The Greater Blessing

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”  Hebrews 13:20-21 When we conclude our worship services, we offer a benediction (word of blessing) and a sending greeting. We do not simply say, “Have a nice week.” We go from our service of worship to our everyday life of worship. In order to do that, we need God’s blessing and equipping. What a powerful way to wrap up the book of Hebrews! In giving God’s blessing, the writer of Hebrews is also sending us out with a reminder of who is going with us. The writer summarizes almost the entire sermon in these two short verses (though a run-on sentence for sure). “The God of peace…” (not a God of wrath and anger). “Through the blood of the eternal covenant…”(not a covenant that is passing and in need of a new one; it is eternal). “Brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus…” (death could not hold any ­power over the Son of God). His sacrifice was once and for all. This is the God who is sending us and equipping us. We do not do the good that we do on our own. We need God’s help and His equipping so that what we do is pleasing to Him. We need God to equip us with “everything good for doing his will.” By God’s grace, we do everything for God’s glory forever and ever.