Greetings in the blessed name of Jesus Christ!
This week I want to share inspired inspirational greetings Peter and Paul used to introduce two of their letters that became a part of the New Testament. All New Testament letters have similar greetings.
Many of us breeze through these "flowery" sounding greetings to get to the "real" meat of these letters.
However, these greetings are just as divinely inspired as the remainder of each letter. And each greeting contains the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Peter and Paul always broke out into praise with great joy at the very mention of their Lord Jesus Christ's name. The greetings are where the heart of each author started to passionately pound and to be poured out for their Savior as the Holy Spirit breathed in to them the Word of God.
If we don't carefully and prayerfully read the
greetings, we will never fully embrace the true heart beat of each New Testament
letter.
1 PETER 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who according to His abundant mercy
has begotten us again
into a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!
Note that we are born again (begotten again) to a living hope by God's merciful work through Jesus Christ in His cross and resurrection. We had no part of this work.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Note also that we were born again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! Oh, please don't overlook this phrase! It speaks of our union with Christ, which means that when He was raised to newness of life, so were we with Him!
EPHESIANS 1:3
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!
Note how the first 12 words of Paul's greeting jn Ephesians 1:3 are identical to the first 12 words used by Peter in his greeting in 1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who...
A literal interpretation of these 12 words is: Let God be well spoken of (praised and adored)...bless Him for His great goodness.
I know of many Christians who are still seeking to be blessed by God. However, note how this greeting reveals that we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!
How is it we are already totally blessed by God? The answer is right there at the end of this greeting: in Christ, a reference of being in union with Christ. Because of this glorious truth, all of Christ's resources become ours! Now this is being blessed in the truest sense!
CLOSING
Do you have the same response to the gospel of Jesus Christ as Peter and Paul had?
You and I have the opportunity to be nurtured by the Holy Spirit by prayerfully reading these greetings to experience the same joy and express the same praise at the very mention of our Lord Jesus Christ's name. As a result, we will teach these truths to others as an overflow of our hearts and minds!
Inspired Inspirational Greetings 
