The Christian’s Position “In Christ” Lesson 01 – Introduction & Background

I. Purpose Within American there is so much use of expressions regarding our being “in Christ” that is just an expression, but in fact has its origins in this Scriptural doctrine that is rich in meaning and purpose, and yet, I have observed over many years that this doctrine is rarely clearly taught to the saints. Consider:

1 Cor 1:26-31 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27but has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29so that no man may boast before God. 30But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and , and , 31so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN ." Jer 9:23-24

My goal is to introduce this Scriptural teaching to you in significant depth such that you will become strengthened and encouraged with a clear understanding of who we are “in Christ” and what has been promised to us “In Christ”.

II. Definition and Scriptural Statistics Definition: This being “In Christ” is known in theological terms as “Union with Christ”.

From Wikipedia - “In its widest sense, the phrase “union with Christ” refers to the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. In this sense, John Murray says, union with Christ is "the central truth of the whole doctrine of .” The expression "in Christ" (en Christo in Christ, en kyrioIn the Lord, en Christo IesouIn Christ Jesus, en autoIn Him etc.) occurs 216 times in the Pauline letters and 26 times in the Johannine literature. Hence, according to , "This 'being-in-Christ' is the prime enigma of the Pauline teaching: once grasped it gives the clue to the whole."

Given the large number of occurrences and the wide range of contexts, this phrase embodies a breadth of meaning. For example; Paul uses the phrase "en Christoin Christ" as a synonym for a Christian (Romans 16:7) and the phrase "en emoiin me" to describe the intimate identification of Christ with the believer.

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

My own count on this expression using the PC Study Bible search found that the NASU: “In Christ” occurs 80X “In Jesus” occurs 3X “In Him” occurs 39X “In Me” occurs 15 X “In the Lord” occurs 39X For a Total of: 176X

Page 1 of 5 Lesson #1 Introduction and Background The Christian’s Position “In Christ” I have purposely excluded where Scripture refers to “believing” or “having faith” “in Christ” in its various forms.

The word “Christian” only occurs 5X in the whole of the New Testament.

The word “saint” only occurs 60X in the New Testament.

III. What Does It Mean to Be “In Christ” “Union with Christ” is the theological expression that captures all of these various ways of expressing being “in Christ”.

This doctrine of “Union with Christ” is “- - - an inclusive term for the whole of salvation; the various other doctrines are simply subparts. While this term and concept are often neglected in favor of concentrating on other concepts such as , , and sanctification, it is instructive to note the large number of references to the oneness between Christ and the believer. The most basic references in this connection depict the believer and Christ as being “in” one another.” from Millard Erickson’s ; 1983; p.948

Erickson lists three principal characteristics of this “Union with Christ” (p. 952). These are:

1. Judicial in Nature – “When the Father evaluates or judges us before the law, He does not look upon us alone. We are in His sight one with Christ. God always sees the believer in ‘union with Christ’ and He measures the two of them together. Thus, He does not say, ‘Jesus is righteous but that human is unrighteous.’ He sees the two as one and says in effect, “They are righteous.’ That the believer is righteous is not a fiction or a misrepresentation. It is the correct evaluation of a new legal entity, a corporation that has been formed as it were. The believer has been incorporated into Christ and Christ into the believer.”

2. Spiritual in Nature – “This has two meanings. 1. On the one hand, the union is effected by the . There is a close relationship between Christ and the Spirit, closer than is often realized. This is apparent in 1 Cor 12:13 ‘For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.’ Note also the interchangeability of Christ and the Spirit in Romans 8:9-11 ‘But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit which dwells in you.’ John Murray says, ‘Christ dwells in us if His Spirit dwells in us, and He dwells in us by the Spirit.’ The Spirit is ‘the bond of this union.’”

2. “Not only is our union with Christ brought about by the Holy Spirit; it is a union of spirits. • It is not a union of persons in one essence, as in the . • It is not a union of natures in one person, as is the case with the incarnation of Jesus Christ. • It is not a physical bonding, as in the welding of two pieces of metal.

Page 2 of 5 Lesson #1 Introduction and Background The Christian’s Position “In Christ” It is in some way a union of two spirits which does not extinguish either of them. It does not make the believer physically stronger or more intelligent. Rather, what the union produces is a new spiritual vitality within the human.”

