In Christ

Does “in Christ” mean that we are one with Him in some way? This is why I chose to do this as a followup to the Theosis discussion we had before Holy Week. Yes, in some way that we do not fully understand, we are both one with Him and becoming and growing into that unity. What the precise end of that is, even the Orthodox have not come to firm conclusions. It is a mystery as beautiful as the Cross itself. The Cross is the key to this door, the compass rose for this map, the Rosetta Stone for this lost language. We could spend eternity unpacking exactly what happened on the cross, and we still would not exhaust it fully. That, I feel, is the same with this mystery. We are One with Him, now, but are growing into greater dimensions of unity through walking with Him.

This is the question we will be seeking to answer over the next several weeks. If we are, as Paul says, “In Christ”, what does that mean? Does that have physical connotations of some sort? Does that mean that our individual souls are caught up in Him? Does that mean that our sin is hidden? Does that mean that we are One with Him in some way? Does that mean that we have new life “in Him”? That we are masterworks “in Him? This and more. Stick around to learn how we are “In Christ” and what it means, over the next several weeks.

Father, Thank you that we can rest in Christ. Thank you that we can slow down from time to time to look at things like this. Holy Spirit, be with us as we learn over the next few weeks. Help the Word to really get down in us so that it can transform us from the inside out. Jesus, help us to learn from experience as we learn in our minds what it means to be in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen This last week, we started our journey into what it means to be “in Christ”. Last Monday, we asked a series of questions which I hope to answer over the next several weeks, about just what it means to be “in Christ”. On Wednesday, I showed in part that I chose this series as a followup to the series on Theosis that we did before Resurrection Sunday. In some sense that we do not understand, we are indeed united with Christ, we have been made one with Him. We have been called righteous because we yielded our lives to Him. We have been welcomed into who He is, and His Truth, His belovedness gets all over us and all through us, like anointing oil that changes all it touches. Friday we talked about how we have new life in Him. That is the miracle I was just struggling to explain from Wednesday’s recap. He gives us his resurrection life once we die to ourselves. Baptism is meant to be a symbol and a sign of that inner reality, though many believe and see it to be more. I am coming to see this as a daily exercise, not that we lose our salvation each night (heaven forbid), but a daily choice to die to self, pick up the cross, and follow Him. That is what makes us followers of Jesus, not some mental assent, or even Spirit-baptism. We cannot truly be in Christ if we do not give up our lives, our lordship, to Him. There are so many passages about this great exchange in the New Testament, so many references to being “in Christ” or “in Him”. It is something that is worthy of study for so many reasons. In the coming week, we’ll talk more about what it means to be “in Christ”, tomorrow, we will cover an encouragement from John 15, from the mouth of Jesus Himself. He tells us that we are to stay in unity with Him at all times so that we can produce fruit as believers. We cannot do things on our own, at least not for long, and hope for finally good results. Too many of us try to do that, and things do not go as they need to, do they. The fruit we expect winds up just being a husk rather than something nourishing. It may look good on the outside, from a distance, but when we get closer we see that it is no good. On Wednesday, we will talk about one of my favorite things, Identity in Christ. In Christ, we have so much: righteousness, holiness, healing, friendship, a brother who will never betray or fail us, and so much more. How do we live “in Christ” though? We must first die to self, as I mentioned earlier. We must lay our pride down, choosing to submit to His ways, rather than asserting our own desires. Once we do that, we can start to tap into who we are in Christ. Finally, on Friday, we will talk about how God has truly done the heavy lifting for us, and once we are “in Christ” we can begin to walk out the amazing good things that we were originally made to do. It is all quite stunning, particularly against the backdrop of our previous discussion of theosis. This, series, I think, will put more rubber to the road for many of us. Be blessed this week, and I’ll see you tomorrow for the memesplanation. As an aside, the posting schedule is changing around here: I am now doing only 3 memesplanations per week, to match the 3 news days, which will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday rather than Monday-Wednesday. I will continue with the devotions for Sundays and the streamed show on Fridays.

In Christ, we have newness of life. We have been reborn IN HIM. What does that mean? On one level, we have been birthed into His death and resurrection, therefore we have a new Lord, and no longer need to be dominated by the patterns of pride which manifest in attitudes and behaviors which ultimately destroy us, both physically and spiritually. We can walk in freedom. That is the new life that 1 Corinthians 15:22 talks about, here. Life under new Lordship where we are no longer constrained to live according to pride.

