Blessed, Chosen, Predestined and Accepted

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
    Ephesians 1:3-6 

What usually comes to mind when you hear the word "blessed"?  Certainly blessings can be defined as material possessions, being kept out of harms way in times of danger, and even the breath that we breathe, yes that is a blessing too.  However, what kind of blessing is Paul speaking about in Ephesians 1:3?  He begins by saying that God the Father is blessed.  He then says that the Father has blessed us.  But what has He blessed us with?

The Father has "blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ".  Notice the emphasis I placed on every and on spiritual.  This does not mean that God does not and has not blessed us in the natural realm.  However, I believe that Paul is speaking about a greater blessing than what the eyes can see.  This blessing involves being chosen, predestined, and accepted.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled. - Colossians 1:21

David wrote in Psalm 51:5 that he, and subsequently we, were shapen in iniquity and concieved in sin.  We inherited a sinful nature from Adam.  This nature separated us from God and made us His enemies.  

We who were once enemies of the cross (Phil 3:18) have now been blessed and made friends of God (James 2:23).  We have become heirs of God, and because God is blessed we are blessed.  We share in the riches of God because of what Christ has done for us.  These riches are freely given to us!  He chose us, predestined us, accepted us who were once rejected to be benefactors of His blessedness.  He did this so that we would be "holy and without blame before Him in love" for "the good pleasure of His will".  That we would share in His perfect nature, no longer in bondage to our old sinful nature.

So "walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (Eph. 4:1) and remember that in Christ you are blessed, chosen, predestined and accepted.