I have been praying and pondering what God wants me to write about this summer. What has come to mind over and over is that He is telling me I’m not done with Ephesians. The book of Ephesians was the foundation of my Lenten journey this year. I worked my way through the entire book in the 6 week of Lent. It was a rich time in Word of God, and I was mightily blessed. How He is leading me to write on these subjects again is to start with the lessons and truths revealed in Ephesians and search scripture for other passages that confirm the same or very similar truths. I will not attempt to do all of the truths He revealed during our Lenten journey but as many as I can. I am looking forward to a rich time in God’s Word these summer months.
Ephesians 1:3 “ 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,” The truth is: God blesses us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.
What kind of spiritual blessings does scripture tell us we have in heaven and some that start right here on earth- here are a few I found. (Believe me the Word is filled with references to heaven and these are but a few of the blessings.)
David wrote of the physical blessings of the heavens that we have shown to us through creation itself. Psalm 8:3-9 (a foretaste of the glories of heaven)
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We can see and know God’s handiwork even before we get to heaven. The heavens also declare God’s righteousness, faithfulness and justice.
Psalm 36:5 “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”
Psalm 50:6 “The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!
Jesus said that repentance and persecution bring blessings in heaven. Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
John 6 passages promise eternal life from, Jesus, the bread of heaven. John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
2 Corinthians 5:1-2 talks about our new heavenly home, body, made by God, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,”
In heaven, all things will be united and we will have a place at his right hand, (a place of honor) Ephesians 1:10 and 20 “as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”
Peter describes our inheritance that is safe guarded in heaven, 1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Lastly, Revelation is filled with picture images of the new heaven God will create for our dwelling place for all eternity. Revelation 21:1-2 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The greatest blessing of heaven, now and in the future, is that Christ died for you and me so we can experience these spiritual blessings. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 6:22-23 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I pray you have the blessing of knowing Christ and are looking forward to these eternal blessings that await us in heaven. May you marvel at the beauty of heaven to come, the safety, completeness and glory we will see there. Be encouraged today as you meditate on these passages. This is our inheritance and a place all believers can look forward to in their future. Praise God!
Linda
Fearless Living 