Blessing 1: Default Blessings
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Article 1: The Divine Architecture of Blessing – How God Built the Universe to Bear Fruit
1. Introduction The concept of blessing—whether spiritual, material, emotional, or relational—features prominently throughout the Bible. While Christians often focus on covenantal blessing tied to faith and obedience, Scripture also presents a wider framework: God has structured the universe itself to reward certain behaviours, attitudes, and principles, irrespective of a person’s…
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Article 2: The Power of the Tongue – Why Speech Can Bless Whether or Not You Believe
1. Introduction Speech is one of the most powerful faculties given to human beings. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, words are shown to have the capacity to create, to name, to bless, and to direct. The Bible consistently affirms that the human tongue holds both life-giving and destructive power,…
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Article 3: Blessing from the Heart – Goodwill, Intent, and Human Flourishing in God’s Order
1. Introduction While much attention is rightly given to actions and speech in discussions of moral and spiritual blessing, the Bible also gives primacy to the heart—the inner disposition, motives, and intentions that drive human behaviour. God not only observes deeds but weighs the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and Scripture…
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Article 4: Unbelievers Who Bless Others – God Honours Natural Goodness with Real Fruit
1. Introduction Throughout Scripture, God’s redemptive plan is revealed primarily through His covenant people—Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New. However, the biblical narrative also includes many cases where unbelievers—those outside covenant relationship with God—bless others in tangible, meaningful ways, and their blessings are acknowledged, honoured,…
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Article 5: When the Unbelieving Bless Each Other – Uncovenanted Goodness and Its Real-World Results
1. Introduction The Bible primarily focuses on God’s covenantal relationship with His people—yet it also records remarkable instances where blessing occurs entirely outside of that covenantal framework. In these rare but meaningful episodes, unbelievers bless other unbelievers, and their actions result in real, observable fruit. These moments underscore the existence…
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Article 6: Why God Honours Honour – The Law Written on the Heart of All Peoples
1. Introduction One of the profound insights of biblical theology is that moral truth is not restricted to the religiously informed or the covenantally bound. Even those outside the faith—those who have never read Scripture or heard the name of Christ—can and do act with honour, dignity, justice, and compassion.…
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Article 7: Common Grace and Natural Law – Blessing That Flows from Creation Itself
1. Introduction While saving grace through Jesus Christ is central to Christian faith, the Bible also affirms a broader concept known as common grace—God’s generous provision, order, and goodness extended to all humanity, regardless of faith or covenant status. Closely related to this is the idea of natural law—the moral…
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Article 8: Covenantal Blessing – What Happens When Faith Activates Divine Power
1. Introduction While common grace and natural law offer blessings accessible to all, covenantal blessings represent a deeper, more powerful form of divine favour—one reserved for those in right relationship with God through faith. These blessings are not merely natural outcomes of moral living; they involve the direct intervention and…
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Article 9: Two Streams, One Design – How Universal Law and Covenant Grace Coexist in God’s Economy
1. Introduction Within the biblical worldview, it is possible to distinguish between two major channels through which blessings flow: the universal moral order (natural law) and the covenantal relationship between God and His people. These two streams—common grace through creation and saving grace through Christ—are not in conflict. Rather, they…
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Article 10: Recognising Blessing Outside the Church – Why Christians Should Affirm Goodness in All People
1. Introduction While Scripture makes it clear that salvation is found in Christ alone, it equally affirms that God’s goodness is not limited to His covenant people. Throughout history and across cultures, people outside the Church have displayed honour, justice, compassion, and wisdom—qualities that reflect God’s image and His universal…
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Article 11: How to Walk in Both Realms – Aligning with Creation and Covenant Together
1. Introduction Believers are called to live in a way that honours both the natural moral order (universal law) and the covenantal relationship with God through Christ. These are not opposing spheres, but complementary dimensions of God’s design. Walking in both realms means aligning one’s conduct with divine wisdom observable…
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Article 12: Final Reflections – Unity of Creation and Redemption in the Blessing of God
1. Introduction From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible portrays a God who blesses. His blessings are woven into the fabric of creation and flow richly through covenantal relationship. This concluding article reflects on how these two streams—universal law and covenant grace—are ultimately not in competition but in unity, expressing the…