In Christ
For many years I wrestled with the biblical concept of being “in Christ.” The New Testament uses the term “in Christ” or “in the Lord” more than 160 times.
Every aspect of God’s relationship to believers is in some way connected to our relationship with Christ. From God’s counsels in eternity past before the world was created, to our fellowship with God in heaven in eternity future, and including every aspect of our relationship with God in this life – all has occurred in union with Christ.
God sees all Christians in His Son. This preceded our earthly conversion to Christ. ‘For he chose us in him before the creation of the world’ (Ephesians 1:3). Looking into the future, and knowing that we would exist, God saw us in this unique relationship with His Son.
Throughout Christ’s life on earth, God continued to see us in His Son. Whatever Christ did as our representative, God counted as being something we did too. When Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father through His entire earthly life, God credited that to us. And because God saw us in His Son, He saw our sins as belonging to Christ. In the same way that Christ was ‘made … sin for us’ we ‘became the righteousness of God in him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When Christ died, God saw us having died too. In the same way, God saw us buried with Christ, raised with Him and even taken up to heaven with Him.
When Christ returned to heaven, all the blessings of salvation earned by Him were seen by God as our blessings, waiting to be applied personally when we existed and came into a saving relationship with Christ.
Our relationship ‘in Christ’ defines our full salvation.
To listen to this message, download in MP3 here