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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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Think of it! The Creator of the Universe chose that His followers should be holy and blameless before Him and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Not some. EVERY spiritual blessing!
Throughout the Bible, God reveals the earthly and spiritual promises and blessings that are available to His followers.
Have you taken the time to list the promises and blessings that you read about in the Bible? I Googled “spiritual blessings” and found a few at GotQuestions.org. I looked in my study Bible and gleaned a few more.
30 Blessings
In Ephesians alone, I found 30 blessings that are available to those who abide in Jesus.
- Chosen by God (1:4)
- Adopted by God (1:5; 2:19)
- Accepted before God (1:6)
- Forgiven of sins (1:7)
- Know God’s will (1:9)
- Eternal Inheritance (1:11)
- Salvation (1:13)
- Sealed by the Spirit (1:13; 2:38)
- Wisdom (1:17)
- Knowledge of God (1:17)
- Alive with Jesus (2:1, 5)
- Dead to sin (2:1)
- God’s mercy (2:4; 3:17-19)
- God’s love (2:4; 3:17-19)
- Divine power toward believers (1:19, 20; 3:16, 20)
- Spiritual life (2:1, 5)
- Believers sit together in heavenly places in Jesus (2:6)
- Eternal kindness (2:7)
- Know God’s good plan (2:10)
- Our works prepared by God (2:10)
- Jesus is our peace (2:14)
- Believers united (1:11-18; 3:6)
- Peace with believers (1:11-18; 3:6; 4:4-6)
- Citizens of heaven (2:19)
- Members of God’s household (2:19)
- Built on apostles’ & prophets’ foundation (2:20)
- Access to God through Jesus (3:12)
- Gifts given for body (4:7-16)
- Jesus loves us & sacrificed Himself for us (5:2)
- Armor of God (6:10-20)
Responsibilities
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
Christians are so very blessed by God, and from those who have received much, much is required.
The Bible tells us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance and that as we abide in Jesus, just like the branches receive their water and nourishment from the roots and grapevine and produce grapes, Christians produce good works, John 15:5. Fruit is the result of abiding in Jesus.
Good works are the fruit of the blessings of God. He equipped us to accomplish these good works. They are our responsibility to walk out. In Ephesians, I found 25 responsibilities.
- Walk worthy (4:3-6)
- Walk in unity (4:1-6)
- Use gifts for believers’ benefit (4:7-13)
- Grow & mature (4:14-15)
- Put away sinful ways (4:17-24; 25-31)
- Speak honestly & purely (4:25,29)
- Obey the Spirit (4:30)
- Put off the old man (4:22)
- Be renewed (4:23)
- Put on the new man (4:24)
- Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit (4:30)
- Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving (4:32)
- Imitate God (5:1)
- Walk in love (5:2)
- Walk in light (5:8)
- Learn God’s will (5:10, 17)
- Walk in wisdom (5:15)
- Redeem the time (5:16)
- Praise God & give thanks (5:18-20)
- Submit to one another (5:21)
- Honor God in marriage (5:22-33)
- Honor God in families (6:1-4)
- Honor God in workplace (6:5-9)
- Stand strong (6:10-18)
- Put on whole armor of God (6:13-18)
Meditation
Blessings and responsibilities. They go together.
Perhaps you have been blessed with a child. When that child was placed in your arms for the first time, remember the overwhelming sense of responsibility? You were deeply thrilled to give life to this child, but when it became a reality, you understood that you were responsible for feeding the child, bringing the child up in the way he or she should go, and ensuring that the child thrived.
The Bible describes God’s followers as His workmanship. “Workmanship” can be translated as God’s poem. God smiles when He sees His poem or hears His poem spoken. God’s workmanship has been prepared to perform good works. These good works were prepared for His own to accomplish from before the foundation of the world.
All we have to do is start walking out those good works. We’ve been equipped for them.
Just like God told Moses to have the priests step into the water first before the waters parted and the Israelites walked across the Red Sea and the Jordan, we must first step out in faith, and God will accomplish His good works in us.
My prayer
Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your great and precious promises, Your blessings, and the good works that You have equipped us to accomplish. You are God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. You have created every small detail of our lives, and they are good. Increase our faith in You, O Lord. Empower us to be strong and of great courage as we step out in faith. Prompt us to recount the many blessings that You have poured out abundantly upon us. We praise You, Father, and bow down before You in worship.
For Your Comments
If we were to meditate on these blessings and responsibilities in light of Galatians 5:22-25 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, how might we step out?
Please start a discussion in the Comment Section of this post.
Related links
Spurgeon’s Sermon: Blessing for Blessing
Please Share Your Ideas