5th August 2024
Every spiritual blessing
Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts!
Ephesians 1:3 (The Passion Translation)
In the Header Scripture we celebrate the wonderful truth that God, ‘…has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’ (Ephesians 1:3 NIV). Let’s consider what this means.
—in the heavenly realms: God has blessed us already in the heavenly realms: the spiritual world in which he dwells. This isn’t talking about physical blessings on earth (although God gives us many physical blessings too); rather, though we are still physical, he has already blessed us spiritually. How is that possible? Ephesians 2:6 (NIV) says, ‘And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…’. From God’s perspective we are already seated in heaven with Jesus! When God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him to the highest place, he seated us there in Jesus because we are united with him.
—with every spiritual blessing: this doesn’t just say God’s given us some spiritual blessings. It says he’s given us all of them, all the ones there can possibly be. The chapter goes on to describe some of them: we were chosen to be holy and blameless in God’s sight; predestined to be adopted as his children; redeemed through Jesus’s blood; forgiven our sins; lavished with the riches of God’s grace; had the mystery of God’s will revealed, and marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance. Every spiritual blessing means far more than our human minds can conceive. There aren’t enough superlatives to convey the reality!
—in Christ: all of these blessings are possible in Jesus Christ, not because of anything we can ever do. In Jesus we have absolutely everything God has to give us spiritually: it is Jesus who was holy and blameless; Jesus who was God’s one true Son; Jesus who shed his blood for forgiveness of our sins; Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit, and Jesus who inherits all things in heaven and on earth. In Jesus we can share in all of these things; without him we have none of them.
Humanly it’s hard to grasp the enormity of the incredible spiritual blessings God has given to us in Jesus Christ. But just as the Apostle Paul did in this passage, we can have a glimpse through the Holy Spirit, and as we do so we can celebrate with joy and excitement, to the praise of God’s glory! (Ephesians 1:14 NIV)
Prayer
Lord, help us to truly appreciate the reality that in Jesus you have blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing, and to live our lives in a way that reflects that. In his name we pray, Amen
Study by Simon Williams
About the writer:
Simon Williams attends the Farcet Cambridgeshire Congregation of Grace Communion International.
Local congregation:
Grace Communion Farcet Cambridgeshire
Farcet Village Hall
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN
Meeting time:
Sunday 10.30 am
Local congregational contact:
Simon Williams
Email: cambridgeshire@gracecom.church
Local church website: www.cambridgeshirechurch.org
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church