Ephesians 1:3-4 (cont.)

"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."
-Ephesians 1:3-4

On Monday, we saw the source of God's provision in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful place to find rest for our souls! Today we will look at another portion of this passage and see the type of blessings God has blessed us with. May we be encouraged by this wonderful truth.

Paul says that in Christ we have been blessed with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Before we explore the implications of this portion of Scripture, we need to look at its meaning. The word for "spiritual" refers to things that happen through the Holy Spirit. The same word is used to explain the "spiritual" person in 1 Corinthians 2:15. Due to the use of this specific word, we see that God the Father has used God the Son to bless us through God the Holy Spirit. The entire Trinity is not only active in our salvation, but also the blessings that result. The Holy Spirit is the vehicle through which we receive all of God's blessing.

The next word that is important to discuss is the "heavenly places," which simply alludes to the supernatural realm. God has acted kindly toward us (that is what the word for the verb "blessed" means) by not only blessing us with life and strength physically, but with every blessing in the supernatural realm!

 When Paul says "every spiritual blessing," he means every type of every kind of blessing. What abundance! God, who is perfect in faithfulness (Isaiah 25:2) provides us with every kind of blessing in the heavenly places. As the Psalmist says in several places, God answers from His holy mountain (Psalm 3:4), a place of infinite glory, power, riches, and splendor. Because God provides us with blessings in the heavenly places, our corrupt, decaying world has no impact on God's perfect and sufficient provision.  It is at His throne that we find mercy and grace at our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It is His Spirit that strengthens us (Ephesians 3:16, Acts 1:8). Walking in the Spirit (living out of the strength and wisdom He provides) allows us not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23). Praying in the Spirit allows us to commune with God and fight this spiritual war effectively (Ephesians 6:17-18, 1 Timothy 2:1, Psalm 77:1). 

Friend, you have absolutely everything you need to have peace, joy, strength and contentment. Let us take hold of the blessings God has blessed us with through His Holy Spirit. There we will find both peaceful rest and invigorating strength, both of which are needed for us to live for the kingdom of God.