Particular aspects of the nature, reign, inheritance, heavenly glory, and infinite blessing of Christ’s beloved Body & Bride (comprised exclusively of all believers saved from Pentecost to Pre-Trib Rapture) in and with her Head, Life & Bridegroom:

Section 3: The Fullness and Infinite Richness of Blessing, and the Superlative and Eternal Inheritance of the Heavenly Body and Bride of Christ.

Will Any Saints Fail to Inherit the Kingdom?
 

(24) “Such as he made of dust, such also those made of dust; and such as the heavenly One, such also the heavenly ones. And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly One. But this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood [i.e., saints of Body of Christ, in mortal, unglorified bodies (v. 53,54), which bear not yet the image of the heavenly One – not, ‘undeserving or unpersevering saints’!] cannot inherit God’s kingdom, nor does corruption inherit incorruptibility. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed [and thus we shall all inherit God’s kingdom – there being no longer a ‘flesh and blood’ impediment].” (1 Cor. 15:48-51)

“Again in [1 Cor. 15] vs. 49, 50, as we bore the image of the dusty man, we shall bear also the image of the Heavenly One; and this in connection with inheriting the kingdom with Christ….not a hint of some of the sons of the resurrection (Luke 20:36) falling short of their inheritance! And when from v. 51 he opens the ‘mystery’ of the living saints changed without death, the modern legend of excluding many real saints, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells (else they are not properly Christian), is itself excluded as an unscriptural invention. For though we shall not all die, ‘we shall all be changed.’ For (v. 52) ‘the trumpet shall sound: and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (the then living saints) shall be changed.’ “ – William Kelly (W. Kelly’s Writings on Prophecy, p. 179, “The Prize of Our High Calling” by J. Sladen: A Review by W. Kelly )

The Spirit-Author of the Scriptures cannot contradict Himself; hence, His Holy Word cannot contradict itself. That being indisputably so, no passage of Scripture will be found, when correctly understood, to contradict the clear teachings of His Word as presented thus far – including 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5. On the contrary, the proper interpretation of such passages will further display the perfect harmony of God’s infallible and inerrant Word.

(A) “Do ye not know that unjust persons shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who make women of themselves, nor who abuse themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor abusive persons, nor the rapacious, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:9,10)

Who are the “unjust” persons that shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? As we have amply demonstrated from the Scriptures that all believers, in this intercalary mystery age of the Church, inherit the Kingdom of God (and infinitely more), the answer obviously cannot be that the “unjust” are some unworthy, undeserving, unpersevering members of the Body & Bride of Christ. This consideration alone (in view of the divine origin of Holy Writ) should suffice to answer, unhesitatingly, that the “unjust” are, and must be, the unsaved.

But, thanks be to God, we have even more to guide us in ascertaining, unequivocally, the identity of the “unjust” – we have the immediate context!

“Dare any one of you, having a matter against another, prosecute his suit before the unjust, and not before the saints?” (1 Cor. 6:1)

“And these things were some of you; but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified [declared righteous] in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:11)

The Apostle Paul, in verse 1 of 1 Cor. 6, clearly identifies the “unjust” of verse 9; there can be no doubt that they are the unsaved (the lost), for they are squarely contrasted with the “saints” (the saved).

And in v.11 we are told that some of the Corinthians saints were, prior to their past-tense salvation in Christ (regeneration, positional sanctification, justification), those types of sinful and perverted (unjust/lost) persons depicted in v.10 (being characterized by those particular evils).

The Holy Spirit, by the Apostle Paul, is thus exhorting the Corinthian saints to depart from, to flee such iniquity – not because they will lose their inheritance of the Kingdom of God if they engage in such heinous activities (and even more so heinous because of who and what they are in Christ) – but because such activities are perverted and heinous (these evils are in no way normal or natural; these evils in no way characterize the Kingdom of God which the saints inherit as part of their so-great salvation), and because believers, who are eternally justified or declared righteous in Christ (rather than being “unjust”) should rather walk in a manner worthy of (consistent with) the calling with which they have been called of God, and not be conformed to this wicked world (which consists of unjust/unsaved persons characterized be such evils, who shall not inherit the Kingdom of God).

