Reading Deuteronomy 26 reminded me of Ephesians 1.

Deuteronomy 26:1 reads, “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it…” and then goes on to talk about how they should honor, worship, praise, and obey God.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV) says: “in Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

The Israelites were promised an inheritance that they have yet to take possession of. They will take possession of it if they walk in obedience to God’s commands, which they will do if they are living to honor, worship, and praise God.

As believers in Christ, those grafted into spiritual Israel, God’s chosen people, we are promised an inheritance and given the down payment promise of the Holy Spirit sealing us as God’s children and rightful heirs. We will fully take possession when God’s people are fully redeemed, to the praise of His glory.

The Israelites will take full possession if they walk in obedience. We will come into full possession if we walk in obedience, which we can only do as we live out Galatians 2:20. That verse says that we are crucified with Christ, and that we no longer live but that Christ lives in us. Self must die. Self must cease to exist. We go away and our life becomes His. The rest of the verse says that the life we live in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God Who loves us and gave Himself for us.

We live our lives by faith. Our life in the flesh isn’t our own. We are dead, out of the way, so that the light of Christ can shine through, so that His life can be lived out through us.

His life is one of righteousness, obedience, faith, justice, kindness, joy, love and all the rest that is the goodness of God.

We don’t become better and better people. We die to self, more and more, to get out of the way, surrendering our lives, so that His can take over.

A true child of God walks humbly before God, knowing there is nothing good in himself, but everything good can work in and through him by the grace of God and the Spirit of Christ alive in him. He has and will inherit the promise.