The blessings and promises of God can be a touchy subject for some people. There are various ideas regarding God’s blessings ranging from saying they don’t exist at all today, to doctrines saying that God’s blessings are entirely ethereal, or claiming that extreme personal sacrifice and pain is necessary to attain them.
Amid the confusion, it’s easy to become lost and frustrated, and to want to simply give up on the entire topic of blessings. However, God is not the author of confusion, and the scriptures do not leave this topic clouded.
In this series we will be examining the blessings and promises of God available to us through Jesus Christ, how they are give, and how we receive them.
Join me in this introductory segment today, as we explore the foundation of why blessings and promises available to us in Christ.
Understanding Your Blessings
Many Christians have somewhat detached relationship with the blessings of God. They have little promise booklets and blessing pamphlets. They have motivational Bible promise posters and bookmarks with scripture references on them. All of these things are good, and I’m not mocking any of them.
The issue comes when the application stops with the effigy, and I don’t use that word lightly. There comes a point when the blessings and promises of God must become not merely external but internal.
I’ve had those same posters, bookmarks, and booklets. They were interesting to look at, and made me appear pious to any onlookers. But speaking for myself, when it came time to apply them to my life, I found myself wanting. If someone asked me to describe what what my blessings were, I had no answer. If you had asked me what promises I was standing on, I would struggle to give a meaningful reply.
For all the glitz, glitter, and outward adornment of Christian pomp, I had no real idea at all about the blessings and promises which God gave to me; and when the time came when I had obvious need of them, I was bankrupt.
You might ask why it is necessary for us to be aware of what blessings are yours, and I’ve asked the same question. The most direct answer is that while God gives us everything freely in Christ, we need to accept what’s given. And the first step to receiving something is knowing of its existence.
Usually I get notifications on my phone when packages arrive, and then I go to the door, open the door and receive the package. However there have been times, where I never received a notification, and the package was left sitting outside because I didn’t know about it. The promises of God are similar, if we don’t know about them, then we cannot recognize them or receive them into our life.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Is there a place in the scripture where we can find a comprehensive list of blessings? Yes, indeed; though you may be surprised where and how the blessings are listed.
There are two specific places where we can find a list of blessings, one in the Old Covenant and one in the New Covenant. The first list can be found in Deuteronomy chapter 28. The entire chapter contains a list of blessings and curses in the Old Covenant Law.
Now because of time contains, we aren’t going to read the whole chapter, but I would like to highlight some details for us to note. First, notice what is stated in verse 1: what follows is a list of blessings for obedience.
Under the old covenant, full and absolute obedience was required in order to be blessed, otherwise you were cursed. What we see in verse one is that the position precedes the blessing.
In terms of the new covenant, the same thing applies. Absolute obedience is still required; that fact hasn’t changed. What has changed, is the quality of the sacrifice, and the nature of the obedience itself. Romans 8:1-4, which we have thoroughly examined in previous studies, states plainly:
“ 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Take notice of verses 3 and 4, that the Law (that is the old covenant dependent upon your strength, your effort, your ability to perform perfectly, could not accomplish freedom because it was weak through the flesh.
God, sending His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His perfect obedience, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in you. And this leads us back to Deuteronomy 28, because now we understand how our obedience is fulfilled through Christ.
For those of us who are in Christ, what was once a conditional statement under the old covenant becomes a certainty in the new. As 2nd Corinthians 2:10 says, all the promises of God are yes, and amen in Him. And that last point “in Him” is what gives us the foundational certainty.
As you scan through the list of blessings in Deuteronomy chapter 28, you will notice that the list seems to end rather abruptly after verse 14, as we are now presented with a list of curses for disobedience. Such a transition can be jarring and very disconcerting if you are trusting in your own strength, effort, and fleshly obedience.
Yet, the majesty is that in Christ, what was once a fearful and unnerving section scripture such as the list of curses, has now become two sides of the same coin.
I remember when I was in a small group where everyone was talking about what section of scripture they studied that week. One person mentioned the beatitudes, another mentioned the parable of the lost sheep, and when it was my turn, I said “I’ve been meditating on the curses in Deuteronomy 28” and everyone was stunned.
However, today, the curses are no longer a terrifying thing, but they are now a list of things which we have been made free from in Christ. (Galatians 3:13-14)
No Cause for a Curse in Christ
Proverbs 26:2 tells us that a curse without a cause shall not come. Today you are in Christ, you are in union with Him, and just as Jesus can never be cursed again (Numbers 23:8, Romans 8:33), and in Him, neither can you.
Let these truths encourage you today, as you take hold of the marvelous reality of Christ in you and you in Christ.
Join me again next week, as we continue looking at the blessings and promises of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Be blessed.