I wonder how good your theology is. How well thought out are you? Have you worked out the answers to those difficult questions about God that arise from time to time? Or are you like me and are still thinking some things through? Of course those who are well educated theologically have probably answered more questions than others but even then there’ll be ideas and concepts that they still wonder about. I remember reading something that Leon Morris once said. He was principal of Ridley College Melbourne in the 60s and 70s and a world renowned expert on John’s Gospel. He once commented that the more he read of John’s gospel the more he discovered. It was like a gold mine where the deeper you dug, the more treasure you unearthed.
I mention all of this because we’re about to embark on a study of Ephesians over the next 3 months and the theme of the series is Complete in Christ. And it’s that phrase “in Christ” that caught my attention. So I thought we’d spend some time today thinking about that.
What does it mean to you if I say that if you’re a Christian you’re “in Christ”? It might mean that Christ has so filled you that it’s as though you and Christ were one. It might mean that the old you is no longer relevant because all there is now is Christ. You might think of it as though Christ has surrounded you with his arms so all that can be seen is him. On the other hand someone has suggested that a suitable analogy is that of being in an aeroplane. I can’t normally fly but if I’m in an aeroplane I, amazingly, seem to be able to soar above the clouds. So being in Christ has something to do with me being transported with him. Well, there may be a bit of that in the idea, but even that isn’t a sufficient explanation of what the phrase means.
In John 17 Jesus says something that includes this phrase, doesn’t he? “21As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” That, I think gives us a hint as to what this phrase refers to, as well as an explanation of why we may never fully plumb the depths of what it means for us.
Jesus is saying that just as the father is in him and he is in the father, so too we will be in them. In other words there’s a Trinitarian element to this phrase. So if you understand the trinity, you’ll be able to understand this. That’s the tricky part isn’t it? We tend to come at the idea of the trinity from many sides because it’s too large an idea to grasp all at once. God is one yet God is three, all at the same time. God is in Jesus and Jesus is in God.
And now we discover that we’re drawn into that community of ‘three-in-one’ as well. So Jesus says “22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one.” Being drawn into the trinity allows us to share in God’s glory. That’s pretty good isn’t it? But being drawn into the trinity also implies being brought to a place of unity. It looks like there’s still a bit of work to be done there, on our part! And as we read through Ephesians we’ll find that unity is central to our new identity as God’s people.
In fact Jesus says that our unity will be a sign to the world that God has sent Jesus and that God has loved us just as he loved Jesus (v23). I guess if we’re in Christ then God will love us just as he loves Christ. But the sign of that love is the unity, the love, that we share with one another.
Now, are you starting to get a feel for the depth of meaning that’s carried by this simple phrase? Being in Christ has all sorts of implications. It has an implication for our salvation. The analogy of the aeroplane conveys that well. Because we’re in Christ we’re carried along with him as he brings salvation to the world. So when Christ dies, those who are in Christ die with him. When Christ rises again those who are in Christ rise again. So Paul says to the Galatians: “20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” (Gal 2:19-20).
You could also think of it like this. On the day of judgement we’ll stand before God and God will say, “Chris Appleby, step forward.” And I’ll say, “I’m right here.” And God will say “Where?” And I’ll say “Here, in Christ.” And what God will see will be Christ with me within him.
So what I’m saying is that if we’re truly in Christ then our relationship with God has changed. God has changed it in fact. We’ve been brought into his life by grace. But, having said that, it has implications for our ongoing life. Not only am I in Christ but Christ is in me. If Christ lives in me because I’m in Christ then that will affect how I behave, the way I speak, the way I react towards others.
I started off by asking how good your theology was, but perhaps there’s a better question we could ask ourselves. That is, how good is our life? How well are we living as those who are in Christ?
Being in Christ is both a help and an incentive isn’t it? It’s a help because he gives us his Holy Spirit to empower us to change. And it’s an incentive because we know that what we do now acts as a witness to Christ’s power and glory.
Now I could have got most of that from the passage in John 17, but it’s brought out even more clearly by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.
Let me run you through the basic argument of the letter. We’ll look at this in much more detail over the coming weeks, but hopefully this will give you a taste for what’s to come so you’ll make sure you’re here every week, so you won’t miss anything.
The letter begins with a reminder of how we got here: notice the repeated use of the phrase “in Christ”. He begins “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ. Then he goes on “4 he chose us in Christ”; 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”; “7In him we have redemption”; “10 to gather up all things in him”; “11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance … 12so that we … might live for the praise of his glory.” So everything we have comes about by God’s grace and by us being incorporated into Christ.
