In Christ: Article 2 New Testament Greek: ἐν Χριστῷ translated as ‘In Christ’ – ‘Christ in us’ or ‘Christ as us?’

‘I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I know live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who love men and gave His life for me’ Gal 2v20

In this verse, Paul summarises the substitutionary and the inclusive nature of the sacrifice of Christ and combines them with Christ in us.

But Christ as us?

A friend of mine, Chris Welch, has used this ‘as Christ’ variation on ἐν Χριστῷ, for some years.

My initial reaction to ‘as Christ’ was to question its basis, after all, the Greek doesn’t support the translation! Worse, it felt arrogant…a horrible feeling…particularly if you’re steeped in British culture of needing to appear modest at all costs.

On reflection though, ‘as Christ’ might not appeal to the literalist in me but it does to my poetic, interpretative side, so, in Article 2, I want to explore the doublet ‘as Christ’ and its corollary ‘Christ in our form’ without departing from the biblical text.

Point 1. Paul’s two-step revelation

Paul’s dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus is well known. What is less well appreciated, is that there is an undisclosed time delay between the risen Jesus Christ being revealed TO Paul and the later revelation of Christ IN Paul:

‘When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me…’ Galatians 1 v 16

Paul’s ministry as an apostle and his many letters refer to ‘Christ in you’ or ‘in Christ’. This revelation profoundly affected his life and sense of calling: in one letter, to the church in Ephesus, Paul writes ‘in Christ’ 35 times and in his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul writes:

‘I became a minister…to preach the word of God, the mystery…hidden for ages…but now revealed…Christ in you, the hope of glory’ Col 1v24-27

Point 3. The body of Christ

Our biological bodies are made from trillions of microscopic cells. Each one of those cells is alive and each has a different function.

My name is John Stevens. All my cells are alive with my life, all my cells are ‘in John Stevens’ and ‘John Stevens is in’ every cell. So each cell is exhibiting life as ‘as John Stevens’ i.e. the life of John Stevens in its own form, functioning according to its calling and design as a liver cell, or colour receptor cell in the retina, or a humble skin cell.

We all have our specific functions in Christ.

The life of each cell is not independent of John Stevens, but part of John Stevens. It is not the full John Stevens, but it has no other identity than John Stevens, so, to say we are in Christ, and we live ‘as Christ’ is not saying we are the Christ, that would be blasphemous, as well as ridiculous, but that, by virtue of being ‘in Christ’, we participate in and exhibit Christ’s life. We do all things ‘in His name’ just as all my cells do everything ‘in my name’.

‘…the church…is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all’ Ephesians 1v22,23

Therefore, it is perfectly correct to say that, since we are in Christ, and Christ is in me, we are ‘as Christ’ in the world; Christ is incarnated in all who are in Christ. C.T. Studd, a missionary to Africa in the late 1800s and early 1900s, famously said: ‘I want to see Jesus running about in thousands of black bodies and purified hearts.’

As a child, I learnt how to sink in water. I couldn’t swim. Much as I tried to copy the arm movements of others my body headed down not along

Christ in our form, ‘as us’ is how the New Testament sees us individually in the world and corporately in His body, the church, the body of Christ.

In the first century, not long after the resurrection, believers earned the nickname ‘Christians’ meaning ‘little Christs’; meant, at best, as a nickname and, at worse, a derogatory insult but it is a profound truth.

Point 3 Going on to maturity

As a child, I learnt how to sink in water. I couldn’t swim. Much as I tried to copy the arm movements of others my body headed down not along.

What was wrong? The water? Had I lost my buoyancy? No.

Somewhere along the line, I learnt to trust that the water would hold me up. It was a shift from fear to faith. Moving on from fear to faith in various areas of life is transforming. No more so than with Christ.

Many do not believe they can live the Christian life, riddled as we are with imperfections, weaknesses, fears, ambitions, and sin. But when we shift to ‘seeing’ that it is Christ who holds us up, and that, for His life to manifest itself in our experience, is not dependent on our efforts but His life alone, we can make progress.

Now, I can swim. If you threw me into the sea, I would not sink but float. Am I an Olympic standard swimmer? No. In fact, I am a very limited swimmer, but I can swim, and if I had lessons and practiced, I would undoubtedly improve.

It is the same in the Christian life.

We have to learn to switch from relying on our inner resources as if we can live independently of Christ and learn to ‘walk in the Spirit’ as the New Testament calls it. In other words, we live life from the starting point of communion between our new spirits and the Holy Spirit (see Article 1).

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth it had several moral faults: sexual immorality, social class distinctions, and competing factions are mentioned in his letters. In his analysis of how this could have occurred, amongst believers, he wrote:

‘I could not write to you as spiritually mature but as fleshly, as babies in Christ…you are still fleshly…and are behaving like mere men.’ 1 Cor 3v1-4

Fleshly, or carnal, as in some translations, here means they were genuine believers, but imitating ‘mere men’ i.e. those without Christ living in them; living according to their soulish abilities to think, feel, and act. He compared this to being like a baby, they hadn’t learnt to live and grow by a spirit-Spirit communion, to be led by the Holy Spirit.

To the Hebrews, the same problem is encountered:

‘Though by this time you should be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary lessons…you need milk, not solid food…solid food belongs to the mature…let us go on to maturity’ Heb 5v12-14; 6 v1

We are all disciples and learners. We all have L-plates.

Conclusion

Christ as us, Christ in our form?

Just as it requires faith in water to hold you up before you can swim, we must believe Christ is living His life in us and therefore ‘as us’.

We are all disciples and learners. We all have L-plates.

If the Apostle Paul needed time for God to reveal the mystery of ‘His Son in me’ or ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’, maybe we do? But once it has been revealed – for example take Galatians 2v20 – we can begin to ‘swim’ and become more accustomed to thinking of ourselves as ‘little Christs’ not relying on our ability to mimic Christ’s life, but for Christ Himself to live out his life as us, in our form.

Next and final Article: Milk or solid food?