Seven Spiritual Blessings
Part 1
“Spiritual Blessings”
Foundational Text: Eph. 1:3-14
Text: Eph. 1:3
Intro: In this text we find reveled Gods plan for the entire world
Eph. 1:1-3 deals with Gods will for our personal lives
Now He begins to deal with the world as a whole
- His eternal plan
- It deals with the blessing of God
- The blessings that He pours out on every believer
- Every man or women who begins to trust Jesus as there personal savior
Read foundational text:
Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
I. Spiritual blessings
Text:
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Many times we forget the greatest blessings of all because they are not so easily seen
- we see the time we get a raise
- we see the time someone gives us something
- we see the mysterious check in the mail
All of these blessing are very obvious
- we recognize the healing we receive as a great blessing
- we even recognize the salvation of a loved one or a friend as a blessing
- we even recognize a promotion as a blessing
The point I am making is
We recognize physical blessing very easily for the most part
- granted some people are so blind and egotistical they could not see the hand of God at work in their life if it slapped them upside the head
- but most of us recognize Gods physical blessing and are thankful
But over the next few weeks I want to look at some of our greatest blessings that sometimes are not so recognizable
This is what our text is pointing out to us
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
“Who has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places”
God does bless us both ways
- spiritual
- physical
But this study is going to focus on the spiritual blessings of God
Spiritual blessings are of the spirit
Our spirit is that part of us that controls us
- it is the part that leads us
- that directs us
- it is were the decisions of life are made
The condition of your spirit will also determine how you make your decisions
Ex. You may feel bad
- you may feel depressed
- you may feel oppressed
- you may feel down and out
But if you have a strong spirit
- you will conquer those feelings
- you will not base your judgments on how you feel but on the word of God, on righteousness
If you have a strong spirit you can overcome and control the oppressive circumstances of your life
- life may be unfair
- it may seem harsh or cruel
- yet you choose to live a victorious life
On the other hand if your spirit is week it will live a defeated life
- it will wallow in self pity
- it will constantly be grumbling
- it will always be griping and complaining
Do you know what this word wallow means?
It is to
- flounder
- stumble
- stagger
This is how you will go through life
The problem with getting down in the dumps is that it is much harder to climb up and out than it is to climb down and in
I have seen people get down
- they just wanted some pity
- they just wanted someone to feel sorry for them
- but the days turn into weeks the weeks turn into months and before they know it they are stuck in this place of depression
- they spend more time down than they do up
Self pity is an addictive spirit
- I have seen many people over the years
- They are addicted to these feelings of self pity
- They forget what it is like to live life on the upside
- They forget just how grand life can be
All of this happens when the spirit is week
- it is unable to make decisions based on righteousness
- so it makes decisions on feelings
For this reason Gods greatest blessings are spiritual
- blessings that bless the spirit of a man or woman
- helping them to control life
Spiritual blessings are the opposite of temporal or physical blessings
- these are the blessings that bless the inner man
- these are the blessings that give us an over abundance of life
- these are the blessings that make life worth living
II. Only To Be Found In Christ
Notice the last words of our text say “In Christ”
The only way to receive these kinds of blessings is to be in Christ
- you must have accepted Christ as your Lord and savior
- you must be born again
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
It is impossible to receive from God His greatest and best blessings if you are not serving Him
This may be why so much of the religious world seeks a physical or material blessing. It is because they have no access to the spiritual blessings.
Spiritual blessings are of the very nature of God
- they are eternal
- they can experienced hear on earth
- and they can be experienced in heaven
Christ was raised from the dead
He sits at the right hand of the father
He is in heaven right now as we speak
- He is surrounded by heavens atmosphere
- He is surrounded by heavens blessing
- All those blessings are His
- He is Lord possessor of all
- So if we are going to experience those spiritual heavenly blessings we must be in Christ
So how does this blessing thing work?
- when a person believes in Christ
- believes to the point of salvation
- God takes his faith and counts it as righteousness
- In Gods mind faith in Christ makes us like Christ
- We become sons and daughters of God
- God identifies us with His son
- All the blessing that is placed upon His son in heaven becomes available to us
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
III. Material Blessing
In the Old Testament God dealt with man in material blessing
Because Jesus had not come yet
- salvation was not possible
- there was no way for man to be justified
- therefore there was no way for man to access these spiritual blessings
But in looking at the Old Testament and the material blessing of man we can find many problems
One is that any kind of material inheritance can be lost
- it is not permanent
- it can be stolen
- it can be lost
- they can deteriorate and rust
- or they will have to be left behind or someone else
Secondly no kind of earthly blessing can bring peace or security
Look at South Africa
- one of the greatest blessed nation in Africa
- yet it has the highest crime rate
- one of the highest aids percentages
- and the highest murder rate in the world
Peace and security can only come through the spirit
No amount of earthly possessions or blessings can bridge the gap between God and man
- peace with God can only be obtained by the blood of Jesus
Inside of each of us there is the nature of sin
There is a seed that has been sown in us since Adam and Eve
- it is our nature to be greedy
- it is our nature to be selfish
Inside each of us there is this uncontrollable desire and urge to seek out the material and horde the corruptible to ourselves
Because of this we must undergo a change of nature
- a change of character
- we must be born again
- we must become a new creation
- a new man
This is something only God Himself can do
Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Romans 8:1 (NKJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
NATURE—Need of Renewal.
A vicious horse is none the better tempered because the kicking straps prevent his dashing the carriage to atoms; and so a man is none the better really because the restraints of custom and providence may prevent his following that course of life which he would prefer. Poor fallen human nature behind the bars of laws, and in the cage of fear of punishment, is none the less a sad creature; should its Master unlock the door we should soon see what it would be and do. A young leopard which had been domesticated, and treated as a pet, licked its master’s hand while he slept, and it so happened that it drew blood from a recent wound; the first taste of blood transformed the gentle creature into a raging wild beast; yet it wrought no real change, it only awakened the natural ferocity which had always been there. A change of nature is required for our salvation—mere restraints are of small value.
—Feathers for Arrows
Once we have received this new nature
- all of God greatest blessing are available to us
We will look next week at our first blessing
“Holy and Blameless”
