His Blessing ― Life Everlasting

His Blessing ― Life Everlasting
Unser Herr lebt, Issue 41, 2016
Gotthold Beck

“Look how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil on the head, descending to the beard― even to Aaron’s beard― and flowing down to the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on Zion’s mountains. For there the Lord commanded his blessing― life everlasting” (Psalms 133:1-3, International Standard Version).

“Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness” (Psalms 115:1).

Life without the Lord Jesus is valueless and meaningless because the Lord Jesus is the only one who has the power to give us eternal life, true satisfaction and resolve all our problems.

The two passages quoted above, reveal the subject of this article, which is: “The blessing of life everlasting.” “Life everlasting” does not refer to any specific “material,” it is the Lord Jesus Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ clearly testifies, “I am the life” (John 11:25). The Bible also says: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life” (John 3:36). And “Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today―and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8).



Nothing is more important than receiving the blessing of the Lord Jesus who is Himself eternal life. The only thing we truly need is His blessing of life everlasting. It is not until we receive the blessing of our Lord God that our hearts are truly fulfilled, and we begin to live our daily lives in joy and peace with a vibrant hope.

All humans pursue happiness. However, unfortunately, many people believe that they can never achieve true happiness in reality. What is it that can give us true happiness? It can be achieved by obtaining the blessing of everlasting life. In this article, I would like to discuss three ways to reach this blessing of everlasting life.

Firstly, it is to know the true God. Secondly, it is to have true unification with others. Thirdly, it is to seek the glory of the Lord God.

1. To Know the True God.

In order to obtain the blessing of everlasting life, it is necessary for us to know the true God. Who is the true God? David gave a clear answer to this question through Psalm 115. It is written in verse 15 that the true God is “The Lord, who made the heavens and the earth,” and “Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he desires” in verse 3. In simpler words, the true God is “the one who is alive.”

All things that are referred to as gods in this world are the products of the thoughts and imaginations of human beings. Those so-called gods that are created by human beings are referred to as 'idols' in the Scripture. David, comparing the true God with fake idols, said that only those who have encountered the true God can understand the Lord, have the foundation to rely on in their minds and declare “The Lord is my God” with joy. In fact, David and the people of Israel could call Him in their testimony, “our God” (verse 3). Those who have not encountered the true God can never say “the God is mine” because they do not know Him yet. It was for this reason that David used the expression, “their idols” in verse 4.

“Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness. Why should the nations ask “Where now is their God?” when our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he desires?
Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot touch; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even groan with their throats.
Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them” (Psalms 115:1-8).

King David said, “Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he desires” (Psalm 115:3). The true God lives in heaven and there is nothing impossible for Him.

Many idols are made sometimes, in the image of men, sometimes, in the form of women. Many of them are made artistically beautiful. However, idols neither talk nor answer us. Contrarily, the true, living God will never fail to answer those who sincerely seek Him. In this regard, idols cannot use their mouths, eyes, and ears. Let us look at other verses in the Bible, which mention idols:

“Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you’ll be fewer in number in the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. There you’ll serve gods made by human hands, serving trees and stones that cannot see, hear, eat, nor smell” (Deuteronomy 4:27-28).

The true living God never remains silent. He constantly talks to us through His Word recorded in the Bible. And the true God is not blind. He can see through all things even though they are hidden or very small. The true living God is not deaf. He will never fail to listen to the cries of those who are desperately seeking salvation, those who are poor in their hearts.

“The Lord is the true God; he’s the living God and the everlasting king” (Jeremiah 10:10).

Those who trust in the living God will absolutely experience His support. The Lord has the power to help us and protect us. David could say being filled with joy and conviction, “Our God is the one who speaks to us, sees through everything and listens to us. Our God is alive; He is our refuge and shield. He is the almighty one who protects us.”

The true God is the one who forgives our arrogance, mistakes, and sins; He is the one who accepts us worthless humans and the one who gives us eternal life. In order to receive the blessing of everlasting life, we need to understand the true God. To understand the true God, we need to humble ourselves and become honest. We should cry out to the Lord Jesus, “I am the one who is separated from the true God. I am the one who made a horrible mistake. I am the one who is not fulfilled. I am the one who has nothing to rely on in my heart. Please have mercy on me.” The Lord has promised to all those who come to Him, “I’ll never turn away the one who comes to me” (John 6:37). Therefore, if you become honest and pray to Him, you will instantly be convinced that you are forgiven and accepted, which will make you compelled to pray, “Lord, I thank you for forgiving me.”

2. To Have True Unification.

What is the way that leads to the blessing of life everlasting? There are three answers. The first answer is to understand the true God. Secondly, it is to be truly unified with each other. It is stated in the Bible:

“Look how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil on the head, descending to the beard― even to Aaron’s beard― and flowing down to the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on Zion’s mountains. For there the Lord commanded his blessing― life everlasting” (Psalms133:1-3).

