Blessedness in the Unchanging God
The following is an excerpt from Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.
[Jesus] opened his mouth and taught them, saying, “Blessed . . . .”
Matthew 5:2–3
Do you want to be blessed (happy)? Of course you do. Happiness is our most fundamental pursuit. To use a modern phrase, it is the way we are wired. If we could travel to any place at any time in human history, we would discover that everyone is driven by a longing for happiness. Musicians write songs about it. Businesses market it, and commercials promise it. Parents desperately want it for their children.
The sad reality is that happiness proves elusive to most people because they do not know either where to find it or how to find it. Here is what escapes their notice: Happiness does not reside in changing conditions and circumstances but in an unchanging God. As the psalmist declares, “Blessed are you, O LORD” (Ps. 119:12).
According to Thomas Manton, “God’s blessedness is the fruition of Himself.” The Father has infinite satisfaction in the Son and the Spirit, the Son has infinite satisfaction in the Father and the Spirit, and the Spirit has infinite satisfaction in the Father and the Son. Because God is a perfect being whose life takes place in these three eternal relations of origin, he is sufficient and satisfied in himself. In other words, his happiness lies in knowing himself, loving himself, and delighting in himself.
Here is the wonder of wonders: Although God is sufficient and satisfied in himself, and stands in no need of us, he willingly imparts his blessedness to us, making us happy in the enjoyment of him. This is the fulfillment of his great promise: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:33). We are made for eternity, and we are made for something greater than ourselves—something greater than anything this world has to offer. When we take God as our God, we find in him all we could ever want.
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Psalm 144:15
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Stephen Yuille
Dr. Stephen Yuille is a Content Director and Editor at Reformation Heritage Books, while also serving as a Professor of Church History and Spiritual Formation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has over thirty years of ministry experience and is currently the preaching pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas. He has published an extensive list of academic articles and books in Puritan studies. He has also published several popular works in biblical studies.
