Essentials Of The Faith / Adult Sunday School Class

In Christ

QUESTION: What does it mean to be 'In Christ'?

I. Language and Usage

 Strongs Number 1722 en { en}
  -a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and
   (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest
  -TDNT - 2:537,233; prep, by 141, with 134, among 117, at 112, on 46, through 37,
   misc. 321;
 
   1) in, by, with etc.

 Strongs Number 5547 Christos { khris-tos'}
  -from 5548; TDNT - 9:493,1322;  { Cristov" }Christ = "anointed"

   1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God
   2) anointed

The phrase 'in Christ' is found over 90 times in the NASB

II.  Contextual Usage
 To get a better  understanding of what it means to be 'In Christ' we must search the Scriptures to see how the term is used and applied.

 A. 'The body of Christ'
    READ:  Eph. 1:22-23, 4:15-16;  1 Cor. 12:12,27; Rom. 12:4-5; Col. 1:18, 2:19; Gal. 3:28

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -Believers are members, parts of the body of Christ with Christ being the head.
      -Believers are the organs and limbs  that make up the physical representation  and  workings of Christ on the Earth.
      -All Believers have a role and function in Christ, in the body and that role / function must be exercised properly.
       -The proper exercising of our role / function in the body contributes to the  growth of one another.
       -Our role / functions in the body are different.
  -We speak the truth to one another in love.
  -We are to grow up, mature
       -in our relationship with Christ
       -in our relationship with one another.
  -Believer are united together, one with another. We are one.

 B. 'His church'
READ: Rom. 6:3-4, 8:1; Gal. 3:27; Phil. 1:1, Isa. 28:16

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -Believers who are followers of Christ become part of the church through  baptism into Christ and by the name of Christ.
  -Believers have new life in Christ. The old had died and the new lives.
  -We share in the death and resurrection of Christ as demonstrated in our baptism.
  -We have put on Christ. It is He whom God sees as we stand before the throne of God.
  -We are individually saints 'holy ones of God' in Christ and corporately the church of     God.
  -We are the building and He is the chief Cornerstone.

 C. Part of 'the Vine'
READ:  John 15:1-11

QUESTION: According to this text, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -Jesus is our life vine.  Believers only exist as they are connected to the Vine.
   (See Acts 17:28a)
  -Only while connected to the Vine will Believers produce fruit in their lives.
   -As the Lord produces fruit thru us, He prunes us (hones off the rough edges) so that we might produce more fruit for Him
  -We all partake of the same power source, the Holy Spirit.
  -We do all things thru Christ and w/o Christ we can do nothing.
  -Abiding in Christ will bring answer to our prayers.
  -Abiding in Christ will bring joy in it's fullness.

 D.  Our 'True Tabernacle'
READ:  Heb. 8:1-6;   2 Cor. 5:1-9

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -Believers have the promise of an eternal dwelling place built by the Lord Himself.
  -Christ  is the Chief Priest who ministers in our stead in the abode of God.
  -Believers are promised that when we die we will be present with the Lord.
   -The promise is sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.

 E. Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
READ: Jn. 20:22; Acts 1:8, 2:38, 4:8; Rom. 5:1-5; Col. 1:2

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -In Acts and Paul's letters, the reception of the Holy Spirit brings / places the Believer 'in Christ' as we now share a spiritual
    nature of Christ.
  -We have the power of God within us.
   -The purpose of this power is to be a witness for God as to His work in Christ.
  -This indwelling of the Holy Spirit is  gift from God, not a reward for works.
  -We are justified / made right with God.
  -We have peace with God.
  -There is a purpose to our tribulations / trials: they bring forth perseverance, proven     character, hope.
  -We have the love of God in our hearts.
  -We are sanctified before God.

 F.  We are part of the New Covenant
  Read: Jer. 31:31-33; 1 Cor 11:25-26
  -We are united with Christ through His work at Calvary. He is the New Covenant and by partaking of communion, we unite with Him in this New Covenant.  Through this union  Believers share the blessing and responsibilities of this New Covenant with God.

 G. Called
READ: 1 Peter 2:9;  James 2:7; Rom. 1:6, 8:28; Eph. 4:4; 2 Thess 2:14

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?
  -To be 'in Christ' is to be called by God to relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus.
        -This calling is a special relationship that is a privilege and not to be taken for granted.
  -It is to bear Christ's image and to share in His glory. To be forever united with Christ.

