In review of John 1:16 it says, “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another” (GNT).
Today’s verse comes from John 1:16-18. In it John tells me that from God's abundance I have received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to me.
With Jesus, I can see Him as 1). The perfect teacher. In His life I see how God thinks and therefore how I too should think. 2). The perfect example as a model of what I am to become. He shows me how to live and give me the power to live that way. 3). The perfect sacrifice. Jesus came as a sacrifice for all sins (including mine), and his death satisfied God's requirement for the removal of sin.
In Jesus, God became man. He was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. It would be an error on my part to minimize his humanity or to minimize his divinity. Jesus is both God and man.
Law and grace (the combination of God's "unfailing love and faithfulness") are both aspects of God's nature that he uses in dealing with me. Moses emphasized God's law and justice, while Jesus Christ came to highlight God's mercy, love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. Moses could only be the giver of the law, while Christ came to fulfill the law. The nature and will of God were revealed in the law; now the nature and will of God are revealed in Jesus Christ. Rather than coming through cold stone tablets, God's revelation now comes through a person's life. As I get to know Christ better, my understanding of God will increase.
God communicated through various people in the Old Testament, usually prophets who were told to give specific messages. But no one ever saw God. Jesus is both God and the Father's unique Son. In Christ, God revealed his nature and essence in a way that could be seen and touched. In Christ, God became a man who lived on earth.
I hear the phrase “God bless you” on a regular basis. But what is a blessing? It actually means “good word.” Don’t ever doubt this. God has some really good words for me.
This morning I am reminded of six truths related to God’s blessing.
. God blesses me even though I don’t deserve it. The Bible tells us, “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another” (John 1:16 GNT).
. God blesses me because he enjoys doing it. Any parent can understand this. We love to bless our children. So does God. God says in Jeremiah 32:41: “I will enjoy blessing them” (GW).
. God promises he will bless my life if I obey him. God’s promises and his blessings are not automatic. They are conditional. I’m not waiting on God to bless me. He is waiting for me to fulfill the conditions necessary for my blessing.
. God blesses me as a witness to others. God wants to show off his blessing so that others can see what a good God he is.
. God blesses me to bless others. God doesn’t bless me so I can just store up his blessings and keep them all to myself. God blesses me so I can bless others.
. God’s blessing can be multigenerational. God does this over and over throughout the Bible. For example, the Bible says in Genesis 25:11, “After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac” (NIV).
I should never forget that God wants to bless me. That I’m not waiting for him. He’s waiting for me!
Bottom Line:
We have been given blessings after blessings, because of who the Son is.
What this means to me:
Out of the fullness of God's grace, he has blessed me, giving me one blessing after another.
In summary, it is from God's abundance that I receive one gracious blessing after another. God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus. Jesus is himself God and he reveals who God is to me. Jesus is the perfect teacher, the perfect example and the perfect sacrifice. Law and grace are both aspects of God's nature. He uses these in dealing with me. While Moses emphasized the law, Jesus came to highlight God's mercy, love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. As I get to know Christ better, my understanding of God increases. Blessings are actually "good words". There are six truths related to God's blessings for me. 1) God blesses me even though I don't deserve it, 2) He blesses me because he enjoys doing it, 3) He promises to bless me if I obey him, 4) God blesses me as a witness to others, 5) God blesses me to bless others, and 6) God's blessings can be multigenerational. God wants to bless me. I'm not waiting on him for this, rather He's waiting on me.
Father I thank you for the reminder of your blessings and the ways I can see you through Jesus’ life. Your blessings come as I fulfill the things you have told me to do. Seems my life is filled with an intake of problems and distribution of resources to fix them. I rarely get an opportunity to just spend time with people to listen to them and to help them grow. I pray this morning Father for the ability to help clarify my organizational changes I want to make and to fulfill that which is needed to complete any commitments and solve any immediate problems. I ask again for your wisdom and guidance in my leadership and interactions with others. These things I ask in your Son Jesus name, amen!
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