3. Vital in Nature – “Our union with Christ is vital. His life actually flows into ours, renewing our inner nature (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 4:16) and imparting spiritual strength. There is a literal truth in Jesus’ metaphor of the vine and the branches. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit if it does not receive life from the vine, so we cannot bear spiritual fruit if Christ’s life does not flow into us. (John 15:4) ”

Wayne Grudem’s definition of this phrase, Union with Christ, from his p. 841 is: “Union with Christ is a phrase used to summarize several different relationships between believers and Christ, through which Christians receive every benefit of salvation. These relationships include the fact that 1. We are in Christ, 2. Christ is in us, 3. We are like Christ, and 4. We are with Christ.”

These four aspects of our relationship with Christ in redemption provide us with a lifetime of study and meditation and is the basis of our response to this salvation in our life.

Without an understanding of this important doctrine: 1. We cannot understand the glorious hope that we have in Christ, 2. We cannot understand the nature and purpose of spiritual warfare, 3. We cannot understand why God allows us to suffer in this life, and 4. We cannot understand our security in this salvation of God.

IV. Four False Ideas About Being “In Christ” The concept of “union with Christ” is difficult to comprehend. It is not directly defined in Scripture, but it is inferred by necessity due to the large number of detailed descriptions of it in the New Testament.

One way to increase our understanding of this idea of being “in Christ” is to look at what it is not. There are four models that are inadequate to the whole of New Testament descriptions. They are:

1. Metaphysical – Union with Christ is metaphysical. This means that this union with Christ is extra-natural and not of this natural order. This is a pantheistic concept of the essence of being, namely that we do not exist apart from God, or in this case apart from Christ. We are all (mankind) naturally part of the divine essence.

Correction: Scripture limits this union with Christ in application only to those who are born again and adopted into the family of God.

2. Mystical – Union with Christ is mystical. This means that this union with Christ is so deep and absorbing that the believer virtually loses his or her own individuality such that the human personality is obliterated. In Christ we lose our ability to be separate and apart from Christ.

Correction: The believer remains an accountable being before Christ as his judge. The believer still sins, still falls short, and is admonished to be holy and righteous. This model errs in making this union too strong and all encompassing and largely provides an easy answer for the issue of the believer’s sanctification.

Page 3 of 5 Lesson #1 Introduction and Background The Christian’s Position “In Christ” 3. Psychological – Union with Christ is like a union between two close friends or between a student and a favorite teacher. We share the same interests and are committed to the same ideals. We share a common purpose.

Correction: The believer is not just a friend, not just an acquaintance or a student of, but rather becomes a blood brother of Christ. This third model errs in making the connection with Christ too weak and naturalistic and ignores that “- - - if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.”2 Cor 5:17

4. Sacramental – Union with Christ is resolved by the ingestion of the blood and body of Christ during the of the or the Lord’s Supper. This idea comes from an overly literal interpretation of Scripture. This strictly literal interpretation is not required, nor allowed by the context of these passages. Matt 26:26-28; John 6:53

Correction: The believer is not just administered grace by the , but in fact is changed in relationship to and obedience to the God-head. He becomes a part of the functioning body of Christ in this world and inherits as a family member all riches found in Christ at the New Birth. See Hebrews 9:23-10:25

V. Implications of Being “In Christ” There are 4 implications of being “in Christ” that we will be studying in the following lessons. They are: 1. We are accounted righteous. Rom 8:1-2: Rom 8:28-39 2. We now live in Christ’s strength. Phil 4:13; Gal 2:20 3. We now suffer for Christ. John 15:20; Phil 3:8-10 4. We will reign with Christ. 2 Tim 2:12;

Some Scriptural citations regarding the implications of our being “in Christ”.

Rom 8:1-4 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Eph 1:3-6 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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Some Important Quotes

Do I, as a Christian, understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true. For this is the Christian's secret of - a happy life - yes, certainly, but we have something both higher

Page 4 of 5 Lesson #1 Introduction and Background The Christian’s Position “In Christ” and profounder to say. This is the Christian's secret of a Christian life, and of a God-honoring life, and these are the aspects of the situation that really matter. May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine. J. I. Packer; Knowing God; p. 228

Union with Christ has its source in the election of before the foundation of the world and has its fruition in the of the sons of God. The perspective of God's people is not narrow; it is broad and it is long. It is not confined to space and time; it has the expanse of eternity. Its orbit has two foci, one the electing love of God the Father in the counsels of eternity; the other glorification with Christ in the manifestation of His glory. The former has no beginning, the latter has no end . . . Why does the believer entertain the thought of God's determinate counsel with such joy? Why can he have patience in the perplexities and adversities of the present? Why can he have confident with reference to the future and rejoice in hope of the glory of God? It is because he cannot think of past, present, or future apart from union with Christ. John Murray; Redemption Accomplish and Applied; p. 164

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