GOD’S RESUME: CREATOR AND HEIR OF ALL THINGS
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV 1984) ...by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
If you were a repentant atheist in search of a god and were looking at Jesus’ power-packed two sentence long resume, you would be impressed to see the following two items listed. One is in the future, the other in the distant past. Jesus will inherit everything, and Jesus was the one who made everything. What a paradox! Another point in His favor. A god that can be fully understood by mere mortals would be a small god indeed.
“Heir of all things.” The word means “one who inherits.” Remember the temptations of Christ where Satan was offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (Matt 4:8-11)? Satan could offer them because they were his to give. Ultimately God owns it all, but mankind squandered his duty to righteously steward the earth and handed it off to Satan, which is why he is called “Prince of the world” (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 1 Jn 5:19), “god of this age” (2 Cor 4:4), and “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph 2:2), though this arrangement is only temporary. Satan was trying to get Jesus to bypass the Father’s plan and take a shortcut to getting the earth. Satan wanted to be worshiped as God and was willing to give up the earth to make that happen. Jesus resisted, waiting for the right timing when He will inherit it all from His Father. Satan will not only never be God, he will lose what he has. As a repentant atheist in search of a god, you can go ahead and check him off the list.
God owns all and Jesus Christ will inherit all. We are told that there will be a new heaven and a new earth and Jesus inherit it all (Ps 2:8; 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 19:11-16; 21:1-6). If choosing a god, would you not want one who owns it all? You wouldn’t choose a weak god or one with no jurisdiction over your affairs. Oh, and as an added perk in your god search, it might help to know that He will allow those who believe in Him to inherit the earth with Him, letting His creation in on the Divine deal (Rom 8:17; 1 Cor 2:9; 3:21-22; Rev 21:7) which brings us to our next point in the resume.
“Through whom he made the universe.” Not only do we see all things ending with Christ getting everything, we see Him as the beginning of all. Jesus, the uncreated God, “who was, is and is to come” (Rev 4:8), and was “with God in the beginning” (Jn 1:2-3), is the creator, Himself (1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:15-17). In your hunt for a god, I think creator would be a non-negotiable. As a repentant atheist, you may not be fully convinced you’ve found your god yet, but certainly I would hope you’ve seen enough to keep on reading.
