Today I'd like to share with you the blessings of being in Christ. But before I do, I'd like to explain what it means to be in Christ, and what it does not mean.
What it Does Not Mean
Let begin with what it does not mean to be in Christ.
It does not mean being in a church, in a religion, or in a denomination. It does not mean doing your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. It does not mean being like the hypocrites and like the Pharisees. It does not mean merely believing in Jesus, but not holding to His teaching or putting His words into practice. It does not mean serving two masters. It does not mean having a mere form of godliness but denying its power (Mt 5:20; 6:1, 5a; 7:21; 2 Tim 3:5).
What it Does Mean
Now that we've established what it doesn't mean to be in Christ, let me explain what it does mean.
Jesus said, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (Joh 14:20)
Allow me to list several things that are meant by the expression "in Christ":
- It is to be in Christ such that you entire life is found in Him.
- It is to be in relationship with Christ.
- It is to abide in Christ and He in you (Jn 15:4).
- It is to live and move and have your being in Him (Ac 17:28; Col 2:6).
- It is dwelling continually in His presence.
- It is to have total and complete union with Him.
- It is to have perfect oneness and intimacy with Him.
- It is to be His possession and belong to Him.
- It is to make Him your all in all.
- It is to live your for Him and not for yourself (2 Cor 5:15).
- It is to live by faith in Christ (Gal 2:20).
- It is to be alive to God (Rom 6:11)
- It is to live in true reality (Col 2:17)
- It is to be hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3)
Benefits of Being in Christ
Having established clear what the Bible means when it uses the expression "in Christ", now let's look at some of the countless benefits of being in Christ.
- Receiving eternal life - “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23; cf., 1Co 15:22; 2Ti 1:1)
- Experiencing salvation with eternal glory – “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (2Ti 2:10; cf., 1Pe 5:10; 2Th 1:12)
- Receiving forgiveness – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph 4:32)
- Being redeemed – “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.” (Eph 1:7)
- Being free from condemnation – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Rom 8:1)
- Never being separated from the love of God – “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:39)
- Being part of His Body, belonging to all the other members – “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Rom 12:5)
- Being one with His Body – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
- Having God’s grace freely bestowed on you and being accepted by God as one of His sons (Eph 1:6, NASB; 1Co 1:4; 2Ti 1:9)
- Sanctification – “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; their Lord and ours:” (1Co 1:2)
- Being chosen to be holy and blameless - “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Eph 1:4, 11)
- Being God’s holy people – “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:” (Php 1:1)
- Being a child of God – “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,” (Gal 3:26)
- Being part of a new family – “Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (1Co 4:15)
- Being included – “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” (Eph 1:13)
- Being brought near to God – “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph 2:13)
- Being seated in heavenly realms - And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (Eph 2:6)
- Having the assurance of all God’s promises – “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2Co 1:20)
- Receiving the answers to your prayers - "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (Joh 15:7, NASB)
- Having the veil removed - “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.” (2Co 3:14; Mat. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)
- Having freedom – “This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.” (Gal 2:4)
- Able to approach God with freedom and confidence – “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Eph 3:12)
- To speak before God – “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” (2Co 2:17)
- Being made to stand firm – “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,” (2Co 1:21)
- Always being led into God’s triumph – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2Co 2:14)
- Being a new creation – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2Co 5:17)
- Being reconciled to God – “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2Co 5:19)
- Justification before God – “know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal 2:16)
- Having the righteousness of God - “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ; the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Php 3:9)
- Being the righteousness of God - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Co 5:21)
- Being circumcised in heart – “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,” (Col 2:11)
- Experiencing God’s kindness to us – “in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:7)
- Being created as God’s handiwork to do good works – “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)
- Sharing in the promise given to Abraham – “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 3:6)
- Being called heavenward – “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:14)
- Having your heart and mind guarded – “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Php 4:7)
- Experiencing peace – “Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” (1Pe 5:14)
- Having all your needs met – “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Php 4:19)
- Being enriched in every way - “For in him you have been enriched in every way; with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge;” (1Co 1:5)
- Blessed with every spiritual blessing – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Eph 1:3)
- Having completeness and perfection – “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” (Col 1:28)
- Experiencing God’s fullness – “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” (Col 2:9-10)
- Being built into God’s dwelling – “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph 2:22)
- Being able to give thanks in all circumstances – “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Th 5:18)
- Being strong – “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2Ti 2:1)
- Being held together – “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1:17)
Closing Words
In closing, it should be abundantly clear to anyone reading this article what the Scripture means by being in Christ, and what it does not mean. I've also given you a long list of 46 benefits of being in Christ, which is by no means a complete list. In light of all these benefits, it's difficult to see why anyone would not want to be in Christ. There is no downside to it! All the money in the world could not buy all these benefits, and yet they are freely given to all who repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you have not yet done so, I hope you won't wait another day. Now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. You may not have tomorrow.
I hope that in some small way, this has also encouraged my fellow believers to be of good cheer, considering all the many benefits of being in Christ. May it build your faith and cause you to experience spiritual growth today as you apply God's Word to your life.
Attribution notice: Scripture take from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.
Do You Want to Know Him?If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe. Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?" ______________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of
Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission.
www.dmiworld.org.
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