus entered heaven two thousand years ago—and yet He was not saying, “This is wonderful! I am so happy! I am not lonely at all!” Something about Him seems incomplete. And so He keeps on praying. But when the day comes that we rise in resurrection and enter that place—what will Jesus say when He sees us? “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” That means we are part of Him. We have eaten His flesh and drunk His blood. We have become part of Him. And because of that, we receive the very love that belongs to the Son of God alone.

It is to receive that love that we are called to believe in Jesus and be baptized. The moment we become one with Him, God Himself enters into us—the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, comes into us. This is how it works: first, we enter into Jesus. Then, Jesus enters into us. We must first go into Him—and when we do, we receive the love with which God loves His Son. And at that point, just as God dwells in Jesus, Jesus comes to dwell in us. That is when the Holy Spirit comes.

And when He does, He begins to do His work within us. Suddenly our whole outlook on life changes. Our purpose is completely different from the past. And we find ourselves doing the work of God. And when we do the work of God—who provides? “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” When we have a need and bring it to Him in prayer, He helps us. Because we are doing His work.

This is what God planned before eternity itself—and has now fulfilled. Jesus Christ has come. We dwell in Him, and He dwells in us. And so we can say not only, “We have received an inheritance together with Him!” —but something even greater: we ourselves have become the most precious inheritance the Son of God will ever receive.

Receiving an inheritance alongside Him is already cause for tremendous joy. But isn’t it even more astounding that we have become the inheritance itself?

“I receive an inheritance together with Jesus!”

“I am the inheritance of Jesus!”

Yes. Of all the inheritance God is passing down to Jesus, we are the greatest. He looks upon us and says, “You are My beloved.” That makes us people of great worth. God has greatly exalted us. The world may look down on us—but God has raised us up like this.

So when the world dismisses us, that is the illusion. When Jesus lifts us up, that is the reality. Embrace the reality. Dismiss the illusion. The reality is ours. Your body may be weary, and your circumstances may be difficult—but we have been lifted up and honored by God Himself. May you be filled with gratitude, happiness, and joy—I bless you in the name of Jesus.

God our Father, we thank You for making us those who receive an inheritance together with Your Son. And we thank You even more that You have made us the very inheritance Your Son will receive. In the hearts of those who have been given such tremendous grace, we ask that You fill us to overflowing with the happiness and joy that You Yourself possess. And as we long to share this happiness and joy with many others, we ask that You use us for that purpose. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.