408. God will Bless
Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the vine, as yet the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
God promises a blessing of seed, vine, figs, pomegranates, and olives from this day. The day is the day when the foundation of the new temple was laid. “Consider now from this day and forward. [v. 18].” When the foundation of the temple is laid the blessings of God will be poured out. The foundation of the temple in the New Testament is the Apostles and Prophets, the cornerstone being Jesus Himself. On that foundation (the Word of God based on the words and works of Christ) the Church is built. On that foundation our life is built. The Holy Spirit is active and alive in us to build a life, a life that will endure into eternity, a life worthy of living in the very presence of God forever.
Because the foundation of the temple (the Church, the body of Christ, our own bodies) is laid in our hearts God promises to bless us. The blessing is given in terms of an abundant harvest of delicious foods and crops. The physical blessing is given to us in terms we can see and understand to help us believe, and see, the abundant spiritual blessing of the kingdom of God. We have entered the kingdom by being born again with water and the Spirit, and the kingdom has entered our hearts by faith, engendered by the Spirit through the Gospel.
We keep our life strong and sturdy by staying on the foundation. “The Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ, our Lord.” We bear fruit by abiding in the Vine. From that day God says, “I will bless you with a spiritual abundance of riches and good things.” And that day is every day that we repent and believe the Gospel, receive the forgiveness of sins, and enjoy eternal life. Jesus gives the evidence of the rich blessings of the spiritual kingdom when He performed the nature miracles of changing water to wine, multiplying bread, walking on water, stilling the storm, along with the many healings and exorcisms and resurrections. Yea, indeed, the Lord is blessing us. Spiritual prosperity is a sign that points to Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, and the author and finisher of our faith.