A Praiseworthy God
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:3-9
“Blessed be God…” is how this paragraph starts. A line like that may cause you to think on the old Hymn, “Blessed Be The Name” or perhaps the newer song “Blessed Be Your Name.” We sing that, we say it, but what does it mean? There are really a couple of ways that the Bible describes God as “blessed.” One of those is with the word “Makarios,” which is the word we find in the beatitudes. It means to be happy, joyful, or fortunate in all the right ways. God certainly is “blessed” in this way. God is not morose or glum, He is a God of joy and love and even expresses that in the beauty of creation, in the glory of scriptures, and through His gift of grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. Paul talks about God being “blessed” in this way in Titus 1, when he speaks of the “gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” God’s glory, his brightness and majesty, is part of his “makarios” blessedness.
The other way in which the Bible speaks of God’s blessedness is with the word “eulogetos..” You are familiar with a derivative of that word, “eulogy,” which in this time is usually reserved for a funeral. But we are not having a funeral for God, so how does that concept relate? Well, a eulogy is a “good word” about someone. At a funeral, we speak good memories and remember all of the person’s best attributes, despite their human shortcomings. But with God, his “eulogetos” blessedness speaks to his perfect praiseworthiness. That is the word Peter uses here. “Praiseworthy is the God and Father of out Lord Jesus Christ!”
That probably helps us to understand Peter’s intention a little better. He is proclaiming God’s praiseworthiness, and then he will go on in the paragraph to tell us some of the tangible reasons that God is praiseworthy. These reasons are worth meditating on, and my prayer is that they will be an edification and encouragement to you as you ponder our praiseworthy God!
Living Hope through a Living Savior
The thought flows right into God’s regenerating work in our life. God takes spiritually dead men and women, and breathes new life into them by the power of the Gospel. That life produces a “living hope.” The contrast of life and death is the starkest contrast we see in our experience, and it is a powerful image here! We are told that this life and living hope comes because Jesus Christ Himself was dead and is now alive. He is, as Paul tells us in Romans 8, the “firstborn among many brothers.” Jesus displayed his life-giving power on earth as he raised Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus, but in terms of importance and impact, His resurrection is “first” because it is the power that flows through all subsequent resurrection. We are raised to live spiritually now, and we are given an eternal hope and life lasting through the ages.
An Imperishable Inheritance and Impenetrable Fortress
Peter goes on to speak about our benefits from the praiseworthy God in terms of an “inheritance.” And it is not like any other inheritance, this one is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading…”. Jesus spoke in Matthew 6 about treasures of two kinds. Earthly treasures, which rot and rust and can be stolen, and heavenly treasures. Our inheritance is a heavenly treasure, which never rots, rusts, or walks off by way of a thief. And what is that inheritance? It is our very salvation. Through faith, we are “guarded” by God’s power until we receive the fulness of our gift, the final salvation of our souls. We experience salvation now, but none of us on earth realize the fulness of a perfect salvation. Perfect absence of sin, sorrow, sickness, and any sad effects of the curse. Right now our salvation “guards” or “keeps” us in our earthly journey, and God’s power is the best guardian ever. Out eternal life is secured, and our inheritance is guaranteed; but oh! What joy will it be when we have it in fulness!
A Lasting Joy through Temporary Trials
Another experienced benefit of blessing is our joy. Our Joy is a result of our eternal inheritance. It is lasting because it is based on a lasting provision. Peter contrasts this lasting joy, however, with trials. He says these trials are “for a little while.” That is an enormous relief to those of us who experience trials of faith, because in this time, “a little while” can be up to a lifetime. But our lifetime is so short compared to the eternal inheritance. And more than that, it is not as though we must simply endure for endurance’s sake – we endure because these trials are a refiner’s furnace. This furnace of affliction is part of proving and working our faith into genuineness. Any contaminant or dross or particle of selfishness is lovingly raised to the surface of our faith in the crucible of God’s faith-foundry. Anything gold is worth a refinement process, and our faith’s refinement has an excellent goal – the praise, honor, and honor of Christ at His second coming!
A Visible Love for our Invisible Savior
Don’t take that the wrong way, for Christ is the eternal God-man, and one day we will see Him face-to-face. But now, we don’t “see” him physically. We “see” Him in the Word, in His gifts of grace, in His body on earth. But we won’t see Him physically until His return. And we yearn for that day as any bride would yearn for her loving husband in his absence. But though we wait, we still love. And that love includes rejoicing with joy that is too great for words. Any verbal expression of our love and joy in Christ falls short, but it is still tangible. It is tangible in our obedience, in our love for one another, in our discipleship and prayer, in the fruit of the Spirit which flow from us as His new-creation people. We don’t now see Him, but our faith is no less genuine. The trials in the last section serve to keep us longing for Him, otherwise we would stray in our contentedness. But one day, our faith will be made sight, and we will obtain the outcome of our faith – the final purpose and end, which is that salvation of our souls.
The Final Outcome for a Life of Faith
Peter ends the paragraph by bringing us right back to our new life and inheritance, that eternal gift that the Blessed God gives: our full salvation. It's encouraging to know that our life of faith is not a "religion" that is only personal and beneficial in the here and now. Some may consider their faith a quiet part of their lives that is to be kept to themselves. But faith, true faith in Christ, is more than part of life; it is our life. And it is our life more than now, it has everlasting ramifications. If God has raised you to new life, and given you all these wonderful benefits, would you exclaim with Peter and with the rest of God's children, “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” He is the praiseworthy God!
Blessed be God, and may God bless you!
Pastor Aaron Frost
February 10, 2023