  H. Death is transformed
READ: 1Thess 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-58

QUESTION: According to this text, what does being 'In Christ' mean?
  -The Believer is not to fear death. It is to be as sleep to him because Jesus bore the  horror of death for us on the cross of Calvary.
  -We will be changed.
  -The dead will be raised imperishable.
  -No longer any sting to death.
  -We have victory over death.

 I. Persecution
READ: 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Peter 5:10; Matt. 5:11-12; John 15:20-21

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -We will suffer if we live godly lives.
  -Our suffering will only be for a little while.
  -We will be perfected, confirmed, strengthened and established.
  -We are blessed by God thru our persecution.
  -Our reward will be great in heaven.

 J. Made Alive
READ:  Eph. 2:1-10; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Tim. 1:1

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -We were once dead and now we are alive...eternally.
  -We are raised up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places.
  -We are God's handiwork.
  -We were created to do good works.
  -Our old life is gone and we have a new life in Christ.
   -Our past is gone and forgotten to God.
  -We have the promise of life eternal.

 K. Sonship
READ:  Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:3-14

QUESTION: According to these texts, what does being 'In Christ' mean?

  -We are all sons of God.
  -We are adopted by God.
  -We are heirs with Christ.
  -We will be glorified with Christ.
  -We have His Spirit in our hearts.
  -We are no longer slaves to sin.
  -Spiritual blessings are available to us.
  -As son's we should be holy and blameless before Him.
  -As sons we have the forgiveness of our sins.
  -We can know the will of God as His children.
  -We are God's own possession.

III. Conclusion and Summary
 What we are talking about is our union with Christ.  Like Sanctification, I believe that  union with Christ is both immediate at the time of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and progressive beginning with the effectual call to man by God.

 Anytime God's grace is showered upon us, we have some limited union with Christ. Therefore I believe that union with Christ (to be 'in Christ')  is inclusive to the whole of the salvation experience.

 'In Christ' means to be in relationship with, indwelled by, controlled by, and responsible to the perfecting of our lives by  being in Him.

 Perhaps no other verse demonstrates this phrase better than 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 faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.'

 Our desire should be to know Christ and live for Him. To press on in our pursuit to immerse ourselves in Christ.  To know and experience, in our own lives what it means to be truly 'in Christ'.

A Survey of  What Jesus did, What He told us to do and It's implications.

 It is the intent of this search to survey the Gospels to observe what Jesus did in His  earthly
ministry. It is also the intent to discover what Jesus told us to do. Added to both will be what the implications are for the Believer striving  to increasingly reflect the image of Christ in their lives. It is important to understand that duplication in parallel texts or duplication of events or commands are not included in this survey.

What Did Jesus Do?
Matt. 3   Jesus was baptized and God was well pleased.
Matt. 4:2  Jesus fasted.
Matt. 4:1-11  Jesus uses Scripture to defeat Satan in the wilderness.
Matt. 4:18-22  Jesus calls men to follow Him and they come, no questions asked.
Matt. 4:23  Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and met peoples physical needs. (healing)
Matt. 5   Jesus teaches His disciples and spend time with them.
Matt. 8   Jesus calms the storm
Matt. 9   Jesus ministered to, ate with and fellowshipped with sinners.
Matt. 10  Jesus delegates authority to the 12 Apostles.
Matt. 11  Jesus prays.
Matt. 12  Jesus widened the term 'family' to include other Believers.
Matt. 14  Jesus, tired withdrew from the crowds to be alone.
Matt. 15  Jesus teaches the religious and political leaders of His day.
Matt. 16  Jesus asked the disciples who the people say that He is and then who they say He is.
               Jesus is proclaimed by Peter to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Matt. 17  Jesus took His closest disciples and showed them His glory. (transfiguration)
Matt. 21  Jesus cleansed the Temple and states that His Fathers house should be a house of  Prayer.
Matt. 22  Jesus defends His faith against the religious leaders and unbelievers.
Matt. 23  Jesus condemns hypocrites and unbelievers.
Matt. 26  Jesus prays in the Garden  for direction and then decides to do the will of God.
Matt. 27  Jesus willingly gave up His life for us.
Matt. 28  Jesus rose from the dead by the power of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
               Jesus commissions His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.
Jn. 2   Jesus turns water into wine while attending a wedding feast.
Jn. 4   Jesus confronts a woman in sexual sin...forgives her and tells her to sin no more.
Jn. 6   Jesus feeds 5000 who follow Him. (miracle)
Jn. 11   Jesus wept over His friend and then raises Lazareth from the dead.
Jn. 13   Jesus washes the disciples feet to model servanthood.
Jn. 14   Jesus teaches His disciples about the Comforter who will come to be with them.
Jn. 17   Jesus prays for His disciples. (Jesus' high priestly prayer)
Jn. 20   Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
Jn. 21   Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection.

