What Does It Mean To Be In Christ

Do you ever read a saying in the Bible? You read it over and over again. You don't know what it means, but you just skip over it, because they say it so many times, it's almost cliché. You're reading through the Bible, and they say this one little phrase over and over again, and all the apostles use it as if you're supposed to know what it means.

But you don't really know what it means, or you have a vague idea of what it means. And so it doesn't really have the impact that they intended it to be. There's just one of those things in the Bible that I've done that before. I have read over this saying before and kind of done the yada yada yada thing in my head.

Oh, yeah, okay. There's that saying again. Yada yada yada. And not really gotten what it meant. And when you get what it means, have you ever hit your funny bone on your elbow? You bang into a wall, the corner of a wall, and they hit that funny bone right in that one spot, and it sends a charge through your body like electricity? Well, when the apostles used this phrase, that's kind of what they intended.

That's what it meant to them. It's a charging kind of a phrase. The problem is, we don't really know what it means. So when we read over it, it's yada yada yada, whatever. Keep moving on. And you try to gain the perspective of the entire letter of whatever it is that they're writing, but you miss the fine point that they make. And in this particular case, it's the phrase, in Christ.

Almost all of the apostles used it. What does it mean? We have a very similar phrase in the church today that we use, and yet it doesn't mean the same thing. It doesn't have the same impact that the apostles intended it. So let's go through today and look at what it means to be in Christ, or in Christ Jesus. Or sometimes they just say, in Him, and usually referring to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be in Him, to be in Christ Jesus? Are we literally, in some kind of spiritual sense, sucked into Jesus? Into His body? Is He like the great blob that just consumes bodies?

And now, once you're in Him, you're no longer you. You're now in Him. No. So what does it mean? It wasn't complicated. It was actually really simple. But along with its simplicity came a whole slew of personal responsibility on you. And huge benefits toward you. And that's what I want to do today. I want to go through what it means to be in Christ, both from the point of view of what our duties are.

When we hear that word, it's like banging our elbow and hitting our funny bone. When we hear that phrase, in Christ or in Him, it should send a charge of meaning. When we read that letter and we realize, oh, personal responsibility with huge benefits. So let's just go through and discover what the apostles meant and what they applied to the meaning that they applied to the phrase, in Christ. Let's start in 1 Corinthians.

Paul used it more than anybody because Paul wrote more than anybody in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 1. He often started his greetings to the churches or the saints who were in Christ. What was it he was meaning? 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. To the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

So Paul starts off and says, the church of God are those who are sanctified or set apart in Christ. Paul gives us a clue that when he says in Christ, we would use the phrase, in the church. And that's our phrase. And you didn't pick up on it because I didn't tell you. We use the word in the church all the time. But I used that phrase at the very beginning. And I noticed no eyebrows were raised or anything. Because when we say in the church, it doesn't have the same meaning that the apostles meant when they said in Christ.

Now, especially coming from today's modern Christian churches, in the church has nowhere near the depth of meaning that the apostles intended when they said in Christ. So it's not just in a building or in amongst a group of people. It's far greater than that, that they intended. But it is simple. If we say in the church, we are literally saying the same thing as in Christ. There is no difference, except for the fact that we eliminate the meaning when we take Jesus Christ's name off of his body.

It is his spiritual body, not his literal body, but in type. We do the actions of Jesus Christ on this earth. Therefore, we are his body. Your mind thinks the thoughts. Your body takes the action. Oh, I'm going to get a drink. That's the thought. My body reaches out and grabs the cup and takes the drink. That's the action. Jesus Christ is the head. He says, I want this accomplished on the earth. We're the ones he accomplishes it through. We're the body. Paul brings that out in Colossians 1. Colossians 1. Now, I rejoice in my sufferings for you, verse 24.

Colossians 1.24. Now, I rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. So, in type, we are his body. When you come into the church, you come into Christ.

