Blessing God... Ephesians 1:3

ave you ever thought about the meaning of the word 'blessed'? Eph 1:3 (NKJV) reads: "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." People use this word so easily. "Bless you," they say, or "Blessings," at the end of a letter. I assume they understand blessed in the sense of being made happy, being enriched, or having something good bestowed upon you. This interpretation may fit when God blesses people, or when people are blessed in the sense of being happy, but how does it apply to God? How can we bless Him? I have often wondered about passages where people bless God, but the answer is actually quite simple: the predominant meaning of bless is to speak well of someone, i.e. to praise. It is the same word we transliterate as eulogy. Hence, Eph 1:3 would better read, "Praise (laudation) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has commended us IN CHRIST with every spiritual commendation in the heavenlies." And praise is certainly warranted. Let's count our blessings one by one and day by day, and praise our heavenly Father for them!

Be blessed and bless Him :-)
Margaret