Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ... Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be...who has blessed us with...blessing... Have you ever wondered what bless really means? What it means to be blest? I mean, how can we bless God and what does it mean when God blesses us? And if we are blessed with blessings, what in the world does that look like in our day-to-day lives. And for that matter, which is it anyway, blessed or blest?
I looked it up in my handy-dandy Fund & Wagnalls and here's what it says:
bless (bles) v.t. blessed or blest, bless-ing 1. consecrate; make holy. 2. honor and exalt; glorify. 3. invoke God's favor upon (a person or thing). 4. bestow prosperity upon; make happy. 5. endow, as with a gift. 6. guard; protect: Bless me! [ME blessen consecrate]
bless-ed (BLES id) adj. 1. made holy. 2. enjoying the happiness of heaven. 3. blissful; happy. 4. causing happiness. Also spelled blest. bles'sed-ness n.
bless-ing (BLES ing) n. 1. an invocation or benediction; grace. 2. the bestowal of devine favor. 3. that which makes happy or prosperous.
So, first of all and least importantly, blessed and blest are interchangeable, or so it seems to indicate (even though Blogger's spellchecker is unhappy with blest).
But the definitions are quite interesting to me, and although the true meaning of the whole deal still eludes me just a wee little bit, I want to try re-stating today's verse while avoiding the word "bless" and any form thereof, just to see if I can clarify the meaning as I understand it. I'm not promising anything, but here goes my attempt:
Exalted be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has endowed us with every spiritual favor in the heavenly places as a gift in Christ.
Maybe, huh? I'm not sure that really cleared it up for me, but it helped a little.
The point is that God has in Christ Jesus given us everything he could possibly give to make us happy, every spiritual blessing. He has bent over backward for us, so to speak, and Paul is taking this opportunity to give God glory and praise (blessing) for all he's done for us.
A friend of mine once asked me this question after we had a conversation about Jesus and salvation and such. He asked, "If God loves us so much, how can he sit back and let us go to hell? I mean, if you saw me drowning, wouldn't you rescue me? Why doesn't God do as much?"
In a rare moment of inspiration (from God, without a doubt) I answered, "Why, of course, I would do everything I possibly could to rescue you, my friend. And the fact is that God has already done everything he possibly can to rescue you, too."
And it's true. God, in Christ Jesus, has done everything he can to bring us back to him. Everything. There's nothing more he can do! He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Every. There's nothing more he can give!
How can we not praise him? How can we not bless him? (And this is where Paul is going for the next couple of chapters, but I don't want to get ahead of myself here.)
Bless your holy name, Father God. I love you so much. You have given me everything. Everything. Every spiritual blessing. And I praise you, Father. It is my desire to make my life a blessing to you, and that you would bless others through me. Help me to understand what that means and to live it out every day, every moment.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
to you
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:2
Of course, if you've ever read through the New Testament, this verse might seem familiar, since it appears in most of Paul's epistles in one form or another, and it's easy to simply pass it over as nothing more than Paul's usual way of saying "hello." But let me see if there isn't something I can learn from Paul's ubiquitous greeting this morning.
When all else fails (not that it has in this case), I use the standard 3-question approach to scripture reading. Namely, I read the verse and ask myself these three questions about it:
God grants grace and peace. That's the first thing I notice and it seems profoundly important and makes me think of a passage from another of Paul's letters, his epistle to the Romans, chapter 5, the first few verses:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
So, according to this verse, God grants grace through faith in Jesus, whereby we have peace. Peace with God, that it, as opposed to opposition against him.
Notice that it goes on to talk about our sufferings as if they are something to be expected. So the peace he talks about has nothing to do with our situation in the here and now. I mean that our peace will not come about as a result of peaceful circumstances. Just the opposite, I guess - we can have peace in spite of our sufferings because we have peace with God...through grace...through faith...giving us an eternal hope that will not disappoint no matter what this life throws at us.
So when Paul says hello by saying "grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," it isn't really the same thing as when I wish someone a "good morning." He is stating a fact, that peace is ours through the grace of the loving Father, which he has lavished on us (as he says later in this same chapter...which I'll get to one of these days) through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
He isn't wishing us grace and peace, he's saying that we already have it, if we'll only accept it.
At least that's what I think.
Father, thank you for the little verses that I sometimes overlook. Thank you for helping me to think about your grace and peace today, and help me to live in your peace through your grace by faith in your son. You are an amazing God and I love you and am awed by your grace. And as I face today's inevitable sufferings, whether great or small, help me to be focused on your presence in my life, your love for me and the certain hope I have through faith in you. Keep my mind ever present with you today, Lord. I want to include you in my every thought. I love you, Father.
Of course, if you've ever read through the New Testament, this verse might seem familiar, since it appears in most of Paul's epistles in one form or another, and it's easy to simply pass it over as nothing more than Paul's usual way of saying "hello." But let me see if there isn't something I can learn from Paul's ubiquitous greeting this morning.
When all else fails (not that it has in this case), I use the standard 3-question approach to scripture reading. Namely, I read the verse and ask myself these three questions about it:
- What does the verse teach me about God?
- What does the verse teach me about me and/or my relationship with God?
- Is there anything about the verse I don't understand or something that challenges me?
God grants grace and peace. That's the first thing I notice and it seems profoundly important and makes me think of a passage from another of Paul's letters, his epistle to the Romans, chapter 5, the first few verses:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
So, according to this verse, God grants grace through faith in Jesus, whereby we have peace. Peace with God, that it, as opposed to opposition against him.
Notice that it goes on to talk about our sufferings as if they are something to be expected. So the peace he talks about has nothing to do with our situation in the here and now. I mean that our peace will not come about as a result of peaceful circumstances. Just the opposite, I guess - we can have peace in spite of our sufferings because we have peace with God...through grace...through faith...giving us an eternal hope that will not disappoint no matter what this life throws at us.
So when Paul says hello by saying "grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," it isn't really the same thing as when I wish someone a "good morning." He is stating a fact, that peace is ours through the grace of the loving Father, which he has lavished on us (as he says later in this same chapter...which I'll get to one of these days) through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
He isn't wishing us grace and peace, he's saying that we already have it, if we'll only accept it.
At least that's what I think.
Father, thank you for the little verses that I sometimes overlook. Thank you for helping me to think about your grace and peace today, and help me to live in your peace through your grace by faith in your son. You are an amazing God and I love you and am awed by your grace. And as I face today's inevitable sufferings, whether great or small, help me to be focused on your presence in my life, your love for me and the certain hope I have through faith in you. Keep my mind ever present with you today, Lord. I want to include you in my every thought. I love you, Father.
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