“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.” Psalm 68:19
Can a man measure the blessing of God? Both in the Old Testament and the New, we are confronted with this matter of the blessing of God, as opposed to the curse associated with sin. On the one hand, we discover something of the heart of God, as it is revealed in all things “good” given to the believer. On the other, we find the blessing not limited by God, except in His wisdom, when He measures it out to the believer. The revelation of the fact, and truth, of the blessing, and the power given by God to receive it, is essential to believe, receive, and possess it. We bless God in return. What is the magnitude and longevity of that blessing? It is as great as Christ is eternal, the dimensions of which being measured by the love of God. This is so because all blessing is IN CHRIST, given freely by God for His glory. The greatness of the blessing is revealed in the salvation of men. Christ died on Calvary so that a way would be made for sinful man to be forgiven of his sins, cleansed thoroughly, born of the Spirit, and placed in an eternal union with the Son of God. Out of that union, where the believer is now seated in heavenly places in Christ, the very life of God by the Spirit is revealed to, and manifested in the life. Christ is formed in the life, and revealed in His beauty, righteousness, and power. The believer becomes the benefactor, the object of that blessing, according to the design and purpose of God. Where do we begin in our quest to see, and understand, in some small measure, the greatness of the blessing of God, and how it applies to us?
In the first chapter of the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, he writes: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HATH BLESSED US with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (1:3) Why does Paul begin this letter in this manner? Most certainly, he is laying a foundation for faith, a faith that can grasp that which is eternally true, and be strengthened to appropriate the blessing. God is opening a monumental, magnificent door of access, that we should get a glimpse of spiritual reality as it is in Christ.
During the ministry of the Lord Jesus, the disciple Philip asked the Lord Jesus to “…show us the Father.” (Jn. 14:8) Jesus went on to ask Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” (v.9) Standing before Philip is God in the flesh, the perfect representation of the Father’s nature and person, that is, as far as human limits allow. The Spirit fully manifests to the disciples the glory of God through the Lord Jesus, in the greatest, and yet, the most humble manner. It is important to realize here, concerning the blessing of God, is that Philip had a very small concept of who Christ truly was, as it was related to the Father. And so, we find ourselves in the same position, in the presence of God by the Spirit, yet so limited and “small” in our concepts of “…all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.” The beginning of the knowledge of the blessing of God is found in the truth, as it is revealed in Christ. The capacity to understand, and appropriate that knowledge, is by the Spirit of revelation in Christ. So, Paul begins with the believers in Ephesus in a similar way that dealt with Philip. The blessing of God, especially as he declares it to be “…all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,” is beyond our grasp and capacity to understand and to appropriate fully. However, we do need to know that God has provided in Christ ALL blessing. Nothing has been withheld. He has freely given to the believer “all things” with Him. (Romans 8:32)
Dear Father, Strengthen us appropriate all in Christ, Christ abiding in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.