What is it to bless?

We use the term rather freely, especially in Christian circles. But what does it really mean to bless or to receive a blessing? What really constitutes a blessing? What does the Bible reveal concerning the nature of a blessing?

Here is what Webster’s dictionary says a blessing is: 1. Approval that allows or helps you to do something; 2. Help and approval from God; 3. Something that helps you or brings happiness.

Noah Webster is not the undisputed authority in every area of life, but the definitions can perhaps help us to understand the nature of blessing. A blessing is something positive derived from God that brings happiness and is based on His approval.

The first time that any form of blessing is mentioned is Gen. 12:2 — And I will make of you a great nation, / And I will bless you / And make your name great; / And you shall be a blessing. Jehovah’s promise was that Abraham would both be blessed and would become a blessing to others. According to principle, the first mention of a matter in the Bible sets the precedence for subsequent understanding. With Abraham we see that God is the Blesser and that His distribution of blessing is not always direct. He desired to bless Abraham and to bless others THROUGH Abraham.

From the time of Abraham (roughly 2,000 BC) to the time Jesus Christ came to earth (0 AD), God interacted with mankind according to a certain set of protocols. He would appear to those whom He chose and reveal something concerning Himself, His intention and His desired way of mutual interaction. Man’s actions were to be regulated accordingly and God’s favor in a certain sense was based on man’s cooperation. In that age, God’s blessing on Abraham and his seed came mainly in the form of outward things and matters — safety, rain, crops, children, etc…

When the New Testament came there was a rather dramatic shifting in the nature of God’s dealing with man, particularly with regard to His blessings. Ephesians 1:3 says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Here the totality of blessings with which we have been blessed are ‘spiritual’ and the blessings are found ‘in the heavenlies in Christ.’ The revelation here is colossal. I appreciate a footnote in the Recovery Version of the Bible on this verse. It says -

“All the blessings with which God has blessed us, being spiritual, are related to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is not only the channel but also the reality of God’s blessings. In this verse God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all related to the blessings bestowed on us. God’s blessing us is actually His dispensing Himself into us.”

God’s blessing in this verse is not a matter or thing, but God Himself! His blessing is His Spirit. Galatians 3:14 says In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. In a radical interpretation of scripture, the apostle Paul revealed that the fulfillment of the blessing that inaugurated the race of God’s called people was actually the Spirit Himself. The reality of all blessings is none other than the God who has gone through various necessary processes (incarnation, death and resurrection) to become intimately and intrinsically available for man’s receiving and enjoying.

This makes sense from another angle — that of permanency. In terms of space and time all things are fleeting and passing away. The apostle Paul encouraged his young coworker Timothy to “lay hold of the life that is REALLY life” in 1 Tim 6:19. Only something that is permanent and enduring is real. The real blessing is something that lasts — the everexisting God and His eternal life. I have two children, one two and the other four. They have two sets of doting grandparents and aunts. They receive all kinds of gifts of love that quickly become antiquated. Many of the things we receive with thanksgiving from God’s hands likewise pass out of usefulness before too long. The only gift that has permanant value is the one that is eternal in nature.

As believers in Christ, the real gift with which we have been blessed is God Himself. Just as Abraham was under God’s blessing, we have been privileged to have been brought under God’s favor. Just as Abraham was also made a blessing to all the nations, we have the opportunity to become a blessing. God’s intention is that by dispensing Himself into us we may be filled with Him and His life to be those who can freely bless others.

The conclusion of the book of 2 Corinthians ends with such a blessing — The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14). The blessing the apostle Paul rendered emanated from the constitution of the Triune God within him. What has now become something of a benediction for many a religious ceremony was a genuine overflow of God in Christ as the Spirit for man’s participation and enjoyment.

In the Old Testament, for the most part, God’s blessings were imparted through the priests (2 Chron. 30:27). Generally, they chosen by virtue of lineage. You needed be a descendant of Levi or of Aaron to be able to serve as a priest. There was one exception, a back door to the priesthood. It was available to those who took a particular vow. Through their willing and absolute consecration, they became Nazarites (Numbers 6:1–21) and were qualified to serve Jehovah. The richest of all the blessings in the Old Testament, a real foreshadow of the New Testament reality, came from the Nazarites (Numbers 6:22–27). Their blessing brought God Himself to the recipients.

In a very real sense there is a provision for all of God’s New Testament people to be enlisted as priests. When we open to the Lord, giving ourselves to Him freely and unreservedly for His filling, He begins to constitute us with Himself. God’s dispensing of Himself into us as vessels is His blessing us with a view of His blessing others through us.