You are in Christ Jesus. Does that make sense? It's simple. But what comes with being in Christ is so deep that when we say come into the church, we don't mean the same thing. Even though, by definition, that is what the apostles meant. They applied so many duties and responsibilities and so many benefits to that phrase. When they said it, it sent a charge through them. How do we come into the body of Christ? How do we come in Christ Jesus?

Paul, let's start there. Paul, in the book of Ephesians, in chapter 2, talks about how we come in. Granted, this is simple stuff. Let's walk through it. Let's not disregard it just because we've heard it before. Ephesians 2, verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were afar off have been brought near. How? How? By the blood of Christ. It's an important starting point. Brethren, we were not brought here by our actions. Paul made that so clear in the book of Romans, now here in the book of Ephesians. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were afar off, you once who were not in Christ, are now in Christ.

How? By his blood. You were bought when you accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And you said, my life is yours now. I no longer have ownership of it. That's what that blood did. So, we have certain responsibilities that come with being in Christ.

One of our duties, one of our main responsibilities, and one that we do not often get right very often, or should I say, one that we get wrong often. But we do get it right sometimes, too. I don't want to make it seem like we're absolute failures. We're not. But this is one where we make a mistake. And it's our duty, our responsibility, to get this right. It comes with being in Christ. And that is to be unified. Romans 12, verse 2. Now, all of these scriptures today that we're going to go through, talk about being either being in Christ or in Him, except for one. In Him we'll refer to the Father.

We'll get to that later. But all of these scriptures are duties that the apostles themselves apply to the phrase, being in Christ. I find this fascinating. We just pay attention to the details, brethren, and the scriptures jump off the page. Romans 12, verse 5. So we, being many, are one body in Christ. We're one in Christ. Boy, do we get that one wrong. And individually, members of one body. Brethren, we can't take other people's responsibility on ourselves, and therefore we don't take guilt from what other people have done onto ourselves.

But what this scripture does tell us is that we take upon our shoulders a duty, a responsibility, to be unified with each other if we consider ourselves to be in the church, in Christ. It's not just some phantom thought, just some mist, just some idea. Well, yeah, we're in the church. As if it's our choice, as if it's, well, you are here by choice, but as if it was your doing. And if you don't like it, if you don't like those people, well, you can undo it.

No, no, no, no. If we're in Christ, we are unified. We'll get to more about that in just a minute. But let's drop down to Galatians, chapter 3, and verse 28. Still the Apostle Paul, Paul does most of the talking here about end Christ, but we'll see. Peter does too, John does too. Galatians, chapter 3, and verse 28. We are one body brethren, and it doesn't matter where you came from.

It doesn't matter who your parents were and how they raised you. This is your family, your eternal family, and we are to be one. Galatians, chapter 3, and verse 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. Read this last phrase, the detail that just jumps out. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you're in the church, you're unified. It's one body. That means we don't gossip about each other. We don't neglect each other. We don't refuse to talk to each other. And you know what, brethren? We don't judge each other, because we're not all at the same stage of development. The body has new cells and old cells.

New cells are born, and old cells die. That's a body. And there are cells in every stage of development along the way. Old cells don't criticize new cells. Old cells need new cells. New cells don't criticize old cells in the body.

They need each other. Notice what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as carnal, as to babes in Christ. Now, there's tons of scriptures that talk about young men and old men, young women and old women, and it doesn't mean your age. It means your spiritual development within the church. There are different ages within the body of Christ. There are people just now considering to be baptized.

There are people who are at the end of their life and have been in the church for more than four decades. Five decades, in some cases. I know one lady, I believe in East Texas, who's been in the church for six or seven decades. I'm not sure which. Is it six or seven that we stayed with in Big Sandy? I don't remember. She's the longest living, baptized member in the church. She's in East Texas. We have members everywhere in between. They belong here, is the point. They belong in the body.

We should not despise each other. We're one body. I don't have time to go into it. It's not a sermon on unity. It's just one of the duties that we have. If we're going to be in Christ, one of those duties is we're going to be unified and we are not to judge each other. Because we are all at different distances on our walk, different ages of development within the body.

