Blessed with Every Blessing

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

What are you yearning for in this life? What occupies your thoughts that gives you no respite? In the letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul reveals to us our spiritual position in Christ and that we have been "blessed with every blessing." It may be difficult at first to understand the extent of this reality and where to begin in order to fully appropriate it. The Pauline text is a litmus test in that it describes in the first three chapters our position in Christ and in the next three how to live the everyday. Within it it outlines three clear positions to take spiritually: sit, walk and endure. Sitting encapsulates the secret of the Christian experience, our position in Christ. Walking expresses the Christian's attitude toward the world around him. Resisting teaches how to defend ourselves from the enemy, our attitude toward the devil.

The Father of glory has shown His power in Christ by raising Him and seating Him at His own right hand (Ephesians 1:20). And being rich in mercy, "he has raised us up with him, and with him made us sit in heaven in Christ Jesus" (2:6). The first blessing we have been granted is to seat "in Christ." Christianity does not begin with something to be done, but something already accomplished. The Father has blessed us in this way, and we do not have to make any effort. Just as we are saved by grace, through faith (2:8), in the same way we can sit at His right hand. What does this mean for us? Walking or standing, the weight of our body rests on our legs, we expend energy, we feel the strain. Sitting, on the other hand, our weight is unloaded on the seat. Spiritually we are relieved of all weight, resting on Christ. He declared, "All is accomplished!" We must understand that He has made us sit. Everything we receive is by His grace "after we have believed" (1:13): He has loved us, He has vivified us, He has raised us up, He has seated us (2:4-6). The secret is in resting in what God has done.

We can begin to walk only after we have rested. Walking means putting into practice what we have acquired in the heavenly position. The word "walk" recurs 8 times, and Paul uses it figuratively to "determine one's behavior." The apostle exhorts us to "walk as saints," considering the sphere of our relationships. What we received in the heavenly places with Christ must be put into practice. If we try to do only what is right, we are really mediocre Christians; we must do more of what is right. The secret lies "in the power that works in us" (3:20). We could represent it as a car driver, who is sitting but running. That is why Paul prays like this: "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that, being rooted and grounded in love, you may understand with all the saints what is the width, length, depth and height, and know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (3:17-19).

What we show outwardly is what God has already worked within us. Many simulate: the life of many Christians is all pretense, they live a spiritual life, speak a spiritual language, adopt spiritual attitudes, and yet what they do, they accomplish by their own efforts. Walking implies the idea of progression, advancement, continuity. "I therefore run but not uncertainly" (1 Corinthians 9:26), "I pursue the course toward the goal to obtain the prize of God's supreme calling in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Sitting and walking do not complete the Christian's experience: one must endure. No Christian can face combat without first learning to sit with Christ and follow him. The vocation of the church struggles with the works of Satan. In verse 11 "resisting against" expresses "holding our positions," that is, our resistance in maintaining the ground that belongs to Him. The Christian has a whole armor at his disposal, where almost all of the weapons described (including the sword) are defensive. We fight to preserve and consolidate the victory already achieved by Him. We do not fight to gain victory; we praise the Lord for the victory already gained.