What is the Second Blessing? Is it In the Bible?

I’ve been asked; “Have you received the second blessing,” so what is this “second blessing” so many talk about?

Blessed by God

I’ve been asked; “Have you received the second blessing yet,” so what is this “second blessing” so many talk about? If you have been brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and as your Savior, then you have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing from heaven. The Apostle Paul recognizes just how much we’ve been blessed, praising God in writing, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3). What is one of the blessings from heavenly places? It is the astounding fact that “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love” (Eph 1:4). We didn’t choose Him; He has chosen us (John 6:44), therefore, we are blessed by having the wrath of God placed upon Christ who was without sin (2 Cor 5:21), for those of us who were formerly steeped in sin (1 Cor 6:11). If that’s not being blessed by God, tell me what is? They look down on me a bit when I tell them no, so what is this “second blessing” I’ve been ask about so many times and if I have “received the second blessing” yet?

The Second Blessing

Many believe that there is a second blessing which comes from the Holy Spirit. It refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Some put it this way: “Have you received another baptism or second baptism of the Holy Spirit?” When I was asked about this, I immediately went to the Word of God to see if such a blessing existed. The Bible doesn’t speak very often about the baptism of the Holy Spirit but mostly, Scripture focuses on sanctification and producing the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The Third, Fourth, Fifth….Blessing

John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement and He is generally given credited with originating the term second blessing, but his “second blessing” is not what is being taught today. He taught that the second blessing was an act of God whereby a believer was granted deliverance from both inward and actual sin. Even though that sounds confusing, Wesley did not actually hold to the modern concept of sinless perfection. What he was saying was believers should be growing to a point of being wholeheartedly devoted and obedient to Christ. That speaks of sanctification, which is a lifelong process that is not ended until we die or the Lord returns for us, but even in our sanctification, the Lord is at work in us and through us (Lev 20:8; Phil 2:13). It is the precious truth that we can confess our sins to God and be cleansed of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The greatest blessing goes beyond numbers. It’s not a first or second only blessing, but a fourth, fifth and many more blessing because we have ongoing confession of our sins but ongoing forgiveness too.

The Greatest Blessing

To me, the second blessing is recognizing just how much the first blessing was, and that my sins can be forgiven and I can be reconciled back to God through Jesus Christ’s shed blood. That’s infinitely more than a second blessing. There are dozens and dozens of blessings, so I’m not stopping at just the second blessing. Try to do what the old hymn said, “Count your many blessings, name then one by one.” If you do that, you should be able to use up a lot of paper.

The Filling of the Spirit

The filling of the Spirit is found in several places in Scripture but it always refers to an endowment of power from God for some special task, like with Samson (Judges 14:6, 19) or Mary (Luke 1:35) or Peter (Acts 4:8), so there’s always been some confusion about the baptism and the filling of the Holy Spirit. This has led to confusion in doctrine. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the sealing (Eph 1) or indwelling of the Holy Spirit which happens to all believers at salvation, but never are we commanded to seek for or pray for a second blessing anywhere in Scripture.

The Holiness Movement

What is the second blessing that is so strongly taught in the Holiness Movement? It is an alleged “second work of grace,” or a “second blessing,” that is taught and said to be accomplished in the believer and accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This second blessing is supposed to erase our evil nature and render us sinless or perfect and incapable of sin. I find out every day that is false because I still sin. I try and try not to but I still fall short and sin (Rom 7). We all should know this is false doctrine, because we all fall short of God’s glory and cannot become sinless in this life (Rom 3:10-12, 23). Over time we should sin less…but never can we be sinless this side of heaven. It’s just not possible, and if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves while calling God a lair (1 John 1:8, 10)! Don’t go there friend.

Conclusion

Finally, let me say that I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.

Here is some related reading for you: 5 Examples of God’s Blessing

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Blessed by God, Blessings, Holiness Movement, sanctification, Second Blessing