Blessed to be a Blessing Ps 24; 2 Sam 6:1-5; 12b-19; Eph 1:1-14; Mark 6:14-29
Prelude: what would it take to shift a significant group of Australians from thinking if our country as a “Lucky Country to seeing it as a “Blessed Country”. Something more powerful than anything I’ve seen here.
Introduction
God’s greatest passion and earnest desire is to impart the fullness of all he is to all he has made by the power of his Spirit[1]. This makes God a Father who gives us his Son in the power of the Holy Spirit as a God who loves to bless. And this explains from beginning to end the Bible is about blessing. God’s essential nature is to bless[2]. The first words of the Creator to those in his likeness[3] were a blessing to multiply[4]; and at our entry into heaven we will hear, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25:34). There are over 50 references about how to receive God’s blessing in the Psalms and one of the most famous pieces of literature are Jesus’ Beatitudes, “Blessed are the…” (Matt 5:2-11).
Whilst the vocabulary of “blessing” is no longer restricted to religious contexts, people today however are more interested in feeling good about themselves than in receiving the fulness of the blessing of God. The neglect of Bible reading is one sign of this. Then here are vast cultural confusions between material and emotional happiness and the blessedness which only God can give is another. Unfortunately, Australian mothers are obsessed with wanting their children to be “happy”[5]. There are far deeper issues however.
Rejecting the Blessing
In Hebrews 7:7 we read, “It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.” To receive the blessings of God means to accept his superiority over us. and we resent this[6]. Adam and Eve were happy enough to receive the blessing of the Lord’s multiplication of material delights[7] in Eden[8], but the Satanic temptation to become “like God knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5), with the enticing ability of being the source of one’s own blessing, was irresistible[9]. What limits our freedom to receive the fulness of the blessing of God is our prideful independence. Independence is a really powerful thing. In our day many elderly will submit to euthanasia because they don’t want to be a “burden” on others. Have you ever been a part of a foot washing ceremony…? Is it harder to wash someone else’s feet or have your own feet washed? It’s easy to wash someone else’s feet because you are in control, but to have your feet washed is deeply humbling (John 13:8). To deliver us from our antagonism to submitting whole-heartedly to the blessing of the Lord we need a revelation of the gift of Jesus (John 1:16). This is what makes Ephesians 1 such a crucial passage.
Ephesians 1:1-14
Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a testimony that God’s saving grace has transformed humanity from passive receptors of blessing to those with an authority to freely and spontaneously bless even God[10]. This is an astounding life transformation.
“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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1:3-4)
To understand the unlimited nature of blessedness at a heart level shouldn’t start with our daily blessings, but that the “Father” chose us in Jesus in eternity. Two scriptures beyond Ephesians 1 leap to mind. First, John 17:5, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Part of the honour the Son of God had with the Father in eternity was being the one in whom we would be chosen. The second wonderful scripture is Jesus’ promise to his faithful people in the parable of the sheep and the goats, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25:34)[11]. If you belong to Jesus, there never was a time when you were not destined for blessing.
According to Paul’s understanding expounded in Ephesians we are already sitting with Christ “in the heavenly places” (Eph 2:6 cf. Col 3:1-3)[12], chosen by God, holy, blameless (Eph 1:4), adopted (1:5), graced and blessed (1:6), redeemed and forgiven (1:7), we are God’s inheritance (1:11), sealed by the Holy Spirit (v.13). Why then are the vast majority of believers, you and I, living below these outstanding states of supreme blessedness? The answer is in this passage. “In Christ” occurs 3 times (vv.3, 9, 11), “through Jesus Christ” once, and “in him” appears 6 times (vv. 4, 7, 10, 11, 13). This is one of the most Christ-centred parts of the Bible and it teaches us that instead of looking to be blessed in life[13] we need to seek to be like Jesus who is the repository and fount of all spiritual blessings.
All the blessings of the Christian life, justification/being declared by God as righteous (Rom 5:1), sanctification/ being seen as holy and blameless (1 Cor 1:30; Col 1:22), glorification/perfection (Rom 8:30) are a share in the life of Jesus himself. It’s not like there are two columns in some sort of parallel, a Jesus column with all his glorious attributes and a column of how God “sees” Christians[14]. Nor is it merely that through Christ God has done something through Jesus’ death and resurrection that enables him to cause Christians to be his blessed sons. The language of being “in Christ” actually means all that Jesus is he now shares with us[15]. When we put our faith in Christ we received a share of his perfect faith, hope, love, sonship and so on. But let’s get “real” as they say. Life often doesn’t seem to be like that, life seems to be a mixture of blessings and curses and sometimes the curses seem more real[16]! What we need to see is that in Christ there has been a great exchange, the Son of God took upon himself every cursed thing so that we might in him inherit every blessed thing.
