The Impossibility of Missing a Blessing from God
False teachers abound in the American church. They love to mislead and misguide their hearers into believing that God’s blessing of His people is conditional, “God is wanting to bless you,” or “God is prompting you to receive His blessing,” is their false message.
Have these false prophets not heard? Is it not written, “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 (Eph 1:3).” The false pastor might object, “But our blessings are in heaven, and we have to go and get them, if we want them now.” Thus, we see how errant interpretation of Scripture leads to false theology, which is what false “leaders” in the church love to promote.
So how do we understand the relationship between Christ and every spiritual blessing, as it relates to people ? First, Jesus Christ has secured every blessing for the believer, by His meritorious works. He Himself is the blessing of God, so wherever Christ is…there is the blessing of God.
The blessing of Christ is not just made available or possible, by chance. It is not conditioned by God, as a term of His covenant. It cannot be secured by one’s free will choice. Thus, God is not holding his blessing over peoples’ heads like a piñata. Rather, God bestows His blessing upon those who are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6).
A person may inquire, “Well, how does one be seated with Christ?” Imagine you were invited to a fancy restaurant. Your esteemed dining partner has appointed a day and time for you to meet. He has made the reservation. You have a seat waiting for you, to sit with the one who has secured the table. To delight you, your dinner partner has had the restaurant hand-deliver one of their famous pastries in advance. It comes as a token, a sweet reminder of the anticipated dinner date.
Jesus Christ has reserved a seat for each Christian at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). He has sent the Holy Spirit with the promised reservation (Jn 14:26; 15:26; 2 Cor 5:5). The Spirit sweetens the anticipation by feeding our famished souls, the morsels of God’s Word. The Words of promise confirm this, “…I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants (Is 44:3).
God’s blessing is a gift (Lk 11:13; Acts 2:38; 10:45; Eph 2:8–9; Heb 6:4). It is not something the Christian works to secure for herself (Rom 4:5).
Jesus promised to send the gift, the Holy Spirit, to God’s chosen people, who turned out to be a remnant of Jews and a remnant of Gentiles from every nation (Rev 5:9). The indwelling Spirit then gives spiritual gifts to God’s regenerated people (1 Cor 12:4; Heb 2:4).
The blessing of God — in sending the gift of Jesus, who sent the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives gifts — is the sure blessing of God for His beloved people.
The subtlety of false pastors is clear. They keep people in bondage to their mega-ministries, by teaching people false doctrine that keeps them in bondage to the possibility of blessing. These shrewd wolves in shepherd’s clothing have gathered the goats into their mega-campuses. Their message is, “You have to work for your blessing.” This has a powerful appeal to sinful flesh.
People want what they believe is blessing (ie. homes, cars, cash, clothes, travel, and lots of stuff). The false pastor ingeniously ends up with the most of this stuff (Ezek 34). These blessings are invariably curses to further enslave the unwary.
Christian, Christ is your blessing. He is sufficient, and He alone can satisfy. Your flesh can never be satisfied until it dies. Your soul is eternal, and it can surely know its blessing and be content in Christ…with Christ. There is nothing for you to do to achieve God’s blessing for you, other than to realize you already have it.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 17, 2022