And that is acceptable. Romans 14 and verse 14. Romans 14 and verse 4. Paul asks, Who are you to judge another man's servant? To his own master he stands and falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. Wow! You're judging another person for having a character flaw. When that person belongs to your Father, God in heaven, who is able to make him or her stand, they may have a glaring problem. We all do. Look at yourself. You're in Christ. You are a member of the body of Christ.

You're in the church. That should just send electricity through you when you read that statement. What else? What else did the apostles apply to this phrase in Christ? Well, another thing that the apostles talked about was that there's one set of rules for everybody. There's not one set of rules for the older and one set of rules for the younger and another set of rules for the in-between.

Nor are there the haves and the have-nots, the privileged and those who are not privileged. There is no such thing as the loved and the unloved in the church. And if that exists, we're dangerously close to not being in Christ.

One of the tell-tale signs of partiality within the church, of not unity in the church, is if there's a different set of rules for one class of people in the church and not another. There shouldn't even be a class of people in the church. Period. Different levels of development? Oh, absolutely. A different set of rules? No way. 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 17. Like I say, this fascinates me. You just look up the phrase, in Christ or in Him. And you'll find all of these scriptures, I'm not even going to go through half, not even half of the points that we could bring out in this sermon.

And I have even fewer notes than I normally do, and I'm not sure we're going to get through at all. Which is okay. You'll get the point either way. Okay. One set of rules for all people. We have personal responsibility. So this point of our duty of one set of rules means we have personal responsibility to the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 17. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful Son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ.

So there are ways in the church. There are ways we're supposed to behave, which we know, but it's important to go through them. As I teach everywhere in the church, the rules that were for Corinth were also for Galatia, were also for Jerusalem, were also for Rome, were also for anywhere in the world that the gospel was preached.

The ways that are in Christ are preached everywhere. There is no have and have nots, loved and unloved. The washed and the unwashed in the church. We have one set of rules, we have one body. And we are to behave according to those rules. And you know what? Those rules are preset before we were ever born. In fact, those rules were preset before we were even created as a physical universe.

Ephesians 2, verse 10. We behave according to those rules. We don't make the rules ourselves. Let's not get the idea that this is just because God has grace and mercy, and He forgives our mistakes over and over again, and He does. He's not harsh. He accounts it righteousness when we just have faith in Him.

Before we've done anything, we've just said, I trust you. And He accounts that for righteousness. He did that for Abraham. I'm going to give a sermon on that in August at the regional weekend. So that's why I'm not going to give it today. Because I've already got it made. But that doesn't mean that we don't follow just because He has grace, just because He's merciful, just because we're His kid and He loves us.

And when we make this mistake, He picks us up and He brushes us off. Doesn't mean that He doesn't want us to follow His rules. Doesn't mean we can go changing those rules at our every whim. These rules have been set since eternity. Ephesians 2, verse 10. For we are His workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus, there's that phrase again, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We were called and placed into the church, if you will, into Christ Jesus to work. To obey, to grow.

Yes, He's merciful. He's kind. He's not looking to punish us. Every time we fall down, He's actually looking to pick us back up. But pick us back up to do what? Pick us back up to follow His rules. So if you are walking through everyday life, making it up as you go along, you might want to ask yourself, am I really in Christ?

Because if you're living by your rules, you're not living by His. And if you're in Christ, you're living by His rules. So, continuing on. Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God prepared these rules before you and I were ever around. And He didn't ask our opinion on what those rules should be. And He understood that we were going to face trials, that it was going to be hard to keep the Sabbath, that all kinds of lusts were going to pull against us.

He knew all of that. And He set those rules, and those rules don't change. And if we are in Christ, we follow those rules. This is huge! That one little statement in Christ is enormous! Oh, there's more. We are actually required not only to obey Him and be unified and treat each other well, we are required, we weren't called just for ourselves, to go out and preach the Gospel. One thing Mr. Petty does, diligently, we are all supposed to support that effort, that Beyond Today program, which is only part of our Gospel preaching efforts. The Church is about work.

