04. Blessing and Cursing
Exo 20:5-6 …visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
As we look more closely at the divine pattern through the Scriptures we see a picture emerge of how the “Of Whom” and “By Whom” parts of the pattern relate to each other. Our Father in heaven is a God of blessing and one of the key points for us to remember is that it is the joy, privilege and duty for the “Of Whom” to bless the “By Whom”. We also note that the strength of the blessing is measured by the respect of the “By Whom” for the “Of Whom”.
This blessing resides of a scale of degree that can switch into a curse. As love, honour, respect and obedience shift to dishonour, disrespect and disobedience, the channel moves from blessing to cursing. When a person moves against someone that God has ordained as an authority in their life, the blessing that should have been received turns into a curse. Note carefully these texts:
Exo 20:5-6 …visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The channel where this principle is most powerful is where the origin of the “By Whom” comes directly from the “Of Whom”
1 Cor 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Pro 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
This channel is so powerful that it contains the power of life and death.
Matt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Every child lives by the life of his father. Mount of Blessing page 78
The Father’s Words are life to us and His Word flows to us through the threefold cord that He has ordained to bless and protect us. The most urgent and critical blessing that our Father wants to send us are these words
Matt 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This blessing that Christ received from the Father is passed to us.
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Isn't it wonderful to know that the thrill that Jesus felt when He heard His Father tell Him how much He loved Him can flow to us. Let us remember that these words of the Father are only as powerful as the authority we perceive that the Father has over His Son. Within the Trinity, the Father has delegated authority, meaning that the Spirit and Son voted the Father into His position, yet the Bible reveals that the Father has absolute authority over His Son, therefore His words of Blessing are absolute. ANd that absolute blessing can be ours through Christ. How I pray that we can see the heart of the gospel in knowing God is the Father of Christ and that Christ is the Son of God. It is the only way we can truly know that we are accepted in the Beloved and that His blessing is absolute.
We note carefully how Christ was enabled to receive the Father’s blessing
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
In the life of Christ we see that the key to drawing down a blessing it to keep the words of the “Of Whom” As we keep the words of those appointed over us, this blesses the who appointed to protect and bless us.
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee
As we see the Son of God obeyed His Father, we see that Sarah obeyed her husband.
1Pe 3:6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
We see this again reflected in the parent and child pattern
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
And we see this principle expressed concerning all aspects of the threefold cord
Rom 13:1,2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
1 Pet 2:13-14 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; (14) Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
1 Thess 5:12-13 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; (13) And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
As we behold the life of Jesus in the divine pattern, we see that life and blessing come from submission, respect, honour and keeping the Words of the Authority that is over Him.
Again we repeat that the power of the blessing is directly measured by the power of respect and honour that the “By Whom” has for the “Of Whom” The more we treasure the words of the “Of Whom” the more they will bless us. The more we despise the “Of Whom” authority over us the more their words will judge and condemn us. There is no escape from this principle.
As was the case with the lawyer who wished to justify himself by asking “Who is my neighbour” so today, multitudes respond with “Who is an authority in my life?” Many claim that the Bible alone is their authority, yet that very authority condemns their claim. God has placed a threefold cord or authority in our life to bless us, the Scriptures are clear on this. The Bible alone is the seed or "Of Whom" authority but God has placed a threefold cord of "By Whom" or nurturing authories in our lives for our protection and blessing. If we reject them then we are rejecting God's authority and shall receive damnation.
A natural question that arises in respect of this channel is what do I do when someone in my channel of authority asks me to do something contrary to the Word of God? What do I do when an authority figure rejects God and lives an immoral life? Am I still subject to their authority? This is the question we will turn to next because all of us face this question at some point and it is important to know what is a Biblical response.
