Last Will and Testament of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ's last will and testament?

The Bible states that Christ's last will, or testament, is His New Covenant, established through His sacrifice on the cross. In Hebrews 9:15-17, it is revealed that where there is a last will and testament, the death of the testator must occur for it to be effective. Christ's testament, established in His blood, revokes all prior covenants and is the New Covenant, revealed to humanity after His death. This testament signifies the inheritance of grace and mercy through Christ, who acts as the mediator and is both the testator and the heir of all things.

Q: How do we know the New Covenant is true?

The New Covenant is substantiated by Christ's death, resurrection, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. The New Covenant, enacted by Christ through His sacrificial death, is true as it fulfilled the law and prophets of the Old Testament. Hebrews 10:9 indicates that Christ took away the first covenant to establish the second, affirming the transition from a symbolic to an everlasting covenant. The resurrection of Christ provides assurance of the efficacy of this covenant, as He lives to administer its promises. Additionally, Romans 8 teaches us about being heirs in Christ, who secures our place in this New Covenant.

Q: Why is understanding the New Covenant important for Christians?

Understanding the New Covenant is crucial as it reveals God's unilateral promise of salvation through Christ. The New Covenant is vital for Christians as it clarifies God's plan of redemption, demonstrating that salvation is not based on human effort but solely on Christ's sacrifice. It helps believers understand their status as heirs with Christ, as described in Romans 8:16-17, affirming that they receive God's blessings and promises through faith in Him. Furthermore, it shows the continuity of God's redemptive plan from the Old Testament to the New, enabling believers to understand their faith in a broader biblical context.

Q: What are the implications of Christ being both the testator and heir?

Christ being both the testator and heir signifies that all inheritance flows from Him, ensuring the fulfillment of God's promises. In the New Covenant, Christ serves as the testator, having established His will through His sacrificial death. As the heir, He inherits all things, including our redemption and eternal life. This unique role underscores the security of our salvation, as it is anchored in Christ's authority and love. Believers are joint heirs with Christ, meaning everything He has, including grace and eternal life, is promised to them as part of His will. This reinforces the assurance of our inheritance as ordained by God.

