Have you ever seen the hashtag #blessed? People often add it to the end of social media posts. It’s a way of showing gratitude for the good things in life. Where they think such blessings come from is another matter altogether.
The Bible uses the word “blessed” too. It means means to give praise. And when the Bible uses the word “blessed,” it uses it in reference to God. After all, it is God who created and sustains all things. All good things come from his hand alone. That’s why the psalmist wrote, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!” (Psalm 84:4).
For the believer, we are indeed “blessed.” In Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul wrote a list of all the blessings we have as Christians. This list is actually a doxology and in the Greek is written as one very long sentence. In verse 3, Paul uses three forms of the word blessed: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
What are those blessings?
he chose us in Christ (v.4)
to be holy and blameless (v.4)
he predestined us for adoption (v.5)
we have the blessings of his grace (v.6)
we have redemption in Christ (v.7)
we have forgiveness of sins (v.7)
he’s revealed to us the mystery of Christ (v.9)
we have an inheritance (v.11)
we are the praise of his glory (v.12)
we have the gift of the Holy Spirit (v.13)
No wonder Paul wrote this passage as a doxology of praise! What a litany of gifts we’ve received through Christ! Doesn’t make you want to respond in a song of praise of your own?
Not only are we blessed in Christ, we are rich in Christ. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.” In Christ, God pours down his riches of grace upon us. Before he spun this blue marble into space, before the very first sunrise, God chose us to be his children. He sent his son to rescue and redeem us from sin. He gave us his Spirit to live within us. And he’s made us his heirs. We are rich beyond measure through our union with Christ!
As you scroll through social media and see posts tagged with #blessed, you may look at the vacation photos, the newly acquired material possessions, the seemingly happy faces and think that your life is not #blessed in comparison. Open up God’s word and read through Ephesians 1. There you will see, you are indeed #blessed beyond measure. You are blessed with a rich inheritance that will outlast anything on this earth. You are beloved and known by the God of the universe. You are his child, redeemed with a purpose.
So let us do as Paul calls us to do, respond in praise, blessing the One who has #blessed us with all the spiritual blessings in Christ.
