{"id":7537,"date":"2020-11-20T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/?p=7537"},"modified":"2020-11-16T15:40:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T22:40:38","slug":"god-will-bless-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/2020\/11\/god-will-bless-you\/","title":{"rendered":"God will bless you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Will God make you rich? Will he give you long life? Will he make you healthy? If you are rich and healthy, does that mean God favors you? Doesn\u2019t the Old Testament promise prosperity in this world for obedience?<\/p>\n

These questions and many others are tackled in William Osborne\u2019s short book\u00a0Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God<\/em><\/a>. Another excellent entry in the \u201cShort Studies in Biblical Theology<\/a>\u201d series,\u00a0Divine Blessing<\/em> is a careful overview of the concept of \u2018blessing\u2019 in Scripture and how we should think about it today.<\/p>\n

As just one example of the thrust of Osborne\u2019s argument, he (rightly) argues that the promises of the Old Testament are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. Commenting on Galatians 3, Osborne writes:<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Image: Crossway<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs a result of what Jesus has accomplished for his people, both the curses and the blessings we encountered in Israel\u2019s Scriptures find their fulfillment in Christ. The promised \u2018seed\u2019 of Abraham\u2026 now mediates God\u2019s blessing of salvation and life in the Spirit. And like the Sacrifices of old, Jesus\u2019s death is a substitutionary sacrifice whereby he takes the curse from us that we deserve\u2026 As Christians, we cannot reflect on blessings and curses in the Old Testament Scriptures without coming to understand their fulfillment in Christ.\u201d (123)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does this mean for us today? If nothing else, it means we need to recalibrate how we judge blessing. We shouldn\u2019t think in crass material terms. Instead<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the question that contemporary Christians should ask when evaluating whether this thing or that circumstance is God\u2019s blessing should be:\u00a0Does this \u2018blessing\u2019 draw me closer to the triune God? Does this need being met bring me nearer to the giver, or is it a distraction?\u00a0<\/em>No perceived \u2018good gift\u2019 will ever drive you away from the Lord, because in God\u2019s economy that is not good.\u201d (126)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Material blessings are neither always bad nor always good. Instead, they are bad or good depending on how they bring us to greater perceive and worship God in His glory through the atoning work of Christ.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just one small part of a rich and complex view of blessing that is well worth your time.<\/p>\n

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the\u00a0City of Man Podcast<\/a>\u00a0and an Associate Professor of Political Science at\u00a0Southwest Baptist University<\/a>\u00a0in Bolivar, MO<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review of “Divine Blessing and the Fulness of life in the Presence of God” by William R. Osborne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1469,"featured_media":7538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[658],"class_list":["post-7537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-christian","tag-biblical-theology"],"yoast_head":"\nGod will bless you<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Review of "Divine Blessing and the Fulness of life in the Presence of God" by William R. 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