People who have property or possessions,
sometime before they die, will draw up what we call a last will
and testament. leaving their wealth and their
possessions to a husband or to a wife or to a son or a daughter
or to brothers and sisters or to other worthy or charitable
organizations. And most wills and testaments
begin something like this. This is generally the way that
they begin. I, Henry Mahan, now residing
at 2222 Stevens Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky, being of lawful age,
sound mind and memory, and not under restraint, do publish and
declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking
all wills by me made heretofore." Now those words are very important
for our message tonight. Being of lawful age, sound mind
and memory, not under restraint, do publish, make it publicly
known, and declare this testament, this covenant to be my last one,
my last will and testament hereby revoking all wills by me made
heretofore." Now, our Lord has drawn up a last will and testament. If you have an amplified Bible,
Hebrews chapter 9, you will find verse 16 reads this way, for
where a last will and testament is. And this is talking about
the will and testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, our Lord's
last will and testament is called in the Scripture both a testament
and it's called a covenant. And if we can discover what this
last will and testament is and what it involves and what it
includes, made by our Lord, not under restraint, published and
declared, this declared to be my last will and testament revoking
all others, revoking all others. Now, but you say, Preacher, this
is called a New Testament. This is called a New Covenant.
Why is it called a New Covenant if it is the one the Lord made
before the world began? Turn to Luke 22, verse 20. Now,
this is something that needs to be pointed out and needs to
be thought upon by all of us. When our Lord Jesus Christ instituted
the Lord's Supper, When our Lord Jesus Christ gave the bread and
the wine to the disciples, this is what he said in Luke 22, verse
20. Likewise, also the cup, after
supper, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood which
is shed for you. Now I'm saying that this testament,
his blood and his broken body, this last will and testament
is really the only covenant, the only testament, the only
redemptive will that our Lord has ever had for His people. It's called the New Testament
because it's newly revealed. Now there are two others over
in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20. Let's look at this a moment.
Hebrews 13 verse 20. There are two other covenants.
First of all, there's the covenant of works made with Adam. This was a temporary covenant.
It was a temporary testament. And it read this way, do this
and live. But before God ever gave that
testament or that covenant to Adam, He already had established
this new testament, newly revealed. The one that was revealed first
was the one revealed to Adam, do this and live. But the covenant
of mercy, the covenant of grace, the covenant of Christ's broken
body and shed blood was the covenant purposed by God and planned by
God and instituted by God when Christ was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world, but not revealed to man. It was
in the mind of God and in the heart of God and in the purpose
of God to redeem His people through the sacrifice of His Son. But
God didn't reveal it to man. until after this covenant was
broken here, this testament, this one he made with Adam, this
do and live. It was short-lived, it was temporary,
it was given by God to man and it didn't last and it was put
aside. And then there was the Mosaic covenant, the Mosaic covenant
of laws and sacrifices. Now as the covenant made with
Adam was a temporary covenant, this covenant made with Moses,
with the ceremonies and sacrifices, and with the tabernacle was a
symbolic covenant. It was a symbolic covenant. It
was a covenant to picture, to reveal to man in types and shadows
and pictures this everlasting covenant. Look at Hebrews 13
verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. When our Lord stood before his
disciples and took the wine, and he said, this is my blood
of the new covenant. He used the word new covenant
because newly revealed, newly manifested. Peter said our Lord
was ordained before the world as your Redeemer, but manifested
in these last times. And this covenant of grace, this
covenant of mercy, This covenant of his broken body and shed blood
is an eternal covenant. Christ is the surety of an everlasting
covenant. God has never had but one way
of saving sinners. It was in his mind and purpose
and decree before the sinner was ever made, before the sinner
ever fell. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. loved in Christ, accepted in
Christ, regarded in Christ, Christ as our representative, Christ
as our surety, Christ as our sacrifice before the world ever
began, but not revealed. When God made Adam and put him
in the garden, he said, there's a tree, leave it alone. This
is the covenant I make with you, Adam, leave that tree alone and
live. Eat of it and die. That's the
covenant. Adam knew nothing about this eternal covenant waiting
in the wings. Adam knew nothing about this
eternal covenant in the purpose and mind of God. Adam knew nothing
about this eternal covenant there in the intention of God. It was
there. But the only one he knew was
this one, do this and live. Eat of the tree and die. That
was the covenant revealed to him. That was the old covenant. And then the covenant made with
Moses. Moses built a tabernacle. make it certain dimensions, put
a veil, send the priest under that veil once a year with the
blood of an animal, and put the blood on the mercy seat over