And the work we are supposed to do is telling other people what Jesus Christ, God the Father, did for us. One of our required duties in the Church. If you are in Christ, you work. What is that work? 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Now, thanks to God, who always leads us in triumph, in Christ.

They say that all the time. And through us, diffuses the fragrance of knowledge in every place. I love that phrase. I grilled last night. Actually, I didn't. I supervised grilling last night, which was awesome. My 17-year-old son grilled last night, did a bang-up job. And the fragrance that came off of that grill, the aroma. I ate breakfast this morning. I'm hungry just talking about it. Okay, so that's the phrase that Paul uses here. That through us, through you and me, when we're in Christ, diffuses fragrance of what?

His knowledge in every place. Go ye therefore into all the world, and preach the gospel to all nations, and then the end will come, Jesus Christ said. And what is that to God? An aroma. Oh, we didn't just have steaks on the grill. We had mushrooms and jalapenos. Every once in a while, we'll put onions on there. Have you ever grilled onions? Oh, that smell!

It's just wonderful. That's what preaching the gospel is to God and to Jesus Christ. When we are in Christ, we work. We are not just called for personal salvation. Agape, love, is about giving to other people. And when we are in Christ, we have a duty to preach the gospel. Stay in that chapter and drop down to verse 17.

For we are not, as so many, peddling the Word of God. And we're not doing it for money. We don't charge for preaching the gospel. It was given to us freely. We give it freely. But as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. But, you know, brethren, there's a lot more than just preaching the gospel and being unified. There's also a very personal aspect of being in Christ. This is a huge, huge phrase. This one little phrase, in Him or in Christ or in Christ Jesus. There's a personal aspect that we have a duty to become something new, something better.

And if we're not becoming new and better, we're wilting on the vine. We're withering away. And we risk not being in Christ. Let's make sure that we are being renewed and being made new. Something different than where we started. There's an end point. There's a starting point. We have to head to the end point. We have to become completely new. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17. This is so clear. Therefore, if, the biggest two-letter word in the English language, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.

What things? All our old habits and our old lusts. Although, figuratively, they pass away at baptism. And we are forgiven. We are literally washed. But our old habits rear their ugly heads to this day, as long as we draw breath. And we are in these physical bodies. All things have become new, Paul says, dropping down to verse 19. That is, that God was in Christ, in other words, in the church, when you see in Christ, read, in the church, that God was in Christ, that is, His body, reconciling the world to Himself.

Not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed us to the word of reconciliation, God is reconciling us to Him through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. How does He do that? Practically speaking, through the church.

When we come into the church, and we have a personal responsibility to become new. Something that we're not. So, we've already gone through a ton of things. But let's walk through just one more. Now, in fact, now let's walk through about five more. And then we'll get to the benefits.

What other duties do we have? Well, when we become new, we have to walk towards a destination. We have to walk towards a destination. How do we walk that walk, if we are in Christ? Well, great news is, we have an example. We have an example to follow.

Jesus Christ came to the earth and walked the walk and showed us how to do it. And we simply have to follow His example. First John. First John, the Apostle that Jesus loved. His friend who understood love. Understood Agape, or Agape, however you pronounce it. Definitely no Greek expert. This John writes a letter, a general epistle, 1 John, chapter 2 and verse 5.

Chapter 2 and verse 5. But whoever keeps His word, so His way, the way we're supposed to walk, comes from His word. Truly, the love of God is perfected in Him. By this, we know that we are in Him. In the church. We're not literally inserted into His body. That would be a weird horror movie. The Apostles weren't being weird. They meant into His spiritual body, into His church. And if we are in Him, we are walking by His word. Verse 6. He said, He who says He abides in Him, ought Himself also to walk just as He walked. We have an example. He walked the walk all the way to a horrible death that none of us ever want to go through.

And He did it without sinning. He was confronted by other people, just like you and I are confronted by other people. Yet, He did not blow it, not one time. That is how we are supposed to become new and walk to our destination. We're supposed to follow His example. How? By keeping His word.

