BLESSINGS AND PROMISES

“Give me a blessing:
for thou hast given me a south land;
give me also springs of water.
And Caleb gave her the upper springs
and the nether springs”
Judges 1:15

It is the Father’s good pleasure to give to those that ask and to give without measure to those who seek out His inheritance. (Ephesians 1:18). Here Caleb’s daughter is asking for her inheritance of the Land of Promise. According to the law only sons had the right to this inheritance. Likewise, under the law, we would all be excluded from any of the inheritance of God. But Christ has come and, even more importantly, IS COME. HIS FATHER is now ours because we have been born into HIM. These promises are ours by relationship not by teaching or declaration.

“For all the promises of God IN him are yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God”
II CORINTHIANS 1:20

The promises of God are fulfilled in HIM and become ours through relationship with HIM who is the HEAD of this body. The LIFE of the Body flows from the HEAD just as the branch lives by drawing the LIFE of the vine. The WISDOM of the Head becomes the wisdom of the body as it listens to HIM through a LIVING relationship. These promises are ours for the Glory of God, not for us to consume for our carnality or selfish purposes. The true blessings of God glorify HIM. His promises are given that we may enjoy the manifold expressions of His life in and through us.

“But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God,
and the wisdom of God”
I CORINTHIANS 1:24

Contained within the calling of God is the promise of HIM to be our Power and our Wisdom. Power to endure, power to remain faithful, power to overcome and to become true, authentic expressions of all that HE IS. Power to reveal strength in our weaknesses, power to love our enemies, power to remain true when all around us is compromise, religion and lies. Power to face the issues of our own hearts knowing that in HIM they are to become “bread for us” (Numbers 14:9). Power to refuse to compromise with the world without and the issues within. Power to BE is greater than the power to DO (Matthew 7:22-23).

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city”
PROVERBS 16:2

It is the Father’s joy to make available to us through HIS SON the power (Grk. Dunamis) to become by Grace what the Son is by Nature. In HIM we have become partakers of this Divine Nature BY the promises of God!

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:
that by these ye might be partakers (participants)
of the divine nature”
II PETER 1:4

These promises are ours that we may become participants (κοινωνός)* of the Divine Nature. It is in giving that we receive and in doing that we become. In the interaction of our lives in HIM we grow and BECOME more like Him. We cannot read the parable of the Vine in John 15 without being struck with the impact of the vital truth of the New Testament; HE came to produce a living body not a collection of doctrinal adherents. He did not come to establish another religion in this dark and lost world. HE CAME to make us the light of the world!

Let us rise up in faith to explore, appropriate and live in the promises of God in Christ. Let us not settle for a nominal “christian” experience. His pleasure is to give, His glory is to watch His children grow into the full stature of the Son by the ministrations of life that HE has so freely given (Ephesians 4:11-16). “Unto the FULL STATURE….” May we lift up our eyes and place our hope and confidence in the God who CANNOT LIE.

“And we desire that every one of you
do show the same diligence
to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
That ye be not slothful,
but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises”
HEBREWS 6:11-12

*G2844. κοινωνός koinōnos; gen. koinōnou, masc.-fem., neut. koinōnon, adj. from koinos (G2839), common. A partaker, partner, companion, used in an absolute sense in 2 Cor. 8:23; Phile. 1:17. Followed by the gen. of person of whom one is the companion, with whom he partakes in something
Complete New Testament Word Study