CHRIST IN YOU, YOU IN CHRIST – What does it really mean? How does that work?
CHRIST IN US – US IN CHRIST
Copyright 2011 B.L. Schappell
Some time back, I found myself at a point in my Christian walk that … well, I wonder if you’ve ever been there, too. You’re earnestly, regularly studying the Scriptures; you’re learning and growing daily in your comprehension. And then God’s Spirit leads you to one additional, brand-new, morsel of Truth – and the Light goes on; the Bell rings – and you’re suddenly aware of how limited your grasp has been, until this moment, because an entirely new dimension has been revealed, opening a new opportunity to revisit the entirety of your previous understanding in this new light – in this fresh understanding!
It was 1989. One morning, after church, two men whose theology is without question, asked me whether I understood the Apostle Paul’s many references to being “In Christ”, which are generously embedded throughout the New Testament. Respecting their theology, I replied that I had presumed it to mean simply that we were trusting in Christ for our salvation.
“Would you like to take a deeper look into what it means?” One gentleman replied as he smiled and handed me an audiotape and a paper containing numerous Scripture passages. Much of what I’m sharing with you here is the fruit of my research, thru many resources, on this foundational Bible teaching.
I. The FAMILY of EARTH – All in Adam :
Gen 2:7 “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (literally, ‘lives’) and man became a living soul.”
The name “Adam” means, literally, “mankind” or “humanity”. Adam was the first representative man, corporate humanity, for all were “in Adam”, and all who’ve ever drawn breath are the extensions of Adam’s life, partakers of Adam’s flesh, members of his body. This is reinforced in Genesis 5:2, where we see that God refers to the collective human race on the earth as “Adam”: “… He called their name ‘Adam’ ”.
Our Creator gave Adam the power to generate life in his own likeness, meaning Adam is the common biological father of the whole human family, and all the life that’s ever been generated on this planet is Adam’s flesh.
Eve was “in Adam”. The very substance that comprised her body was taken from Adam’s side. (Remember, Adam called her “… bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh …”). She, and their children, and their children’s children, and so on, were Adam’s flesh. The whole human race – the entire “flesh-pool” of man was in Adam – all partakers of Adam’s life. Our origins are in Adam. We are his generations – literally one flesh, one family, all in one!
Adam was given conditional immortality, created to live forever, entrusted with free moral agency. And by the way, freedom of choice is not the creation of Burger King – rather, free choice is the gift of God; it was born in Eden.
But Adam failed. Adam separated himself from The Father, betrayed the trust of his Creator, choosing to disobey God’s clear counsel. And God’s Word says that we, the generations of Adam – like father, like son – have inherited that very nature – the tendency to go our own way, the propensity to trust in our own flawed human judgment, to rely on man’s wisdom – man’s wisdom – now, there’s an oxymoron: somewhat like “responsible drinking” – man’s wisdom.
Your Bible testifies:
Romans 3:10 “All are guilty – there is none righteous, not one.”
Isaiah 53:3 (The Message) “We’ve all done our own thing – gone our own way.”
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard”
Exodus 34:7 “God will by no means clear the guilty”
And “… the wages of sin is death …” Romans 6:23
In fact, Ephesians 2:2, 3 … tells us that, prior to new birth in Christ, we are by nature “the children of wrath, fulfilling without restraint our own self-serving desires.” Ouch! The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Yes, but it’s still the truth, isn’t it?
II. The SECOND ADAM
The first father of the human family, Adam, failed … so God sent another “Adam”, a “Second Adam”. The Apostle Paul refers to the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, as “the Last Adam”. Jesus is the second “Corporate Man” – the represent of all humanity, in Whom was – and is – all flesh. Are you with me?
Acts 17:24-26 “God … gives life to all, and breath, and all things, and has made of One (blood) all nations of men.” The word “blood” was supplied. The text reads originally, “… has made of One all nations of men.” That’s Adam.
I Corinthians 15:45 “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the Last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
In the New Testament, Paul says of Christ, “the Last Adam”, that He was incarnate in fallen human flesh. Born of a woman, born under the Law of sin and death, He took Adam’s flesh, the very flesh that requires redeeming. The Last Adam, Jesus, began right where the first Adam left off.
Jesus divested Himself of the glory and the majesty that was rightfully His with His Father from time immemorial, and descended to the depths to which man, “Adam-kind”, had fallen – he plummeted 4000 years of degeneration – the flesh He assumed – to begin at ground-zero the work of redemption and restoration of Adam’s race, once more, to the image of God.
