What Does It Mean to Be “In Christ”?
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1
In my high school art class, we were asked to craft a self portrait. My classmates filled the room with sculptures, paintings, and digital art that depicted their hobbies and interest, or maybe a collection of things that made them feel valuable.
As a new believer, I wanted to communicate that Jesus was now of most importance in my life. I made a similar collage of my hobbies, family, friends, and a number of things I can’t even remember. Then I hung a big red paper mache cross over the canvas.
I wanted to signify that Jesus was first in my life and everything else was secondary. I may not have been able to verbalize it yet, at the time, but I wanted to show that my life and my identity were in Christ.
The Bible uses the phrase “in Christ” to refer to believers, their lives, and ministries… all centered around Jesus Christ.
After all, a believer is a Christ follower. It is someone who has placed a giant paper mache cross to cover the rest of their life… Someone who has earnestly said, “Jesus, take the wheel.”
Throughout the New Testament, we learn being “in Christ” comes with so many benefits. Here are a some of them:
We are alive and freed from the bonds of sin and will be for eternity. (Rom 6:11, 23, 1 Cor 15:22, Gal 2:4, Eph 2:6,7, Phil 4:7, 2 Tim 1;1, 9)
We are no longer condemned but have been made right with God. (Rom 8:1, 39, 1 Cor 1:4, 2 Cor 2:17, 3:14, 5:19, Gal 2:17, Eph 4:32, 2 Tim 2:1)
We grow in our faith in and devotion to God. (1 Cor 1:2)
We are united with one another in one family that works towards a common cause. (Rom 12:5, 16:3, 9, Gal 3:26, 28, Eph 2:10)
We give credit to Jesus for the blessings and growth in our life. (Rom 15:7, 1 Cor 15:31, Eph 1:3, Phil 3:3, Phil 4:19, 1 Tim 1:14)
What does it mean to be “in Christ”?
The phrase “in Christ” or “in Christ Jesus” refers to the state of believers. If you have asked God to forgive your sins and have declared your decision to follow Jesus with your life, you are saved.
It is because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that our sins are covered by His blood and we are forgiven. Jesus is the reason we stand before God justified despite our sin.
As Christians, we have in no way “achieved” eternal life with God and the forgiveness of our sins, though we enjoy these privileges. They were given to us because of Jesus Christ and what He did for us.
“ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” ~ Romans 6:11
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:22
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 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.” ~ Ephesians 2:6-7
All believers are in Christ.
How to best understand verses that use the phrase “in Christ”:
It may be helpful to read “in Christ” as “because of Christ” or “covered by the blood of Christ” or “having been forgiven due to Christ’s sacrifice”.
In Christ (covered by the blood of Christ), we enjoy the privilege of being spiritually alive. (Romans 6:11)
In Christ (having been forgiven due to Christ’s sacrifice), we have eternal life despite deserving death for our sins. (Romans 6:23)
In Christ (because of Christ), we are no longer condemned but made righteous. (Romans 8:1)
In Christ (having been forgiven due to Christ’s sacrifice), we stand before God righteous, holy, and redeemed. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
In Christ (covered by the blood of Christ), some of us are still spiritual babies instead of walking strongly by the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:1)
Who is “in Christ”?
As the passages above show, being “in Christ” means to have been redeemed or, as Christians like to say, “to be saved”.
In 1 Corinthians 3:1, we get the idea that it doesn’t necessarily address only mature believers or anyone who “has their act together” but rather all believers who have been made clean.
On the flip-side, unbelievers are not “in Christ”. Any statement the Bible makes specifically regarding those “in Christ” or promises available “in Christ” do not apply to every human being. They are reserved for those who, “in Christ”, have become His children.
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