That's how we become righteous. 2 Corinthians, moving on. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. Continuing in that same thought, Paul, to the Corinthians, writes this. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. How righteous are we supposed to become? That we might become the righteousness of God in Him. In other words, in the body of Christ in the church. How righteous are we to become? The righteousness of God. Exactly like He is, we're supposed to be. So, brethren, if we think that we are in the church and we are not growing, we're staying still, we need to take heed lest we fall.

Because if we are in Christ, we are growing on toward perfection. Nothing short of perfection. 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 28. Notice how every one of these passages is accompanied by the phrase, either in Christ or in Him, meaning in the church. What does it mean to be a member of the body of Christ? What does it mean to be in Christ? Colossians chapter 1 and verse 28. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ.

A lot of people read that and think the English word perfect, and some people become perfectionists. Now, I don't mind perfectionists at all that have nothing to do with what this word means. This word means totally 100% grown-up, mature. That's what it means. Mature to the point you cannot waver, you cannot turn to the left or to the right. There is no shadow of turning with God.

His character is absolutely set in love, in righteousness. That is how perfect we are to become. So we are to become new, walk the walk until we become perfect. God will work that in us. But if we are not doing that, we need to take heed. Coming to church does not make you a member of the body of Christ.

Now, neither does not coming to church. But coming to church is not enough when the Apostle said, in Christ, it was electrifying. Did you know, this might be a sticking point for some of you, you're going to have to get over it. Did you know that you're supposed to greet one another? If you are in Christ, some of you, now I'm not talking about being an introvert or an extrovert. If you're an introvert, you wait for somebody to come to you, and you greet them. If you're an extrovert, you go around and annoy, I mean greet everybody. I am an extrovert.

This has nothing to do with that. What I'm talking about is, there are some who will not talk to others. In the body of Christ, we have a duty. I have a duty to you, and you have a duty to me, and to everybody else. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 21. This is just one scripture. There are many. We only need one. There's no getting around it. Philippians chapter 4 verse 21. Greet every saint. Which one of your members of this congregation does not fit into the category of every? Which one?

I'll tell you which one. The one that made you mad. The one that hurt your feelings. That one did. But that's unacceptable. We're to be growing onto perfection. Nothing is supposed to move us. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. There's that saying again. Every member of the church. Every member of the body. The brethren who are with me greet you also. Paul was no hypocrite at all. He greeted them as well. You know, Paul would get angry with people too. He suffered many offenses. He sure did. In fact, he talks about it all the time.

Getting beaten. Getting, you know, kicked out of a city. Lowered down by a basket. Left outside. Thinking he was dead. Shipwrecked. All of those things he went through. And then the churches would doubt his legitimacy. He would go in and he would start a church. And then he would leave and go to another church. Leave a minister there. And sometimes they would cling to that minister and forget Paul. They'd just forget about him. And then he'd have to write a letter like 2 Corinthians. Saying, do I have to give you my credentials?

You are my credentials. He would say. How offensive is that? He dedicates his life to these people and they forget about him. And yet he didn't get offended. Instead, he greeted them. And that's what we have to do. And that's the point I'm making. If we are members who are in Christ, if we are the saints in Christ, we greet everyone. Those who are popular, those who are awkward.

If they're awkward, greet them. Treat them as though they were your family. You don't pick your family, brethren. You're born into it. But that's not the only duties that we have. We have so many more. And it looks like I'm not even going to have time to go through the ones I chose, which is okay. You're getting the point. I'll just read two more. Two more duties. First of all, one very important duty that we have to fulfill.

Because it's for our benefit. We would not have to fulfill this duty if it wasn't for our good. But it is for our good. So we have to walk through it. We won't make it without it. And that is that those who are in Christ must endure difficulties. We must. That's what forms us and shapes us. It's not pleasant. Never is. The difficulties... I mean, difficulties. I don't mean first-world difficulties. Right? Oh, I've got to get a new cell phone.

