The Saints’ Inheritance

5: THE PURCHASED POSSESSION

“IN whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” Ephesians 1:13, 14. SAIN 33.1

IN the above scripture there is a possession spoken of that is to be redeemed. To redeem is to “purchase back; to regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price; to repurchase.” ¹ What is the possession here spoken of that is to be redeemed?—It cannot be heaven, for then it would imply that heaven has passed from the hands of the original possessor, and must be brought back, for it is the purchased possession that is to be redeemed. SAIN 33.2

Of his people anciently, who had gone in ways of sin, the Lord said, “Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.” ² When mankind first left the ways of the Lord and wandered into paths of wickedness, they yielded themselves as Satan’s servants; or in other words, as his bond slaves, for we read, “Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” ³ SAIN 33.3

When man was created, the Lord put in subjection under him “the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.” ⁴ SAIN 34.1

As Satan brought man in bondage to himself, he claimed the possession which had been placed in the hands of man, until the period of man’s probationary state should expire. Thus we may understand how it is that the devil is represented in the New Testament as “the god of this world.” Not that he is the rightful possessor, or that he has any just claim, but by intrigue he has usurped the dominion which was first placed in the hands of man. SAIN 34.2

With this view we can readily see the force of the devil’s temptation presented to Christ: “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” ⁵ It may be said that this was only the words of Satan to Christ, and was not true, because Christ created all things, and so the earth, and all that is in it, is his. It is positively stated that the devil “tempted” Christ. If he had no sort of claim on the world with its kingdoms, how would it be any temptation for him to offer these to Christ? It surely would be no temptation to offer to Christ that which was already absolutely his own; or for Satan to offer that on which he had no sort of claim. Would you, reader, be tempted to perform an evil deed by a person offering to give you a farm, or a home, of which you held a clear and undisputed title? Admitting that the devil had usurped man’s dominion, and that he held, as he claimed “the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them,” the presentation of them by him to Christ can be looked upon as a temptation. SAIN 34.3

This dominion which Satan had usurped was promised to Christ: “Thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” ⁶ The first dominion mentioned in the Bible was the dominion over the earth. Man lost this when he was overcome and yielded himself a servant of the devil. This dominion is to be restored by Christ. The manner in which he obtains it is by the shedding of his blood, and by suffering death, thus obtaining power to overthrow the usurper. In the light of these facts we see how it could be said that the devil tempted Christ in offering him the kingdoms of the world. He offered him one of the very things to be obtained by his death. By an ignominious death upon the cross, Christ was to obtain the final dominion of the earth. But the devil said, “Fall down and worship me, and all shall be thine;” there was a temptation. SAIN 35.1

Paul bore a testimony to the Hebrews respecting the past, present, and future of our earth in harmony with the above: “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” ⁷ SAIN 35.2

In the previous chapter he has spoken of the renewing of the earth, which is undoubtedly that to which he refers when speaking of “the world to come.” He says: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” ⁸ This language is quoted from the Psalms, where, after stating the above, the psalmist says, “The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee,“ SAIN 35.3

God put all things on earth and in air under man’s dominion. But we do not see them there now, because through the deception of Satan, man lost that dominion, and so Satan is now called the “god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air,” etc. This is because the “kingdoms of this world and the glory of them” (as he said to Christ) have “been delivered” to him. Christ is interposed as a help to bring man out of this difficulty into which he has fallen. To accomplish this the Saviour was to suffer death, thereby obtaining the keys of hell and of death. Triumphing over the highest power of the devil, he demonstrated that he had power to destroy Satan and all his works, and redeem man. But as the death of Christ liberates the captive, so it wrenches from Satan’s hands the dominion he usurped when he took man as a captive. Thus the testimony of the Lord to the prophet Micah will be fulfilled in Christ: “Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion. The kingdom shall be given to the daughter of Jerusalem.” SAIN 36.1

The world to come, of which the apostle speaks, must then be a possession of this earth in another state of it, or there would be no sort of propriety in the language used. If the world to come is some abode “beyond the bounds of time and space,” what would the Lord’s giving the earth to Adam have to do with it? It is therefore clear that the “purchased possession” which is to be redeemed, is the earth, which is to be brought into a condition more glorious than its Eden state: for in that day the whole earth is to be as the garden of Eden. SAIN 36.2