physical blessings in the bible

#blessed Its a social media tag for when someone feels blessed and who has, or is getting, everything theyve dreamed of getting. The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Gods blessings are based upon His grace and not our works. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? All of us deserve to suffer for our sins. For He knows the secrets of the heart. Jordan puts his finger on the nub of the issue, I think, by referring to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Perhaps the most puzzling passage in the Old Testament concerning Gods blessings comes from the Book of Proverbs: It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it (Proverbs 10:22). In Christ, we receive every blessing because He is worthy (see Ephesians 1; Revelation 5:9-14). Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. You do not have to fear the future when God's hand is over your life. Transcript Craig Scott Pastor, United Church of God Your blessings in eternity will not. Such suffering serves as a test of our faith and obedience as we see from Jobs experiences.99 Precisely at times like these, Gods people find their perspectives changing and discover Gods presence as their true source of blessing: Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! Paul says, The world is yours. Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. A review of Jesus teaching about the kingdom of God and about the blessings of God explains why His teaching was found unacceptable by the Jews. All day long my dishonor is before me, And my humiliation has overwhelmed me, Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger. May it not be said of us that our faith is too small, or to help us to look to You, to see in You, Your infinite power. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it (Jeremiah 18:7-10). The point I wish to underscore here are the two very different categories of saints. Gods promise to Abraham was not merely the promise of a son. For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth. Gods national blessings and cursings were conditional. K But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:2-5). He suffered because of his impatience in acquiring a son through Hagar. The pure shall see God. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Now thats a different discussion, one initiated by a discerning listener to the podcast named Jordan. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. The blessings of God are not inconsistent with suffering. Divine blessing in the Bible is always physical and spiritual because it is fixed upon the reality of the fullness of life in the presence of God. He helps them out of their own troubles. Philippians 4:19 trust Jesus. But notice that in the list of things that belong to us is death. Labs While we should not seek suffering in this life, we should expect it, recognizing it as a part of the plan of a loving God who is bringing about our good and His glory. How will Abraham be blessed, and how will he become a blessing to others? We will see God: They shall see God (Matthew 5:8). 1:9,10). Perhaps best of all, our suffering for Christs sake deepens our love for our Lord and our fellowship with Him: More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (3) What is the relationship between blessing, faith, and obedience? Seeking the Gospel in Malachi, the Last Book of the Old Testament. Let's take a close look at blessing from the bible: who blesses who, how we receive blessings, how we give blessings, physical versus spiritual blessings, and finally how the flow of blessing can influence our prayers. The temporal blessings of Judaism were tempting in the light of the affliction they faced as Christians. Eternal blessings are full and complete, the enjoyment of physical and material prosperity, the full manifestation of Gods goodness and glory, and the absence of sin, Satan, death, and the curse. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. It is also only in eternity that the curse of God will be fully poured out on sinners. By paying to God what we owe Him (that is, His tithes), He rewards us with blessings. For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete (Genesis 15:13-16). I see the term blessed associated with material possessions or family or health. PO Box 756 In Gods economy, serving others is a privilege and not a curse. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. And Im going to circle back and probably end there and affirm what he sees and show why it is such a great answer to his own question. When we observe the Lords Supper, we are partaking ofphysical elements, the bread and the cup, which convey aspiritual message (I Cor. We can never, in and of ourselves, be worthy of divine blessings. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (7) The majority of the Jews in Jesus day concluded that Jesus could not be the promised Messiah because He failed to meet their expectations and desires. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, What in the World Is Going On? In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other. Romans 1:12 (NLT), You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Publisher: OpenBible.info. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household. Ezekiel 44:30 (NIV), Give freely without begrudging it, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. John 3:16. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Just a few - of many - New Testament texts make this clear: Mark 1:4-5 And so John the Baptist appeared . God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. Psalm 41:1-2 (NIV), Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. In fact, suffering can be a blessing in the hand of God. If we are a child of God, we know His eternal plan allows only those things into our lives which result in our ultimate and eternal good: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). From later history, we know that because of Josephs ill-treatment by his brothers, he was enslaved in Egypt. The very food we eat everyday would also be classified aphysical blessing. However there are too many repetition eliminate some of the duplication. Pastor Sadler, you referred to our having physical blessings today. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. And He said to me, It is done. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. And is there knowledge with the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). Related Topics: Dispensational / Covenantal Theology, Theology Proper (God), Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. In the Old Testament we find that while the righteous were those who believed Gods promise of blessing, they were also those who suffered innocently.100 David suffered for his sins (Psalm 32), but he also suffered innocently for the Lords sake (see Psalm 22). Thus, his wait would have been more than twenty-five years. In summing up his life before Pharaoh, Jacob gave an account not of unceasing bliss but of much affliction: So Jacob said to Pharaoh, The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning (Genesis 47:9). This false view of blessing justifies ones expectations of no pain and all pleasure in this life. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The reason, we are told, is that God wanted them to enter into blessings with us, at the same time. In the healthiest churches, we find a holy conspiracy between pastors who gladly care for the sheep, and sheep who do what they can so that the pastors might serve joyfully. For example, Genesis 49:1 . Archaeologists Discover 2,000-year-old Gemstone With balm Of Gilead Engraved On It, The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. Proverbs 10:22 (NIV), For those who are always generous and lend freely, their children will be blessed. Psalm 37:26 (NIV), If you return to the Almighty, you will be blessed again. In Genesis 22:16-18, God again blesses Abram, and adds that blessing is due to his obedience to God's commands. It is the blessing which comes from faith in Jesus Christ and not from human effort or achievement. Many were the times in Israels history when God brought calamity upon His people due to their sins, yet the nation Israel never seemed to learn her lesson (see Psalm 78). When we struggle with sin and the flesh (Romans 7), we know it is because we have become a new creation in Christ. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. With that in mind, what is a biblical definition of what it means to be truly blessed?. God clarified the promise of the land in Genesis 15: And God said to Abram, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.