The Blessedness of the Christian
(Rm 4:1-8)
God is the source of blessedness.
He is blessedly happy on His own, and
He makes blessedly happy those who seek to be happy through Him.
Faith is being happy with the blessedness of God, and
The life of faith is about being filled with His blessedness and making others blessedly happy.
Blessedness refers to a state of supreme happiness,
A state of being absolutely satisfied, and
It is human nature to desire such.
As such, the individual, the family, the society and the nation all pursue it.
Though there are moments when men feel happiness,
Because of circumstances or the environment, it does not last forever.
Rather, it is brief because
Adam sinned and he was banished from the Garden as
The blessedness in the Garden was just for a moment(Ge 3:24).
While the Israelites found joy when they miraculously left Egypt(Ex 15:19-21),
As the desert life continued they complained and died(1Co 10:5, 1Co 10:10).
In spite of this, Moses called them blessed(Dt 33:29) for They were a people saved by God and
Received the Law - the commands and the decrees - for their own good(Dt 10:13).
The more they knew the Law,
The more they tried to keep the Law(Rm 7:9), however,
The more hypocritical and fearful, and
Furtherer away from happiness they became.
Nevertheless, the sanctuary where the tablets were placed was
A reminder of the blessedness of God.
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn 2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would give the true blessedness of God to all souls, for
He is the Son of God who was in the bosom of the Father (Jn 1:1, Jn 1:14, Jn 1:18), who
Came to fulfill the Law (Mt 5:17).
Though He was in no circumstance to be happy (Is 53:2),
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn 19:30), expressing His contentment and declaring that He:
- Willingly laid down His life, for the Father knows Him and loves Him, and made the Father blessedly happy (Jn 10:15-17);
- Condemned the origin of sin (1Jn 3:8); and
- Shed His blood and added forgiveness to the Law (Mt 5:17, Mt 20:28), making a way to eternal blessedness for all those who were unhappy because of sin (Jn 14:6; He 10:19).
The Father raised Him and
Jesus sat on the heavenly throne where it is filled with eternal blessedness.
The Holy Spirit came to those who
Come to Jesus to find blessed happiness by receiving His blood, and
He makes them blessedly happy.
The blessedness of the Christian is for the poor in spirit because
They confess having nothing of their own(Mt 5:3):
- Having no value - thus happy with the fact that Christ bought such useless beings at the price of His blood(1Pe 1:18);
- Having no works - thus happy with the fact that God considers them righteous though they had done nothing(Rm 4:6);
- Having no credence - thus happy with the fact that the Lord trusts such unreliable beings(Jn 14:20, Jn 15:15);
- Having no self-confidence - thus happy with the fact that they can pray and He helps them(Jn 14:14); and
- Having no qualification - thus happy with the fact that they are given the lifetime duty to serve the living God(1Co 4:1; He 9:14).
The man of the Spirit is
Absolutely content because of such.
Therefore, he boasts his blessedness and testifies, and
Brings the blessedness of God to those who have given up on blessedness.
O Lord,
Though we found true happiness in Christ,
We still have been resentful, and blaming others and our circumstances for our unhappiness.
We had forgotten the fact that
The true happiness is possessed by those who have nothing of their own.
Lord, I will absolutely be content knowing that You know me and that You love me.
I am blessedly happy! Amen.