Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God : A Biblical Theology of Divine Blessings

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things”
―Romans 8:32

As Christians, “blessing” pervades our everyday lives―from testimonies recounting God’s provision, to praise songs, to wishing someone well. The term has been so integrated into our everyday vocabulary that it is rarely considered carefully. Many people think that blessing is described as either physical (Genesis 1:22) or spiritual (Ephesians 1:3), but a fuller biblical-theological approach reveals that God’s blessing has always been physical, spiritual, and―ultimately―relational. Unpacking this pattern throughout redemptive history, William Osborne shows that divine blessing is not just a good gift here or there, but the fullness of all we were created to be, in relationship with our Creator.

• Part of the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series
• Traces the theme of blessing through both the Old and New Testaments
• Corrective to misconceptions about the Bible’s teaching on blessing

William R. Osborne (PhD, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as professor of biblical and theological studies at College of the Ozarks. He is the author of Divine Blessing and the Fullness of Life in the Presence of God, as well as God, You Are: 20 Promises from the Psalms for Kids. He lives in southwest Missouri with his wife and four kids. 

Dane C. Ortlund (PhD, Wheaton College) serves as senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of Gentle and Lowly and Deeper. Dane and his wife, Stacey, have five children.

Miles V. Van Pelt (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Alan Hayes Belcher, Jr. Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages and the director of the Summer Institute for Biblical Languages at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, where he has been serving for almost twenty-three years. He is passionate about teaching the biblical languages, biblical theology, and how the whole Bible, even the Old Testament, always points us to the person and work of Jesus Christ.