November 8, 2013 by Erin

He Speaks a Good Word

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places …. (Ephesians 1:3, ESV)

I grew up in church. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard the word “blessing” … I’d have a lot of nickels. We toss this word around a lot—we ask God to bless people, we call our material possessions blessings, and when someone asks us how we are, what’s the best, Christian answer? “I’m blessed,” of course. If I’m honest, it’s one of those words I roll my eyes at: one of those words that sounds cliche, sanitized, shallow, and churchy to me.

But there’s nothing shallow about the first chapter of Ephesians, and we miss something vital if we read over the words “blessed” and “blessing” as cliches. It’s actually a wonderful word, both simpler and more profound than I would’ve guessed.

I’m not a Greek scholar, but I did learn that when Ephesians 1:3 says God “blessed” us, the word in Greek is eulogeo. It’s a compound word that basically means to speak well of, or to speak good to.

Think about that: our God speaks good to us, and he gives us good things—in fact, every good thing. As we like to say around my office, Pro Nobis, God is for us. It seems simple perhaps, but how many people serve a god who demands, who curses, who speaks only condemnation? And we who know the good God, how often do we act as if he really is?

As simple as it is, knowing that God speaks for our good can completely change the way we view him. He is for us. He does not sit on a throne and pronounce condemnation; he chases us with goodness and mercy. He speaks a good word. He blesses us. I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to stop rolling my eyes and shout Hallelujah.

#Ephesians