“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”
blessed are you
When insult because of our testimony comes our way, God gives us a special blessing. He gives us a special beatitude when we face insult for our faith. The “Spirit of glory and of God” will come upon the believer.
“Blessed” means a well-ordered soul (1 Pe 3:14; Mt 5:11). Suffering for Christ is no penalty; it is a privilege. “Blessed” does not mean happy; it means a well-ordered soul. Happiness depends on circumstances, and circumstances depend on chance. People who rely on chance happiness as the basis for their orientation do not operate on God’s principles. These people are shallow and unstable. A blessed person is someone whose state of the soul is neither produced nor affected by outside circumstances.
PRINCIPLE:
A well-ordered soul comes from God.
APPLICATION:
A well-ordered soul is a distinct quality of God and cannot be acquired apart from him. We cannot have what God has apart from God himself. God is independent of circumstances. We can be independent of circumstances.
A well-ordered person needs nothing. He is independent of circumstances. He is not dependent on luck but upon divine resources within.
Blessedness is the state whereby one enjoys God. It is a state that belongs uniquely and intrinsically to God (1 Ti. 1:11). No one can make God blessed. So this is a condition of the soul whereby the soul derives its satisfaction from the source of God.
