What Are Blessings Exactly?

I heard a story once I'd like to share. It was about a drunkard who had been on Chicago's Skid Row for many years. One evening he came to a halfway house, ate a meal, then went to bed. That was his last night on earth. He died poverty-stricken and friendless, never to see another day. What he did not know was, he had an inheritance of over 4 million dollars waiting for him in England. The authorities had searched for him but were unable to find him simply because he had no address. Here was a man who had all the material wealth he could want, but he lived and died in poverty. I got to thinking that in a sense this man was just like many Christians and non-Christians alike, who live in poverty because they are not fully aware of the true wealth in Christ. They never come to the knowledge God He has made available - a wealth of blessings for us and they never take advantage of His blessings. We receive two types of blessings from the Lord: temporal and spiritual. Concerning temporal blessings, we can refer to Psalm 37:25- KJV, "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." AND Psalm 34:9-10- KJV, "O fear the Lord, you saints: for there is no want (no lack) to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing."

Spiritual blessings, on the other hand, are far more valuable than the temporal ones although men seek heartily material things which fade away. They are so apt to reject spiritual treasure that is available. Spiritual blessings are for the inner man. These are perfect and eternal. What are they? Many of them can be found in Ephesians 1:3-14. Here is a break-down. As believers:
1. We are CHOSEN by God (verse 4). How special is it that you were personally chosen by the Creator of the Universe?
2. We are adopted children (verse 5-6). God loved you so much He adopted you into His heavenly family.
3. We have redemption and forgiveness (verse 7). Name another religion, doctrine, or famous figure who gives you instant and eternal forgiveness?
4. We are given wisdom (verse 8). It comes from above and is given to understand His Word and the mystery of the Gospel.
5. We are given the Revelation of His Will (verses 9 & 10). What is the will of God? Believers know!
6. We have an inheritance laid up for us (verses 11 &12). No eye has seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those that love Him!
7. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit (verses 13 & 14). As one means of guaranteeing His promises to those who have received Jesus Christ, God has sealed [them] in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Every authentic believer is given the Holy Spirit of God the moment he or she trusts in Christ. “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you,” Paul declares (Romans 8:9). Conversely, he goes on to say, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (verse 9). Incredibly, the body of every true Christian is actually “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in (Him)” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

How great is that, or in fact, all these blessings? The seal of God’s Spirit in the believer signifies four primary things: security, authenticity, ownership, and authority. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his heart and mind. Life in Jesus Christ is different because the Spirit of God is now within. He is there to empower us, equip us for ministry, and function through spiritual gifts He has given us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Advocate. He protects and encourages us. He also guarantees our inheritance in Jesus Christ. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16–17). The Spirit of God is our securing force, our guarantee. And SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS are only found in those who belong to Christ, therefore there are no spiritual blessings outside of Christ. Buddha cannot bring you eternal spiritual blessings, Vishnu cannot, Mohammed cannot, Hinduism cannot, Islam cannot, any Eastern religion cannot, transcendental meditation cannot, methods or self-effort cannot, or emptying your mind cannot. There is no salvation, no true God, no Holy Spirit in any other than through Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). So to receive these spiritual blessings we must be 'in Christ' in The Beloved of the Father.


Those who are IN CHRIST are blessed and chosen according to the scriptures I just showed you. Does God choose arbitrarily? NO!! God sets people apart for Himself (Psalm 4:3), He alone chooses you and it is a privilege to be chosen -Deuteronomy 7:6, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." This specifically points to His people Israel. However, God also ADOPTED Gentiles to be a part of His chosen as well, therefore, to the Gentile believer we became ADOPTED SONS and are guaranteed the same blessings as Israel, God's chosen people. This is why the hatred of both Jews and Christians is so ironclad! By our adoption through Christ we have a new relationship with God the Father (Galatians 4:4-5) with the same rights and privileges as a genuine son (Romans 8: 16-17), with access to the very presence of the Father (Galatians 4:6), and blessed with redemption and forgiveness of sins because Jesus paid the ransom for our iniquities though we are guilty and deserve death (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Our redemption and forgiveness are not bought about by meditation, silver, gold, religion, being good, self-righteousness, offering sacrifices, not purchased by customs or routines, " Forasmuch as you know you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ...But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot." Redemption is only possible through Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28).

Another marvelous blessing, we are blessed with the revelation of His will. The Lord will speak directly into your heart, His revelations, through the Holy Spirit! A "revelation" is when God reveals something to you that you did not understand before. It's so exciting when that bell goes off in your head and you "get it!" God makes known to us the 'mystery of His will (Ephesians 1:9) and it was His good pleasure to do this! This fantastic gift was not some afterthought either. It was in the mind of God from the very beginning. He gives His children needed instruction, details of salvation, the mysteries, power, and capabilities of the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in the Spirit and obey even though we live in the flesh. Christians partake of a certain amount of inheritance now but there is another part of this inheritance laid up in heaven which is yet to come that is incorruptible and will not fade away. Believers in Christ are sealed. A seal denotes ownership. This is our "mark" ..it's the Holy Spirit (the devil will duplicate his own "mark" in the end times), but being sealed by the Holy Spirit means when people become Christians the Spirit identifies them as belonging to or being under the authority of the One the seal represents, which is, of course, God! The Holy Spirit IS the 'guarantee of our inheritance.'

Finally, why would anyone want to ignore these great blessings? If you are not a Christian do you feel a tug on your heart you've been resisting? God is calling you. He is inviting you to take advantage of adoption. "No one comes to the Father UNLESS GOD DRAWS HIM" (John 6:44). Do you feel a draw? Why keep resisting? Why are you ignoring these wonderful blessings? Will you not take advantage of them today by coming to Christ? If you have any questions regarding salvation or adoption you can email me and remain anonymous. I will honor that. My email is found on the right side of this page under 'Blogs by Month.'
Until next time,
-Pat-