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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman I'm
In Christ As
Christians we freely speak Biblical terminology that many of us don't
understand. The term
"in Christ" might just be one such misunderstood term, so,
here is my simplistic view of the theological term "in
Christ." The
apostle Paul might have actually coined the term in Christ since he was
the only New Testament author who used it. We
see this in 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the
new is here!" 1
Corinthians 15:22 is another example of Paul's usage of the term in
Christ. "For as in
Adam all die, so in Christ
all will be made alive." I believe the concept of
being "in Christ" originated at the cross of Christ.
There, Jesus, as our substitute, experienced God's wrath on our
behalf. He in fact,
represented us before God. It
is logical to conclude, then, that since Jesus represented us on the
cross, when God saw Jesus dying, He saw you and I dying.
In simplistic terms, God looked beneath the outward exterior of
Jesus' dying body and saw you and I in Christ Jesus, as in, inside of
Christ, but there is more. 1 John 2:1 and 2 tells
us that Jesus is at God's right hand, representing us before God at this
very moment. As we commit
sins that have already been forgiven, we need Him there.
So again, when God sees Jesus at His right hand as our
representative, He looks beneath His outward exterior to see you and I
inside of Jesus. God sees us
in Christ, and thus, our status of being innocent of all charges still
stands. You might think of it
this way as well. Jesus, who
stands in between God and us, is like a ultraviolet photographic filter
on a camera lens. An
ultraviolet filter filters out unwanted ultraviolet radiation that can
distort certain colours in a photograph.
Like that filter, Jesus filters out the unwanted stain of sin in
our lives that distort who God has declared us to be.
God, thus, views us as being perfectly righteous, just as He
Himself is perfectly righteous, even though we are still far from
perfectly righteous. I'm
sure you will agree with me, being in Christ is the perfect place to be.
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