This new life in Christ, then, leads to faith in Jesus and love towards others (15). The foundation of our faith is Jesus, raised to life by God’s power and now given authority over every other power and authority in this world. And he’s been made head over all things for the church which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (1:23). Again there’s the idea that we’re in him. In fact the idea is made more concrete by saying that we’re not just in him but we are his body, his fullness. I confess I don’t fully understand what it means that we’re the fullness of the one who fills everything but it does give you a feel for the immensity of the privilege we’ve been given.
He then goes on to expand on the grace of God and our path to salvation. How did we get here? We started off dead in our sins. If you’re dead you’re without hope. But God made us alive with Christ. He took our helpless selves and incorporated us into Christ so that when he rose from the dead we could be made alive with him. So our salvation is entirely by grace. But as I said earlier, God’s saving grace has implications for the rest of our lives. He tells us that not only has he made us alive but he’s given us work to do. In fact he says we’ve been created in Christ for good works which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in. We’ll think some more about that in 3 weeks’ time.
In the middle of that description of God’s saving grace we find a significant truth about the gospel. It’s a truth that could revolutionise the world. In fact it has in some places. He says the wonderful thing about what God has done for us is that he’s brought together those who were previously enemies. He’s brought peace into the world by breaking down the walls of hostility between people. Now initially that was between Jew and Gentile but clearly the implication is that it’ll extend to all areas of personal or cultural conflict. In the case of Jew and Gentile, he’s abolished the law that said one nation was different from all the others. In its place he’s made one single humanity again – in himself. How? By taking both groups with him to death on the cross.
Then he tells us that in him, in Christ, we’re being built into a new temple, a new dwelling place for God.
Here is the mystery of the gospel – unknown before Jesus came along. Previously it was only the Jews who had any part in God’s kingdom, any knowledge of God’s will. But now the Gentiles have also becomes heirs of God’s kingdom, made members of Christ’s body, made part of God’s temple, i.e of the place where God is worshipped.
Paul says it was his privilege to be the one to bring this news to the Gentiles. His job was to demonstrate the plan of the mystery hidden for ages, known only to God. But it’s actually through the Church that God’s wisdom is made known to the world – And what is that wisdom? That all people can live together in peace if they’re brought into Christ.
So he prays for them. What does he pray? That they might be strengthened with power through Christ’s Spirit and that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith. He wants them to know the love of Christ in all its greatness and richness.
But remember why? So they might show God’s glory & wisdom to the world.
Well, how are we going to do that? By the unity we show in our living together. (ch 4)
He points out how God has put us in a church and given the church gifts so that we might grow to unity and maturity.
He says that, speaking the truth in love, we’re to grow up into him who is the head – that is, the one who promotes the body’s growth as each part is working properly and as it builds itself up in love.
At this point in the letter he begins to move from the fact of our being in Christ to its practical implications. It’s as though he’s saying “Well, God’s done all the hard work, this is who you are in God’s sight, but there’s a lot more you need to do if you’re to complete the work that God has begun in you.” I’m sure we’re all conscious of just how far we fall short of God’s desire for us. We may be ‘In Christ’ but our lives don’t always reflect Christ as well as we’d like. If they’re to do that then we need to change the way we live. So he says they’re to put away the old self and clothe themselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
That means a new way of behaving – speaking the truth, working hard for a living, using language that builds people up. It means getting rid of anger and malice, being kind and forgiving to one another; avoiding the behaviour of our pagan neighbours – impurity, foul language, vulgar talk, idolatry, greed.
Instead he says, do what is pleasing to the Lord. Be filled with the Spirit as you give thanks to the Lord in all things.
In your own homes this will be seen in the way you submit yourselves to one another. Husbands and wives are called on to behave in a way that goes against the societal norms – wives by submitting to their husbands, husbands by giving themselves up for their wives – we’ll say more about that in 2 months’ time.
Finally he encourages us, when we meet opposition, to stand firm in Christ’s power. He reminds us of the spiritual weapons we’ve been given which are able to withstand all the attacks of the evil one.
Well that’s enough for now. This is a letter that’s jam packed with good theology for the church and excellent advice for living as those who are truly in Christ. I hope you’ll enjoy studying it over the next 2-3 months as much as George and Ivy & I - and others, will enjoy preaching from it.
