“Spiritual Blessings”

Ephesians 1:1-4

1) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

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:

4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

T

hough we have chosen to use the word "spiritual" in conjunction with "blessings," the fact is that blessings are, by nature, "spiritual." Therefore, in order to receive them, we must look to the spiritual God Who grants them. Now, if we neither accept nor understand them as such, they will remain with their Grantor.

Somewhere, we have come to believe that since salvation is a "gift" and it costs nothing to receive, then we "owe" nothing for its "operation" in us. Oh the contrary, in that it cost Jesus His life, its "maintenance" is costly to us, indeed. The only remuneration that even comes close to "repaying" Jesus is the "sacrifice of ourselves."

Rather than the comments we make (concerning current religious practices) being intended to "tear down" what is "right" and "good," our purpose is to expose the great falsehoods in existence, today.

For example, saying the "Sinner's Prayer" is a popular "exercise" in today's Church world. Undoubtedly, millions have recited it, believing themselves "saved," afterward. Well, there have been many things we may have waited to believe of others, and ourselves but wanting something to be true does not make it true. And simply reciting words which impart no power to the reciter, (who, incidentally, must be changed from a fleshly to a spiritual being) costs him nothing.

If one is sincere in his desire to belong to the Lord, work for Him and live for Him, then he will seek to hear Him. Once He is heard, what He says will be accepted the hearer will respond to the truth of the Word and the necessity of "change" will be accepted and embraced.

With so many claiming to know, proclaim, operate and live in the truth, why then, are we falling even farther away from the truth? The answer is rather a simple one, actually: to know truth, which is spiritual, one must be spiritual.

After all these years, we have been led to the "crux" of the matter. Man has attempted to "practice" salvation in his flesh and since "flesh" can never be saved, he has fallen short in his quest. Even those who have bowed to the truth of the baptism and infilling have found themselves lacking.

If one would be spiritual, he will be successful only if under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is possible only as the human will and mind are "hidden" in Christ. You see, once one accepts the water baptism (in the name of Jesus) and the infilling, he is a spiritual being who need never be affected by "things" of the flesh, again. What deters us from our "position" is our "divided attention"—our belief that it is "wrong" to "turn our backs" on our "human-ness."

We believe that we are capable of making "proper decisions even though we are fully aware of our own mistakes caused by our "left of center" thinking. Through this, we have experienced the complicated "human" life and have been made well aware of the depths of our cruelty to others, as well as to ourselves. We also know that we will make endless vows, "resolutions" and promises and spend all kinds of money to be "better"—and that those things lead nowhere. Still, we fail to cleave to Jesus.

It is certain that we cannot exist as a dual-natured being. We are either spiritual or we are not. And like it or not, all beings follow their own "nature." If that nature is fleshly, then the results of all that is done; planted; set in motion—will be fleshly. If that nature is spiritual, the results of that life will be spiritual, likewise.

We should be well aware that Israel was given 10 commandments out of which arose 613 ordinances. We also know that it was made clear to them that if they broke one they had broken them all. So, He being God and knowing what was His point, that before He had finished dictating the commandments, they would be broken? His profound "mission" was to "set them up" so that we could enjoy the privilege of understanding that as long as we are "alive" to our flesh, we will always break God's Law.

Persisting in or insisting upon making our own decisions is one of the surest ways to prolonging our own misery. This is because those who operate in this manner live independently of God and under those circumstances, He is under no obligation to step into and "correct" such a life.

Being an "independent, thinker" also clouds one's perception, for he is soon led to believe that he is responsible for things he is unequipped to handle and that he is capable of that which only God can perform.

We are a comically pitiable people, who know that what has to be done in our lives requires the supernatural, yet believing that we (who as fleshly beings are "natural") can somehow "change" things.

If you are waiting on a blessing, there had better be no confusion (in you) as to from Whom that blessing must come. The children of Israel erred in not obeying the Lord concerning the manna given to them. Evidently, they believed that what He told them not to do He would ignore if they did it. What we must learn

quickly is that what God says, He surely means—be that in our favor or against it.

In some ways, Man has been "conditioned" to believe God for the "insignificant" while attempting to handle the "outsized." Yes, there are people who believe that God will do for them what is "easy," but will not intervene in that which is "threatening." Well, the "news from the Cross" is that He died not only to "quiet" our "insignificant" situations, but our big, "hopeless" situations, as well. n