As we saw in the previous Note, there are three different letters in the New Testament that begin, after a brief introduction, with the very same phrase:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These three letters are 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and 1 Peter.

And as we consider these letters, especially in how they begin, we see they each show us, from a different angle, how our heavenly Father has blessed us. It is when we are able to speak of these blessings to others, as Paul and Peter do in their writings, that we are truly “blessing” God, even “eulogizing” Him, as we should. (See the Brief Note, “Blessed Be Our God and Father!” • 1)

According to Ephesians, the blessings we have received from God began with our being chosen by Him from eternity past to be His many sons:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before Him, in love, having predestined us to take our place as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
— Ephesians 1:3-5

So, Ephesians views us, not as forgiven sinners, but as those whom God has chosen and blessed to be His many sons for the carrying out of His purpose, which is “the purpose of the ages” (3:11). In brief, it’s vantage point is from the heavens and from the standpoint of God’s purpose, seeing us as those who are already with Christ in the heavens, rather than from the standpoint of the earth and focusing on us as fallen sinners in need of forgiveness.

And how many heavenly blessings we have in Christ that flow from that first blessing of God’s choosing! In Him we have redemption (1:7); know the mystery of His will (1:9); and have been predestined to become God’s inheritance, to the praise of His glory (1:11). We are also sealed by the Holy Spirit as the pledge of our future inheritance; and we can know “the surpassing greatness of His power” in the resurrected and ascended Christ (1:17-23), with whom we have been made alive, so that in Him we are now seated in the heavenly places in Christ (2:5-6), to be, in the ages to come, “God’s workmanship” (2:10).

We have even been brought near to God and to His purpose in the blood of Christ (2:13) to be created, together with the Children of Israel, as the “one New Man” (2:15), so that, having been reconciled to God (2:16), we are now members of the household of God (2:19) who are being built up together as God’s dwelling place (2:21-22).

Surely, when we consider all of these blessings, we should also declare, with Paul, “Blessed be the God…who has blessed us!”

In contrast to Ephesians, however, First Peter speaks of the blessings we have received as being, not for those already seated with Christ in the heavens , but for those who are following Him here on the earth. And that is what we shall consider in the next Note in this series.

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—  24 September 2025 —