As we have pointed out many times, the book of Genesis is a book of seeds. Nearly every item in this book is a seed developed in the following books of the Bible. This is true also with the matter of blessing. In this message, another parenthesis in our life-study, we shall consider the seed of blessing sown in Genesis and its development in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Hebrews 7:7 says, "But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater." In this verse we see the principle of blessing: that the greater blesses the lesser. To be greater or lesser is not mainly a matter of age. It is a matter of the measure of Christ. We are greater or lesser according to our measure of Christ. In Matthew 11:11 the Lord Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, Among those born of women, there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is smallest in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he." Here the Lord Jesus says that John the Baptist was greater than all who had preceded him. However, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. The reason John was greater than his predecessors was that he was very close to Christ. Although Abraham was great, he did not see Christ. However, John the Baptist saw Him. But, although John was so close to Christ, he did not have Christ in him. Those in the kingdom of heaven are not only close to Christ; they have Christ within them. For this reason the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. The great ones in the Old Testament could say that Christ was coming, and John the Baptist could say that Christ was in front of him. But all of us in the kingdom of heaven can say that Christ is within us. We can even say, "For to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Hence, we are closer to Christ than John the Baptist and all who went before him.
Whether we are greater or lesser depends upon our measure of Christ. If you have more of Christ, you are greater. If you have less of Christ, you are lesser. If by having more of Christ we are greater than others, then we are qualified to bless them; for the greater always blesses the lesser. The reason for this is that the greater one has a larger measure of Christ to give to others. If you are greater than I, it means that you have a greater portion of Christ than I. If so, then you have something more of Christ to minister to me. To bless others means to minister Christ to them. Those who have just a small measure of Christ need the blessing of those who have a greater measure. We bless them with the very Christ in whom we participate and whom we enjoy. If we enjoy Christ more, then we have more of Christ to minister to others. This ministering of Christ is blessing.
It is rather difficult to give a proper definition of blessing. Years ago I could only say the blessing was asking or wishing something good for others. But after years of experience I can say that blessing is the overflow of God through someone's maturity in life. God cannot flow Himself into others without a human channel. If Christ had never been incarnated, God would not have been able to flow to man, because there would not have been a channel. God's flowing needs humanity as a channel. The only humanity God can use as the channel is one saturated and permeated with God. For this reason Jacob did not bless anyone until he had become mature. Jacob did not bless Laban or Esau. Even when he saw his brother Esau after the twenty years with Laban, he did not bless him. It was not until he went down into Egypt that he blessed Pharaoh, the highest ruler on earth (47:7, 10). At that time Jacob was filled with God. Through Jacob's blessing of Pharaoh God's blessing overflowed to Pharaoh.
A child two years of age cannot bless anyone; however, a child of seven or eight may perform some kind of blessing. This illustrates the fact that blessing others depends upon maturity in life. Maturity in life is a matter of being filled with God. When you are full of God, you have the overflow of God, and thus you are able to bless everyone you meet. Years ago I could not say such a word about blessing. This understanding of blessing does not come from reading books; it comes only from experience.