the broken law. And when I see the blood, just
like in Egypt, I'll pass over you, I'll forgive your sins,
I'll accept you. But this was a symbolic covenant.
Still, still that new covenant of the broken body and the shed
blood of Christ was not yet fully revealed. And when our Lord stood
there at the Lord's table, He said, this is my body. When He
broke the bread, He said, this is it. Here's the fulfillment
of it. Here's the revelation of it.
Here's the manifestation of it. Here's my body broken for you.
And here's my blood shed for you. Now let me show you another
verse. Turn to Hebrews 7. Now, when this old covenant,
newly revealed, when this everlasting testament, newly manifested,
Though it had been typified and though it had been symbolized,
but newly revealed. When this new covenant was instituted,
all other covenants were revoked. All other covenants set aside.
All of these types and pictures and sacrifices and Sabbath days
and ceremonies and everything put aside. And Christ alone is
our object of faith, worship and love. Look at Hebrews chapter
7 verse 18. Now listen to this. For there
is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before, for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof." It didn't make the
comers down to perfect. It was weak through the flesh.
It was symbolic only. And it's put aside now. Now look
at Hebrews 10 verse 9. Hebrews 10 verse 9, Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, he taketh away the first. He
establishes the second. So if I sit down, and I draw
up a will, and I say, this is my last will and testament, revoking
all others made by me heretofore, there, tear them up, throw them
away, they're no good, don't look to them anymore, this is
it. This is my last will and testament.
And that's what we're talking about tonight. We're talking
about our Lord's last will and testament. Now when I say it's
his last will and testament, when I say it's the new testament,
it's the new covenant, I'm saying this, it's newly revealed. It's
newly revealed. It's newly manifested. It's as
old as the elective grace of God. It's as old as the redemptive
purpose of God. It's as old as the intention
of God to have a people. It's as old as the planned inheritance. You know when our Lord stood
at the judgment and the sheep on his right and the goats on
his left and he said to those on his right hand, enter ye blessed
into the kingdom prepared for you. When? Before the foundation
of the world. So this covenant, this last will
and testament, this new covenant is as old as that purpose, that
kingdom, that intention of God. But it's called the New Testament.
It's called a new covenant because it's newly revealed. I told my
Bible class this morning when I was growing up, it's a shame.
It's a shame the religious ignorance under which some of us have been
raised. It's a shame. It's just a crying shame that
people have to listen to folks that don't know what they're
talking about in regard to God's Word. But I used to hear people
say, well, you know that, you don't have to pay attention to
that, that's in the old Bible. You ever heard that? That's in
the Old Bible. Or I've heard them say this,
you know anything about the Old Bible? Or they'll quote something
in the New Testament? That's the New Bible. For all
intents and purposes, they have two Bibles. One that's discarded,
and one that is used. There's one Bible. It's made
up of Old Covenant and the revelation of the New Covenant. The Old
Testament and the New Testament. And the Old Testament is symbolic. It is typical. The New Testament
is a clear manifestation and revelation of the fulfillment
of the Old Testament. And listen to me, you cannot,
I repeat, cannot understand the New Testament if you don't know
anything about the Old Testament. Now that is absolutely so. Our
Lord so often referred back to the Old Testament, to the symbolic
covenant. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of
the fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth. As it was in the days of Noah,
so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.
Philip began at the same scripture, Isaiah chapter 53, and preached
to him Christ. Our Lord, walking along the road
to Emmaus with those disciples, began in the scriptures, the
Old Testament prophets, in the writings of Moses, in the Psalms,
in the major and minor prophets, and revealed those things he
said concerning myself. Now this new covenant, this last
will and testament, This redemption by the broken body and shed blood
of Christ is no new covenant. It is the only covenant. It is
the everlasting covenant. God deliver us from Adam's covenant
of works. And the Lord Jesus Christ, when
he revealed this New Testament, this new covenant, there all
the time, but when he revealed it, he did away with Sabbath
days, he did away with ceremonies, He did away with sacrifices.
He did away with all of this mosaic economy completely because
he fulfilled every bit of it. Now let's look back at our text,
Hebrews 9, a moment. First of all, in this new covenant,
new testament, this last will and testament, this only redemptive
will, Christ is the testator. Look, if you will, at verse 16.
For where a last will and testament is, for it to be in effect, there
must of necessity be the death of the testator. That's Christ.
That's Christ. He made the will. He died that
it might be effected. Now watch this. Unlike human
will. Now we can only carry a picture
so far. You know we use parables, that's
earthly stories to illustrate heavenly truths. But you can
only take it so far. Now unlike human will, suppose
I make out a will, I'm the testator. I appoint an executor or administrator
to carry out my wishes expressed in that will. Then in that will
I have an heir. You with me? I leave it to my
