Blessings (Part 8)

Blessings (Part 8)

In the New Testament, there are two primary Greek words translated as “blessing.” 

-Makarios carries the meaning of happiness that I wrote about yesterday. The Beatitudes of Matthew 5 and Luke 6 describe the happy state of those who find their purpose and fulfillment in God. As in the Psalms, the best life is available for those who love and fear God and order their lives according to His Word. 

-Romans 4:6-8 NKJV "...just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."


These verses tie this blessing to those whose sins are forgiven, for they know the relationship to God has been restored. 

The second word, Eulogeo, focuses more on good words or the good report that others give of someone and also describes the blessing that we say over our food according to Matthew 26:26. This word is where we get our English word “eulogy,” in which we speak well of one who has passed away. 

-Ephesians 1:3 blesses God for all the blessings that He gives us in Christ.

-1 Peter 3:9 instructs us to bless those who mistreat us, because we were called to receive a blessing from God.

We see that a blessing is a statement of good will and happiness that is said about another, as well as the condition that fulfills those good words. God's original design in creation was for His creation, including mankind, to experience prosperity, peace, and fulfillment, but that design was ruined when sin entered the world. Statements of blessing are a wish for God to restore His favor on others or a declaration of His inherent goodness. 

The ultimate blessing that God has given is the new life and forgiveness that comes through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. The material blessings we enjoy from day to day are temporary, but the spiritual blessings available to us in Christ encompass time and eternity, as well as material and immaterial things. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 146:5: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God.”