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The Light
Dr David Wood
LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS
Spiritual Blessings
Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)
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:
As we continue our
study of the Book of Ephesians I want to make it abundantly clear that the
spiritual blessings that Paul refers to have nothing to do with the hereafter or
as some say the sweet by and by. These blessings have everything to do with the
right now. We are not going to need any blessings in Heaven. The blessing is a
supernatural empowerment in the earth. The blessing is commonly referred to as
the blessing of Abraham.
Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV)
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Now you may ask what
the promise of the Spirit is. First let us look at when the blessing is first
spoken of which is in Genesis.
Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV)
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them.
28
And God
blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
We find here that
the Creator God is creating man in His image and likeness and giving them
dominion or authority in the whole earth. Creator God than blesses or
supernaturally empowers them to carry out His mandate in the earth. Man falls
(sins) and that supernatural empowerment is lost.
Genesis 3:6-7 (KJV)
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Man is fallen, has
no way back to God but God will not leave His creation (sons) in a fallen
state. After a time, God finds a man named Abram (later Abraham) with whom He
can make a covenant. This covenant laid the legal groundwork needed and led
over time to the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV)
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew
thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Abram is the first
Jew, the father of the State of Israel and Paul writes to the Roman Church
(Romans 4:16) telling them that because of his faith, he is the father of us
all. In the third verse of Genesis chapter twelve we see the Savior coming by
way of Abram in the phrase, “in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed.” Remember to be blessed in Scripture is a supernatural empowerment,
for us gentiles; one part of this supernatural empowerment is the ability to
receive salvation.
John 1:12 (KJV)
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Now back to
Ephesians 1:3. Whatever we the Church has or does not have in the earth is
exactly what God has or does not have in the earth. For example look at the
following passage.
Ephesians 3:21 (KJV)
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen.
The him is actually
God the Father; glory can be manifested presence, manifested goodness or as in
this case honor, riches and power. So that verse could read more clarity as
follows; Unto the Father is honor, riches and power in the Church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. So when we the Church have
honor, riches and power in the earth from our position in Christ Jesus than it
is useable by the Father.
So, in verse three,
chapter one of Ephesians we find that God (the Father) is supernaturally
empowered because He empowered us with all spiritual supernatural empowerment in
the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus. In short, we have absolute authority,
dominion over all evil spiritual forces in the heavenlies.
What a deal, give
praise unto God!
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