The most powerful, the most indefensible, and most valid criticism of Christian theology – from non-believers, atheists, agnostics, and in recent years from Islam in particular, is that it is unjust and utterly ridiculous – even laughable – to honestly believe – and to teach – that an individual can bear the guilt and receive the punishment for the offenses of another individual.
What do the Scriptures say? The prophet Ezekiel 18:20: “… the soul that sinneth, IT shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
We modern-day Westerners are very individualistic in our thinking, whereas our Heavenly Father employs corporate reckoning: The population of the earth He calls “Adam”, the name of the individual from whom they descended. The collective generations of the patriarch Jacob He referred to as “Jacob”. And in Genesis 25:19-23, God says to Rebecca, “… two nations are wrestling in thy womb”, referring not only to the unborn twins, Jacob & Esau, but also to the nations which would descend from each.
And then, there’s the testimony in Hebrews 7:10 that Levi paid tithes to the High Priest, Melchisedek – which is simply a physical impossibility! Levi wasn’t even a gleam in his daddy, Jacob’s, eye in the time of Melchisedek – they were generations removed from each other.
However, speaking through inspiration, the writer says that Levi was in the loins of his father when Abraham rendered his tithes to the High Priest, Melchisedek. Therefore, Abraham’s actions are attributed also to Levi!
That’s one example of God’s “corporate reckoning”. I’m so glad our Heavenly Father dispenses His grace and His justice through corporate reckoning, because without such wonderfully merciful accounting, The Cross would mean nothing to us, and Adam’s condemned race would be lost eternally.
God’s “corporate reckoning” – all in one. Here’s another example -
A legal class action: When a lawyer goes to court on behalf of an entire group, or class, of individuals; and the disposition of that case applies to the entire body which he represents. (WalMart, Comcast, ISC, David+Goliath - yes, Calvary!)
III. The FAMILY of HEAVEN
Just as there is a human family, there is also, in the Heavenly realms, a familial hierarchy, referred to in Scripture as “the Family of Heaven”.
Ephesians 3:14, 15 “… I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (see also Heb 1:5)
I John 3:1 & 2 “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God … Beloved, now we are the sons (the children) of God …”
So we have The Heavenly Father, and The Son, Jesus Christ, and we are the sons – the children of God, our Father – and Jesus is our Elder Brother. BTW: You’ve heard it said that God has no grandchildren? That’s as Biblical as your Bible! We are all either God’s children – or we’re the other guy’s!
Jesus became sin for us. By our very nature, we are sin – and He became One of us, One like us, the embodiment of the totality of the sins of the Human Family. And on that Cross, He destroyed sin and sinful human-ness – He put them to death at Calvary, in His own body – that we might become His righteousness – the righteousness of God, in Him.
Christ is righteousness, yet He became sin – assumed our corporate sin in His flesh – that we may become the righteousness of the Father, glorified in Him.
God’s salvation plan is not merely “One for all”, Jesus in the place of man. It’s far superior to that! Rather than “One for all”, it is actually “All in One”.
Acts 17:26 “(God)… has made of One (Adam / Jesus) all nations …” This is God’s “corporate reckoning.”, right here!
I Cor 1:30 “… of Him (that is, of God) are ye in Christ …”
Here’s the sum and substance of it all: God put the entire human race – Adam’s fallen race – into one Man – Corporate Humanity in One, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ – and put Him to death on the Cross of Calvary – put Adam’s race to death - according to the Law that rightly and justly condemns all of Adam-kind. That’s you and me. And as Paul states, “When One died, all died”, in God’s reckoning, precisely according to His plan.
Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made … for the suffering and death … that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
ADAM 1 and. ADAM 2
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22.
Thru one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and thru one Man, Jesus Christ, righteousness.
By man (Adam) came death, and by Man (Jesus) came also the resurrection of the dead
All of humanity was created in Adam, and was re-created afresh in Christ, the Second Adam.
Scripture presents here an interesting analysis of God’s 3-way restoration: Remember Jesus words:“I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me”. And again, “I and My Father are One.”
1) While mankind was in Christ, being reconciled with The Father …
2) “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself “ II Cor 5:19
3) And Christ was “in us” – robed in our flesh, wearing our sin-stained humanity, carrying all our crusty baggage. See Isaiah 53:3-5 … “
God in Christ, Christ in us, us in Christ – the family reunited, reconciled in the Person, in the flesh, of Jesus Christ. Here it is again: Ephesians 2:16 “… that He might reconcile both unto God in one Body, by the Cross …”
That’s God’s “corporate reckoning” – all in Adam, all in Christ, all in One.
ALL IN CHRIST -
Ephesians 5:30 “… we are members of His body, and of His flesh, and of His bones.”