I dropped mine and the screen cracked. That's not a difficulty. You're probably better off without that thing. And I say that hypocritically, because I'm tied to mine. We have to endure difficulties. Real trials. The things that shake us to our core. Second Timothy, the second letter of Timothy that Paul wrote, chapter 2 and verse 1. You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Remember that God is loving and forgiving and graceful, giving us what we don't deserve. So what he's about to say, he reminds Timothy of grace. Be strong in it. Give it to others. And then dropping down to verse 10. Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Salvation is here. And so Paul was willing to endure anything for us.

And then dropping down to verse 12. If we endure, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. It takes faith, brethren. It takes faith to go through it.

And the last thing, as far as the duty that I want to go through, it's a duty if we are in him, if we are in the church, we are to abide in him. Which means we are to stay in the church.

Brethren, the phrase in him is a simple phrase. We say in the church because it means the same thing. But it only means the same thing if we apply the meaning to that phrase that the apostles applied to it when they said, in Christ.

We are to stay. The word they used was abide or live. It means do not leave. You don't leave the body and stay alive. You can't do it. You can't be one of those church-hopping people that never really attaches himself to the body, the vine, Jesus Christ himself. So if you bounce and bounce and bounce and bounce and you get tired of one group and you go to the next group, you are not following God's instruction to abide. 1 John 3, verses 5 and 6. This isn't a sermon on this. I could go into much more detail on this point because I see some confused looks out there. So I'm going to flesh this one out. But let's just touch on it for now. 1 John 2, verses 27-28. But the anointing, which you have received from Him abides in you. And you do not need that anyone teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, as is true and is not a lie, and just as it taught you, you will abide in Him. But remember, when they said, in Him, they meant in His body. And His body is the church. So read what He's saying. And you do not need anyone to teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true, is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide, stay in Him, in the church. If you learn the truth, you'll stay in the church. That's what He says. Verse 28. And now little children, abide in Him. Jesus Christ is in His church. That when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. God the Father chooses where He places you in the body. Do you believe that? God the Father places you in Christ where He wants you. It's not a matter of faith in your organization. Organization has nothing to do with it as far as this point is concerned. It really doesn't. The organization that we're in right now is called the United Church of God could collapse tomorrow, and you could still abide in Him. Because God puts you in the body where He sees fit. Do you trust that enough to stay where He puts you? I've had that challenge before, and you have had that challenge before. And it is a matter of faith, and it's between you and God. It's not between you and me. But if we do receive the truth, we abide in Him. We stay in the body of Christ. We stay where He put us. Let's get down to chapter 3 and notice verse 5. Still in 1 John chapter 3 verse 5. And you know that He was manifest to take away your sins. Jesus Christ came to the earth and died. In other words. And in Him there is no sin. In other words, if you're in Him, if you've accepted His sacrifice and come into the body, we don't sin anymore. We don't transgress against His will. That's what He's talking about. We abide. We stay in Him. Verse 6. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. You've got to stay. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 1 John chapter 4. Drop down a little bit more. How do we know that we abide in Him? By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He has given us His Spirit. And God's Spirit will guide you all of your life. Where you should be and what you should do. I am absolutely confident in that. And you should be too.

Luke chapter 9. We'll finish out this point with the words of Jesus Christ Himself. If we're going to abide in Him, I suppose we ought to listen to what He says.

He's the boss. He's the master. This is His body. This church isn't ours. We don't make this up. We follow Him. And we actually love to, don't we? We do. Oh, not always, because we don't like to be told what to do. But then we do it, and we reap the benefits from it, and we love it. We love the fact that Jesus Christ is the head of the body. And we're actually comforted by that. We're secured by it. But sometimes we get our nose twisted out of shape, and we leave the body. We're no longer abide in Him. And there is a very stiff warning about that. Luke chapter 9 and verse 62.

Luke chapter 9 and verse 62. A young man had come up to Him and told Him, Yeah, I can't follow you right now. I've got to go do something else. And this was his response. But Jesus said to Him, verse 62, No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom. Don't you dare take on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, accept the blood, and then say, Yeah, but I'm not going to stay in the church. I'm going to go do my own thing now. That's a death sentence. And it could not be more clear than that.

