Spiritual Blessings In Heavenly Places

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3)

Isn’t this exciting? God has already blessed us. “Who hath” is past tense. We don’t have to wait to die to receive this benefit or for some miraculous event to occur. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have already received these spiritual blessings!

And what exactly is this benefit? It is spiritual blessings. ALL spiritual blessings, not just some. All spiritual blessing in, “heavenly places”, or more accurately put, all spiritual blessing that are of heaven. “Heavenly places” is not a location, but rather a reference to the type of blessings. The phrase “heavenly places” is used three other times in the Bible, all by Paul and all to the Ephesians. (Ephesians 1:20, 2:6, and 3:10). Each time the meaning is the same.

So, God has blessed us, each of us, individually. God didn’t give a blanket blessing to the world in one fell swoop. No, God receives each of His children, His elect, one on one, one at a time, and blesses each as the individual miracle that He has made us to be.

What are these spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ? We know that the fruit of the Spirit include love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23).

But we have to broaden our range of view and increase our field of vision to begin to see and “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” (Ephesians 3:18), the scope of the spiritual blessings that we have already received from Jesus Christ. These blessings include redemption, salvation, grace, mercy, forgiveness, forbearance, the Holy Ghost, and the very word of God itself. That Bible you hold in your hands is nothing but one big spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ!

Spiritual blessing don’t necessarily come in a pleasant hue. Chastisement, judgment, justice and equity are spiritual blessings from God too. Being obedient to these gifts will lead us back home to God.

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11)

God so willed all of these spiritual blessings for His children. They are His gifts to the chosen. These gifts aren’t necessarily meant to make our life more pleasant here on earth. But all of them are designed to get us from this earth and back home to Him, the Father.

Realize that we have all of the blessings now. Realize that all of these blessings are gifts, created by God, made for our benefit. All too often we take certain things for granted, we assume that many things have always been, not realizing that each and everything comes from God, made with a specific purpose.

Bill Hitchcock