You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
9 So then [hoste] they which be of [ek] faith [pistis] are blessed [eulogeo] with [sun] faithful [pistos] Abraham. [Abraam] KJV-Interlinear
9 So then
those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. NASB
Blessed, 'eulogeo,' means a benediction, to prosper, to be blessed, to be approved, to be sanctioned, to be holy, sacred, hollowed, consecrated.
And who does this approval? God does it.
No one can sanctify themselves. Only God can bless. Only God can make holy. Only God can approve such that the person can become separated from the chains of evil and this world, and from eternal condemnation.
Faith, 'pistis,' means credence, moral conviction, credibility, belief, reliance upon, constancy in the system of truth, assurance, fidelity, faith.
Two disclosures are made herein regarding how blessings come to any particular person, and thus how they are blessed and who is blessed.
Is everyone blessed? No.
Who initiates blessing? God.
How does one qualify for blessing? By means of faith.
What is the precedent? Abraham, as described in this example, within these verses.
And as we shall see in the next verses, when faith is absent, then works are all that remain. And works is not a conduit of blessing, but of condemnation.
Faith and faith alone is the means of blessing, which God alone bestows.
What is blessing? It is the sum total of Gods favor, as ascribed or credited and granted or arranged and approved on an individual.
Beginning with salvation and Gods saving grace, then faith separates the individual from eternal condemnation, and transfers them to eternal life.
God is life. God is eternal life. God holds this universe and all that is, together. To align oneself with God, then makes His universe available to you for life with Him. To reject God is to reject Gods universe and all that is, and places you in a vacuum of non-existence, of non-substance, of non-life.
Who among any of us has the power or even the authority to control our own universe? And that should be obvious, none of us can control anything, much less the universe. Only fools believe that there is no author and manager of the universe. Only fools believe that there is an all-natural element to life and existence. Only fools believe that man can somehow elevate himself to the high plane of God and somehow achieve self-existence.
How many people from past and distant generations do you know, that are still alive and running their life and their environment around them? None.
On this earth, past generations were able to walk or ride to distant lands, board ships and sail to distant new worlds. But now this planet is running out of frontiers. In the 1500's people flocked to the new world by the tens of thousands within a few short decades and they continue that movement even today by the millions. Their destinations had phenomenal resources with which to make their new lives work.
There is nowhere else in the universe that people can move to in huge numbers, where there are ready made and abundant resources for life. Not the bottom of the ocean for there you would need housing constructed, air, pressure relief facilities. Not the moon or Mars, no air, no food, no resources, no means to get around easily, and certainly not for millions of people.
And then we have the life span over which none of us has any control. When our time is up, it is up and we cannot prevent our leaving this life.
So, what control do people have over life, this world, or the universe? None.
God controls everything, and to reject God as unbelievers do, is also rejecting ones own existence, it is rejecting continuity, order, direction and so forth. It is choosing oblivion and chaos not only in ones environment but within oneself. Rejecting God is a choice for ones own condemnation to disaster.
And choosing works or ones own effort and self-definition for salvation, is a choice against God.
Faith is non-meritorious, giving you no credit, not rights, no effort or participation in Gods work.
God alone set out the plan. God alone executed that plan. God alone accomplishes everything that man cannot accomplish. God alone saves, and faith is the means of that salvation and the sustaining of life after salvation.
Faith is the means of salvation, but do not for a single minute think that once saved you have no further obligations in life. Salvation is only the beginning of your spiritual new birth. After salvation you must grow up and that requires a daily study, a daily diet or meal of doctrine, and adherence and obedience to Gods principles and rules for life. And that will occupy and is mandatory for your life every day of your life, for the rest of your life.
And faith again, is the mechanism for accomplishing your spiritual growth to maturity, your spiritual objective and goal and completion for life. Without it you will not be complete, but missing out on the biggest components of the greatest plan that God has for your own personal life, forever.