It could not be more clear. What would it take to have you leave the church? If your answer was not nothing, then you need to examine that. Nothing can make you leave the church because once you have put your hand to the plow, abide in Him. That's our duty. So when they would say, the saints who are in Christ, that's like hitting your elbow and getting that funny bone charge through your body. That's a huge statement. And we just read over it. Those who are in Christ, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. Not anymore. I'm not going to. Normally, you start with the benefits, you butter people up, and then you give them the bad news, the duties. I wanted to do the opposite. Because you already, if you're in the church, you're already in Christ. So I wanted to start with the duties and wrap it up with the benefits. It's like eating the cake first and then going for the icing.

Benefit number one, grace. Grace. How's that a benefit? It's a huge benefit. You don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. We don't even deserve to live. We were created by grace. We were planned for by grace. We didn't do anything to earn it. And yet, it's there for us at all times. Grace is unmerited. Gifts or pardon. It's not deserved. It's not earned. That's what grace is. And God is full of grace to those who are in Christ. First Timothy, chapter one, verse 14. Brethren, do not shy away from the term grace. A lot of people use grace to say that the law is done away with. And it's so absolutely foolish. But we can jump in the other ditch and not use the word grace at all. And not realize what a huge benefit grace is.

Think of a grandfather or a grandmother. Not just a father or a mother. But when you get up in years and you see those little grandkids, something happens to your brain. And you allow them so much more grace than you gave to your children. You give them things to eat that you would have never let your children eat. And in more quantities than you would ever. Oh, because you know you're going to send them home. And they'll bounce off your kids' walls, not yours. Which is great! And I think about God the Father and Jesus Christ in those terms. They are so merciful to us. So kind. They're so on your side. They so want you to succeed. They will not let you fail if you trust them and you abide in Him. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 14. It's just a simple little statement with huge, huge magnitude of meaning. 1 Timothy 1 and verse 14. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant like a grandmother with a bowl of ice cream. With faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. You want to be in the church? Grace is exceeding. What does that mean? There are two individuals in heaven who are on your side and there's nobody in the universe bigger than them. I could get off the stage right now and that would be benefit enough. But there's more. I feel like a TV salesman. But wait! There's more. There really is. The removal of guilt. We all bear guilt. All of us do. And it just weighs us down. Mr. Petty has talked about this for years. And yet sometimes we forget. In fact, we forget all the time, don't we? And we need to be reminded all the time. Don't worry. God will remind you all the time. Guilt has been removed. Consequences are still there. Right? If you drink yourself half to death, you've got a dead liver. And now you've got to live with that. But God forgave you. You can now walk in newness of life and not bear that guilt. And when you don't bear so much guilt, hopefully you'll get the message and start to forgive other people. And start to actually get along with people. It's a huge benefit of being in the church. Removal of guilt. It goes right along with grace, hand in hand. But it's specifically talked about in Galatians. Galatians 2, verse 16. Galatians 2, verse 16.

The law tells us how to live, and we live by it. We do. But it doesn't take our guilt away. Because we've all broken it. We've all sinned. And yet, Jesus Christ died and has removed that guilt. Stop walking around carrying the guilt of your past and move forward. There is a huge benefit from being in the church that you are no longer guilty of what you did in the past. Let it go. You will bear whatever physical consequence, whatever emotional scars you have, and God will actually help you through those. But He no longer is going to punish you when He meets you. He's not going to say, No, not you. You did this. He's not going to do that. And that's a huge benefit of being in Christ.

He also promised life. It's not just this life, but it's life eternal. And that's the biggie, isn't it? Right? That grace and that forgiveness leads to life. 2 Timothy 1 and verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, by His own intent, this is what He wants for you. By the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, which is in the body of Christ. When you're in the church, there is a benefit. And it's not just a benefit, it's a promise.

