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NASB | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. |
Subject: In Adam vs. In Christ? |
Bible Note: Dear mommapbs, I have thought about it, and I cannot imagine how one could write about it in the space allotted on a forum. There are so many things “in Christ”! In him was life, and the life was the light of men. There is no unrighteousness is in him. In him is no sin. There is no fault in him. It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In him there is redemption and forgiveness and an inheritance. In him there is beauty and grace and righteousness and wisdom. The truth is in Jesus. In him there is love and joy and peace. And in him there’s … us. He is in us and we are in him (John 17). Yep! We are in him, and we are to abide in him. Paul’s goal was to be found in him, and he said we are complete in him. And you ask what it means to be in him. It seems that the parallel of being in Adam is useful. As Levi was in the loins of Abraham (Hebrews 7) so we were all in the loins of Adam. His genes, if you will, are in us, and we were in him in that we came from his loins. There is something of the nature of Adam in us, and likewise there is something of the nature of Christ in us. His divine nature is in us (2 Peter 1). His seed is in us (1 John 3:9). We are a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, in him. We are kings and priests, in him. Before we were put into him we were none of those things. In him, we have inherited those things, and more, promises of more. But the thought remains that we have been baptized into him. We are a part of his body. It sounds trite now to say that refers to the church, but it should perhaps lead us to a deeper contemplation of what the church is. I would say it is analogous to being in the army or the university or in the civil service, or, if you will, the club, or better yet, the kingdom. We are a part of the system with all it stands for; its status and privileges and responsibilities. Christ is what God’s kingdom on this earth is all about and we are a part of it. We are a part of him. In him there is protection and power and hope and all those other spiritual blessings. We are what we are because we are in him. We have what we have because we are in him. We have brothers and sisters, the others who are in him. I have the sense that you and many others on this forum are in him, and that makes this a special place, a holy place, a place to have conversations and share blessings, in him. So, what does it mean to be “in Christ”? It would be safe to say it means a whole lot. I means to have inherited this. It means to be a part of something special. And he is the head of it. It kinda makes one feel good. We appreciate it. But we are not proud. No flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (and …): That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. |