Types of Blessings
From the Pastor’s heart
Gen 22:16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: Gen 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; Gen 22:18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
The blessings of Abraham exceeded everyone else’s blessings because he was to become the father of faith. He was chosen of God and blessed of God to become the avenue of blessings to the nations. The blessings extended to all who would become his children and even to those who were not because in him would all the nations of the world be blessed. The concept of blessing in the Church has in recent times been reduced to financial and material well being. This has come about through doctrines that do not cover the full extent of the true meaning of blessings and even how they come or why they come. The source of blessing is more important than the blessing because, without the source there are no blessings. In this world, all of mankind is blessed by God to receive the air they breathe and the fruit of their labour. So, in that, we see God does not withhold blessings from anyone but reserves the best for His children. Furthermore, anyone who is unsaved gets blessed when they bless God’s people even if they remain unsaved. Mar_9:41For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. Cornelius is a great example of this in Acts Chapter 10.
To understand true biblical blessings we must look at God’s intentions
in blessing mankind. The blessings of God cover a wide range of things that allow all of us to become blessed in the things of God. To understand what we can be blessed in and how we can be blessed, we must first explore and understand the forms of blessing that are available to us.
I have identified four types of blessings that I would like to write about briefly. It is my hope that we can explore them further by doing our own studies on them. The four types of blessings are:
1. Spiritual Blessings
Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
2. Material and financial blessings
2Ch 1:12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like
3. Undeserved blessings –
Rom_5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
4. Unsolicited blessings
2Sa 6:11And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household
We can glean from these concepts about blessings that God has different types of blessings which come to us in different ways. They were all designed by God to bless all mankind through Abraham and ministered through Jesus with common blessings and God’s children with superior blessings. In that, God also designed that the wealth of the wicked will become the wealth of the righteous. Abraham was blessed with favour and material blessings by heathen kings because of this intention of God. Even the land that Abraham possessed was taken from the heathen and given as an inheritance to the seed of Abraham.
When we seek blessing from God, we have to understand that all blessings originated in Abraham for future generations and concluded in Jesus the Christ. From the advent of Jesus, the form of blessings have taken a new twist which have now been placed in Him in heavenly places. Furthermore, all blessings are prophetic. All past, present and future blessings and anything to do with things on earth or in heaven are immersed in Jesus and the source now is Jesus. Eph.1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: Col_1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
From these two verses, we can see the purposes of God in blessing His creation. In the first instance, it is for His own self. Does that make God selfish? I do not think so. It makes Him God. If it is not for Him who is it for then? A human creator of things always expresses himself in his creation and for the good pleasure it brings him while becoming the first recipient. Likewise, God as the Creator, creates for His own self and then blesses what He creates for His own benefit and then for the benefit of others. That is why we bless God. Psa_103:22Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul. When God’s creation blesses Him, God blesses His children even more. That is why giving of self in everyway and giving of our worldly goods to Him brings blessings. It is a delight to Him to see that His creation blesses Him willingly in recognition that God is God and that they are His creation. Even the heathen have worshipped and blessed God unwittingly because they recognize His deity, even if they do not understand specifically who He is. Act 17:23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
It is my understanding that through certain preachers, the blessing message has been reduced to mean financial and material blessings. God on the other hand has asked us to seek spiritual blessings which no man can rob from us. Mat 6:19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Mat 6:20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Spiritual blessings are the true blessings we need to seek. They involve the pursuit of Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge to mention just a few.
God has divided blessings into natural and spiritual blessings. Often time, we mistake them to be one and the same. The Jews ate manna from heaven in the wilderness and died. Jesus told them that they had not received the true manna from heaven because Moses had only obtained for them natural blessings from heaven. Even though natural blessings come from heaven, they do not give spiritual life or blessings. God instituted the following verse in the Bible to cause us to understand the power of His word in blessing so that we could employ it in everyday life. Mat.4:4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
I have found in my own journey of life that blessings come in both a spiritual and natural sense from understanding this verse. It instructs me to live by the words of God that proceed from His mouth. This requires listening to God and hearing what He has to say and then doing what He says to do. This is what made Jesus successful on this earth. Jesus said He never did anything that He did not see or hear the Father do or say. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (spiritual) then all other things are added (natural). I have experienced revelation about natural blessings that have given me such a sense of God’s provision in my life that it is hard to explain to the natural man some of these things. To have lived by faith for 16 years out of a suitcase and depending only on God for my daily well being is not natural. No man can accept that in the natural and at the same time say that God has blessed him unless he first understands spiritual principles concerning blessings. It is suicide to step out in any direction of life without the word of God to guide us.
The first principle of blessings come from the words of God that proceed from His mouth. That means; every word sent out by God is a blessing to those whom He sends it to. It divides and separates like a two edged sword to search our hearts and defeat our enemies. When God blessed Abraham, God blessed him so that he would possess the gate of his enemies. That means, the devil, evil, sickness, poverty, unsoundness of mind, darkness and any other thing that exalts itself against the most high. That word to Abraham blessed him so much that wherever he went he received blessings on earth and all who came against him were destroyed or reprimanded.
I hope that this simple teaching will cause you to seek more understanding from God about true blessings and the principles that govern them so that you too could receive them as He intended them for you.
Lots of love
Pastor Noble