Discover the More Abundant Life in Christ

Blessing of God

Already Blessed!

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One of the most striking and glorious truths in all of the Bible is this: every single person who is in Christ is already blessed.

This is not theoretical. It’s not a future possibility or potential. It is present reality. We already possess the amazing riches drawn from the deep wells of God’s grace—supplied richly and fully in Christ. Colossians 2:9 says:

For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Bible-believing Christians say, “Amen” to that. Think of it: all of The Father and all of the Holy Spirit dwells IN CHRIST. Well, good for Jesus…. but what about us? Look at the next verse:

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Those of us in Christ, by God’s Grace (1 Corinthians 1:30), are complete in Him. The Greek word means “to make something total or complete” [1]

We don’t have to go through life struggling, scraping by, barely surviving. We have a generous Father, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). These are not small blessings, nor are they occasional—they are abundant, heavenly, and ours right now.

He is the God who daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19). And as Psalm 103:2 exhorts, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

It is incredible to think that the starting point of the Christian life is not lack, but fullness. Not poverty, but abundance. Not waiting for blessing, but already being blessed beyond imagination.

This is not some vague “tomorrow” promise. It is a real possession today—and forever.

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)

“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.”

Psalm 68:19 (NKJV)

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah”

Psalm 103:2 (NKJV)

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for the overwhelming truth that in Christ I am already blessed—fully, richly, and eternally. Open the eyes of my heart to see all that You’ve given me in Your grace. Help me to live not as one in lack, but as one filled with the abundance of Your life and love. Teach me to trust, to rejoice, and to walk in the full provision that is mine in Christ.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[1]  Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 597.

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Blessed #8: Blessed of God (Part 1)

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Throughout the Bible and down the corridors of time, we find people who were known to be BLESSED OF GOD. How did they ever get to such a place of being SO BLESSED? What was their secret?

  • People are blessed not because they are so good, but because God is good.
  • None are righteous.
  • So what IS the grace of God that brings such incredible, beyond imagination blessing into our lives?
  • Another thing that we see in the life of a person blessed of God is that there is evidence of PROSPERITY upon their life
  • A person blessed of God CANNOT be cursed

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Blessed With The Blessing of Abraham!

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In Genesis 12:1-3, we see God coming to an undeserving, pagan man, Abraham, and unilaterally blessing him:

[12:1] Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
[2] I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
[3] I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This blessing is staggering. Abraham became incredibly rich in so many ways, and he became a blessing to billions. Abraham’s physical descendants, the Jews, have produced incredible advances in science, technology, the arts, and so much more. Yet God’s heart is not only to bless the Jews but also us. So what is the connection between this astonishing blessing and me and you? Watch God’s rich heart of love for us unfold as we connect the scripture dots from Abraham to us:

Genesis 22:18, all the nations blessed:

“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Genesis 26:4-5, to Isaac:

(4)”And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; (5)”because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Genesis 28:14, to Jacob:

“Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Galatians 3:8, to the Gentiles

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.

Galatians 3:9, to you and me:

So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. For more on what “of faith” means, read Romans chapter 4 in the Bible.

This why, Galatians 3:16

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 

And now the ULTIMATE reason! Galatians 3:10-14

(10) For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”° (11) But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for”the just shall live by faith.”° (12) Yet the law is not of faith, but”the man who does them shall live by them.”° (13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”°), (14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Dear brother and sister in Christ, it seems too good to be true. God is indeed richly blessing me and you to such a fabulous degree! Why? Because that’s His great heart of love. He does this because He is that good. Not only that, but we are blessed to be a blessing to the nations. 

2 Corinthians 9:8 expresses this so well:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

(Photo credit: Marvin Meyer on Unsplash )

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Blessed #3: Perfect Forgiveness & Healing

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[This is Part 3 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”] We continue with a veritable feast of God’s blessings & benefits, found in Psalm 103. Today, we look at:

  • God’s TOTAL forgiveness – no matter how great the iniquity or sin, God’s love and grace makes possible a perfect and forever forgiveness, based on the perfection of Jesus Christ and His perfect, finished work. This teaching will truly set you free to enjoy your relationship with God!
  • Temporary forgiveness (people misusing 1 John 1:9) vs. the forever forgiveness of ALL our sins, whether past, present or future.
  • God’s healing – He heals ALL of our diseases. Jesus, the image of the Father, “healed all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people”. Jesus did this because that was what The Father was doing. Our Father is still healing through Jesus IN US today.

[Scripture: Psalm 103:3, various]

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse. This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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Blessed #2: Forget Not His Benefits

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[This is Part 2 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”] It’s amazing how FORGETFUL we can be. One moment we get a deeper, fresher glimpse of the blessing of God…. and the next, we forget that word of blessing, when we open up an unexpected bill in the mail. In this episode we learn:

  • The blessings of God reflect His great heart of love for us.
  • God’s blessing PRECEDES anything truly good that we could ever do for Him.
  • We begin looking at Psalm 103, a psalm rich in telling of the blessings and benefits of God.
  • The blessings of God lead us to wholehearted worship and praise of Him.
  • How that the blessing of God transformed a “nobody” into a great king.

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse
This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

 

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Blessed #1: Introduction to the Blessing of God

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[This is Part 1 of the “Blessed Beyond Imagination Series”]

Many times, we greet each other with “How are you?” For the believer, our answer really is “Blessed beyond imagination!”. In this introductory episode, you’ll find out why, as we learn:

  • That God is the source of all blessing. He blesses us because He is good.
  • A Blessing Scripture Parade – presenting a sampling of the many wonderful scriptures about the blessing of God.
  • Blessing: What it is and is not.

[Scriptures: Eph 1:3, Gen 1:22, Gen 1:27-28, Deut 28:14, Prov 10:6-7, 10:22, 28:20, Isaiah 44:2-5, Rom 8:32 & 15:29]

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse
This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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