LIGHT FOR THE BLESSED LIFE (1)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS BLESSED US with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” – Ephesians 1:3

The Word of God intensely radiates LIGHT for the BLESSED LIFE: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS BLESSED US with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph.1:3). Believers in Christ can walk in the revelation and reality of being blessed by Creation and by Redemption. God’s first recorded pronouncement upon humanity were Words of Blessings: “Then GOD BLESSED them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen.1:28).

To be BLESSED is to be empowered to BECOME whatsoever God has ordained, purposed, and called one to be in life. The Greek word often translated, ‘blessed’ (Makarios), means ‘fortunate,’ ‘happy,’ ‘enlarged,’ or ‘favoured.’ Mary, the mother of Jesus, was “blessed among women” – favoured by God (Lk.1:42–45, 48). The Lord Jesus used the same word in the Sermon of the Mount to mean: happy or blissful; an intrinsic sense of fulfilment that’s independent of circumstances. Regardless of external happenings, we are blessed when we’re fulfilled from within. God’s Blessings are not limited to material and temporal THINGS. From God’s Genesis Mandate, to be Blessed includes: Fruitfulness, Multiplication, Filling and Subduing the earth (Expansion, Increase, Impact), and exercising Dominion!

Abraham epitomised this Blessed Life: “I will make you a GREAT NATION; I will BLESS you and make your NAME GREAT; and you shall be a BLESSING. I will bless those who bless you; and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be BLESSED” (Gen.12:2-3). He became all that God called him to become: A Great Nation with a Great Name; globally and eternally impactful! To the Creation dimension, the New Covenant adds revelation of the Redemption dimension of the Blessed Life. Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross and His Resurrection unveil the full reality of being blessed. Today’s meditation text presents three precious truths: (a) God has blessed us in Christ will all spiritual blessings; (b) We should praise God for all; and (c) All spiritual blessings are ours in Christ alone.

The Blessings stated in this lengthy sentence (14 verses) include the fact that we were CHOSEN before the foundation of the world (v.4); PREDESTINED unto the adoption of children (v.5); ACCEPTED in the Beloved (v.6); REDEEMED and forgiven (v.7); INITIATED into the Divine Mystery (vv.8-10); obtained an eternal INHERITANCE (v.11); and SEALED with the Holy Spirit (vv.13,14). We have amazing assurances of priceless blessings in Christ. As His love children, God has and will continue to bless us. His heavenly blessings are unfathomable; but right now, in Christ Jesus, we can and should be living blessed lives, notwithstanding the difficulties and challenges!