Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— Ephesians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3

In Ephesians, this statement is followed with a marvelous exposition of all the heavenly blessings we have in Christ, beginning from the time we were chosen by the Father in eternity past; then, in 1 Peter, after this statement, we see how God blesses us as we follow Christ on the earth today; finally, in 2 Corinthians, Paul goes on to show us, by his own example, how God blesses us as we labor together with God and suffer on behalf Christ for the building up of His church.

And in 2 Corinthians, the particular blessing we see is that God comforts us, or “encourages” us (the Greek word has both meanings), as we pass through tribulations on behalf of Christ, so that we may be able to comfort others in the same way we have been comforted (1:3-7). Eventually, when we are “burdened beyond measure, beyond our power, so that we despair even of life” (v. 8), God delivers us by His resurrection power from “so great a death” (vv. 9-10).

By passing through such trials we learn, in our own experience, that “God is true” (v. 18), and that all the promises of God have their “Yes” in Christ Himself, so that we respond to God through Him with the “Amen!” (v. 20). And through all this we are more firmly established in Christ, even though we have already received the anointing and the sealing of the Holy Spirit as a pledge (vv. 21-22).

How God has blessed us, in Christ, in every way! By giving us a heavenly position in Christ; by caring for us as we follow Christ on the earth; and with His divine comfort as we labor and suffer for the building up of the church. Surely when we consider all these blessings we must declare, with the apostles,

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

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—  30 September 2025 —