son Paul, my daughter Becky, or my wife Dorothy. They are
my heirs. And also I have an inheritor. Now that's a will. You have,
first of all, a testator. I, Henry Mahan. You have an administrator. Do a point. Mr. Ronnie Lewis
is my executor, administrator of my will. He's going to make
sure that my wishes are carried out. He's going to make sure.
I point him to make sure that what I write down here is carried
out to the letter. And then I have some errors. I say I'm going
to leave this to this one and this to this one and this one
to the other. I have some errors. Then fourthly, I write down what
I'm going to leave them. I'm going to leave Paul $500,000.
Paul, you're rich. $500,000. I'll leave Becky so much. It's
all there. That's the inheritance. Now wait. In Christ's Testament,
now what's this? He's the testator. He's the one
that made the will. A testator is under no obligation
but his love to leave anybody anything. Under no restraint. Did you remember me reading that
in that way? I, under no restraint. If I'm
under restraint, if I'm coerced, somebody can test it, but I'm
under no restraint. Our Lord was under no restraint
when he gave me this inheritance. Our Lord was under no restraint.
He did it willingly. His grace is free. He says, I'll
be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. God doesn't owe us anything.
And a man making out a will, the only thing that motivates
what he gives or what he leaves is his love. And that's what
motivated our Lord. We love him because he first
loved us. Here in his love, not that we love God, but he loved
us and gave his Son. The testator is under no restraint. He gave it out of his love. Having
loved his own, he loved them to the end. That's why he saved
us, because he loved us. The testator has full power to
dispose of his possessions. They're his. Heaven is his. Life is his. He said the Son
quickeneth whom he will. The Son quickeneth whom he will.
As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself, and the Son quickeneth whom he will. I don't have to leave anybody
anything if I don't want to. If I own it, if it's mine, I'm
under no restraint, I'll make that will out as it pleases me. They said, David, where's your
God? He's in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he pleased.
Whatever it pleased God, that's what He did in heaven, earth,
and the seas, and all deep places. Our testator is under no restraint,
no obligation to anybody, motivated by His love. motivated by his
love, able to dispose of his possession as it pleaseth him. But thank God our testator was
pleased to give us his love and his grace and leave us what an
inheritance. And you know something? It has
to be published. I, under no restraint but out
of my love, do hereby leave to an object of my affection a certain
thing. And I have the power to do it
because it belongs to me. And I want this published. I
want it declared. I want it made known to everybody
to whom it may concern. And that's what he's done right
here in his Word. He's made it known. He said, you go into all
the world and you declare this Testament. You go into all the
world and you declare this covenant. You go into all the world and
you preach this Gospel. to every creature. I want it
known by every man that it's been my will and my purpose and
my intent to leave all that I have to some folks. He's the testator. But wait a minute. In a human
will, I said a while ago, Ronnie was my administrator. He's going
to carry it out. Who's the administrator of his
will? He is. He is. That's right. Look down
here at verse 15. is the testator and Christ is
the mediator. He's the one that's going to
make it effective. He's the one that's going to
carry it out. He's not only the works preacher. You can't be
your own mediator. You know why? I'm dead. Ronnie
just might mess this thing up. I may write that will out, get
it all fixed up, signed, sealed and delivered, hand it to him.
He could mess it up. And I'd have no power over that.
I'm dead, you see. I can't come back and make sure
he does it right. I can't come back and make sure
that he reads it correctly. I can't come back and make sure
that the person I leave it to gets it. It might be some shasta
lawyer or somebody come in and mess the whole thing up. Could
be. But not my Lord's will. Not my Lord's covenant. Not my
Lord's Testament, because he himself, after he died, arose
from the grave. And he is the one who comes back
and administers his grace. That which he purchased, that
which he bought, that which he left, that which he will, he
applies. We are the call of Christ Jesus.
My sheep, he said, do what? Hear my voice. And I give them
eternal life. And they'll never perish. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which
gave them to me, is greater than all. And no man's going to pluck
them out of my Father's hand." Well, they said, if you be the
Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told you. And you
didn't believe me. You didn't believe me because
you're not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I'm the
mediator. I speak for God. to man, and
I speak for man to God. And God will not be spoken to,
nor will God speak, except through a mediator. There's one mediator
between God and man, that's the man Christ Jesus. He's the administrator
of his testament. Wait a minute, more than that.
I said I have some heirs. I appointed Doris Paul, Becky's
my heir. Do you know who the heir is of all things? Let's find out. Hebrews 1. Turn
over to Hebrews 1. Let's find out who the heir is.
Preacher, is it me? Well, let's find out who it is.
Is it the Jew? Let's find out. Is it the Gentile,
the Catholic, Protestant, Baptist? Who is the heir? Who gets everything
