COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
THE HYMN OF GRACE
Ephesians 1:3-14 records what is called THE HYMN OF GRACE. It was an actual hymn of praise sung in worship by the early church.
Twelve verses comprise only one sentence.
In the original Greek text these twelve verses comprise only one sentence.
This high praise is offered to almighty God for the sovereign grace by which he gives sinful people a new position in Christ.
Verses 4-6: Praise God the Father for choosing us for salvation.
Verses 7-12: Praise God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for purchasing our salvation with his own lifeblood.
Verses 13-14: Praise God the Holy Spirit for sealing our salvation.
This passage carefully explains the God-centered, God-exalting nature of the Christian message of salvation.
But this explanation begins with a celebration. Verse 3 says:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
What does it mean to be blessed?
This is word is often used, seldom explained, and very misunderstood.
What does it mean to be blessed?
Consequently, there are many believers who spend their energy chasing down the seemingly-elusive blessings of God.
As children of God, we quietly compete for supposedly bigger and better blessings, namely, the material and financial things we so desperately crave, as blessings from God do not really satisfy.
In the process,
God’s sheepfold has become a zoo filled with professing Christians whose view of life is no different than the people of the world who do not know God.
What does it mean to be blessed?
So, I raise this question with confidence that the right answer can change our lives, revive our church, and strengthen our witness. What does it mean to be blessed?
What does it mean to be blessed?
Ephesians 1:3 provides a clear and comprehensive answer:
Every person who is united to Christ by faith is already richly blessed.
I submit to you that every person who is united to Christ by faith is already richly blessed. Notice that this verse does not promise that God will bless us and it does not announce that God is in the process of blessing us right now.
It declares that God has already blessed us.
It is a done deal, a settled reality, and an unimpeachable position. If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you are sovereignly, abundantly, and eternally blessed.
Some seek blessings and miss Christ. Others seek him and find both.
If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are richly blessed beyond measure. Now, I did not say that you will always feel blessed. The fact is that there will be times when you will feel abandoned, frustrated, hurt, neglected, and overwhelmed – anything but blessed.
Your CHANGING FEELINGS have absolutely no affect on the reality, prosperity, and security of your blessed position in Christ.
The only way to handle some stressful situations is to remind yourself that you are blessed in spite of the stress.
JOHN OATMAN JR. gave us some wise advice when he wrote:
WHEN UPON LIFE’S BILLOWS YOU ARE TEMPEST TOSSED, WHEN YOU ARE DISCOURAGED, THINKING ALL IS LOST, COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS – NAME THEM ONE BY ONE AND IT WILL SURPRISE YOU WHAT THE LORD HATH DONE.
The Devil may curse us, but if God blesses us, what does it matter?
If you are united to Christ by faith, you are already richly blessed of God.
Three dynamics of the blessed life
And Ephesians 1:3 highlights three dynamics of the blessed life that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ.
THE PROPER RESPONSE TO THE BLESSED LIFE
What is the proper response to the blessings of God? There are several ways to respond to God’s blessings on the believer’s life. For instance, it would have been proper for this declaration of blessing to say,
Trust in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
Or, it would have been proper for this declaration of blessing to say,
Serve the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
But Paul did not choose these or any of the other legitimate responses to the God’s blessings we could mention. Instead, under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
We ought to bless God because God has blessed us
The verse says that we ought to bless God because God has blessed us.
TO SPEAK WELL OF
This word “blessed” literally means, “to speak well of” someone. It is the Greek term from which we get our word “eulogy.” Paul says that we ought to eulogize God! We ought to speak well of God.
TO SPEAK WELL OF
We ought to declare good things about God in grateful praise to him. In Mark 10:18, Jesus declares,
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
No one is good except God alone.
And since God alone is truly good, he is supremely and exclusively worthy of our highest expressions of praise. We ought to bless God with our praise for all his blessings toward us.
HOW WE BLESS AND HOW GOD BLESSES
The same root word for blessing is used throughout this verse. But there is a difference between how we bless and how God blesses us.
Gracious and Effectual
When God blesses us, it is both gracious and effectual. It is gracious in that God does not speak well of us because we deserve it. God blesses us because he is good and in spite of the fact that we are not good.
Gracious and Effectual
Likewise, his blessings are effectual. When God declares his goodwill on us, his sovereign authority fully accomplishes everything he decrees. Paul affirms this by calling him “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In calling him God, Paul declares that he is our
SOVEREIGN CREATOR
Psalm 100:3 says,
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
God is our sovereign Creator. And note that Paul says he is “the God,” meaning that he is God all by himself. But not only is God our Creator; he is also our
SOVEREIGN REDEEMER.
Paul calls also him “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In verse 2, he is “our Father.” But now he is “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
SOVEREIGN REDEEMER.
This description states the unique relationship between God the Father and God the Son. It declares Jesus Christ to be the only and eternally begotten Son of God. And God loved us so much that he sent his son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, adopt us into his family, and qualify us for eternal blessings.
