Oh to be wealthy, good-looking, and healthy! But are these the blessings of God? What God really wants to grant human beings is spiritual blessing. Following are some insights into the true content of blessing—and what we can do with it…
“When the New Testament speaks of blessing, it always has to do with the relationship between God and humankind,” said Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider on 20 October 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. “Above all, God wants to grant us spiritual blessing. It’s all about our soul.”
That is also the point of the Bible text that served as the basis of the divine service: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1: 3–4).
“And then the letter to the Ephesians goes on to list a whole series of blessings,” explained the Chief Apostle.
Divine election
“The first one is something we have just read about, namely our election.” But this must be understood correctly. After all, it is not a question of someone having chosen us and rejected someone else. The only important thing is that the decision is made by God, not by human beings: “God has decided: ‘I love you. I want you to be with me.’” God elects even before a person even exists. This makes it clear that the election is not based on our merits, but is based solely on the love of God.
The revelation of His will
“The second blessing is that we know the will of God.” At times people have a very negative conception of His will, for example, that God wants us to obey, serve, or even suffer. And that we have to bow before the will of God. But in thinking this way, one tends to forget what God actually wants: “He wants me to enter into His kingdom. He has prepared the way. All I have to do is follow this path.” And: “He also wants all human beings to have eternal fellowship with Him.”
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ
“Another blessing that is mentioned here is the fact that Christ has come to this earth and has died for us.” This has a very personal dimension: He had to die for me, for me, my person.” And “that was decided before the foundation of the world, because for God, both the past and the future are present.”
Childhood in God
“We have become children of God and joint heirs with Christ.” With the first, God is telling us: “No matter what you do, no matter how you behave, you are and remain My child.” The second part means: “you can inherit everlasting life, the glory of God.” And neither of these are empty promises: “I give you the guarantee—and this guarantee is the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The power of the Holy Spirit
“The gift of the Holy Spirit is also a power that works within us.” –And incidentally, it is extremely powerful. It precisely this power that made it possible for Christ resurrect from the dead. This power makes the believer capable of walking in the light and in love—in other words, of following the example of Jesus. However, this is not a matter of following certain rules, but rather of renouncing evil and doing good works.
Incorporation into the church
“One last point, and that is the end of the letter: we are part of the church, having been incorporated into the body of Christ.” And this means: “You will receive the word, you will receive the sacraments, you will receive forgiveness for your sins—everything you need in order to become like Jesus. This is not possible outside of the church.” The members of this body of Christ are interconnected. Although they may have different personalities, gifts, responsibilities, and conditions of life, it is still possible for them to become one in Christ.
A double response
Thanking God for His blessings is not limited to singing praises together in the divine service. “We have to go a little further.” On the one hand, we are to reciprocate God’s love and align and arrange our own lives such that it will be possible for us to be with him. And on the other hand, we have to use the power of the Holy Spirit to combat evil and follow Christ, as well as use our own gifts to contribute to the wellbeing of the Church and its members.
