#Blessed It's a social media tag for when someone feels blessed and who has or is getting everything they dreamed of getting. It can range from getting a new girlfriend, a new job, a pay raise, finding a $10 bill on the sidewalk, or getting surprisingly good news. But what does it mean to truly be blessed according to scripture?

That's a very different discussion, one initiated by a discerning listener to the podcast named Jordan. He writes this, "Hello Pastor John. Of late, I have been having discussions with my friends around what it means to be blessed. The term 'blessed' is thrown around in our culture today, and it's all over our Bibles too.

To me, it seems like the way God uses 'blessed' or 'blessings' in the Bible is very different from how it's used now. I see the term 'blessed' associated with material possessions or family or health. These can be all good things, but I think you could also argue that if these blessings lead us further away from God, they are not true blessings at all." On the other hand, Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Matthew 5:3.

And he said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." Matthew 5:10. And he said, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." Matthew 5:11. Rarely, if ever, do I see people posting about how blessed they are as poor in spirit or persecuted, like we read about in the Beatitudes.

With that in mind, what is a biblical definition of what it means to be truly blessed? Jordan puts his finger on the nub of the issue, I think, by referring to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. I'm going to circle back and probably end there and affirm what he sees and show why it is such a great answer to his own question.

But first, let me lay down a principle that has helped me grasp why there is such a preponderance of earthly blessings promised in the Old Testament, like the inheritance of land, Psalm 37, 22, deliverance from our enemies, Psalm 41, 1, fruitfulness in our families and our fields, Genesis 17, 20, 48, 4.

While in the New Testament, there are very few earthly blessings promised, but rather afflictions are promised with the material physical blessings largely postponed until the resurrection. So here's the principle. In God's wisdom, the Jewish religion of the Old Testament was largely a common sea religion. Israel was the showcase of God's blessings among the nation.

So for example, in 1 Kings 10, it says, "When the queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, the attendance of his servants and their clothing and his cupbearers and his burnt offerings that he offered the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her." I call that the showcasing of the blessing of God on the people of God in the Old Testament.

There's nothing like that in the New Testament. In God's wisdom, the church of Jesus Christ is not an ethnic or geographical or political or national entity. It cuts across all ethnicities, all geographies, all politics, nationalities. There is no geographic center for Christianity. There's no great temple like Edifice in Christianity.

There are no places to do pilgrimages in Christianity. There are no priests or saints through whom we have to go to God, but only Jesus Christ. And instead of telling the world to come to us, "Come see how I bless my people." God never says that. He says, "Go, go to the world.

And if it costs you your life, lay it down." But he says very plainly, "Whoever would be my disciple must renounce everything that he has," Luke 14, 33, "put it at the disposal of me and my mission." That's the kind of radical life we're called to live in the New Testament.

So there's the principle. And the failure to recognize this distinction between God's plan for Israel in the Old Testament and God's plan for the church in the New Testament has caused a lot of people to put way too much emphasis on earthly blessings today. And I think one of the most illumining texts about how we are blessed as Christians, which we are, I would say infinitely blessed, is 1 Corinthians 3, 21 to 23.

It goes like this. "So let no one boast in men, for all things are yours." Let that sink in. Oh, glory. All things are yours. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours. And you are Christ's.

And Christ is God's. What a verse. I love it. It's amazing. It is. To belong to Christ is to belong to God as our Father and to be heirs of all that God owns, that is, everything. Paul says, "The world is yours. All things are yours." Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the world." You cannot be richer than a Christian is rich.

Put all the billionaires together. I should have taken the time to find out their names. You could name them. Put all the billionaires in a sack, right? And they are paupers. I mean, poverty-stricken paupers compared to the lowliest Christian. But notice that in the list of things that belong to us is death.

It's in the list. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death. Death is yours. This means that you do not get all your blessings in this life, but that death itself belongs to you as a gift, as a doorway to infinite, eternal, immeasurable blessing.

Death becomes your servant because of Christ's triumph over death. The Apostle John heard a voice from heaven saying, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Revelation 14, 13. Why is that? Paul answers in Ephesians 1, 3, "God has blessed us in Christ with every blessing that heaven can conceive, for the eternal happiness of God's people will be ours." But Jesus taught us explicitly not to expect them now.

For example, in Luke 14, 13, he said, "When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you." I love Jesus' logic. You will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

That's the orientation of Jesus Christ, the King. That's the New Testament pattern. Eternal generosity and service now, spectacular blessing later at the resurrection. Or here's the way James puts it, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." James 1, 12.

First the trial, then the blessing. The crown. So let's circle back now to Jordan's reference to the Beatitudes. I think the Beatitudes, taken together, provide a beautiful summary of the blessings promised to the followers of Christ. Six immeasurable blessings are sandwiched between the summary promise, "Yours is the kingdom of heaven," verse 3, verse 10, "Yours is the kingdom of heaven." So these six blessings summarize what it means to live forever under the kingdom, the heavenly rule of God.

Number one, we will see God, verse 8. They shall see God. The pure shall see God. Number two, we will be shown mercy. They shall receive mercy, verse 7. Number three, we will be part of God's family, verse 9. They shall be called the sons of God. Number four, we will experience God's comfort, verse 4.

They shall be comforted. Number five, we will be co-owners of the whole world, verse 5. They shall inherit the earth. Number six, we will be satisfied with personal and universal righteousness, verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. So in summary, the presence of God seen and enjoyed in the face of Christ, covering us with mercy because of all our sins, calling us his children, comforting us for all pain and loss in this world, bequeathing to us the universe for a familiar homeland, and everything set right in our souls and in the social order of the new world.

This is our great reward. This is what it means to be truly blessed. Wonderful, eternal perspective that encompasses the coming new creation. Thank you, Pastor John, and thanks for joining us today. You can ask a question of your own, like the great question today, or search our growing archive or subscribe to the podcast.

You can do all that at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn. How do we discern false teachers? It's a hot topic in the inbox. It's always been a hot topic in our inbox, and it's up next time. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you back here on Monday.