Colossians 1:18 “… He is the Head of the body, the church.” The church is His body, of which He is the head.
Ephesians 1:10 “… that in the fullness of time, He might gather together into One all things, in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth”
And even more intriguing …
Ephesians 1:4 “…we’ve been chosen in Himbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him …” Continuing further…
Ephesians 1:5 “… having predestined us to adoption as His children, in and thru Jesus Christ, unto Himself …”
Remember, when the Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to Jesus secretly in the night, Jesus told him, “You’re a good man by human standards, but you need to be born again,” that is, adopted into the Family of Heaven. Ephesians 1 continues:
Ephesians 1:6 “…thru the glory of His grace, by which we have been accepted in the Beloved,” - that’s Jesus, we are accepted in Him. And there’s more …
Ephesians 1:11 “… we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose …” Listen closely, now …
Our inheritance comes with a warranty! The Apostle Paul says that Jesus IS our Surety – and His Holy Spirit IS our Guarantee – of the resurrection and of eternal life. We are in Christ; He is now with The Father; and thus, our flesh is already in God’s presence, in the person of the glorified humanity of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man! Here’s the assurance from Scripture …
Ephesians 1:13 “…(we are)sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who (The Spirit) is given as a pledge of our inheritance and our redemption …”
There it is, the Manufacturer’s warranty! From the Word of the One Who does not – cannot – lie! He IS Truth. Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord. I change not.”
So, where do we go from here? In Him, we’re free!
Rom 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” So, now, He’s got some work for us to do – a purpose for us!
Eph 2:10 “ …we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” What kind of “works”?
John 14:12 “… he that believeth on me, the works that I do even shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father.”
It is God’s desire to reproduce in you and me … the good works that He produced in Christ, while He wore our fallen human flesh. We can do this! Do you believe that? And Jesus proved it while wearing our infirmities, while carrying our baggage! He did it, using only what’s been made available to us.
Because, when He ascended to the Father, He sent His promised Holy Spirit to guide us, to enable and empower us.
Eph 3:20 “(He) is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” His Holy Spirit!
John 15:4, 5 “…abide (remain) in Me and I in you …” by His Spirit
Phil 4:13 “I can do all things thru Christ, Who strengthens me.” – The Spirit.
Our relationship with Jesus, and with our Heavenly Father, and with the Holy Spirit, is a most incredibly-unique “one-ness”:
Christ is in us – clothed in glorified humanity, and we are “in Him”
The Father is in Christ, and Christ is One with The Father
The Holy Spirit abides within us … at our invitation
The Lord’s desire is to reproduce His character, His temperament, and His walk, in us – to recreate in us His image – the image created in Adam, and restored thru the Second Adam, Jesus Christ.
When Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You need to be born again,” Nicodemus dodged the entire point, by wise-cracking, “Are you saying I must re-enter my mother’s womb?” Well, of course not! It’s so much better than that!
Nicodemus was a good man, by the world’s standards. He went to church, paid tithes and offerings, gave to the poor – was an upstanding citizen in every way, much like many of us … except …
… as is the case of everyone who has ever walked this earth – every person who’s ever borrowed breath from his Maker – it’s our very character, our oh-so-nature, that’s flawed. Our self-seeking, self-serving nature that the Savior took to the Cross at Calvary and put to death for us …
… so that we may receive His adoption into the Family of Heaven – and partake of His divine nature, and walk in His ways – speaking His words, thinking His thoughts, fulfilling His purposes for us – doing the good works that we were created to do – all thru the inward abiding of His Spirit!
I want that with all my heart! How about you? This is the way the Redeemed will live thru the countless ages of Eternity. So, if it’s your earnest desire to abide with the Lord in His Kingdom of Grace forever and ever … why not get started with Boot Camp right now? Are you in?? Let’s get this thing rolling right now!! Please pray with me from the very depths of our being …
Our Father in Heaven: Please enter our hearts and minds and establish Your Kingdom deep within us. And thru Your abiding Spirit, empower us to receive Your re-birth, and to partake of Your divine nature, that we might think Your thoughts, speak Your words, and be motivated by Your purposes. Let us walk in all of Your counsel, honor You in all our ways, and seek your presence, moment by moment until that Day when You appear in clouds of glory to usher in eternity in Your Earth-made new. In the precious, worthy, holy name of Your Son, our Elder Brother, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen
Thank you to -
W.W. Prescott, Jack Sequeira, Frank Gonzalez, Dale Martin, and The Holy Spirit, Who has been sent to give us understanding and to lead us into all Truth!