(B) “For this ye are well informed of, knowing that no fornicator, or unclean person, or person of unbridled lust, who is an idolater, has inheritance in the kingdom of the Christ and God.” (Eph. 5:5)

Again, is Paul, in Eph. 5:5, speaking of genuine believers (unworthy, unpersevering believers) in his declaration that persons characterized by such evils have no inheritance in the Kingdom? Absolutely not! Read the next few verses:

“Let no one deceive you with vain words, for on account of these things the wrath of God [take note!] comes upon the sons of disobedience. Be not ye therefore fellow-partakers with them; [why?] for ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” (Eph. 5:6-8)

The essence of all that has been said in regard to the 1 Cor. 6 passage above applies equally here. Additionally, note the following:

The “wrath of God” comes upon the unsaved, and never upon saints in Christ (cf. Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 5:9). The wrath of God, in contradistinction to inheriting the Kingdom of God, is what comes upon the unsaved; whereas, in regard to the saints (the children of light), they inherit the Kingdom of God, in contradistinction to coming under His wrath (in any shape or form).

We are left in no doubt as to the identity of the “sons of disobedience,” as Paul specifically identifies them in 2:1-3 as the unsaved: “And you, being dead in your offences and sins – in which ye once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience: among whom we also all once had our conversation in the lusts of our flesh, doing what the flesh and the thoughts willed to do, and were children, by nature, of wrath, even as the rest.” (Eph. 2:1-3)

Cp. also the passage in Colossians chapter 3: “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, vile passions, evil lust, and unbridled desire, which is idolatry. On account of which things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Col. 3:5,6)

(C) “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strifes, jealousies, angers, contentions, disputes, schools of opinion, envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revels, and things like these; as to which I tell you beforehand, even as I also have said before, that they who do such things [those who are “doers of such things,” as being characterized by them] shall not inherit God’s kingdom [as they show themselves to be unsaved: the unjust, children of wrath and of disobedience].” (Gal. 5:19-21)

In connection with 1 Cor. 6:9,10, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:19-21, let us note the significance of the following scriptures:

“But to the fearful and unbelieving, and those who make themselves abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)

“Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, vile passions, evil lust, and unbridled desire, which is idolatry. On account of which things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [cp. also Eph. 5:6].” (Col. 3:5,6)

“In Revelation 21:8, 27, certain persons identified as liars it is said will be excluded from heaven. In this connection, it may be observed that a child of God who has told a lie is not a liar in the sense in which that word is used to classify the unbelievers – a Christian who has lied is not, from the Biblical viewpoint, the same as an unregenerate liar. This distinction applies equally to other sins [as enumerated, e.g., in Rev. 21:8, Eph. 5:5, 1 Cor. 6:9,10] by which the unsaved are identified, and to assert this does not even suggest that a sin is any less so when committed by a Christian. The whole intrusion of works of merit into the sphere of grace is the ground of misinterpretation of various passages.…” – L.S. Chafer (Systematic Theology, Vol. III p. 311-312) [I’ve finally gotten in a quote by our beloved Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer (though it is quite evident that he has been present in spirit throughout!) – that faithful servant of the Lord, and undisputed heavy-weight champion of grace and dispensationalism in the 20^th Century!]

You, Hodges, Dillow, et al take 1 Cor. 6:9,10, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:19-21 as applying to believers – specifically to unworthy and unpersevering saints who ultimately lose their inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Using the same reasoning by which this conclusion is reached, why should it not also be concluded that such passages as Rev. 21:8 and Col. 3:5 actually teach that the same unworthy and unpersevering saints will ultimately lose their salvation (the wrath of God coming upon them in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death)?

Does not your reasoning force you to the absurd and awful conclusion that there is actually no eternal security of the saints, just as there is (according to you and others) no eternal security of their inheritance?

After all, according to 1 Cor. 6:9,10, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:19-21, those who, e.g., are characterized as fornicators, idolaters, impure persons, covetous persons, sorcerers, murderers, etc. – these all shall not inherit the Kingdom of God; and likewise, according to Col. 3:5 and Rev. 21:8, those who, e.g., are characterized as fornicators, idolaters, impure persons, covetous persons, sorcerers, murderers, etc. – upon these all comes the wrath of God in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

I submit that, as a matter of fact, the application of the very same defective interpretative techniques, which you (and company) typically apply in seeking to establish the insecurity of our inheritance/joint-heirship with Christ, will similarly result in the insecurity of our salvation in Christ. Far be the thought! (As has been shown throughout this little “study,” our eternally secure joint-heirship with Christ is, in fact, an inseparable aspect of our so-great, eternally secure salvation in Him; thus, they do stand or fall together.)

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