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
(Eph. 1:3 NKJV)

Every spiritual blessing is in Christ

This profound passage teaches us that . . .

1. God the Father blesses us. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” – James 1:16-17.
2. God’s most precious blessings are spiritual (Ephesians 1:3). These blessings include God’s grace, mercy, love, kindness, and salvation (Ephesians 2:4-10). There are many material blessings that all people on earth share in common. God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust (see Matthew 5:45). Every good and perfect gift comes from His bountiful hand (James 1:17). These are wonderful blessings, but they cannot compare to the spiritual blessings of forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life.
3. Every spiritual blessing is in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Since the creation of the world, everyone has benefited from God’s physical and material blessings. When Christ died to save us from our sins, He gave us access to spiritual and eternal blessings that are found only in Him. These blessings are available to all people. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, He came, “…that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:16).
4. To benefit from these spiritual blessings we must learn how to get ‘into Christ.’ This is an easy task. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3). Scriptural baptism secures God’s spiritual blessings; it brings us into a sacred relationship with His son. We are baptized into His death, giving us the benefits of His saving blood. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” – Ephesians 1:7. Where? “In Him.”

Let every knee bow and every tongue confess and praise His Name.

-- Rick Duggin