The Blessings of Being a Christian I. Introduction A. What blessings do Christians obtain for serving the Lord Jesus? B. When the question is considered, most would answer in terms of “heaven” 1. Even those not in the faith understand the connection between being a Christian and going to heaven 2. Spoken of frequently in song 3. Pictured in Philippians 1:23-24, Revelation 7:9-17 C. While it may be tempting to think of Christianity only in terms of going to heaven, God provides many more blessings to those who follow Him through His Son! D. What blessings come from being a Christian? II. Blessings Through the Spirit A. God provides many blessings for Christians through the Holy Spirit B. God’s Message (2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Peter 1:20) 1. God has not left us without direction or guidance 2. Through His Spirit God has moved men to speak and write His message to mankind, to Israel and to all men in Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Peter 1:20) 3. By means of God’s Word in Scripture we can be equipped for every good work, know God’s will, and be made wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:14-17) C. The Spirit’s Intercession (Romans 8:26-27) 1. Prayer can be difficult at times; we may not know everything for which we ought to pray 2. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer before the Father with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26-27) D. God provides spiritual strength in our inner man through the Spirit (Ephesians 3:14-16) E. The Spirit’s Presence 1. God has promised, in the Son, to maintain His presence in and among us through His Spirit 2. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized (Acts 2:38-39) 3. The Spirit is said to dwell in us, both individually and collectively (1 Corinthians 3:14-16, 6:19-20) 4. The presence of the Spirit is reckoned as the “down payment” on our salvation, the assurance of the hope of resurrection (Romans 8:9-11, 2 Corinthians 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14) F. In the Spirit we are sanctified to have life and live by the Spirit, manifesting His fruit (Romans 8:1-7, Galatians 5:17-24, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2) G. Praise God for His blessings given through the Spirit! III. Blessings Through the Son A. God has also blessed Christians abundantly, even in this life, through His Son! B. God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)! C. Through the Son God created all things (John 1:1-3) D. God sent the Son to earth and He became Incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:4-18, Matthew 1:18-25) 1. Through Jesus we can see and understand the essential characteristics of God (John 14:6-12, Colossians 2:9) 2. As human Jesus understands and can sympathize with our weaknesses, for He was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, and learned obedience through what He suffered (Hebrews 4:15, 5:7-8) 3. As both God and human Jesus, and Jesus alone, can serve as Mediator between God and us (1 Timothy 2:5) 4. Thanks to Jesus’ life we know we can walk even as He walked (1 John 2:6)! E. The Son died on the cross for our sins according to the will of God (Acts 2:23, Romans 5:6-11) 1. God’s great love is manifest in Jesus’ death for the forgiveness of our sins (1 John 4:7-21) 2. A great blessing it is to have our sins forgiven and to be reconciled with God (Romans 5:6-11)! 3. In so doing Jesus ministers as the ultimate high priest, offering Himself to atone for sin (Hebrews 7:1-9:15) 4. Because of Jesus’ death we have access to the throne of God in prayer and in lives of holiness (Hebrews 10:19-24) 5. God has given us all, whether Jew or Gentile, access to Him through the Son in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-18) F. God raised His Son from the dead in power on the third day, giving all mankind hope of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-58, Philippians 3:21) 1. Jesus overcame death in His resurrection; we thus have the hope that we also will overcome death in Him (Romans 8:17-25) 2. The hope of resurrection can and should sustain us through the trials and difficulties of life (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:20-58) 3. There is more to life than earthly existence; Jesus’ resurrection assures us of these things (cf. Acts 17:30-31)! 4. God has not given up on us or His creation just yet (Romans 8:17-23, Revelation 21:1) G. The Son ascended to the Father, and the Father has given all authority to the Son (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:1-11, 2:36) 1. He remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) 2. Jesus the Son reigns over us as Lord; we have no reason to fear all who are opposed to us, for Jesus will have the victory (Ephesians 6:10-18, Revelation 19:1-21) 3. Jesus is able to intercede on our behalf because He sits at God’s right hand (Romans 8:34) 4. God has given His Son the Kingdom (cf. Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 1:14-20) a. We can thus serve God through the Son in that Kingdom, not only we as individuals, but together as the Body of Christ, the church (Colossians 1:15-20, 1 John 1:3-6) b. We thus have the blessing of the fellow people of God in the Body of Christ to encourage us on the path (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28) H. One day the Son will return to judge the living and the dead (Acts 1:11, 17:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11) 1. God will triumph in the end over all the powers and forces of the universe; justice and peace will be firmly established and accomplished (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 19:1-22:6) 2. We can have peace through Jesus in the Father because of all these things; no matter what may come, Jesus will have the victory! I. Praise God for the Son and all spiritual blessings with which He has blessed us in Him! IV. Blessings From the Father A. Hopefully we have noticed that all blessings discussed so far may come through the Spirit or the Son, but all originate with the Father! 