The reason that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is to be preached is to bring a message of hope
to those who have sat in darkness but are now awakened by the Spirit
of God, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and
immortality to light through the Gospel. Unless and until
a man is given illumination, he cannot believe that gospel,
even though he may have heard it a thousand times. This work
of illumination does not take place by or through the skills
of men, but rather by the operation of the Holy Ghost, who removes
the scales from the eyes of the blind and causes them to see. This is what the Lord taught
when He said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free. Some make the mistake of thinking
that the preached gospel is the light, yet the scripture indicates
that the light is that which is the inheritance of the saints,
who were made able to be partakers of this inheritance through the
sovereign work of God's grace in calling out those who belong
to Him to both see and embrace the truth of the gospel. We see
this illustrated in Acts 13.48. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Believing the
gospel is the inheritance of those who were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. They are thus ordained
to receive that life which is the light of men. The gospel
bears witness to this light, but until a man is given eyes
to see it or is born again, he dwells in darkness and cannot
comprehend it. Darkness cannot embrace light,
or darkness would cease to exist. Therefore, the light must overwhelm
the darkness, as when a man is born again by the Spirit of God
and then is unable to see the light. Unless a man is given
or enabled to see the light, he cannot and will not embrace
it, and thus prove thereby not to have the inheritance of the
saints. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given
unto you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, but
to them it is not given. Therefore said I unto you that
no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my
father. All men by nature are born into darkness and are content
to dwell in that condition. And this is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world, and men love darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. They are totally
undisturbed and uncurious about this light, preferring not to
be bothered by it, and in fact are in rebellion against it.
They can neither approach unto this light, nor do they have
any desire to dwell in that light, preferring their evil deeds and
the cover of night. Even the saints who are appointed
as the heirs and joint heirs with Christ before the foundation
of the world cannot appreciate this inheritance, nor in any
wise enjoy it or embrace it, until the time appointed when
he sees fit to open their eyes in applying his promise. They
are, in point of fact, indistinguishable from the heirs of darkness. Now
I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing
from a servant, though he be Lord of all. Yet it is the Lord's
revealed purpose to do as He told Isaiah, and I will bring
the blind by way that they knew not. I will lead them in paths
that they have not known. I will make darkness light before
them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them,
and not forsake them. An inheritance is the fulfillment
of a promise. If a man is made an heir, it
is because he has been appointed to receive that promise. An inheritance
is a gift which cannot in any wise be earned or deserved. It
cannot be enhanced by those who are appointed to receive it,
nor can it in any wise be diminished by them. It is there strictly
according to the goodness of the one who is the testator.
The fulfillment of that promise rests completely on two things,
the death of the testator who owns the promise and the awarding
of the promise to the heirs by that one who is the executor
of the will of the testator. Thus the inheritance of the saints
and light is both sure and steadfast because of the one who is the
owner and giver of every good and perfect gift. Their inheritance
rests squarely on the power of him who is possessed of an endless
life. Until such time as they are released from darkness, being
renewed in the spirit of their mind, they can neither see nor
believe the gospel. Yet when this new birth occurs
and the gift of faith is bestowed, they can do nothing else but
fall down and worship Him with a thankful spirit. The inheritance
of the saints is realized in this world to the unfolding of
the gospel and shall be enjoyed through the ages to come in the
giving of thanks unto Him that has loved us and washed us from
sin. We give thee thanks, O Lord God
Almighty, which art and was and art to come, because thou hast
taken unto thee thy great power and hast reigned. Do you worship
Him?