It was where the people lived in true unity that the Lord commanded His blessing of life everlasting according to these verses. What does it mean by the true unity? It is to share the same heart of love, to be united in spirit and to keep one purpose in mind. It is written in the letter Paul sent to the brothers and sisters in Philippi, “Fill me with joy by having the same attitude, sharing the same love, being united in spirit, and keeping one purpose in mind” (Philippians 2:2). Paul wrote this letter from prison. While he was under captivity, he must have worried, suffered, and felt so anxious; however, one thing I can clearly say is that he did not care about his own fate at all, instead, he kept praying for the growth of his brothers and sisters in the Lord. Instead of asking them to pray for his release from prison, he wrote to them, “Fill me with joy by having the same attitude, sharing the same love, being united in spirit, and keeping one purpose in mind.” In asking them to “share the same love” he wanted them to understand the love of God by the experience that was revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ and then, to turn themselves into vessels that conveyed the love of the Lord.

Paul wrote to his brothers and sisters in Ephesus and encouraged them to “Accept one another in love and do their best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3). As Christians, we are called so that we can bless one another. The Lord desires to use believers so that, through each one of us, other brothers and sisters can have more profound fellowship with the Lord Jesus, come even closer to the Lord, live their lives of faith with no compromise and be filled with joy.

Now, what does it mean to “keep one purpose in mind?” It is to look at other people the same way the Lord Jesus sees them, to look at this world that our eyes can see, the way the Lord Jesus sees it and to share the desire the Lord Jesus has for this world. Paul wrote that there were two different kinds of believers in those days. The people described in these verses belonged to the first kind:

“I do not have anyone else like him (Timothy) who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For all the others look after their own interests, not after those of Jesus the Messiah” (Philippians 2:20-21)

Although the people described here, undoubtedly accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and believed in Him wholeheartedly, they were seeking after their own interests, rather than those of Jesus. What I desperately urge you to remember is that it is only possible for all brothers and sisters to truly keep one purpose in mind by keeping themselves utterly selfless and pursuing the glory of the Lord alone.

The Lord Jesus neither told Peter, “You have to become like John,” nor said to John, “I want you to become someone like Peter.” Likewise, the Lord neither commanded Mary to, “act like Martha,” nor said “You have to be like Mary” to Martha. When we sing in chorus, each person sings their own part of the song, which consists of many parts. The Lord does not desire our praise to be monotonous, but He wants us to praise Him in beautiful harmony being attuned to each other. Regardless of whether we are weak in faith or strong in faith, or whether we are competent or incompetent, we all should be united in heart in praising the Lord.

The Lord Jesus showed deep compassion to those believers who lacked the right understanding and cared about those believers who were still trapped in doubt; He loved them all and even sacrificed His own life for people like them. We too need to have this attitude.

3. To Seek the Glory of the Lord.

The ways to obtain the blessing of the eternal life are firstly, to understand the true God, secondly, to have true unification and finally, it is to “seek the glory of the Lord.” I would like to discuss this last point.

“Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness. ….But we will bless the Lord from now to eternity. Hallelujah” (Psalms 115:1,18).

Human beings, as they are born do not seek the glory of the Lord; they only care about themselves. Therefore, it is true to say that for us to come to seek the glory of the Lord God is a consequence of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus explained the function of the Holy Spirit in these very simple words, “The Holy Spirit will glorify me” (John 16:14). When the Holy Spirit reveals the glory of the Lord Jesus, people are all compelled to fall down at His feet and worship Him. We will begin to exclaim as David said, “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness” (Psalms 115:1).

May only the Lord God be glorified. This was the desire of David in his desperate prayer. The danger into which we human beings are prone to fall is the desire to play the central role. Those who seek nothing but the honor of themselves deprive the Lord of the glory, which will absolutely lead them to an unfulfilled life. Contrarily, if they unceasingly pursue the glory of the Lord alone, their lives will truly be fulfilled. The prayers of those who pray, seeking the glory of the Lord will absolutely be answered by the Lord. The answer from the Lord brings us an unbreakable joy and everlasting peace.

I unceasingly pray and hope that our lives of faith are characterized by the enthusiastic seeking of the glory of the Lord. John the Baptist confessed, “He must become more important, but I must become less important” (John 3:30). It was for this very reason that he was abundantly blessed and was filled with joy. We should place no importance on how we are treated or what will happen to us. The only important thing for us is to seek the manifestation of the glory of the Lord. The secret of leading a fulfilled life is to desperately desire that the glory of the Lord God alone is praised.

The blessing of the Lord is not revealed in something perceptible such as our health, wealth or appearance, but it is shown in the Lord Jesus Himself. In a single phrase, we have everything inside the Lord Jesus. Inside the Lord Jesus, inexhaustible wealth is prepared for us:

“The one who did not spare his own Son, but offered him as a sacrifice for all of us, surely will give us all things, along with his Son, won’t he?” (Romans 8:32).

The only thing we truly need is the blessing of the Lord. When He gives us His blessing, we have all the things we need. However, we get so miserable, when the blessing of the Lord cannot remain above us. The Lord wants to bless us in every aspect of our lives. The Lord desires to bless us every hour, every minute, every second, and each and every moment of our lives. Furthermore, from this present time until the distant future, the Lord is so desperate to bless us.


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