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were but few--say four, they could still be defined as "all spiritual", whereas the mind
reels as it endeavours to grasp the fact that there is no blessing that comes under the
category of "spiritual" that is omitted. It is highly improbable, that, while we are in this
life, we shall be able to appreciate a tithe of what is here so freely bestowed.
In complete contrast with the spiritual blessings of the Mystery, are the "carnal" or
"natural" blessings of the law.
"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field . . . . . blessed
shall be thy basket and thy store . . . . . the Lord shall command the blessing upon thee
in thy storehouses . . . . . the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods . . . . ."
(Deut. 28: 1-3)
"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord: that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt
eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy
wife shall be as a faithful vine by the sides of thine house, thy children shall be like olive
plants round about thy table" (Psa. 128: 1-3).
How completely opposite all this is from the experience of the believer under the
dispensation of grace. Like Paul, he may know what it is to suffer need, to be in want,
to know what it is to be continually in trouble. He will have no guarantee of a settled
dwelling-place, he has no promise of special protection during periods of danger, his
"basket and store" may show impoverishment, while the ungodly may appear to prosper.
It would be foolish to assess a man's spiritual worth to-day by the size of his bank
balance, or any other material standard. Eph. 1: 3 does not speak of daily bread, of
dwelling place, of home comforts or of business success. It visualizes a new plane, the
spiritual, which is on resurrection ground. The earnest of our inheritance is not a bunch
of grapes as it was when the spies returned with the grapes of Eshcol, neither are our
enemies men of flesh and blood, but they are spiritual Canaanites, principalities and
powers.
IN HEAVENLY PLACES (Eph. 1: 3)
We have said elsewhere that this phrase is unique, that it occurs in the epistle to the
Ephesians and nowhere else. The unwary can easily be moved when they read that, in
spite of what we have said, epouranios occurs in fifteen other places outside of
Ephesians, as widely distributed as Matthew, John, I Corinthians, Philippians,
II Timothy and Hebrews. We have been accused of misleading God's people and of
misquoting scripture, and yet, in spite of all that has or can be said we repeat that the
phrase "in heavenly places" en tois epouraniois is unique, occurring nowhere else than in
the epistle to the Ephesians. The word "heavenly" epouranios most certainly occurs
elsewhere, this we have never denied, we read in Matt. 18: 35 of "My heavenly
Father" and in John 3: 12 of "heavenly things", in I Cor. 15: 40 of "celestial bodies"
and in Hebrews of those who "tasted of the heavenly gift". No one, so far as our
knowledge permits us to say, has ever maintained that those Hebrews who had tasted of
the heavenly gift, had actually ascended up to heaven itself in order to taste it! Many
things may be heavenly in origin and in character that are not enjoyed "in heaven", and
this is the point, it is this feature that is unique. The reader will agree that the word