What Does it Mean to be In Chrst?

Intro

The idea of being in Christ is foundational in the Scriptures. In fact, the phrase “in Christ” “in Him” or “In the Lord” occur 164 times in the letters of Paul alone. Realistically, it seems as though we must understand what it means to be in Christ to really understand what it means to be a Christian.

What does being “in Christ” mean to you? Or what does it mean to you to have Christ ‘“in you”? It’s more than being inside of something, right? Like being in Christ is more than being in a building- like a church or a store that we can move freely in and out of pretty effortlessly as we please, right?

To be “in Christ” does not mean to be inside Christ, as tools are in a box or our clothes in a closet, but to be organically united to Christ, as a limb is in the body or a branch is in the tree. It is this personal relationship with Christ that is the distinctive mark of his authentic followers.- John Stott

When I think about being “in Christ” I think about how I put cream in my coffee- it spreads throughout the entire cup; there is no part of the coffee that is not effected by the cream; and there is no getting it out once it is put in- the effects are obvious and lifelong. The Scriptures even take the idea deeper. My favorite verse in all the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The Bible tells us that when we are in Christ we become something completely new and different than what we were before we connected our lives to him.

So, let’s take a few moments today to look at what it means to be “In Christ” according to Colossians 3.

To Be In Christ Means You Have A New Position

In verse one Paul lays it out for us- since you were raised with Christ. Have you been saved today? If so than you have been raised with Christ, you have a new position. You have been promoted; the problem is that many of us never live into that promotion.

Imagine that you got a promotion at work- you were promoted to vice president of the company that you work for- and with it comes all the perks. You get a new office, a reserved parking spot, maybe even a company car; would you not use them? Would you let the office sit empty or leave the company car sitting the driveway and drive your personal car everywhere?

Friends when you say yes to Jesus you get the biggest promotion ever. You go from dead in your sins to alive and resurrected in Christ. And you get all the blessings and promises connected to it; but many times we fail to occupy our new position.

Ephesians 2:1–6 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

If you are alive in Christ, stop living like a dead person because you have a new position, because of the work of God. How do you live into a new position? That is in the next few verses of Colossians 3.

To Be In Christ Means You Have A New Perspective

You perspective is what you focus on or how you understand what is happening in the world around you. Your perspective will drive where you are going and how you get there.

Listen to what Paul tells us our perspective is to be

Colossians 3:1–3 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When we are raised with Christ and found in Christ Paul charges us to seek the things that are above where Christ is. That our perspective should be set towards Jesus and what he wants for us before anything else.

So let me ask you today, what are you seeking? What have you set your eyes on? For some its all about retiring, or all about their home, some people are obsessed with their kids sports and sacrifice everything to make sure their kids get all the trophies. The challenge is that all of those things are ok things, but they can easily get in the way of seeking Jesus. The sun is 865,000 miles across, but the smallest coin can block out the sun if you hold it close enough to your eye!

Have you allowed something else to get in the way of your focus on Jesus? CS Lewis once said “Those who are the most focused on the next life will do the most with this life.”

To Be In Christ Means You Have New Priorities

Finally, says Paul, being in Christ will give you new priorities

Colossians 3:5–9 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices”

If your perspectives are the things that you are chasing; your priorities are the vehicle that gets you there.

If losing weight is your goal you have to change your priorities; you will make going to the gym a priority; you will change what you eat;

If getting out of debt is your goal you have to change your priorities ; you will likely need to adjust your spending, or get another stream of income; maybe avoid getting a new car for a while

If being a good parent is your goal you may have to change your priorities. Maybe less golf or shopping on Saturdays and more time at home with the kids; maybe vacation time spent on family trips instead of hunting trips.

Paul gives us a list of things that we are to abandon if we are in Christ in v5-9; in 12-17 he tells us what our new priorities ought to be

Friends, it is truly sad when we attempt to follow Jesus and yet attempt to change nothing about our lives. David Wilkerson wrote about this in a recent letter: A priority is the importance you place on something. And Christians who neglect prayer have perverted their priorities! Many believers pledge they’ll pray if and when they can find the time. Yet each week, seeking Christ becomes less important to them than washing the car, cleaning the house, visiting friends, eating out, going shopping, watching sports. They simply don’t make time to pray. "Yet people were no different in the days of Noah and Lot. Their top priorities were eating and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and caring for their families. They had no time to listen to messages of Gods coming judgment. And so no one was prepared when judgment fell! Evidently, nothing has changed over the centuries. For most Americans, God remains at the bottom of the priority list. And at the top are income, security, pleasure, family. Of course, for many Americans God doesn’t even make the list. But that doesn’t grieve the Lord nearly as much as how little he’s valued by his own children!"