First Peter 1:3-12 is one long sentence. This long sentence is a blessing, a well-speaking, that involves the Trinity of the Godhead. Verse 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here Peter speaks of God the Father. Beginning in verse 3, Peter mentions the Lord Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ, again and again. At the very end of this section, in verse 12, Peter speaks of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this blessing is actually composed of the Trinity of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three Gods. We have one God, the unique, eternal God. This unique God is complete and perfect. But although God is uniquely one, He is triune. He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Those who know Greek may not consider that Peter’s composition is very good. The Bible, however, is a matter of revelation, not of composition. These ten verses in 1 Peter 1 may not be good human composition, but they give us an excellent, marvelous, and wonderful divine revelation.
In 1:3 Peter uses the word “blessed.” Paul also uses this word in Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.” In Greek the word blessed means well spoken of, praised with adoration. Hence, a blessing is a well-speaking, and to bless someone is to speak well of him. Therefore, to bless God is to speak well concerning Him and all that He is to us, has done for us, and will do for us. To bless God is to speak in a sweet way of what God is, of what He has done, and of what He will do. This kind of speaking is a blessing.
Many Christians think that to bless God is to praise Him. This understanding of blessing certainly is not wrong. Whenever you are about to praise God, you need to speak something about Him. However, in what way shall we praise God? A child may say, “God, I praise You for giving me a good father, one who loves me and who earns a lot of money. God, I also praise You that my mother buys nice things for me.” Many Christians praise God mainly for material things. They may say, “Oh, blessed be God the Father! Praise Him for giving me a good business, a large house, and a nice family.” This falls far short of the revelation in 1:3-12.
Gradually the Lord has brought me into the thought of the divine revelation in the Bible. I can testify that when I read such a verse as 1:3, I realize that to bless God the Father is to speak well of what God is to us subjectively. It is not merely to praise Him for what He has done for us or given to us objectively. To bless God the Father is to speak subjectively of what He is to us, of what He has done for us, and of what He will do for us. This is to bless God according to what is revealed in the New Testament.
These ten verses in chapter one of 1 Peter tell us what the Father has done for us through the Son and by the Spirit. The Father has done so much for us through His Son. All that the Father has done for us through the Son is applied to us by the Holy Spirit. We need to speak well regarding all these things.