The Significance, Preciousness and Enjoyment of the Birthright in God’s Economy Scripture Reading: Gen. 25:29-34; 49:3-4; 1:26-28; James 1:...
The Significance, Preciousness and Enjoyment of the Birthright in God’s Economy
Scripture Reading: Gen. 25:29-34; 49:3-4; 1:26-28; James 1:18; Heb. 12:23;
I. The birthright is the special portion of the firstborn—Gen. 25:29-34; 49:3-4:
A. In nearly every race of people, especially in ancient times, the firstborn in a family inherited a special portion—cf. v. 22-26.
B. In the Old Testament, the birthright included: (1) a double portion of the land, (2) the priesthood, and (3) the kingship, signifying the right and position to enjoy Christ fully with the privileges to be a priest to bring man to God and a king to bring God to man—Col. 1:12; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9.
II. God’s original intention was to have a corporate man to express Him with His image, to represent Him with His dominion, and to take possession of the earth—Gen. 1:26-28:
A. Because man fell from God’s original intention, God came in to redeem and save us—Eph. 1:7; Gal. 1:4.
B. In God’s salvation there is the birthright having three aspects: being the priests to express God with His image, being the kings to represent God with His dominion, and taking full possession of the lost earth for God’s eternal purpose—1 Pet. 1:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10.
C. Since not all Christians are willing to cooperate with God in this matter, He, in His wisdom, has decided to make the birthright a reward—cf. 1 Cor. 9:24; Phil. 3:12, 14.
D. The enjoyment of the birthright fulfills God’s original intention in creating man in Genesis 1:26.
III. We Christians, born of God, are the firstfruits of His creatures that He has reaped in His creation; in that sense we are the firstborn sons of God, so, the church is called the church of the firstborn—James 1:18; Heb. 12:23:
A. As the firstborn sons of God, we have the birthright, including the inheritance of the earth, the priesthood, and the kingship, which will be the main blessings in the coming kingdom and which the profane, world-loving-and-seeking Christians will lose at the Lord’s coming back—Heb. 2:5-6; 11:38; Rev. 20:6, 4. cf. Col. 2:18a.
B. In the New Testament, God’s intention is that all the church express God through the priesthood, represent Him with the kingship, and take possession of Christ as the land—Heb. 12:23; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; Phil. 3:14.
C. Eventually, this birthright will be a reward given to the overcoming Christians in the millennial kingdom—Luke 12:32:
1. If, by faith, we take grace, enter into the Holy of Holies, and cooperate with God, we shall certainly live out the birthright—Heb. 4:16; 7:25; 10:22; 11:6.
2. If we live in this birthright, we shall spontaneously be in the reality of the kingdom of God; then the reality which we are living out today will become our reward in the manifestation of the kingdom—Rom. 14:17; Col. 3:4; 1 John 2:28; 3:2.
FOCUS: The burden in this message is to show that God’s eternal purpose is to have a corporate man who expresses Him in His image and represents Him in His dominion on the earth. The messages on the birthright reveal that God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled by a group of people who enjoy their birthright in God’s economy—the all-inclusive Christ as a double portion of the good land, the priesthood to bring man to God and the kingship to bring God to man. We must realize that God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled in the proper church life today.
Scripture Reading: Gen. 25:29-34; 49:3-4; 1:26-28; James 1:18; Heb. 12:23;
I. The birthright is the special portion of the firstborn—Gen. 25:29-34; 49:3-4:
A. In nearly every race of people, especially in ancient times, the firstborn in a family inherited a special portion—cf. v. 22-26.
B. In the Old Testament, the birthright included: (1) a double portion of the land, (2) the priesthood, and (3) the kingship, signifying the right and position to enjoy Christ fully with the privileges to be a priest to bring man to God and a king to bring God to man—Col. 1:12; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9.
II. God’s original intention was to have a corporate man to express Him with His image, to represent Him with His dominion, and to take possession of the earth—Gen. 1:26-28:
A. Because man fell from God’s original intention, God came in to redeem and save us—Eph. 1:7; Gal. 1:4.
B. In God’s salvation there is the birthright having three aspects: being the priests to express God with His image, being the kings to represent God with His dominion, and taking full possession of the lost earth for God’s eternal purpose—1 Pet. 1:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10.
C. Since not all Christians are willing to cooperate with God in this matter, He, in His wisdom, has decided to make the birthright a reward—cf. 1 Cor. 9:24; Phil. 3:12, 14.
D. The enjoyment of the birthright fulfills God’s original intention in creating man in Genesis 1:26.
III. We Christians, born of God, are the firstfruits of His creatures that He has reaped in His creation; in that sense we are the firstborn sons of God, so, the church is called the church of the firstborn—James 1:18; Heb. 12:23:
A. As the firstborn sons of God, we have the birthright, including the inheritance of the earth, the priesthood, and the kingship, which will be the main blessings in the coming kingdom and which the profane, world-loving-and-seeking Christians will lose at the Lord’s coming back—Heb. 2:5-6; 11:38; Rev. 20:6, 4. cf. Col. 2:18a.
B. In the New Testament, God’s intention is that all the church express God through the priesthood, represent Him with the kingship, and take possession of Christ as the land—Heb. 12:23; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; Phil. 3:14.
C. Eventually, this birthright will be a reward given to the overcoming Christians in the millennial kingdom—Luke 12:32:
1. If, by faith, we take grace, enter into the Holy of Holies, and cooperate with God, we shall certainly live out the birthright—Heb. 4:16; 7:25; 10:22; 11:6.
2. If we live in this birthright, we shall spontaneously be in the reality of the kingdom of God; then the reality which we are living out today will become our reward in the manifestation of the kingdom—Rom. 14:17; Col. 3:4; 1 John 2:28; 3:2.
FOCUS: The burden in this message is to show that God’s eternal purpose is to have a corporate man who expresses Him in His image and represents Him in His dominion on the earth. The messages on the birthright reveal that God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled by a group of people who enjoy their birthright in God’s economy—the all-inclusive Christ as a double portion of the good land, the priesthood to bring man to God and the kingship to bring God to man. We must realize that God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled in the proper church life today.
COMMENTS