BLESSEDNESS (see [http://biblegateway/wiki/Bless, Blessing BLESS]). The supreme joy produced by divine blessing, the announcement of blessing.

1. Material and spiritual blessedness. God’s blessing is from the beginning of His entire creation, seen esp. in His blessing of the Sabbath, working the completion of His work (Gen 2:3; Exod 20:11; cf. the refrain “it was very good” of Gen 1). The divine curse resulting from the Fall touches not only man, but also the created order (Gen 3:16-19). Divine blessing in restoring personal fellowship is the heart of the covenant promise, “I shall be your God, and you shall be my people” (Gen 17:7), but this is not in isolation from God’s favor through His creation. Obedience to God results in general material prosperity, including supremacy over Israel’s neighbors, economic prosperity and flourishing families, while disobedience results in just the opposite (Deut 27:3). Material blessing must not be understood as having no spiritual application: Israel’s role as witness to the world of the might and love of the Lord depends upon the evidence of the Lord’s favor to her; the promise of numerous descendants rests upon agricultural and military success; the very worship of the Lord is to be centered in Jerusalem, to which exile (military defeat) is the antithesis. God’s personal choice and blessing of His people inevitably involves His blessing of the details of their lives.

What is true of Israel as a people is true of the individual believer, and his happiness and blessing also rests in obedience. Proverbs esp. indicates how happiness consists in finding wisdom (3:13), hearing the Lord (8:34), trusting in Him (16:20), and keeping His law (29:18).

2. The blessedness of Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of the Blessed (Mark 14:61); i.e. He is to be praised with the same praise due to the Father; both Christ’s accomplished salvation and His return reflect the glory of that blessed Father (1 Tim 1:11; 6:15). His birth is a blessing (Luke 1:42, 48); His death is remembered by the cup of blessing of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 10:16), reflecting His own blessing of the meal (Mark 14:22; cf. 6:41). He blesses His disciples as He ascends, having promised His return (Luke 24:50). His continued ministry to His people is a “greater” kind precisely because of its blessing character (Heb 7:1, 6). His return blesses His people who are awake, are keeping His words, have washed their robes, and so may enter and rest, being invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb (the doxologies of Rev 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 22:7, 14).

3. The blessedness of grace. Christ’s blessing comes to His people (cf. “Bless,” 4) esp. as they confess Christ as Lord and suffer for His sake (Luke 6:22; John 20:29; 1 Pet 3:14; 4:14). They are blessed in Abraham as they are men of faith as He was, in receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Gal 3:8, 14). The believer’s blessing centers in his justification in Christ (Rom 4:7); blessed is he whose conscience is clear in his service to his Lord (Rom 14:7). Christians in turn bless those who revile and persecute them (Rom 12:14; 1 Cor 4:12; cf. Matt 5:10-12). The ministry of believers to each other is a ministry of blessing, e.g. as Paul brings money to needy Christians, he brings also the blessing of Christ Himself (Rom 15:29).

Bibliography See [http://biblegateway/wiki/Bless, Blessing BLESS].