And the promise isn't wealth. It's life itself. Oh, but we will die. How does that promise get fulfilled in Christ? I went through it last week or a few weeks ago. It's resurrection of the dead. We will be resurrected. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 19 and 22. Talk about our hope in Christ and how, if we don't have the hope of the resurrection, we are most pitiful.

Because we deny our lusts and overcome and face difficulties and work hard to greet each other for what? Nothing? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, and then he said no in verse 22, for as in Adam all die, but even so, in Christ all shall be made alive. What a huge statement those two little words are. Look how much the apostles assign to that one little phrase, in him or in Christ or in Christ Jesus.

It's huge, isn't it? And we're even first to rise. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 16, when Jesus Christ comes back to the earth, we're first. When you're in Christ, not only do you have the promise of life, you're promised to be resurrected, you get resurrected first. Other people get resurrected too, though, which is even more great news. That weird uncle that you have that never believed in God and drank himself to death is going to be resurrected. But you who are in Christ are first. Brethren, the reward is huge.

I know I've said this before. I quote Star Wars quite frequently. I'll say it again. Han Solo's statement to Princess Leia in the very first Star Wars was quintessential rod. I related to that because Princess Leia was telling him how big the reward was. Maybe it was Luke. And he said, more than you can imagine. So, though immediately, without even giving it thought, he said, I don't know, I can imagine a lot. It would be pretty hard to go beyond my imagination, but not really.

Ephesians 2 and 6. How big of a reward when we're resurrected. How worth it is it? Verse 6, and raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In that spiritual body that he uses to carry out his actions. Well, that's you and me. Verse 7, that in the ages to come, he might show exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. And I can imagine a lot.

Can you? The benefits are huge. And one other benefit, and there's so many more, but I'm going to end this. And one other benefit of being in Christ is that God is in charge. What? How is that a benefit? God is in charge. Let me tell you how that's a benefit. It's a huge benefit. It's like a guarantee with a padlock that can't be broken with any bolt cutters on the planet.

God is in charge, and that means he makes us sure, firm, established. We're going to make it. Just trust him. Just trust him. Benefit of being in Christ, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, and verse 21. Now, he who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God. He didn't just set us up. That word established, according to Thayer's Greek dictionary, is to make sure or to make firm.

So what Paul is saying there is that he who makes you sure that you are going to make it is the creator of the universe himself. The ruler of heaven and earth has a personal interest in you. And he establishes this body. It doesn't mean starts it like we think of the word established. It means makes it secure. If you are in Christ, you are secure, that he is going to move you to the destination that he has in mind for you, which is exceedingly great. And the last in him that I've phrased that I want to look at actually refers to the Father himself. Very, very reassuring.

1 John chapter 5 and verse 20. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true. It's also the Father's church. We're not just in Christ, but they are unified and in one.

And if we are in Christ, we are in the Father. Are we sure that the in him here was referring to the Father and not Christ? Yep. Read the next phrase. And we are in him who is true, in his Son, Jesus Christ. The in him is not referring to Jesus Christ. In this case, the in him that we're in is also we're in the Father. We've got two God-level beings that we are secure in.

Oh, and there are many, many duties that we have to fulfill. We have to be unified. We have to know that we're not all at the same stage of development, so we don't judge each other. There's one set of rules for everybody. There's no haves and have nots, loved and unloved. We are required to work, preach the gospel. We have a duty to become new.

There's all kinds of things that in him means or in Christ means. We are to walk until we become perfect. We're to actually to greet each other, everybody, not just the ones we get along with. We're to have faith, and we are to abide in him. And when we do, brethren, the benefits are beyond anything that we can imagine, and it is God the Father himself that makes that secure. It takes a personal interest in this church, the body of Christ. You know, when you read the Bible from now on, and you're reading through the New Testament, don't do that little yada yada yada thing over little phrases that they say all the time.

Because to them, it meant something huge. And when you get what it meant to them, and then you read it, it'll jump off the page. It'll actually electrify you, and you will get more out of what you're reading. In Christ means in his body, his church, that we are to abide in. That is a huge statement. Just help us understand what they were writing that much more. Have a good Sabbath.