All Spiritual Blessing

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath BLESSED US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS in heavenly places in Christ:” (Ephesians 1:3)

In his letter to the Ephesian Church the apostle Paul reminds them in the first chapter of what God has done in order to bring them into the intimate fellowship they have with God Himself. The apostle does this by reminding them of the seven things they have in and through Christ Jesus, however he introduces them with the term “all spiritual blessings”, and he then proceeds to list those blessings one by one. (Ephesians 1:4 – 14)

1.  God has chosen us to be holy and blameless (v.4).

2.  God has adopted us as children (v.5-6).

3.  God has redeemed us—forgiven our sins (v.7).

4.  God has given us wisdom and understanding (v.8).

5.  God has revealed the mystery of His will to us (v.9-10).

6.  God has given us an inheritance, that is, made us the heritage of God (v.11-13).

7.  God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit (v.13b - 14).

We need to take to heart that God's blessings are spiritual and heavenly, not material blessings. Throughout history God has used two methods of blessings to deal with man. Before Christ, God dealt with man by blessing him with material blessings. He promised Abraham and Israel land and wealth and fame. The problem was that Israel misused and hoarded the material blessings. Instead of sharing its blessings with other nations, Israel isolated itself and claimed superiority and God-given rights over other nations of the earth. However, since Christ, God deals with man spiritually, blessing him with spiritual blessings.

 Five things should be noted about this.

 1.  Spiritual blessings are of the Spirit.

It is the Spirit that controls man and the circumstances that surround him. A man may feel bad; he may be down, depressed and oppressed; but if his spirit is strong, he arises and conquers his feelings. He controls and overcomes the oppressing circumstances, and he lives a victorious day.

However if a person’s spirit is weak, whether at work or at play, he often wallows around in self-pity, grumbling and griping and living a defeated day. And too often the days stretch into weeks and months until a person's life is down more than it is up—all because the spirit is too weak to conquer. Thus, the major blessings of God are bound to be blessings that are spiritual—that enable a person to control his life.

2.  Spiritual blessings are the very opposite of temporal blessings.

They are the blessings of the inner man, the blessings of the immortal. But of all blessings, they are the most glorious and satisfying. They are the blessings that erase the loneliness, alienation, and purposelessness of man. They are the blessings that give man an over-abundance of life.

3.  Spiritual blessings are vastly superior to material blessings. They are permanent and perfect and eternal, lasting forever. They are of the very same nature as God Himself. Spiritual blessings exist and can be experienced both upon earth (the physical dimension of being) and in heaven (the spiritual dimension of being).

4.  Spiritual blessings are found only in Christ.

Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of God the Father. He is in heaven, surrounded by all the heavenly atmosphere and blessings. All heavenly blessings are His; He is Lord and Possessor of all blessings. Therefore, if a person is to experience the spiritual blessings, he must be in Christ. If a person is in Christ, then he sits in heaven with Christ.

How is this possible? When a person believes in Christ, truly believes God takes his faith and counts it as righteousness. God counts the person to be the same as Christ, righteous and acceptable. In God's mind faith in Christ makes a person just like Christ: holy and righteous and acceptable for heaven. Therefore, when a person believes in Christ, God's mind sees the person in Christ; God sees the person identified with Christ, seated in heaven.

And being seated in heaven, the person can experience all the blessings of heaven. Simply stated, to be in Christ means to believe in God's Son so much that God becomes elated—elated so much that He counts the person to be just like Christ: acceptable and worthy to be blessed with all the blessings of heaven.

5.  God dealt with man in material blessings first because man had to learn several things.

a. An earthly inheritance does not last. It is subject to being lost or stolen. We either watch our material possessions deteriorate or else we leave our material possessions behind for others.

b. An earthly nation and material inheritance cannot bring peace and security. Peace and security are of the spirit. Earthly nations and material things are of the earth, of a corruptible nature. Thus nations and material things do not solve the spiritual struggle that man senses within his own being. Neither can nations and material things erase the spiritual divisions between men and between man and God.

c. Man has within his inner being a basic selfishness and greed. Man finds a tendency, an unregulated urge that desires and seeks the material and hoards the corruptible to the neglect of the spiritual.

d. Man must undergo a basic change of character to be freed of this urge, this tendency that causes so much bondage, disruption, and division within one's self and between men. Man must be born again, made into a new creation, created into a new man—spiritually, permanently, perfectly, eternally. And such a spiritual creation must be performed by someone much greater than himself. Man must be recreated by the hand of God Himself.

