Skip to main content

The Church is Blessed

The Church is Blessed
Psalm 133:1-3.

[Series on: The Blessed]

Have you ever gone to a place before and thought, gush, that place or people is so full of life–in a good way? That’s how David, the writer of the passage, describes God’s people living in unity—the Church.

Verse 1 says it is good and pleasant, and verse 3b says God blesses it. We see this pattern in the first creation story, where God says that creation is good and then blesses it (Genesis 1:21–22). So, God’s people living in unity here is a creation story—a new creation.

Verses 2–3a show that this new creation is good because of a relationship involving one head—symbolised by Aaron’s head (v2) and a high mountain, Mount Hermon (v3b). This new creation is blessed because of the head above it.

The New Testament tells us that this new creation of God’s people with one head is called the Church (1 Peter 2:10, Ephesians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 12:27). The head is Christ, from whom comes life forevermore (v3).

The church is blessed because it is God’s new creation connected to the source of life—Jesus, who gives all who are connected to Him that oil, that dew, and that life by the Spirit.

While all of God’s creation is blessed with the fingerprints of the Creator God (Psalm 8:3), the Church is uniquely blessed to be called the people of God, blessed with life forevermore because its head and source is Christ.

Reflect & Pray
What are some blessings you enjoy by being part of Christ’s church? How might God’s blessing of life forevermore influence how you live among believers and non-believers?
Thank you, Father, for the eternal life we have in Christ. Amen.

God bless you exceedingly,
Sam.

Popular posts from this blog

Accompanied by unfailing love

Ruth 1:1-22 NIV. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break. Happy New Year! The Book of Ruth has been called the most beautiful short story ever written because of its simple narrative. A narrative that shows how God’s provision for our needs or challenges is often woven into the simple acts of human kindness. Chapter 1 shows the kindness of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to her mother-in-law, Naomi (v8, 16, 22), and we’ll see God at work through that. But first, the passage sets the context by introducing us to Naomi’s loss… Naomi lost her family… When Naomi (which means pleasant) is first introduced, we are told of her loss. A woman in a foreign land who lost her family (v1-5). She feels bitter, empty and afflicted by the Lord (v21). Why so? …Because Naomi knows Israel’s God to be the Almighty—Sovereign. He can bring famine to a disobedient Israel (v1) a...

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22 NIV. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gave His life to save us (John...

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, consider it or accept it. But there...