1. The Spirit was sent by the Father in the Son (John 14:26, 15:26, Acts 2:33, Galatians 4:6) 2. Yes, the prophets spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, but it was God who willed it and directed the Spirit to do so (2 Peter 1:20) 3. The Father sent the Son into the world, empowered the Son, willed for the Son to die for our sins, raised the Son on the third day with power, and gave Him all authority (John 17:1-3, Acts 2:23, 10:38, Romans 8:9-11) 4. Thus all blessings we have seen so far have come from the Father through the Son or the Spirit B. The Father has adopted us as His children through the Son in the Spirit (Romans 8:12-17, Ephesians 1:3-6, 1 Timothy 3:15) 1. The Father’s great love toward us is manifest inasmuch as we can be called His children (1 John 3:1-2) 2. The Father gives blessings to His children because they are His; He has given of His Son, and will give us all things in Him; He is for us, and who can be against us?; God loves us, and who can separate us from that love (Romans 8:31-39)? C. May we ever bless and glorify the Father for loving us and seeking relationship with us! V. The Blessing of God A. We have explored the numerous blessings we have received from God 1. The Spirit’s presence, intercession, and revelation 2. Life through the Son: the model of His life, reconciliation and access to God through His death, hope through His resurrection, His protection and participation in His Kingdom through His Lordship, the confidence of His return 3. Connection with the Father: adoption as children, the benefits of relationship and inheritance B. God gives these blessings because He desires to share in relationship with us (John 17:20-23) C. Thus, what is the ultimate blessing God gives? 1. We began our conversation with the one blessing of being a Christian which most know about: heaven 2. But what is the Biblical picture of what we will obtain when it is all said and done? 3. Revelation 21:1-22:5, especially Revelation 21:1-7, 22-23 a. John is given a picture of eternity, after sin and death are no more, after the day of resurrection and judgment (cf. Revelation 20:1-15) b. This picture is described in terms of a “new heavens and earth” and the “bride, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:1-2, 9-10) c. The City is lavishly described in terms of precious jewels, the only way a human can conceive of the great glory which God will give His people, and even then is woefully insufficient (Revelation 21:9-21; cf. Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17) d. John sees the river of the water of life and the tree of life in it, intentionally reminiscent of the Garden of Eden (Revelation 22:1-5; cf. Genesis 2:1-24) e. But the centerpiece of the city is the throne of God and the Lamb, for the dwelling place of God there is with man, and He dwells with them, and they are His people (Revelation 21:3-4, 22-23) f. Thus, in the end, the picture is less about us going to be with God as it is God dwelling with us, being with us for all eternity! D. John is given a vision of the profound truth which we must embrace: in the end, the ultimate blessing we have from God is God Himself, and God wants us above all to want Him! 1. We are given earthly relationships because we are made in God’s image and seek what He is, unity in relationship (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 1:19-21) 2. In those relationships we seek to be wanted for who we are, not what we give or provide! 3. And so it is with God; we must grow and mature to the point where we do not seek what God gives as much as we seek God and to grow in our relationship with Him (John 17:20-23) 4. Eternity is envisioned as being in God’s presence, and that is enough (Revelation 21:3-4); is that enough for us? Do we truly love God, or do we just love what God gives? E. Everything God has ever done for humanity has been with a view to restore and maintain relationships with us; may we seek God and appreciate all the blessings with which He has blessed us in Jesus! F. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? And ye are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19). God has given us blessings through His Spirit. We have the presence of the Spirit, individually and collectively; the Spirit is the down payment of salvation. Through the Spirit God has made known His will and purposes for mankind and has revealed the story of His work with mankind in Scripture. Praise God for His blessings through the Spirit! 2: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). God has given us every spiritual blessing through the Son, Jesus. Jesus became flesh and provided a model for life. Through Jesus’ death we have forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God. We have hope for eternity through Jesus’ resurrection. We live under Jesus’ rule and have the ability to participate in His Kingdom. Praise God for all the blessings He gives through Jesus His Son! 3: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). All blessings which come through the Spirit and the Son originate in the Father. God the Father has blessed us because He loves us and has adopted us as His children through Jesus. May we be ever thankful for our reconciliation to God and our adoption as His children! 4: And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God (Revelation 21:3). God does not give blessings for us just to enjoy His blessings. God’s blessings flow because of our restored relationship with Him. As with us, so with God: He wants us to want Him, not merely what He gives. Eternity is seen as God dwelling with mankind; are we ready to enjoy His presence for all time?