The world system under Satan’s influence pressures us to become someone. Become someone significant. Become someone with influence. Become someone successful. Become someone with money and fame.
Unfortunately, we see this in church as well. Become an articulate leader who influences thousands. Become an anointed worship leader who sells millions of albums. Become a best-selling author whose writings are read by many. Become an influencer on social media that is followed by millions. On and on it goes.
Become. Become. Become.
This was Satan’s first offer in the garden. He told Adam and Eve, if they ate from the tree of knowledge, they would “be as gods” (Gen. 3:5, KJV). The knowledge and wisdom they received from this fruit would allow them to become someone significant.
Fast forward 6,000 years and nothing has changed. Most are still trying to become someone significant. They are struggling to discover who they are and what they were put on the earth to do. They derive significance and acceptance from their careers. They try to gain approval by how they look, how they dress, what they say, what they build, where they live, who they know, etc.
Jesus came to set us free from this bondage. You can be liberated from the world’s rat race to become someone significant. You can be delivered from the mental torment of always trying to become someone through your performance.
How? By understanding the two-word phrase in Christ.
Understanding your position in Christ liberates you from the relentless pursuit to become someone significant. When you discover your identity in Christ, you will no longer strive for approval in what you do, how you look, or who you know. Instead, you will find acceptance in the Lord and experience rest in your soul.
Let me explain what it means to be in Christ.
A Major New Testament Theme
The phrase in Christ or in Him appears well over 100 times in the New Testament. This is a major theme that runs through Acts and the New Testament epistles.
The only way to make sense of this phrase is to understand the second step of covenant. This step is The Selection of the Covenant Representatives and the Cutting of the Covenant Sacrifice. (See my previous post for the first step).
Before the covenant ceremony began, a covenant representative was chosen on behalf of each group involved in the agreement. As the ceremony started, the representatives cut the animal sacrifice down the middle from head to tail. The two pieces of the sacrifice were then laid open, leaving room for the two representatives to walk between the pieces of the carcass.
When the two representatives entered into the covenant agreement, everyone in their group also entered the covenant in their representative. What was true of the representative was also considered to be true of each member of the party or tribe. We see a great example of this in the Abrahamic Covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant
The Lord and Abraham were the two covenant representatives. The Lord, taking the form of a smoking oven and a flaming torch, represented the Godhead (Gen. 15:17). Abraham was the covenant representative for Israel.
Though God cut covenant with Abraham, the benefits of this covenant were not merely for him. The promises were offered to all who entered this covenant through circumcision. Circumcision was how the Israelites entered into the Abrahamic Covenant and partook of its promises.
The New Covenant
In the New Covenant, Jesus is the covenant representative for both God and man (Heb. 8:6). The implications of this are wonderful. When we enter the New Covenant by faith in Him and His finished work on the cross, we are born again and are in Christ. Because He is our covenant representative, whatever is true of Christ is also true of us in God’s eyes.
Here’s some of the implications. When we were born again:
- Our spirits were sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:1-14);
- Our spirits were regenerated in righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24);
- Our spirits and the Spirit of Christ became one (1 Cor. 6:17);
- Our spirits were united with Christ in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5);
- The fruit of the Holy Spirit was implanted into our spirits in seed form (Gal. 5:22-23);
- We were justified—declared to be just as if we had never sinned—and are saved from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9);
- We were given the gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:17);
- We died to sin, self, and the Law (Rom. 6-7);
- We were seated with Christ in heavenly places and have received every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3, 2:6);
- We received an initial deposit of spiritual gifts in our spirits (1 Cor. 12:7-11).
When we were born again, we were placed into Christ in one moment. That means whatever is true of Christ—our covenant representative—is also true of us because we are in Him!
As a side note, this short article only looks at our position in Christ. It doesn’t discuss the lifelong work of the Holy Spirit to align our living condition with our legal position. If you would like to learn more about this topic, you can listen to The Gospel and Ultimate Intention.
The Implications of Being in Christ
Seeing our position in Christ frees us from striving to become someone. Because we are in Him and have been regenerated, our spirits are alive, righteous, holy, one with the Holy Spirit, and partakers of the divine nature. This alone defines us. Not how successful we are, how much influence we have, or how much money we make.
We are accepted in the beloved because of Christ—not by what we do but by what He did (Eph. 1:6).
Since we are in Him, we are justified, declared righteous, and have died to sin, self, and the Law. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places and are blessed with every spiritual blessing.
If you struggle with who you are, your purpose in life, and whether or not you are successful, you need a paradigm shift. Stop viewing yourself through the lens of the world system under Satan’s influence. Instead, see yourself in Christ—you covenant representative.
