157. Inheritance
Acts 26:18e And an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
The fifth promise from the hearing of the Gospel is inheritance. The promise of an inheritance has its roots in the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12. God promised Abraham and his descendants an inheritance. Jesus announced it had come in His incarnation: the Kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the Gospel. God has a land and a kingdom prepared for us; He worked it out by sending His Son to live and die and rise again for sinners; those who believe in Him will enter into the inheritance.
Through Jesus Christ God the Father has made us sons and daughters of God; the children of God have been promised an inheritance in heaven. They enter into it today by faith; they will enter into it later by sight after death.
The inheritance we receive is shared equally among all those who are sanctified by faith in Christ; I receive all of the inheritance, but so do all the sanctified. We will all enjoy fully 100% of God’s blessings and His own eternal life. To receive the inheritance, it is expected that the heirs must be holy as God is holy; they will all have the DNA of God. The death and resurrection of Christ has earned for us forgiveness of all sins; thus God declares us holy, or sanctified. The Holy Spirit applies holiness to our hearts through the Gospel, and we are truly and rightly and eternally sanctified by faith.
The sanctification is real; the inheritance is real. When you heard the gospel you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit; this Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. [Ephesians 1:13-14]. Thus this promise is valuable and enjoyable in the present and in the future.