Rejoicing in the Good = Speaking the Good (Ephesians 1:6)

In Ephesians 1:16, Paul, by the Spirit of God, said, ".. I constantly, and continually, will not stop, to give thanks for you, for what the Father has already done and completed, in your life, making mention of, and naming you by name, in my prayers..."

THANKSGIVING

One of the dominant characteristics about "thanksgiving", is that it is an expression of something, or because of something, that has already happened. This is the expression of faith; living in, and declaring the spiritual reality that God, the Father, has already accomplished, and completed a finished work, in the lives of every believer, because of Jesus and we will continue to express that reality, despite what the contrary evidence, or "physical" reality would seem to dictate.

REJOICE in the GOOD

"Thanksgiving" is (eucharistisas) [Strong's, 2168], which is a derivative of (charis), "everything about which one rejoices", from the root, (char), "joy", and the prefix (eu), "good". Basically, the compound means, "to rejoice in the good".

The scripture is always the best commentary on itself. There are several defining uses, of the word, in the example of what we call the last supper, and in the multiplying of the fish and loaves narrative.

MATTHEW 14:19-21, "...and having bid the multitudes to lie down upon the grass, and having taken the five breads and the two fishes, having looked up into the heaven, He blessed (eulogese, 2127), and having broken, He gave to the disciples the breads, and the disciples to the multitudes, and all ate, and were filled, and they lifted the abounding pieces; twelve hampers full, and the ones having eaten were about five thousand men, apart from women and children".

MATTHEW 15:36-38, "...and having taken the seven breads and the fishes, having given thanks (euchasristesas, 2168), He broke and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude and all ate and were filled, and they lifted up the abundance of the pieces; seven baskets full, and the ones eating were four thousand men, separate from women and children".

MARK 6:41-44, "...and having taken the five breads and the two fishes, having looked up into the heaven, He blessed (eulogese, 2127) and broke off in pieces of the breads, and gave to His disciples that they should place near to them; and the two fishes He portioned to all, and all ate, and were filled, and they took up twelve hampers full and of the fishes, and the ones having eaten of the breads were about five thousand men".

MARK 8:6-9, "...and He gave exhortation to the multitude to recline upon the ground, and having taken the seven breads, having given thanks (eucharistesas,2168), He broke and gave to His disciples that they should place them near, and they placed them near to the multitude, and they had a few small fishes; and having blessed (eulogesas, 2127), He said to place them also near, and they ate and were filled and lifted up an abundance of pieces; seven small baskets, and the ones eating were about four thousand, and He dismissed them".

LUKE 9:14,16-17, "...they were about five thousand men...and having taken the five breads and the two fishes, looking up into the heaven, He blessed (eulogesen, 2127) them, and broke off in pieces, and gave to the disciples to place near to the multitude, and they ate, and all were filled, and was taken up the abounding portion to them of pieces; twelve hampers".

JOHN 6:9-13, "There is one boy here who has five breads of barley, and two little fishes; but these, what are they for so many? And Jesus said, 'Make the men recline!' And there was much grass in the place. Then the men reclined; the number was about five thousand. And Jesus took the breads; and having given thanks (eucharistesas, 2168) He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to the ones reclining; in like manner also from the little fishes, as much as they wanted. And as they were filled up, He says to His disciples, 'Gather together the abounding pieces, that nothing should perish!'. They gathered together then, and filled twelve hampers of pieces from out of the five breads of barley which abounded to the ones having eaten".

SYNONYMOUS TERMS

It is interesting that in the account of the feeding of the 5000, in both Matthew; Mark; and Luke; it says that He blessed [eulogese, 2127, which is a compound word from (logos), "word", or "to say", and (eu), "good"]; meaning, "to say or speak good". Yet in John 6:9-13, it says that He gave thanks (eucharistesas, 2168). In Mark 8:6-9, it uses both terms in the feeding of the 4000. The point being, that to "bless" or to "give thanks", are used as synonymous terms.

In what we call "the last supper", the same similarity is seen:

MATTHEW 26:26-27, "...Jesus having taken the bread, and having blessed (eulogesas, 2127), broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat, this is my body' and having taken the cup, and giving thanks (eucharistesas, 2168), He gave to them, saying, 'You drink from out of it all' "

MARK 14:22-23, "...and as they were eating, Jesus having taken the bread, having blessed (eulogesas, 2127), broke, and gave to them, and He said, 'Take, eat, this is my body', and having taken the cup, having given thanks (eucharistesas, 2168), He gave to them, and all drank from out of it".

LUKE 22:19-20, "...and having taken the bread, having given thanks (eucharistesas, 2168), He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body being given for you; this do in my remembrance'. Likewise also the cup after having supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, the one being poured out for you' ".

1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26, "...the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was delivered up, took bread; and having given thanks (eucharistesas, 2168), He broke it, and said, 'Take, eat. This is my body, the one being broken for you; this do in my remembrance'. Likewise also the cup after having supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; this do as often as you should drink in my remembrance'. For as often as you should eat this bread and should drink this cup, the death of the Lord you announce until of which ever time He should come".

GIVING THANKS = BLESSING

In both Matthew and Mark, the bread is blessed and the cup is given thanks, but in Luke and the account in 1 Corinthians, both actions are referred to as "giving thanks". Again, "giving thanks" or "blessing", are viewed as synonymous terms.

SYNONYMOUS

Therefore, to "rejoice in the good", or to "speak good", over someone, is synonymous.

SPEAKING GOOD

When Paul, by the spirit of God, says that he does not cease to give thanks for the Ephesian Christians, he is declaring that he is constantly "speaking the good" concerning them, and when we are to "give thanks" to God, our Father, we are to "speak all the good" He has done, and enumerate those "blessings" in our lives.

PARADIGM SHIFT

This may be a different paradigm from how we are accustomed to using these terms, but the reality is, that the synonymous use of these words defines both "giving thanks", (eucharistesas, 2168, "rejoicing in the good") and "blessing", (euloesas, 2127, "speaking good") as being the same.

GIVE THANKS

The examples both relate to food, however, that doesn't negate the definition of the terms. If I am going to "give thanks" to the Father, then I am going to speak about all the good He has done in my life, which is a descriptive use of enumerating who we are in Christ; what we have in Christ; and what we can do, because we are in Christ.

DEFINING PRAYING in TONGUES

In defining praying and speaking with tongues (other languages), the scripture says, "...if you should bless (eulogeses, 2127) with the spirit, the one filling the place of the common person, how shall he say the Amen at your thanksgiving (eucharistia, 2169), since what you say he knows not?" (1 Cor.14:16).

SPEAKING GOOD

Again, "speaking good" and "rejoicing in the good", are used as being synonymous.

When we are speaking in tongues, or praying in tongues, one of the things we are doing, is declaring, or speaking the good, concerning ourselves and God.

In parallel, PHILEMON 6 says, "that the sharing; communication; impartation; participation; demonstration (koinonia, 2842) of your faith, comes into existence, like a brand new creative force (ginomai, 1096) as something powerful and effective, like medicine, that goes to work producing results immediately (energes, 1756), by the full revelation knowledge [that causes an automatic change in words and behaviour] (epignosis, 1922) of every good work in you in Christ Jesus"

FORCE of FAITH

Based on dramatic personal experience, I can testify, that "thanking" Him, ["rejoicing in the good"], for "every good work in you in Christ Jesus" is "speaking the good" concerning "every good work in you in Christ Jesus", and it is what produces the revelation, that produces the results, of the powerful creative force of faith, demonstrated, in your life.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours