1 Peter 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
There are great rewards for the saints that remain true to the Lord Jesus and endure to the end of their time here on the earth. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter reveals to us that our inheritance is reserved for us in heaven. In this passage he also reveals that our inheritance is incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away. In other words our inheritance is eternal. There are two categories of eternal rewards revealed to us in scripture. The first category are the rewards that cannot be earned and are the same for every saint. The only requirement given to us in scripture to receive these particular rewards is that the saint must overcome in this life. In the book of Revelation (Chapters 2 & 3) when our Lord Jesus spoke to each of the churches He closed each address to those churches with the statement “To him who overcomes”, and after each of these statements our Lord then revealed one of the rewards that He has laid up in heaven for those who overcome.
1 John 5:4-5 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (5) Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
So what are the qualities of a believer who overcomes, for it is these believers who will receive their rewards from the Lord? In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle John reveals to us that he who overcomes is the one who is born of God. John further clarifies to us that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are those who overcome. Simply put, every believer overcomes the world, for every saint believes that Jesus is the Son of God and every saint is born of God. And so every saint qualifies to receive the first category of eternal rewards.
Michael E.B. Maher
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