that God has? Hebrews 1, verse 1 and 2. God, who at different times and
different ways, spoken times past to the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things." Christ is the heir too. He's
the testator, he's the mediator, and he's the heir. He's the only
one. Well, where do we come in? In
Him. In Him. Turn to Romans 8. Let me show
you that. Yes, sir. In order for you to inherit,
in order for you to get anything God's got, His mercy, His love,
His grace, His forgiveness, His pardon, His kingdom, His glory,
His blessings, you've got to be in Christ, because Christ
gets it all. Look at Romans 8, verse 16. Spirit. beareth witness with our spirit
that we're children of God. And if children, then we're heirs.
Heirs of God. Joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's how you get yours, being
in Him. What He has, you have. Where
He is, you are. What He is, you are. That's how
you get it, only in Christ. God Almighty, the Heavenly Father,
no way He can consider you, or love you, or receive you, except
in Christ. No way He can bless you, anoint
you, forgive you, except in Christ. That's where it all is. Christ
is the heir. Christ is the heir. Turn to Colossians 1. Let me
show you that again. Colossians chapter 1, verse 16. Listen to this. Colossians 1,
16. For by Him. Talking about Christ. He's the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
verse 16, by him were all things created that are in heaven and
that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by him and for him, and for him, that in all things he might have
the preeminence. Brethren, if you think little
of Christ, you think little of God. Christ is, and you know
the last thing here, I said I'm a testator, but in a human will,
I make it out. Ronnie administers it. Paul receives
it. And the inheritance is something
I leave that enriches him, that blesses him, that adds to his
possession. Well, in this will, in this testament,
Christ is the testator, Christ is the mediator, Christ is the
heir himself, and he's the inheritance too. That's right. He's the inheritance. Christ is our reward. Christ
is our inheritance. You know what God said to the
tribe of Levi? the priesthood. He came to them,
they were dividing up all the lots. The twelve tribes had gone
in and possessed the land. They were dividing out Reuben
over here and Gad over here and somebody else over here. And
God said, Levi, come in. You're not going to get any land.
I'm not going to get any land? No. This old land is going to
pass away anyway. Levi, the Lord is your inheritance.
He got the best of all. The Lord is your inheritance.
And I'll tell you this, if I have Christ, I have all things. For
in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. If I have
Christ, I need nothing. If I have Christ, I have pardon.
If I have Christ, I have wisdom. If I have Christ, I have sanctification
and holiness. If I have Christ, I have redemption.
If I have Christ, I have God! Because He is God. He's my inheritance. He's my
inheritance. And this is the everlasting covenant. Oh, God came, Adam, do this and
live. He knew that He wouldn't. He
knew that He wouldn't. It was a temporary covenant.
It lasted for a while, it passed away short-lived. God came, Moses,
I'm going to teach you how I'm going to save sinners. I'm going
to give you a covenant, Moses, build a tabernacle, do all these
things, go through all these ceremonies, all these sacrifices,
make all these prophecies and all of these types and shadows
and so forth, and this is a picture, this is a symbolic covenant.
And when Christ came in, he said, I am come that you might have
life and have it more abundantly. Here's God's covenant. Here's
God's new testament. And it disannulls all others
heretofore made, because it's the everlasting covenant. Moses
wrote of me. Abraham saw my day and was glad.
All right, the testator must die. Look at Hebrews 9. I make
out a will, leave everything to my son, he's not going to
get any of it till one thing happens, till I die. Gotta die. That's what it says here. Where
the last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the
death of the testator. Christ must die. He must die
to bring into effect what the Godhead has willed to his sons,
because it's his death that makes us his sons. We're sons of God
by Christ Jesus and by his sacrifice. As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God. Received him how? in
his sacrifice, in his substitutionary work, in his sacrifice that enables
the Father to be just and justified. Christ died to honor God's righteousness. Christ died to honor God's law.
Christ died to satisfy God's justice. Christ died to fulfill
all purposes. Christ died to free us from sin.
My will, if I had it made out tonight, is nothing but a piece
of paper. It's not worth a thing to Paul.
Not a thing, till one thing happens, till I die. And even so, the
babe in the manger, you can raise all the fuss you want to over
that, and I'm glad he can't. But Christ can't save me as a
babe in a manger. And the prophet on the Judean
hillside or down by the Sea of Galilee, he can't help me. The
healer who made the blind to see and the lame to walk, That
covenant is not of any effect at all to me, till he dies. Till he goes to that cross, and
sheds the blood, and pays the debt, puts away the sin, because
God's law says the soul that sinneth it must die. Sin when
it's finished bringeth forth death. The testator must die. Now, thirdly, can the will be
contested? I had an interesting thing happen
this week, some of you know about it, most of you do not. The reason
I'm preaching this sermon, I've been thinking about wills. Not
that I think that I ought to write one right now, maybe I
ought to because I don't think I should. to a preacher one time
and said, do you think the Lord will come tomorrow? He said,