Reconciliation …… A Gift of God

One of the criticisms that is often thrown at preachers is that they often us words that the person in the pew does not understand, one of those words is Reconciliation. Reconciliation simply means to change, to change thoroughly, to exchange, to change from enmity to friendship, to bring together, to restore. The idea is that two persons who should have been together all along are brought together; two persons who had something between them are restored and reunited.

Three points should be noted about reconciliation.

1.  The thing that broke the relationship between God and man was sin. Men are said to be enemies of God (Romans 5:10), and the word "enemies" refers back to the sinners and the ungodly (Romans 5:6, 8). The "enemies" of God are the sinners and ungodly of this world. This simply means that every man is an enemy of God, for every man is a sinner and ungodly. This may seem unkind and harsh, but it is exactly what Scripture is saying. The fact is clearly seen by thinking about the matter for a moment.

The sinner cannot be said to be a friend of God's. He is antagonistic toward God, opposing what God stands for. In other words the sinner is always:

v  rebelling against God

v  rejecting God

v  cursing God

v  ignoring God

v  disobeying God

v  fighting against God

v  denying God

v  refusing God

And so the list could continue …… When any of us sin, we work against God and promote evil by word and example.

v  When the sinner lives for himself, he becomes an enemy of God. Why? Because God does not live for Himself. God gave Himself up in the most supreme way possible: He gave His only Son to die for us.

v  When the sinner lives for the world and worldly things, he becomes an enemy of God. Why? Because he chooses the temporal—that which passes away—over God. He chooses it when God has provided eternal life for him through the death of His Son.

This is the point of God's great love or reconciliation. He did not reconcile and save us when we were righteous and good. He reconciled and saved us when we were enemies, ignoring and rejecting Him. As stated above, it is because we are sinners and enemies that we need to be reconciled.

2.  The way men are reconciled to God is by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. Very simply stated, when a man believes that Jesus Christ died for him...

v  God accepts the death of Jesus Christ for the death of the man.

v  God accepts the sins borne by Christ as the sins committed by the man.

v  God accepts the condemnation borne by Christ as the condemnation due to the man.

Therefore, the man is freed from his sins and the punishment due because of his sins. Christ bore both the sins and the punishment for the man. The man who truly believes that God loves that much—enough to give His only begotten Son—becomes acceptable to God, reconciled forever and ever.

3.  God is the One who reconciles, not men. Men do not reconcile themselves to God. They cannot do enough work or enough good to become acceptable to God. Reconciliation is entirely the act of God. God is the One who reaches out to men and reconciles them unto Himself. Men receive the reconciliation of God.

The Bible states:

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians. 5:18)

Note how God wrought or worked out reconciliation. God did three things to make reconciliation possible.

First, God came to earth "in Christ," that is, in the person of Christ. As this verse says, "God was in Christ." This is a phenomenal statement. This means that...

v  When Jesus Christ came to earth, God Himself came to earth.

v  When Jesus Christ bore sin for man, God Himself was bearing sin for man.

v  When Jesus Christ died for man, God Himself was dying for man.

This means that God Himself was in the person of Jesus Christ reaching out to man—that God himself had come to earth to reconcile man. This means that God Himself loved man so much that He came to earth to seek and to save that which was lost. The truth is so glorious that Jesus Christ Himself pounded the truth home to the hearts of people.

Second, God does not impute sin to men. The word "impute" means to reckon, count, and credit. It means to charge or put to a person's account. If God does not impute or charge sin against men, then it means that He forgives their sins. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, God was in Christ dying for the sins of men. God was making it possible for men to be freed from the guilt and condemnation of their sins.

Picture the scene: hanging there on the cross, God in Christ was not charging men with sin. He was dying for the sins of men. God was not there upon the cross to impute sin against men; He was there making it possible for men to be forgiven their sins.

Third, God has committed the word of reconciliation to ministers. God has not left the word of reconciliation up to men. God has taken the initiative. God calls and equips ministers of God to proclaim the word of reconciliation. He has done everything possible to reconcile men.

Philemon - A Great Example to all Believers.

If you really take time to consider the characters we see in scripture you will notice that there are many who set a fine example for others. One such person was Philemon and his short letter in the New Testament reveals a picture of an outstanding Christian man. Philemon stands as a great example for all believers.

Philemon’s commitment is seen in four striking facts.

1.  Philemon was so committed to Christ that he was counted "beloved" by Paul himself. And even more than this, Paul calls him "dearly beloved" a brother in the Lord who was held ever so close to the heart of Paul. But even this is not all that Paul said.     