When placing Jesus on trial the High Priest thinks he has come up with the question that will expose the Lord as a false Messiah. ““Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” When Jesus replies “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”” (Mark 14:61-62) he prophesies that soon he will be received into the fulness of the blessings of God[17]. The Jewish hierarchy charge Jesus with blasphemy because they are totally convinced that a crucified man cannot be blessed of God. He cannot be God’s Son and heir (Ps 2:7 etc.).
Understanding this Old Testament train of thought Paul forcefully proclaims, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—” (Gal 3:13). Hanging on the cross Jesus “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2), he looked like a cursed person because he was carrying the fulness of a cursed world (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24) so he could he release the fulness of the blessings of God to us. This is the heart of the plan of God. [Having once believed a crucified Messiah was a contradiction (1 Cor 1:23) the apostle now declares about Jesus that, “according to the flesh…(he is) the Christ…God over all, blessed forever.” (Rom 9:5). We must pause to understand this clearly, through God becoming a human being (John 1:14), paying for our sin on the cross, being raised from the dead (Rom 6:4) and returning to the eternal glory of the Father (John 17:5) a God-human now shares in the blessedness of the eternal divine glory to share it with us. In the blessing of God Jesus now has the power to multiply his own likeness across the earth. This miraculous mission multiplication can only come in a way that conforms to his death-and-resurrection.
The Christian
This is why the Beatitudes climax with what to the natural mind is a contradiction, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:11-12). I quoted this text yesterday to a friend of mine who is a founder (with his wife) of a mission organisation here in Perth[18] who have been under attack in the media concerning issues of sexuality. Peter is totally clear on the sovereign power of blessing, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling[19], but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing….If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Pet 4:14)[20]. The world can happily speak of blessing, but the gospel teaches us that in union with Christ such complete blessing (Rom 15:29) comes only when like Jesus (Luke 23:34) we “bless those who curse us/you, pray for those who abuse us/you (Luke 6:28) so that we look like “sons of y/our Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:44). Living like this we begin to experience the quality of eternity.
Conclusion
Humanity desperately needs the sort of unlimited and unconditional blessing that has come through the sacrificial life of Christ. No amount of wellness studies and practices or attempt to solve mental illness through “mindfulness” will succeed because what people made in God’s blessed image need is to share in how God feels about his Son in us (1 John 4:17), “well pleased” (Luke 3:22). There is no limit of well-being when we abide near the fount of every blessing, which is Christ. The blessings of God may be free but they are not cheap[21]. The measure of the blessings that God lovingly offers are the “breadth and length and height and depth” (Eph 3:18) of Christ himself. The medium of every blessing is the way of the agonies of the cross and the raptures of the resurrection (Phil 3:10; Rev 5:6). Nothing less than this can fully satisfy the human soul.
[1] This is his eternal glory which he has freely chosen to share with us.
[2] E.g. “Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”” (Acts 14:17).
[3] As his sons and daughters (Luke 3:38).
[4] He “blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,” (Gen 1:28).
[5] Sociologist Tony Campolo once opened an address in Perth with a statement that he understood Australians because research by a fellow academic revealed more than 90% of Aussie mothers wanted their children to be “happy”.
[6] It is easy to intellectually affirm his superiority in power, knowledge and presence, but none of these attributes in themselves draw us closer to his heart. As is shown by non-Christian religions, like Judaism and Islam, which affirm these attributes but are all systems of rebellion.
[7] The blessing of more plants, fish, animals, livestock (Gen 1:11-25) was for the sake of humanity.
[8] “Eden” means “delight”.
[9] To reject God’s command about the tree of knowledge (Gen 2:17) was to reject the creative source of every blessing.
[10] Cf. when prompted by being blessed by God, people “bless God” (Ps 145:1-2; Neh 9:5; Luke 1:64; 23:53 ).
[11] Another powerful scripture is the words of the angel about “the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). The centre of every blessing in eternity and time is Jesus, the Lamb of God.
[12] Whilst this is a contested domain for the Church (Eph 3:10; 6:12), it is essentially the realm in which Christ is ruling as Lord of all on the throne of his Father (Acts 2:33; Eph 1:20; Heb 1:3; 10:12 etc.).
[13] As, for example, “prosperity theology” teaches.
[14] As it is sometimes taught, of a forensic and legal sort. A “legal fiction” as some would say.
[15] Generally described as “union with Christ”.
[16] The early chapters of Genesis begin with many blessings (1:22, 28; 2:3) then after the Fall “curse” abounds (3:14, 17; 4:11).
[17] A citation from Daniel 7:13 when the Son of Man comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven. This is not about the Second Coming but the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of power (Acts 1:9).
[18] Youth With A Mission (for details see http://cross-connect.net.au/bridal-church-and-global-mission/).
[19] Jesus is the one who imparts the power to live like this, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Pet 2:23).
[20] Something which he lived “when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.” (Acts :40-41 cf. Acts 16:26)
[21] Echoing Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”