39: ‘In Christ’: The Bible’s Explosive Reality We Tamed Into a Slogan
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We often hear the phrase, “Jesus lives in my heart,” but what if the Bible’s emphasis is actually the reverse? In this episode, we explore Paul’s powerful use of the phrase “in Christ” throughout Ephesians and beyond. This isn’t just a theological nuance—it’s a game-changing reality that reshapes how we understand our identity, salvation, and daily life as believers. What does it truly mean to be “in Him”? How does this change the way we see ourselves, our relationship with God, and even the way we share the gospel? Join us as we uncover the biblical significance of our position in Christ—one that’s far bigger than we’ve often imagined.
Read: https://ready4eternity.com/in-christ-the-bibles-explosive-reality-we-tamed-into-a-slogan/
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- 00:04
- Welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to inquisitive
- 00:11
- Bible students exploring biblical truths that might not be fully explored in typical sermons or Bible studies.
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- My name is Eddie Lawrence. Jesus lives in my heart.
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- Have you ever heard someone say that? Have you said it yourself? This is true, but it's only half the story.
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- Let's talk about the other half. The Apostle Paul in the letter of Ephesians emphasizes something more than just the fact that Jesus lives in our heart.
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- He makes the profound point that we live in Christ.
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- Just as Paul in the Ephesian letter addresses people who are in Ephesus, he writes to believers who are in Christ.
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- He's pointing to a specific position or location in the spiritual realm.
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- This seemingly small distinction carries enormous implications for how we're to understand our
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- Christian identity and our relationship with God. Throughout Ephesians, Paul repeatedly uses the phrase, in Christ, or in him, or something equivalent.
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- These aren't just casual references. They represent a fundamental theological concept about where we stand in relation to God, and if we fail to notice this phrase or fail to understand it, we can't really understand the letter of Ephesians.
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- What does it mean to be in Christ? Scholar Klein Snodgrass explains it this way.
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- Christ is the place where believers reside, the source in which they find God's salvation and blessings, and the framework in which they live and work.
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- It is as if Christ were a vast repository holding the gifts of God, but of course, without losing any sense of Christ as person.
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- Think of it like this. When you're in a building, that building surrounds you completely.
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- You're within its walls, under its roof, protected by its structure. Similarly, to be in Christ means he completely encompasses us.
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- He's not just a part of our world. We are positioned within his.
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- As Snodgrass notes, Paul is not merely saying these people believed in Christ.
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- Rather, they were in Christ positionally. When Paul uses the phrase, he's describing our spiritual location with several key implications.
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- First, it speaks of our complete union with Jesus. This isn't just a casual relationship or an occasional connection.
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- It's a profound position of being merged into Jesus's identity.
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- When God looks at us, he sees us through Christ, because that's literally where we are in him.
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- Second, from this position in Christ, we participate in his death and resurrection.
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- Our old self has died with him, and now we live in the power of his resurrection. This isn't just theological theory.
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- Our position in him provides the foundation for how we live our daily lives.
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- Third, our position in Christ connects us to every other believer.
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- Being in him means that we share the same spiritual location with all believers, making us part of his body, the church.
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- In fact, throughout Ephesians, whenever we see the phrases, in Christ or in him, we can often understand them as referring to those who are in Christ or we who are in him.
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- This parallels exactly how Paul addresses those who are in Ephesus in the letters opening verse.
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- This reading helps us better grasp both the positional nature of the phrase and its implications for Christian identity.
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- Snodgrass points out a crucial insight about our modern tendency to reverse this biblical emphasis.
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- Without ignoring the importance of Christ's being in us, the neglected idea of our being in Christ is much more significant.
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- If we emphasize only that Christ is in us, we define reality and Christ is about one inch tall.
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- If we realize we are in him, he determines reality and encompasses all we are.
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- This understanding transforms how we approach evangelism too. As Snodgrass notes,
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- Paul's in Christ theology will inevitably change the way we do evangelism. The standard line of asking
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- Jesus into your heart so you can go to heaven is weak in comparison to what Paul describes, and there is little evidence this was his procedure.
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- Why does this position in Christ matter to us today? Understanding our position in Christ revolutionizes how we view our
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- Christian life. It's not about trying to fit Jesus into our existing world. It's about recognizing that we've been transferred to a new position within his world, his kingdom, his reality.
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- This positional truth affects everything. How we face challenges?
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- Well, we face them from our position in Christ. How we view ourselves?
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- Our identity comes from our position in him.
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- And how we relate to others? We're all positioned together in Christ.
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- When Paul writes about being in Christ, he's describing our actual spiritual location.
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- All our spiritual blessings, our very identity, and our future hope flow from this profound positional truth.
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- We are in him. Like a fish in water or a bird in the air, we live and move and have our being in him.
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- This perspective doesn't diminish the reality that Christ dwells in us through his
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- Spirit. Rather, it completes the picture, showing us that our relationship with Jesus is far more encompassing than we often imagine.
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- We don't just have Christ in our lives. He has positioned our lives in him.
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- Thanks for listening to the podcast.
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- We hope this episode has deepened your understanding of Scripture. If you found this content valuable, please share it with your friends.
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- For more biblical studies, visit our website at ReadyForEternity .com. That's the word ready, the number four, and the word eternity.
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- ReadyForEternity .com. Be sure and leave a comment on the Ready for Eternity Facebook page or reach out on Twitter.
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- That's all for now. Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.