Our church, like many others, concludes our worship services with a blessing given by the pastor or preacher. Another name used for these closing words is a “benediction,” which comes from the Latin words bene (which means “good”) and dicere (which means “say” and thus means “to speak a good word.” Have you ever wondered why we do this and why it is such an important moment? Since we don’t have time to explain it each week before offering it, I’ll explore its origins and significance in this post.
Why We Do It: Biblical Precedents For this Practice
I’m writing this post on the heels of “Reformation Sunday” and right before “Reformation Day,” both of which remind us of the events in the Reformation and this key moment in our church’s history and tradition. One of the pillars of this movement was a call to ground our beliefs and behaviors upon the Word of God. The Bible is where we find the origin of these closing blessings.
Perhaps the most famous blessing and the one that Martin Luther himself would utilize in his reformation of the worship service is found in Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (ESV). These were words that God gave to Moses and asked him to pass along to his brother Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who served as priests in Israel, to speak to the people and to bless them (Numbers 6:22-23). In doing so, the priests would be putting the name of God upon the people (Numbers 6:27).
This is by no means the only blessing found in the Bible as one sees them all over the New Testament letters. Some of these offer blessings and praise to God. For example, Jude concludes his letter with these good words: “Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25). However, it is more common for these to speak about God’s presence or a particular promise that God makes towards His people. The New Testament blessing that is most widely used in churches is 2 Corinthians 13:14, which speaks about God’s presence with His people in language that reflects the Trinity: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” At times, these elements of praise to God and a promise to us come together, as seen in another widely used blessing from the New Testament: “Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Blessings can appear at the beginning of letters, as we see in books like Jude (1:2), 2 John (1:3), and Ephesians (1:3). In addition, you will also see them at times in the middle of letters as a particular part of it comes to a conclusion. For example, Paul concludes the first part of his letter to the Ephesians and his exploration of what Christ has done for us by saying. “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21). In Romans 15, Paul shifts from giving some instructions to the people on how to live, to some concluding comments in terms of his travel plans by speaking this blessing: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). However, the most common placement of these blessings is at their conclusion of letters, and almost all the letters in the New Testament conclude this way. In addition, we see that Jesus confers a blessing upon his disciples before his ascension (Luke 24:50-51).
Therefore, the practice of a blessing is firmly grounded in Scripture and the model of closing a service with one reflects the example we see employed by the apostles in their letters. While some pastors create their own closing blessings based upon the themes or ideas of their messages, a practice I think is acceptable, my own personal practice is to utilize one of the blessings that we see in the Bible that connects to the message in light of the large number of blessings that we see in the Bible itself.
Why It Is Important: God’s Parting Words to Us
Having explored why we do it, I want to now think more about why it is so important and why it is something we should all look forward to each week. I suspect some look forward to this moment simply because it marks the end of the service. While I don’t think that is the right reason to look forward to this moment, I do think its placement at the end of the service points to its significance.
It was common in the ancient world to offer some sort of final word in a conversation or setting like this. We do the same thing today both in conversations or in gatherings, saying things like “bye,” “thanks for coming,” “drive home safely,” “‘til we meet again,” or, if you are Porky Pig, “Th-th-that’s all, folks!” That’s not how we end our worship service. Instead, we end with a message from God. God gets the final word.
I read a book a number of years ago that pointed to the fact that we often remember how things start, maybe a few key moments, and how things end. Not only does God get the final word, but in these final words of the service, He sends us out in a way that causes us to praise Him and/or ponder the promises He has made for us and His abiding presence with us. We return to our lives in this world being reminded that God is with us. We go out trying to apply the truths that we have heard from His word knowing that we are not alone but that God is ever-present with us and will help us.
Thus, I would invite you to not just view this moment as a formality but to really lean into it. Some people lift their hands as if they are receiving something, knowing that they are receiving this word of promise from God. Some people close their eyes like they do in prayer, not because this is a prayer to God (as it is actually a proclamation from God) but as a way to hear it more deeply and soak it in. Others keep their eyes open while listening intently to this word that can encourage them and help them.
In order to make sure that God gets the final word not just in our services but also in this post about this final word, I wanted to point us to the blessings found in Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians. These letters probably have the highest blessing-to-word ratio in his letters. I suspect that is because the people needed these words of promise from God as they faced persecution for their faith and pressure to turn back from God’s way to the way of life they had when they served idols. You’ll need to keep your eyes open as you read these, but I would encourage you to soak them in slowly and deeply to encourage you as you return from reading this post to whatever you have before you.
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you. May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:28
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:18
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also email to be added to the list that receives weekly emails with our blog posts.
