But what happens when the new work environment presents some difficulties? If you realize that God didn’t just bless you with a new job but with much more, with the all-inclusive Christ who lives in you, you’ll contact the Lord as the life-giving Spirit dwelling in your spirit. Suppose you pray for a better job and get a higher paying position. By simply turning to Christ in our spirit, talking to Him throughout the day, we can enjoy Him as our rich portion. We can pray, call on His name, and read His Word. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God’s bountiful supply for us to enjoy.” Experiencing God’s blessingĬhrist dwells in us as the all-inclusive Spirit, so we can experience Him in a personal, subjective way by contacting Him with our spirit. 3:17), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds with the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7 13:15 17:8 26:3-4), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ (see Col. The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (Gen.
The Spirit is the compound Spirit, as mentioned in note 5 2, and actually is God Himself processed in His Trinity through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension that we may receive Him as our life and our everything. “This verse indicates that the Spirit is the blessing that God promised to Abraham for all the nations and that has been received by the believers through faith in Christ. Oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!”īut in this verse what, or who, is “the Spirit” that we receive? The next note on verse 14 says this: “In the gospel we have received not only the blessing of forgiveness, washing, and cleansing even more, we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God-the Father, Son, and Spirit-as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment. Note 2 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version helps us understand what this blessing is: Galatians 3:14 makes clear that the blessing in Christ Jesus that God wants us to receive isn’t material things, but something far greater-the promise of the Spirit. Because of the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for us, we cursed sinners can now receive the blessing of God through faith in Christ. On the cross, He bore the curse that was upon all humanity and died in our place. And our good works or behavior can never make us “blessable.” But Jesus became a curse on our behalf. How can we be blessed?Īs fallen sinners, we deserve nothing but judgment and curse, certainly not blessing.
These verses explain both how we can be blessed and what the blessing of God is. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf because it is written, ‘Cursed is every one hanging on a tree’ in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” But in Galatians 3:13 and 14, the apostle Paul specifically explained what blessed in Genesis 12:3 means: Let’s begin with the blessing of Abraham by God in Genesis 12:3: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” We might think being blessed here means something outward, like having a good life. So what is the fuller meaning of being blessed by God? The blessing of Abraham Matthew 5:45 says that the Father who is in the heavens causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust.īut does God’s blessing pertain only to material things? Though these are included, thinking of God’s blessing as mainly material things severely limits our understanding of what is in God’s heart for us as believers. In this respect, we can say that God’s blessing is on everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. The common understanding of what it means to be blessed by God is that He gives us good things. We’ve even heard athletes say this after winning a big game. We’ve all heard someone say, “I’ve been blessed by God,” usually in relation to success, health, family, wealth, or a job.
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