Thursday, May 20, 2010

In

“But from Him you are in Christ Jesus, who for us became wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

What God has done for us through the grace of the cross has brought us into Christ, so that we are now “in Christ.” This is one way of understanding the concept of salvation. As we might be in a room, or in a building, or in some country even, so we are likewise in Christ. As someone comes in out of the rain, so we have come into Christ out of the world of sin. Except, this goes almost indescribably deeper than that, because coming into Christ is not just entering a place or a status or some residence; it is relationship. To be in Christ is to have an eternal union with Him. On the basis of a faith commitment, a union takes place between our souls and the Spirit of God, described as “in Christ.” We’re in.

Christ thus becomes our everything, so to speak. Paul defines it in four ways. Christ is our wisdom, our understanding about how life is to be lived. Christ is our righteousness, through whom we have a right standing with God. Christ is our sanctification, or our “holy-fication,” (to coin a word) whereby through Him we grow closer and closer to God and more and more Christ-like. Christ is our redemption, the One who, by the blood of His cross, “bought us back” from the depths of sin.

The point of all of this is simply that we accomplished none of it, nor could we. We were slaves to a life of sin. But what Christ did on the cross has set us free. Now, we are free to live the life God always intended that we have.

Lord, We thank You for the freedom we now have in Christ Jesus. Help us to live this life now in all the ways that honor You. Amen.

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