“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless. If a person is separated from me, he is discarded; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned. But if you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done. Abide in Him. You will grow when you live in union with Him. You will cease growing when you step away and disconnect from Him. What does it mean to live in union with Him? It means that we surrender our ways and adopt His. We go small. We cease to assert our own desires and choose to live with open hands of blessing toward others, and correcting what needs correction in ourselves and others as we grow. #memesplanation #john15 #abideinme #thevine #inChrist #Jesus #Truth #TechFreedom #spiritualityntech

Who am I in Christ? I am holy, alive, complete, chosen, called, justified, glorified, redeemed, forgiven, and so much more. If I cited passages to back all of these up, I’d be here for almost an hour. We each need an identity overhaul so that our beliefs about ourselves match what The Lord tells us in the New Testament. As long as there is even a “yeah, but” in you when I tell you that the Bible says that if you are in Christ, you are HOLY, you still have work to do. That is not a pride thing to believe what God says about you, still repent and work to walk in a more kenotic state so that you stay on track with God’s words over and about you. #memesplanation #inchrist #whoareyou #Truth #Bible #God #TechFreedom #spiritualityntech

Who are you in Christ? A masterwork created In CHRIST, so that you can do the good things that God designed for you to do before you were born. That is a huge statement, isn’t it? Let’s break it down: 1) God plans ahead from the before the beginning of time 2) God pursues you and makes a way for you to be in Christ. 3) God remakes us when we are in Christ 4) We choose to submit to Him 5) We get remade and have these good works, whatever they may be, revealed to us. Wow. That may be too much for a memesplanation, but that is where I will leave you for now. #memesplanation #ephesians2 #Bible #Paul #inChrist #Truth #TechFreedom #spiritualityntech

Father, Thank you for being present with us, along with the Holy Spirit as we are in Christ. Thank you that we get to learn what it means to be “in Christ”. Thank you that it is a divine mystery that we will never fully understand. Come and be in our midst as we continue this study. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Welcome to this series on what it means to be “in Christ”. I look forward to walking through much of what Paul had to say on this topic, as it is a rich mine that rarely gets tapped. Last week’s memesplanations covered some passages from Colossians, and I want to recap to these passages, briefly today. I will put a nice little bow on those passages, and that will be the norm for this series. Colossians 1:18-20 He is the Head of his body, which is the church. And since he is the beginning and the firstborn heir in resurrection,he is the most exalted One, holding first placein everything.For God is satisfied to have all his fullnessdwelling in Christ.And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself—back to its original intent, restored to innocence again! If Jesus is the head of the Body of Christ, and we are that Body, then we have all the fullness of God available to us. Why do we miss this, more often than not? We are not told that it is available, or we don’t dig to find the Truth. Jesus is all in all through His sacrifice, and we are in Him. That is HUGE. Let that sink in, He has made us pure again. That is the starting point, not the endgame. Colossians 3:1-4 Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority!Yes,feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realmand fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixionwith Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ.And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory! You are dead to this world, but alive in Christ. You no longer have to live as a slave to pride or any other thing that is not Him. Because we are dead to the world and alive to Him, we can feast, as this passage says, on the treasures of heaven, here and now. All of the buzz about identity and identities these days finds its proper end there. That is your identity, Christian. You are in Christ, first and foremost. Nothing else really matters. Colossians 2:9-11 For he is the complete fullness of deity living in human form.And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filledwith Godas Christ’s fullness overflows within us. He is the Headof every kingdom and authority in the universe! Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sinhas been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us. Juicy fruits, no? If Jesus is God incarnate, and we are in Him, then we get all of that as long as we submit to Him. We get to be filled with all the fullness of God. Let that sink in: since we are in Christ, we have full access to the riches of heaven. So, God has made it possible for us to be more than we are, through Jesus. We have access to the fullness of God, the riches of heaven, both spiritually and in the natural. We are dead to the world, the pride which sets it and enslaved us in opposition to the Lord, and alive to the freedom that comes through submission to His ways. We get to be formed in His way now, rather than wandering the trackless places in this world.

Let joy be your continual feast.Make your life a prayer.And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-8 Because we are in Christ, we can feast on joy continually. We can make our lives into prayer, because we can give thanks for all things, always. It is so easy to get sucked down into garbage thinking and attitudes because the natural is starting to look like an extension of hell, more and more each day. Focus on the fact that you are breathing, your heart is beating, and you are, if you are able to watch this, more than likely richer than about 90% of the human race right now. Sure it all looks iffy right now, but don’t focus on that. Focus on what you can do something about and what God gives you in each moment. #memesplanation #inchrist #thanksgiving #joy #prayer #Bible #God #Jesus #spiritualityntech #TechFreedom

In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function.And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others. Romans 12:4-6 In Christ, we are one body. He is our head, but we are His body. We embody (or should embody) Him, His reign, His life, on earth. We each have select functions in the Body, and need to remember that every pain point or point of joy which affects one part of the body affects the rest of us as well. Just as when your feet hurt or you are hungry, your brain struggles to function at its peak performance. The same principle holds true for those of us who are in the Body of Christ. #memesplanation #inChrist #bodyofchrist #weareone #Bible #embodiment #spiritualityntech #TechFreedom