All Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:3

Paul began his letter to the Ephesians by offering praise to God: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). There are many reasons why God is worthy of all praise and honor; but in this passage, Paul directed our attention to the spiritual blessings we have from Him. We give glory to God because he has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

As Paul continued, he listed some of the spiritual blessings available to us:
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The Fourfold Foundation of the Gospel

Cross

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

As Paul wrote to the brethren in Corinth, he reminded them of the fundamental truths in the gospel upon which everything else was built. In the verses above, the apostle mentioned four facts that are “of first importance” to God’s saving message.
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How to Overcome

Climbing a mountain

The book of Revelation was written to encourage Christians to endure the sufferings and persecutions ahead of them in order to receive their reward from God. Generally, the sufferings we face today are much different – often less severe – than what they faced near the close of the first century. But one thing remains the same – we must overcome Satan and his devices in order to be rewarded by God in the end.

So how do we overcome? The letter to the seven churches helps answer that question. John recorded, “And they overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Revelation 12:11). This verse mentioned three things they did, and that we must also do, to overcome the devil and his schemes.
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New Bible

Bible

When I was in college I bought a New Testament that would fit in my back pocket. I wanted to have a Bible with me wherever I was in case an opportunity came up where it would be handy to have one. I have carried this New Testament in my back pocket for the last nine years.

Naturally, after years of regular use, this Bible slowly began to wear out. Recently it reached the point where pages were falling out. It was time to replace it. After searching the internet and receiving suggestions from others, I found an acceptable replacement. After receiving it, one of the first things I did was tear out a couple of pages.
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Quibbles About Baptism

Quibbles About Baptism

One of the major distinctions between brethren and the religious world relates to how we understand baptism. We teach that baptism is necessary for salvation (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21), is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16), and is our entrance into the Lord’s kingdom (Acts 2:41, 47; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Many others teach that baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace (that we are saved before and without baptism) and that it is for membership in a local church or denominational body.

Of course, there are no passages in the New Testament that teach baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace or that we are baptized to gain membership into a local church (and certainly not into a denomination since the New Testament does not speak about them at all). Instead of trying to twist passages in order to provide positive support for these ideas, denominationalists will generally will try to make arguments against the necessity of baptism. They quibble about various passages to try to attack the truth about baptism. Let us notice some passages that people try to use in arguing that baptism is not essential for salvation.
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All Will Know Me

The Hebrew writer quoted from Jeremiah 31:31-34 to show the promise of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:8-12). Long before it came into effect, God planned for the new covenant to replace the old one that God had made with the Jews after leading them out of Egyptian bondage. There are a few characteristics of the new covenant listed in this text. I would like for us to consider one in this article.
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Doctrine of Baptisms

Baptism

After rebuking his audience for their lack of spiritual growth, the Hebrew writer told them they needed to leave the elementary teachings – those things that made up the foundation of their faith – and press on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1). Included in this foundation was the “instruction about washings” or the “doctrine of baptisms” (Hebrews 6:2).
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