Deserved and useless
So when God blesses us, it is gracious and effectual. However, when we bless God it is deserved and useless.
Deserved
It is deserved in that we speak well of God because he is worthy to be praised. Or as WALTER WINK defines it,
To worship is to remember who owns the house.
Useless
And to say that it is useless is to say that our blessing God does not contribute anything to God in any way. We are wrong when we speak of magnifying God, exalting God, or lifting him up in any way that suggests we make God bigger with our praise.
If God needs us to make him bigger, then he is no God at all.
The biblical idea of magnifying God is that we are to treat God with the glorious magnificence that he rightly deserves. MARVA DAWN calls worship
A royal waste of time.
By this she means that worship is not a means to an end; it’s an end in itself. God alone is the SUBJECT and OBJECT of true worship. And we ought to bless him for blessing us. This doxology teaches us much about true worship.
True worship is to be God-centered, not man-centered
First of all, it teaches us that true worship is to be God-centered, not man-centered. Real worship is not about who you are, what you have, or how you feel. It’s about who God is and what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.
When you find it difficult to worship God, it only means that we have forgotten what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
So when our worship begins to lapse, we really cannot blame the preacher, the music, or the atmosphere. When you find it difficult to worship God, it only means that we have forgotten what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
If you consider the spiritual blessings that are yours in Christ, you can praise God no matter what.
John 4:24 says:
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
That is, true worship must be with head and heart. We see that here in THE HYMN OF GRACE, where Paul is filled with both joyful exuberance and theological reflection. Likewise,
Our worship will have a proper balance of God-entranced joy and God-centered truth when we learn to bless God for Jesus Christ.
May our prayer be:
COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING, TUNE MY HEART TO SING THY GRACE
STREAMS OF MERCY, NEVER CEASING, CALL FOR SONGS OF LOUDEST PRAISE
TEACH ME SOME MELODIOUS SONNET, SUNG BY FLAMING TONGUES ABOVE
PRAISE THE MOUNT! I’M FIXED UPON IT, MOUNT OF GOD’S UNCHANGING LOVE
THE EXCLUSIVE MEANS TO THE BLESSED LIFE
Again, Ephesians 1:3 declares:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
That phrase, “in Christ,” is a succinct statement of the dominating theme of THE EPISTLE OF EPHESIANS. It, or some variation of it, is used more than thirty-five times in this letter.
IN CHRIST
This phrase, “in Christ,” is theological shorthand that describes the believer’s spiritual union to, intimate relationship with, and new identity in Christ.
EN CHRISTO – “in Christ.”
In fact, the early Christians would begin their answer to the question, “Who are you?” with this simple phrase: EN CHRISTO – “in Christ.”
God is more anxious to bestow his blessings on us than we are to receive them.
This phrase is, first of all, a statement about Christ himself. On one hand, it affirms the exclusivity of Christ. ST. AUGUSTINE was right: God is more anxious to bestow his blessings on us than we are to receive them. But God’s blessings can only be received in Christ.
Christ alone is the only means to spiritual blessings.
Note that Paul did not say we are blessed in Christ and something or someone else. Christ alone is the only means to spiritual blessings. In John 14:6, Jesus says,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus Christ is the only way to the blessings of God.
On the other hand, this phrase also affirms the sufficiency of Christ. That is, if you are in Christ, you already have full and free access to the God’s blessings. There is absolutely nothing lacking from your salvation.
This statement tells the Christian that if you are in Christ, you don’t have to be governed by your past, haunted by your mistakes, bound by your limitations, afraid of your weaknesses, or handicapped by your pain. You have a brand new identity in Christ.
Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?
In his book, Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?, JOHN POWELL writes of asking that question in a classroom. “Do you want my answer?” asked a student.” “Yes, of course I do,” responded Dr. Powell. “I am afraid to tell you who I am, because if I tell you who I am, you may not like who I am, and it’s all that I have.”
Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?
In the same way, many of us find it difficult to live authentically before others out of fear that others people will not like who we are. In fact, some of us are afraid to live authentically with ourselves out of fear that we will not like ourselves. But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
If you are in Christ, you have a brand new identity. You are blessed in Christ. Verse 3 is a celebration of our blessings in Christ. But verses 4-12 are an exposition of our blessings in Christ.
You have been chosen by God.
Verse 4 says You have been chosen by God.
Predestined and Adopted
Verse 5 says you have been predestined and adopted.
Blessed, accepted, graciously endowed by God.
Verse 6 says we are blessed, accepted, graciously endowed by God.
redeemed and forgiven.
Verse 7 says you have been redeemed and forgiven.
Sealed
Verse 13 says you have been sealed.
Received the guarantee, the down payment of the Spirit
And verse 14 says that you have received the guarantee, the down payment of the Spirit. In Christ, we are richly blessed.
THE INFINITE SCOPE OF THE BLESSED LIFE
The infinite scope of our spiritual blessings in Christ is described three ways in this verse.
OUR BLESSING IN CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT.
In verse 3b, Paul declares that God is the one “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
OUR BLESSING IN CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT.
