At the beginning of every new year, churches everywhere declare this will be a year of blessing, a year of victory, a year of breakthrough. And while those declarations carry truth, blessings shouldn’t be designated to just one day or one season at the beginning of the year. From the moment of salvation to the moment Jesus comes to take us home, we’re living in victory and walking in blessings. The problem is that many of us don’t fully understand what those blessings actually are. We often carry a very narrow view of what it means to be blessed.
The First Blessing in Scripture
When studying any biblical concept, it helps to look at the very first instance of that word in Scripture. The first time the word “blessing” appears might surprise you. In Genesis 1:21-23, during creation, God blessed the sea creatures and the birds of the air, saying “be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth.” Most of us associate “be fruitful and multiply” with Adam and Eve, but God first spoke this blessing over the animals. He was enduing them with power, giving them the provision and ability to fulfill their purpose.
Deuteronomy’s Picture of Blessing
The passage most people think of when they consider biblical blessings is Deuteronomy chapter 28. Moses, giving his final addresses to Israel before his death, laid out the blessings and curses. “If you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you.” The passage continues with promises of being blessed in the city and in the country, blessed going in and going out, blessed in offspring, produce, herds, and flocks, with full barns and kneading bowls. This is what television preachers and prosperity teachers often exploit. It’s not wrong, but it’s only a partial view.
Understanding Barak: The Hebrew Word for Blessing
The Hebrew word for blessing in both Genesis and Deuteronomy is barak, meaning to bless or to kneel. Picture yourself in ancient times, kneeling before a king. The king would bestow upon you some provision of power, whether authority, lands, money, or a title like knight. Everyone would understand that you had received the king’s blessing and had been endued with power. When God spoke blessing over the birds and sea creatures, He was providing them with power to multiply. When He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, He was enduing them with the same power. When Deuteronomy describes full barns and prosperity, it’s the same concept. You’re being blessed by the King and receiving that provision of power, which can include material goods but encompasses so much more.
When the Blessing Is Reversed
But what do we do with Psalm 103, which says “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name”? God isn’t going to kneel before us so we can endue Him with power. The word barak takes on a different meaning depending on who is being blessed. When God blesses someone, He’s enduing them with power. When we bless the Lord or bless someone else, we’re acknowledging them and giving adoration. It’s still the idea of bending the knee, but in praise and worship rather than receiving provision. Genesis 12:2 shows both forms when God tells Abraham, “I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing.” The blessing works both ways. God blesses us with power, and we become a blessing to God through adoration and to others through acknowledgment and encouragement.
Eulogeō: The New Testament Equivalent
Moving into the New Testament, the Greek language replaces Hebrew. The word eulogeō serves as the equivalent of barak, meaning to praise or bless. In Matthew 14:19, when Jesus fed the five thousand, He “took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up towards heaven, He blessed the food.” He was giving praise and glory to God the Father for the provision. This word appears frequently throughout the New Testament.
Makarios: The Word for Blessing You Need to Understand
There’s another Greek word for blessed that carries profound meaning, one that might blow you away if you’ve never studied it. This word appears in the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, when Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. The word is makarios.
Some Bible translations render makarios as “happy,” which isn’t wrong but misses the depth. When Jesus spoke, He used a word His Greek-speaking audience would have recognized. Makarios described the state of the Greek gods on Mount Olympus, the perfect state where they were free of all worries, free of stress, free of pain, simply enjoying their existence. It also described the state of the dead, detached from pain and suffering.
Reading the Beatitudes Through Makarios
Reading the Beatitudes with this understanding transforms their meaning. Makarios are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Makarios are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. How can someone who is mourning be free of stress, worry, and anxiety? How can someone being persecuted and insulted be in this perfect state? The key is recognizing that makarios isn’t about future hope alone. It’s a present reality. When Jesus said “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you… Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great,” He wasn’t just pointing to the future. He was declaring that makarios belongs to His followers right now.
Living as Heirs Right Now
Here’s an illustration that might help. Imagine you’re 25 years old and you’ve just inherited $500 million from your parents, but the will stipulates you can’t access it until you turn 30. Are you an heir? Absolutely. Do you have that money? Yes, it’s yours. Do you have full access to it? Not quite yet. But if you walked into a bank and they knew you were heir to that fortune, do you think they’d give you a million-dollar loan? Without hesitation. They know in five years you’ll have access to the full amount. You’re walking as an heir with all the benefits of being an heir, even before everything is fully in your possession.
Think about a time when your car broke down and the repair cost $400. Maybe there was a season when that amount would have drained your bank account and caused real pain and anxiety. You wrote the check knowing another breakdown could devastate you financially. But later in life, after earning more and building savings, the same $400 repair became no big deal. No stress, no panic, just “go ahead and fix it.”
That’s the picture of how we’re living right now as believers, but many of us don’t understand it. Yes, there’s pain. Yes, there’s stress and anxiety. But at the same time, there doesn’t need to be, because we’re makarios. We’re blessed. This world is so temporary. God looks at our 60, 70, or 80 years and sees a drop in the bucket compared to eternity.
The Reality Behind the Mindset
Makarios is a mindset, but it’s also a reality. It’s not just mind over matter. It’s the truth Jesus wanted us to understand. The question becomes: Who are you really in Jesus? Do you belong to Him? Are you saved? Then you are makarios. You are blessed.
In Matthew 10:28-29, Jesus said, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” Jesus was saying don’t be so entwined with this life. Don’t let this life tear you up. Makarios about this life. You’re blessed in this life already because you belong to the Father. He watches out for the sparrows, and He’s watching out for you.
Heirs of God and Fellow Heirs with Christ
Romans 8:16-18 captures this beautifully: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Paul understood makarios. He understood this limited time here. He understood that those who belong to Jesus are heirs with all the benefits of Jesus Christ. This little time of suffering is nothing, a drop in the bucket. Makarios. Because we’re already pain-free on the other side.
Living with Kingdom Perspective
We are blessed more than we realize. Maybe it’s time to start living with the understanding that we belong to Him and as a result are heirs to the kingdom. It takes Christian maturity to see things this way. It takes time, being in Scripture, praying, seeking God, living by the Holy Spirit, and asking the Lord to lead you by His Spirit to see things from this perspective. We don’t have to wait to experience blessing. The kingdom of heaven is already ours. Whatever we’re mourning, God has already taken care of it. The gentle will inherit the earth not through military conquest but through makarios, because they’ve already inherited it.
Let’s start living with the understanding that we belong to Him. As heirs to the kingdom, the blessings we seek are already ours.
Peace,
Todd