"Of Him Are Ye In Christ Jesus"     

I Corinthians 1:30

 

     All true believers, all who are born again by the Spirit of God, are in Christ, vitally united to him by a living union of faith. As the branches are in the vine, drawing life from and entirely dependent upon the vine, we are in Christ Jesus. And we are in Christ, not by an act of our own free-will, but by the work of God's free, sovereign, almighty grace. Meditate upon this glorious fact. What does it  mean to be in Christ?

1. TO BE IN CHRIST IS TO BE BLESSED OF GOD (Eph. 1:3). In the everlasting covenant of grace, God blessed all his people with all spiritual blessings, before the world began. All with which God can or will bless man, he has freely bestowed upon us in Christ in infinite measure.

2. TO BE IN CHRIST IS TO BE THE OBJECT OF GOD'S FAVOR AND PLEASURE. With whom is God well pleased? Only Christ (Matt. 17:5). But, if we are in Christ and one with Christ, God is well pleased with us for Christ's sake. He cannot be displeased with the body, if he is well pleased with our Head.

3. TO BE IN CHRIST IS TO BE COMPLETE (Col. 2:10). In Christ Jesus we are complete, full, lacking nothing, perfect. He is all our Wisdom, all our Righteousness, all our Sanctification, and all our Redemption. All that God requires of us, we have in perfect fulness in Christ. Being complete in him, there is no lack, no need, and no room. The only way we can put anything else in is to push him out!

4. TO BE IN CHRIST IS TO BE FREED FROM ALL POSSIBILITY OF CONDEMNATION (Rom. 8:1). It is no more possible for a believer to be condemned by God than it is for Christ to be condemned, for we are in him. Because we are in him, because God once imputed our sins to him, and because he has imputed Christ's righteousness to us, we cannot ever be condemned. God will not, for any reason, ever impute sin to his elect (Rom. 4:8). And if he will not impute sin to us, he cannot ever, for any reason, condemn us for sin. We are in Christ!

 

Don Fortner