Even though most versions translate this phrase to read “every spiritual blessing”; the original text actually reads all, not every. The intended idea is that there is one blessing that God gives the believer in Christ of which there is nothing lacking.
OUR BLESSING IN CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT.
It’s not that there is a series of individual blessings that God promises to give. There is no first, second, or third blessing that God gives us in Christ. There is just one blessing that is first, full, and final. MATTHEW HENRY wrote:
Those whom God blessed with some he blesses with all spiritual blessings.
Our blessing is Christ is sufficient. Romans 8:32 says,
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Our blessing in Christ is sufficient.
A faithful but struggling missionary candidate finally raised enough funds to purchase a ticket overseas on a cruise ship. And when he packed his bags, he includes enough cheese and crackers to get him through the entire trip.
Our blessing in Christ is sufficient.
And at every mealtime, while the rest of the passengers went to the dining room to eat, this missionary would go to the deck of the ship and eat cheese and crackers from a brown paper bag. Every meal, he would sit on the deck eating cheese and crackers.
Our blessing in Christ is sufficient.
Finally, some one asked him why he kept sitting on the deck eating cheese and crackers during each meal. He explained that he barely had enough money to purchase his ticket. He definitely didn’t have the money to pay for the expensive meals that they were serving in the dining room.
Our blessing in Christ is sufficient.
And he was shocked to discover that once he had paid for the ticket; the meals were provided for free.
I submit to you that we don’t really know how blessed we are.
You can tell it in how we pray. We often pray for spiritual blessings that already ours in Christ. We sometimes pray for the love of God. But Romans 5:5 says
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We sometimes pray for peace.
But in John 14:27, Jesus says,
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
We sometimes pray for joy.
But in John 15:11,
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Sometimes we pray for strength.
But Philippians 4:13 declares,
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN CHRIST.
Again, verse 4 declares that God has blessed us in Christ with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” This word spiritual has two implications.
Our blessings in Christ come from the Holy Spirit
First, it means that our blessings in Christ come from the Holy Spirit. verses 13-14 says
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
The Holy Spirit is the agent who delivers, affirms, and secures our spiritual blessings in Christ.
The blessing in Christ is spiritual, rather than material.
In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, God promises material blessings to the obedient children of Israel.
If the members of the old covenant kept God’s law, the Lord would reward them with long life, a large family, abundant crops, and protection from their enemies, among other things. But the obedient Jew could only enjoy certain spiritual blessings.
God does not promise Christians guaranteed or uninterrupted health and wealth. But he does bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
But in the new covenant, God does not promise Christians guaranteed or uninterrupted health and wealth. But he does bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
God does not promise Christians guaranteed or uninterrupted health and wealth. But he does bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Now, this is not to say that God does not bless his children materially.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Now, God doesn’t promise to supply all of your greeds but God will meet your needs.
In fact, let me stop here give some advice to someone who may be having a hard time with limited resources:
IF THE WORLD FROM YOU WITHHOLD OF ITS SILVER AND ITS GOLD
AND YOU HAVE TO GET ALONG WITH MEAGER FARE
JUST REMEMBER, IN HIS WORD, HOW HE FEEDS THE LITTLE BIRD
TAKE YOUR BURDEN TO THE LORD AND LEAVE IT THERE
God can, does, and will bless you materially.
However, even more than scripture promises God’s material blessings, it warns us about the spiritual dangers of material prosperity. In Luke 12:15, Jesus says:
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
There is no way, if you take the whole counsel of God’s Word, that you can equate riches or material things as a sign of God’s blessing.
In a letter to his followers from prison, former televangelist JIM BAKKER wrote: “There is no way, if you take the whole counsel of God’s Word, that you can equate riches or material things as a sign of God’s blessing.”
WE HAVE A SECURE BLESSING IN CHRIST.
Again, this verse declares that God has “blessed us in him with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
The heavenly places
This phrase “the heavenly places” (or the heavenlies) does not refer to heaven itself, the glorious dwelling place of almighty God. It speaks of a real environment of spiritual activity that is beyond the physical ordering of the created universe. JOHN R.W. STOTT calls it
The unseen world of spiritual reality.
It’s the place of spiritual reality beyond the physical realm. And Paul introduces us to it in the verse to declare to us that our blessings in Christ are secure. They are secure because Ephesians 1:20
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And Ephesians 2:6 says
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
And Ephesians 3:10 says
so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Now, this does mean that the believer can enjoy a life without any struggles.
Ephesians 6:10-12 says:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
I must warn you that if you determine to walk in the spiritual blessings that are yours in Christ, the devil will fight back. However, the good is that God has already provided everything you need to stand in victory.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
You can stand firm with the spiritual armor that God has given you in Christ.
BLESSED ASSURANCE, JESUS IS MINE!
O WHAT A FORETASTE OF GLORY DIVINE!
HEAR OF SALVATION, PURCHASE OF GOD,
BORN OF HIS SPIRIT, WASHED IN HIS BLOOD.