With Every Spiritual Blessing (Part 2)
This is further underscored by the word "Every". Every speaks to two specific ideas. First, all that we have, that is of value spiritually, we have because of Christ. Every single individual blessed thing that we possess traces itself back to the grace of God shown through the Lord Jesus Christ. The world is a harsh place, intentionally so. God intended that one of the results of sin would be that life in the world would not be the pleasure that it was in the garden before the fall. Adam and Eve enjoyed all wonderful life in the midst of great provision by and communion with their God. Their existence was defined by joy, peace, and love. All of that was forfeit because of sin. The curse of God on Adam and Eve injected pain, sorrow, discomfort and turmoil, and alienation in place of their prior blessedness. Paul tells us that these terrible consequences of sin are remedied by the tremendous blessings in Christ Jesus. It is not so much that we completely escape the burden of living in a sinful world, we certainly still live here and experience many of its pains and torments. Rather, because of Christ, and it’ll limited fashion, we can experience the great joy, peace, and communion with the Father that man was intended to enjoy. Everything that is a real joy and that is truly meaningful in life comes from God. Perhaps James said it best in James chapter 2; " every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...". With that Paul would certainly agree.
Secondly, the word "every" implies that the blessings that God gives us in Christ are comprehensive. Not only has God blessed us abundantly in Christ, giving us immense blessing and privilege, but that which he has given us thoroughly prepares us for all that he desires us to do . The apostle Peter tells us, in the book of Second Peter chapter 1 verse 3, that God’s "...divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...". He has given us "all things" that are needful! The power of our Lord Jesus Christ, exercised on our behalf, is all that we need to achieve all matters having to do with living, and serving God.
As we have seen, this provision is past. That is, it is a provision that has already been made and given to us. This does not mean that is perfectly operative in our lives automatically. This is certainly not the case! It is a provision that, by and large, must be wielded by the individual believer. What it is important to remember here are is that it is not a provision that we must seek, find, pray for, or beg God for. It has already been provided for us in our salvation. We have but to learn to take advantage and use that which God has given to us already!
There is no area of living or godliness which this provision does not touch. Sadly today, most people, even most Christians, are willing to look almost anywhere other than the Scripture for solutions to their problems. Many Christians live lives very much less than what God would intend for them because they look elsewhere, in places other than the Scripture where he has provided for them to try and figure out how they should solve their problems. Tragically, there are many Christian leaders who, either in ignorance or as false teachers, point to pop psychology and sociology, or to self-help and modern science, or even to subtle forms of pagan mysticism and the occult for solutions.
This is not needful! God has provided, in Christ, every spiritual blessing for us. We already have all that pertains to life and godliness. Nothing more is necessary. Now this is not to say that certain problems, either mental or emotional, cannot arise and need to help of someone who is trained and experienced in dealing with that type of issue. That is not really the question. The question is, in what "realm" should that training be? It is true that that training must include a solid understanding of how the mind in the emotions work and how they are affected by the matters of life. However, such knowledge must be augmented by a good understanding of what the Scripture tells us of the solutions for those problems. God has provided, in his Word, every spiritual blessing.