 Jesus demonstrated in His actions that He was God. He demonstrated how a man sent from God is to act. Jesus went to those who were in need of a Savior: sinners, outcasts, criminals, the powerless, the homeless, the weak, and the 'unlovely'. Jesus also responded with and spoke to the religious leaders and public officials about their spiritual lives before God and the people they served.

 Jesus confronted the temptations of Satan with Scripture and defeated him to show us that there is power in the Word of God in the time of temptation. Jesus healed people and met their physical needs to show us that we must be holistic in our approach to the unsaved. Jesus showed us that miracles are possible and that we have access to that same power in the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is we only have faith.

 Jesus delegates authority to His disciples so that the Gospel might have more mouths and lives to proclaim it to the lost throughout the world. This models for us an evangelistic and missions strategy for the local church.

 Jesus spent much time both alone and with others in prayer. It was His life force showing us our need to be connected to the vine by continual prayer. Jesus was baptized and God said He was well pleased. this seems to indicate that we should follow the example of Christ and walk through the waters of baptism and that this act will be pleasing to God.

 Jesus showed us that blood ties are not stronger than those of the family of God. Believers have an extended family that is to be closer than our own biological family. Jesus set the example of discipleship in that He took 12 men and worked primarily with them to teach them the mysteries of the Kingdom. Then He commanded them to go out and make disciples of others. Jesus set the pattern for personal disciple making within the local church.

 Jesus lived the Word of God and was our example. We can learn much from what He did and by imitating it in our lives.  To be 'in Christ' means to follow after Him and to do what He did, in faith.

 It means when faced with a decision, temptation or a difficult situation ask yourself,

What Would Jesus Do?
                                                                                                     .......and then do it!

What did Jesus tell us to do?

Matt. 5  Jesus tells us to be both salt and light to the world.
  Jesus tells us to be righteous.
  Jesus tells us to reconcile with one another before offering a sacrifice to Him.
  Jesus tells us to live by godly attitudes not only Godly actions.
  Jesus tells us to love our enemies and to pray for them.
Matt. 6  Jesus tells us to be humble before others and God.
    "    pray faithfully.
    "    forgive others.
    "    fast.
    "    be heavenly minded.
    "     trust God to take care of you.
    "    seek first the things of God.
Matt. 7  Jesus tells us to not judge others  falsely.
    "    ask God for what we want in faith.
    "    treat others as you would want them to treat you.
    "    watch out for false teachers.
    "    hear and act upon His words.
Matt. 8  Jesus tells us to forget all else and follow Him.
Matt. 10 Jesus tells us not to fear, that we are valuable in God's eyes.
    "  to confess Christ before all people.
    "  to deny ourselves, take up His cross and follow Him.
Matt. 11 Jesus tells us to come to Him with our burdens. They are not too heavy for Him and HE will give us the rest we need.
Matt. 18 Jesus tells us to receive others in His name. (fellowship w/ other Believers inside and  outside of our local fellowship)
               Jesus tells us to go about discipline in an orderly way with godly intentions.
     "    have limitless forgiveness to those who sin against us.
Matt. 20 Jesus tells us to be servants to all for Christ's sake.
Matt. 24 Jesus tells us to watch for His return.
Matt. 25 Jesus tells us to continue to work for the Kingdom until He returns for us.
Matt. 28 Jesus tells us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

Jn. 3  Jesus tells us that we must be 'born again' to know God and have eternal life.
Jn. 4  Jesus tell s us to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Jn. 7  Jesus tells us to be thirsty for God and to go to Him to be refreshed and filled.
Jn. 12  Jesus tells us to be Christ's servants and to humbly be His servant.
Jn. 13  Jesus tells us to wash each others feet as a show of humility and servanthood.
Jn. 15  Jesus tells us to abide or remain in Him.  To get our sustenance  from Him.
Jn. 21  Jesus tells us to feed God's people.