Every spiritual blessing... Thy kingdom come!

Ephesians 1

 ³ 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, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love ⁵ He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him ¹⁰ with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ¹¹ also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

In todays daily reading from the chronological One Year Bible, Paul begins his letter to the Ephesian church. Ephesians is an important letter for the church today. It emphasizes all the spiritual gifts and callings that God has provided in and for the church. In laying the foundation for the rest of his letter Paul says here that we are "blessed  with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,". We could live the rest of our lives trying to fully understand and obtain that truth.

Over the last couple of days we have looked at what John considered to be some of the evidence or requirment of being in Christ. Basically it is obedience, keeping His commandments and love, both love for God and love for others. John said that the evidence of these two elements in our lives or the lives of others were important in determining whether or not some one or something is in or of Christ. Today Paul begins to tell us what some of the benefits of being in Christ are. He says we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.

This agrees with what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16 about his understanding who Jesus is.

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Every spiritual blessing. Jesus says the gates of Hell will not stand against His church. The gates of Hell are the entry points from the spiritual realm into this earthly realm where all of the evil of Hell gains access. Jesus says those gates will not stand against His church walking in the revelation that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the King of kings. That's the kind of power that we have in every spiritual blessing in Christ.  

Please reread verses 15-22 from Ephesians above.  Paul prays for a spirit of revelation... that we might know the surpassing power of His(God's) greatness toward us who believe.

Paul says we have this spiritual power in heavenly places. Think about it. How many of us know people struggling with the effects of cancer and other diseases here on earth? How many know people who struggle with addiction? Mental disorders? Learning disabilities? The list goes on. But how many of those things exist with God in heaven? The answer is simple, none.

Here is what I know and what I will believe and continue to fully comprehend and obtain the fullness of. Jesus says that we have the authority to bind and loose on earth as it is in heaven. He gave us the keys to the kingdom in the revelation of who He is. I believe that in Christ we have the power and authority to cause the realities of heaven to come to earth. I believe with all that is in me that that is what we experience when we see a miracle. We see the kingdom of God coming to earth. That's one of the spiritual blessings we possess in Christ.

What I don't understand and can't explain to you is why we see it so seldom. Jesus has all authority. He has given us the keys to the kingdom. The gates of Hell will not stand against His church, with those keys. Why those keys don't always seem to open heavens door and close the gates of Hell I don't know. But this I do know. It's not because God's word is not true. It's not because Jesus didn't really give us what He said He did. So I will continue to use those keys against the gates of Hell for as long as I live in this earthly realm. I will continue with Paul to ask for  wisdom and revelation that I might know and understand the fullness of His power.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earht as it is in heaven.   Amen