By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

Ephesians 1:3-4 “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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

Romans 8:16-17 reminds us that believers are God’s children. Consequently, as children, they become heirs of God and share in the inheritance alongside Christ. This joint heirship is contingent on their willingness to endure challenges with Christ, leading to shared glory.

Rom 8:16-17 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

What is the essence of Christianity? Is it merely a label associated with attending church services? It extends far beyond that. Christianity revolves around embracing and embodying a new life – the life of God. Through the process of being born again, we receive the divine nature of God, undergoing a transformation from ordinary individuals to distinctive beings who bear the glory of God. Our former sinful existence is severed and crucified with Christ on the Cross. In essence, we experience a profound shift in our nature, transitioning from a sinful state to a righteous and holy one.

Eph 4:24 “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

As Christ lives through us, our lives start to manifest His presence within us. We, as sons of God, are born of God. Additionally, we have been liberated from the curses of the law and now enjoy the blessings of Abraham. We are no longer subject to any curse and are immune to being cursed.

Gal 3:13-14 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

Every believer is bestowed with the same blessings that Abraham experienced. The curse of the law, outlined in Deuteronomy 28:15 to 68, encompasses three significant curses: poverty, spiritual death (separation from God), and sickness leading to physical death. However, Christ’s redemption has liberated us from all these curses, as He took on the curse for us. We now enjoy the identical blessings that Abraham had, beginning with the first blessing of righteousness through faith.

Gal 3:6-9 “In the same way, Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.”

The gift of righteousness stands out as one of the most significant blessings bestowed by God in Christ. David emphasized the tremendous benefits of this gift of righteousness, which we now possess in Christ. The blessing of righteousness is a gift from God, bestowed solely because of our faith in Christ. In Romans 5:17, we find the remarkable benefits of this gift of acceptance by God, where we are empowered to reign over sin and death. The New Living Translation says “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.”

It’s crucial to believe in this gift through faith in Christ rather than attempting to earn it. The devil often exploits this vulnerability, accusing well-meaning Christians and convincing them of unworthiness and unrighteousness. Falling for these lies results in the erosion of faith, leading to defeat in various aspects of life. Confidence in Christ dwindles, battles are lost, and confusion sets in.

Believers have also been redeemed from the curse of sickness and find healing in Christ Jesus.
Isa 53:4-6 “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains — he hath carried them, And we — we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted.5 And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.6 All of us like sheep have wandered, Each to his own way we have turned, And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, The punishment of us all.”

God placed upon the Lord Jesus the punishment meant for all of us. The curse of sickness was imposed on Him when He took on sickness on our behalf, resulting in our wholeness. Similar to the gift of righteousness, this is solely due to our faith in Christ Jesus.
We are also blessed with material prosperity. In Genesis 13, when Abram and his family left Egypt, they possessed great wealth in cattle, silver, and gold (Genesis 13:1-2). Also, in Genesis 26, Isaac experienced tremendous blessings in his agricultural endeavors, accumulating abundant possessions of flocks, herds, and servants, prompting envy from the Philistines (Genesis 26:12-14).

We have been endowed with the Spirit of love, power, and sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7, reminds us of this. God has not granted us a spirit characterized by timidity, cowardice, craven fear, or fawning fear. Instead, He has bestowed upon us a spirit characterized by power, love, and a calm, well-balanced mind, along with discipline and self-control.

2 Tim 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

We now have access to God through our faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5 verses 1-2 says that through justification by faith, we attain peace with God, gaining access by faith into His grace. This access becomes a foundation for standing firm and rejoicing in the hope of God’s glory.

Hebrews 10:19-22 confirms this truth. Thanks to the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we can confidently enter the Most Holy Place. Jesus’ death has opened a new and life-giving pathway, enabling us to approach God directly. With Jesus as our High Priest, we are encouraged to enter God’s presence with sincere and trusting hearts, as Christ’s cleansing blood has purified our guilty consciences, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

The Holy Spirit serves as the revealer of all our blessings. According to 1 Corinthians 2:12, we have received the Spirit of God, not the spirit of the world, so that we may understand the abundant gifts freely given to us by God. These blessings, however, can only be experienced when we acknowledge them through faith and actively appropriate them in our lives.

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor of Fountain of The Living Word Church in East Orange, New Jersey.