I think not. And the fellow said, at an hour when you think not,
your Lord does come. That's what Scripture said. But
anyway, I got a real official looking envelope in the mail
Monday morning. I went to the post office and
I had to go sign for it up at the window. You know, real official
looking from a judge up in Ohio. And without opening it, you know
how you stand and hold. So I wonder what this is. So
I said, why don't you open it and find out, you know. But you stand
there and hold it. And I got to thinking about this
buddy of mine in prison, Tom DeJohn. And I thought, boy, they're
going to let Tom out, and they want me to be his parole advisor.
And then I began to think other things. And I said, well, I'll
just open it and find out. And I opened it. Someone had my name on it. The judge up in Chillicothe. Mrs. So-and-so, Mrs. So-and-so,
Mrs. So-and-so plaintiff, defendant,
Henry Mayhem, E.J. Daniels, Jimmy Swigert, and the
Church of Christ. That's right. And it seems that some dear lady
who watched my television program had passed away last November.
And before she died, she made out a will. And I wrote down
that what I read a while ago was read off of her will. I called
her name. She said, being of lawful age,
sound mind, memory not under restraint, do publish and declare
this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all wills by
me made heretofore I leave after my Body is buried, and my debts
are paid, my entire estate to Henry Mahan, E.J. Daniels, Jimmy Swaggart, and
the Church of Christ, to be divided four ways. Well, needless to
say, her mother, who is alive, and three or four sisters, and
four or five brothers, are going to contest it. And I don't much
blame them, you know. And they summoned me to appear
in court, and tell why they shouldn't have that, you know. And as well
as why I should, and Jimmy and E.J. and the rest of it. Well
let me tell you, a human will can be contested. If I left everything
to Doris and left out my children, they can contest it. But I'll
tell you this, this will can't be contested. There's no power
in heaven, earth, or hell that can contest my Lord's will. And
I'll tell you why. Turn to Romans 8. First of all,
in Romans chapter 8, Any claim or action must first of all be
placed against the testator. Now this dear woman who died
and left this will with me and these other fellas on it, you
know what they're, you know, they're not, they're not bringing
me to court. What they're trying to prove,
and this is the only spot they've got, They're trying to prove
that she is incompetent. That's the only leg. If they
can prove that she's incompetent, they can change the will. If
they cannot prove that she's incompetent, they cannot change
it. That's true. Now, so if you bring an action
against the will, you've got to prove the testator was either
under restraint, coerced, or incompetent. Can you say that
about my Heavenly Father? Can you say that about the Lord
God? Of course not. Look at Romans 8 verse 31. What
shall we say to these things? It says here, Whom he foreknew,
he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified.
What shall we say to these things? Anybody got anything to say?
The only thing we can say is this, if God be for us, who can
be against us? Nobody can challenge his will
or his word or his covenant. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not freely with
him give us? all things. If you challenge
this will, you've got to challenge the one that wrote it. Secondly,
any claim made against this will has got to be made against not
only the testator, but against the heir. In this case, who's
the heir? Christ. Christ is the heir. Look on down a little further.
Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is God's
elect? Mine elect is Christ. Abraham's
seed is Christ. And all the people of God are
in that seed and in that elect. We're joint heirs with him. We
do not stand alone. The charge has got to be brought
against him. Thirdly, here's the problem. Turn to Hebrews 6. Here's the
trouble you're going to run into. He, and this is blessed, this
thrilled me when I saw this. He's already taken possession
of the inheritance. It's too late. It's too late
to do anything about it. He's already, look at Hebrews
6 verse 17, listen to it. Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, his
counsel and his oath, in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, and which entereth
into that within the veil where the forerunner for us is already
entered, even Christ." He's already there. You know where I am? I'm already in heaven. I'm already
seated at the right hand of God. I'll show you that. Turn to Ephesians
1, already there. This inheritance, this blessed
will, this covenant of grace, Christ has already purchased
it, Christ has already entered in and possessed it. Look at
Ephesians 1, 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us already with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. He's already
there. Look at Ephesians 2, verse 4.
But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us
together with Christ by grace that he saved, and hath already
raised us together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ. I've already entered into my
inheritance. He's already there. The heir
is already there, and I'm seated with him. Now last of all, let's
view the estate. Let's view the estate, the fourth
thing. We're already heirs of God and
of the kingdom in Christ. And I would say that our inheritance
is divided into two parts. We've inherited something down
here and something up there. And down here, it's not always
pleasant. First of all, along with this
testimony, for all who are partakers thereof with Christ, there's
