1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… I. THE BLESSINGS ACKNOWLEDGED. 1. Divine sonship. We become the children of God — both in reference to state and character, to condition and disposition — through the belief of the truth; and this belief of the truth is produced and maintained by the influence of the Holy Spirit. 2. The inheritance provided for them. 3. The living hope of the inheritance, through the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead. This hope rests entirely on God's free sovereign kindness, manifested in harmony with His righteousness; but it is only in the belief of the truth that this sovereign kindness can be apprehended as a ground of hope. II. THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THESE BLESSINGS. 1. God is the author of these blessings. 2. It is as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that God bestows these blessings. In the riches of His sovereign mercy He determined to save an innumerable multitude of sinful men, and in the depth of His wisdom He formed a plan for realising the determination of His mercy, not merely in consistency with, but in glorious illustration of, His holiness and justice. 3. These blessings originate in the "abundant mercy" of God. (1) Think on the character of Him who bestows these blessings — the absolute, independent Jehovah, perfectly, infinitely, unchangeably, happy in Himself. (2) Think on the nature of the blessings, — the very highest that can be conferred on creatures, and in their measure limited by nothing but the capacity of the recipient. (3) Think on the character of those on whom they are bestowed — sinners, guilty, depraved, condemned; deserving everlasting destruction. (4) Think of the number of those on whom these blessings are bestowed (Revelation 21:24; Revelation 7:9). (5) Think of the means through which the blessings are communicated — the Incarnation, the sacrifice of God's own son (1 John 4:10; John 3:16). 4. These blessings are of vast magnitude and incalculable value. They include deliverance from guilt, depravity, degradation, death, everlasting misery; the enjoyment of the favour of God, tranquillity of conscience, ever-growing conformity to the Divine image, and happiness throughout eternity. 5. The proper method of acknowledging these benefits is "to bless" their munificent giver. This is one of the purposes for which we are begotten again (Isaiah 43:21; 1 Peter 2:9). Our whole life should be a hymn of praise to the God of our salvation (Psalm 103:1-4; Psalm 86:12, 13; Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15, 16; Revelation 5:13). (J. Brown, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
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