Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, NKJV)
Several important truths are found in today’s text, and they cause us to pause and praise God for His wisdom, love and mercy toward us in Christ. (1) The source of our blessings is God the Father. The One who blesses us with every spiritual blessing is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Man does not bless himself with eternal blessings. The blessings we have in Christ are not given through the Roman Papacy, or a Watchtower Society, or a so-called Latter-day prophet. God the Father is to be praised as the Giver of all our blessings in Christ. (2) Jesus is the Lord and Christ, by whom our redemption is obtained (Eph. 1:7). God has gathered together everything that pertains to our redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:10). (3) The nature of our blessings are spiritual, not of this world. Prosperity theology (the “health and wealth gospel”) perverts the nature of the blessings obtained in Christ. (4) Our fellowship with Christ is “in the heavenly places.” The worldly-minded person does not perceive these great spiritual blessings; they elude his closed heart (1 Cor. 2:14). But, our redemption is very real, reaching into eternity. (5) All spiritual blessings are “in Christ.” Spiritual blessings will never be found in Buddha, Mohammed, human philosophy or reason, or any other source (Acts 4:12). Come to Jesus; He will save you.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2, NKJV)
In what direction have you set your mind? The word of God simplifies our choices. In truth, our mind is either set on heavenly things, or we set our mind on things of this earth. The first is spiritual, fulfilling and eternal. The second is worldly, unsatisfying and temporal. This is not a “one off” setting of the mind. We are to keep on setting our mind on things above. Are you seeking heaven (Col. 3:1)? If so, you cannot attain it by fixing your mind on earthly things. We are so much more than flesh and bones. We have been made in God’s image, with a mind that reasons and operates on free will (not instinct), possessing moral consciousness intellect and emotions. And so, we should fixate our whole being on heaven. For the Christian live for the earth instead of for heaven defies the very reason we have been raised with Christ from spiritual death (Col. 2:12; 3:1).
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1, NKJV)
The sinner is brought to the blood of Christ when he or she is baptized “into His death” (Rom. 6:3). Then, the sinner is raised from the death of sin by the power of God to “walk in newness of life” (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4). In baptism, the sinner is united with Christ in the likeness of His death and raised from spiritual death in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5). Therefore, Paul tells us in today’s verse to desire and reach after heavenly things. Christ is in heaven; where else should we seek to be, but in fellowship with Him? Christ is reigning at the right hand of God; where else should we seek to be, but living under His ruling authority? God has raised us from spiritual death and “made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). We have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Your spiritual resurrection gives your life a new direction. Make upward living your daily passion.
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)
The gospel elevates us from the depths of despair to the joyous heights of salvation in Christ. God’s grace has saved us through faith and raised us from sin’s death to “sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-6). Such fellowship with the Son of God now compels us to live worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27). Conversion demands it. As a Christian, you have chosen to shape and mold yourself according to the gospel in your attitudes and your actions. Devote yourself to growing in the attitudes stated in today’s verse so that you are equipped to guard the unity and peace you have with Christ and the saved.
“And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17)
Sword Tips 