going to be affliction. Christ said, in this world, you're
going to have tribulation. If you enter my inheritance,
if you enter my kingdom, if you enter my family, if you become
my son, you're going to have affliction. You're going to have
affliction. But he was afflicted. Turn to
Isaiah 63. Verse 9, he was afflicted. We're
not alone, we're joining with Christ in this too. In affliction,
in Isaiah chapter 63 verse 9, let's look at it, it says here,
in all their affliction. Look at verse 8, he said, surely
they are my people. children that will not lie. So
he was their Savior, and all their affliction he was afflicted.
And the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and pity
he redeemed them, and he bared them and carried them all the
days of old." He's afflicted with us, and then we're going
to have some persecution. But you know, when Saul was on
that road to Damascus and the Lord stopped him and said, Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting my people? That's not what he
said. He said, why are you persecuting
me? Why, he never laid his hands on Christ. Well, when he laid
his hands on those poor, unknown believers, he laid his hands
on Christ. We're joint heirs with Christ. And not only that,
but we're going to have temptation. Turn to 1 Peter 1, 4. But here,
let's look at the inheritance that awaits us. And I'm going
to give you this briefly, and I'll close this message. 1 Peter
1, 4. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy,
not coerced, not under restraint, his abundant mercy, hath begotten
us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead to an inheritance. Now here's some things it says
about that inheritance. First of all, as to its substance,
it's incorruptible. My inheritance is incorruptible.
Now the substance of everything on this earth, everything you
see, feel, hear, or touch, is by degrees becoming corrupt. It's passing away. Our minds Our bodies, our families, even
our earth, it's corruptible. But we have a new body, we have
a new mind, we have a new family, incorruptible. Secondly, as to
its purity, it's undefiled. It's incorruptible, it's undefiled.
Now, defilement and sin is in all this earth and in all that
we know, in all that we feel. Everything has sin, that the
pain of evil is on everything. Our imaginations, our thoughts,
our dreams, everything is touched by evil. Nothing there is touched
by evil. No evil there, no sin there.
It's pure. And then as to, watch this, it
fadeth not away. It's beauty. Beauty fades. Beauty
fades. All beauty fades. There's nothing
that doesn't. You buy a new car, it's going
to fade. You buy a new suit, it's going to fade. You girls
that are so lovely and beautiful now, you're going to get real
old someday and your beauty's going to fade. Everything fades
out of the way. But I'll tell you this, my inheritance,
it has a beauty that never fades. It's Christ's beauty. It'll be
as young and as fresh ten billion years from now as it is right
now. It's beauty never fades. And then it's possessions. He
says it's incorruptible, it's undefiled, it's pure, it fadeth
not away, it's beauty never changes, and it's waiting on you. It's
reserved. Nobody else can take it. It's
waiting on you. It's reserved in heaven for you.
God's got it waiting on you. Got it waiting on you, reserved
for you. You know, I don't know a great deal about heaven. I
don't know a great deal about what's going to be there, but
I know what's not going to be there. I know that for sure. Turn to Revelation 21. I'll read
this in close. I know what's not going to be
there. Revelation chapter 21 verse 4. And it says here, God
shall wipe away all tears, and all men tears. None of us are
without those here. And there shall be no more death.
There'll be no more death. There will be no more sorrow.
You never have to comfort anybody in glory. No sorrow. No more
crying. There will be no more pain. For
the former things have passed away. I don't know what's going
to be there completely. But I know what's not going to
be there. Because all these things will
be done away. And that's waiting on me. I read that in my Lord's
last will and testament. And it can't be changed. It can't
be changed. Our Father, we thank Thee for
the promises of Thy Word. We thank Thee for Thy fellowship
and communion in this hour. Truly our fellowship is with
Thee and with Thy Son. We thank Thee for letting Thy
Holy Spirit speak to us and through us tonight. These things are
beyond our human logic and human wisdom and human understanding.
The things that have been said, Thou has spoken to us and we
rejoice, we give Thee the praise, we thank Thee. Thou has given
us a confidence that only can be had in Christ. Now bless this
message and use it wherever it's proclaimed, wherever it's heard.
May it be remembered by these who have listened, and I pray
they have listened with a hearing ear, with a receptive heart. Lord, break us, humble us, bring
us down at thy feet in the dust, waiting on thy mercy and thy
grace. Deserve nothing, but in Christ we have all things. For
his sake we pray, amen.

Last Will and Testament of Christ

What does the Bible say about Christ's last will and testament?

How do we know the New Covenant is true?

Why is understanding the New Covenant important for Christians?

What are the implications of Christ being both the testator and heir?

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Last Will and Testament of Christ

What does the Bible say about Christ's last will and testament?

How do we know the New Covenant is true?

Why is understanding the New Covenant important for Christians?

What are the implications of Christ being both the testator and heir?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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