Note the striking title that Paul used for himself: "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ." This is a most unusual opening for Paul's letters. He usually opened his letters by establishing his apostleship, saying that he was "Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ." Philemon must have been a dear friend of Paul's, a friend who recognized God's call to Paul, a friend who loved and supported Paul so much that Paul did not have to establish his call to the ministry for Philemon. Philemon was a beloved friend and supporter of Paul, one who was so committed to Christ that he was counted as beloved by one of God's choice servants, Paul himself.

2.  Philemon was so committed to Christ that he was a labourer for Christ. He served Christ diligently, and note: he laboured so diligently that Paul calls him a fellow-labourer. He was working so faithfully for Christ that Paul could acknowledge his labour and count him as a fellow-labourer, as working as diligently as Paul himself in the cause of Christ.

• What a dynamic testimony: to be working so hard for Christ that one could be counted as a fellow-labourer with Paul! What a challenge for us! May God grant that we be stirred to serve Christ ever so diligently?

3.  Philemon was so committed to Christ that he rooted his family in Christ. Apphia was apparently the wife of Philemon and Archippus the son of Philemon. Note that Archippus is addressed as a fellow soldier of Paul. This must mean that at some point in his life he had actually served with Paul on some mission campaign. He was apparently the pastor of the Colossian church (Col. 4:17).

The point to see is the dedication of this family to Christ. Philemon, as the husband and father, had rooted his family in Christ and led them to serve Christ. He had even supported his son's call and decision to serve Christ in the ministry. He was so committed to Christ that he took his responsibility to be the spiritual head of the family seriously—very seriously. And from all evidence, his wife supported him in his call to be the spiritual head of the family.

•  What we see here is a dynamic example for Christian families: fathers, mothers, and children each living for Christ and fulfilling his and her function and duty within the family.

4.  Philemon was so committed to Christ that he opened his home to the church. Remember that the early church did not have church sanctuaries to meet in; they met in homes of faithful and committed believers. Philemon loved Christ so much that he was willing to open his home night after night and week after week for believers to worship and study God's Word together.

• How many today would open their home this much for the church? How many love Christ enough to open their home on a regular basis enough to forget their tiredness and the housecleaning required? Enough to sacrifice relaxation, rest, and family time together?

But although Philemon was a good example, he had two basic needs.

1.  He needed grace: Grace is probably the most meaningful word in the language of men. The Bible means something far more than men mean by grace. To men the word "grace" means three things.

1.  Grace is that something, that quality within a thing that is beautiful or joyful. It may be the fragrance of a flower, the rich green of the grass, the beauty of a lovely person.

2.  Grace is anything that has loveliness. It may be a thought, an act, a word, a person.

3.  Grace is a gift, a favour that someone might extend to a friend. The favour is always freely done, expecting nothing in return, and the favour is always done for a friend.

However, when the early Christians looked at what God had done for men, they had to add a deeper and much richer meaning to the word grace. You see, God had saved sinners, those who had acted against Him. Therefore, grace became the favour of God showered upon men—men who did not deserve His favour.

Grace became the kindness and love that God freely gives to His enemies—men who are...

•   "Without strength" (Romans 5:6). 
• "Ungodly" (Romans 5:6)

• "Sinners" (Romans 5:8)

• "Enemies" (Romans 5:10).

No other word so expresses the depth and richness of the heart and mind of God. This is the distinctive difference between God's grace and man's grace. Whereas man sometimes does favours for his friends and thereby can be said to be gracious, God has done a thing unheard of among men: He has given His very own Son to die for His enemies

2.  He needed peace:  Peace means to be bound, joined, and woven together. It means to be assured, confident, and secure in the love and care of God. It means to sense and know that God will...

•  guide
• provide

• strengthen

• sustain

• deliver

•  encourage

• empower

• bless

But again, note that peace comes only from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to have the peace of God and Christ, a person has to have a strong confession...

• First in God as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• And then in Jesus as the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Father and Christ alone can bring peace to the hearts of men, and that peace can be given only to those who come to God for peace. The Father and Christ cannot give peace to a person who does not come to God for it.

In verse 6 we see something else that Philemon needed, it was prayer. This is actually the prayer that every strong believer needs. The verse is somewhat complex because it has so much packed into one verse. Simply stated, Paul is asking God to help Philemon to share his faith more and more effectively.

Note that "every good thing" is said to be in Philemon. It is those good things that Paul prays for others to acknowledge and desire in their own lives. What are those good things? They would, no doubt, be the fruit of the Spirit. If we could all display such good things in our lives what an effective witness we would have, and what glory would be brought to the Lord through our lives.

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