In Christ

August 16, 2006

By Reuben J. Sequeira

The phrase “in the Lord, “in Christ,” or its equivalent appears more than 40 times in the Book of Ephesians alone. We were baptized into Jesus. We were grafted into the family of God and into Him personally by the Father himself. Christ lives in us and we live in and through Him. All of life is not only to be influenced by, but to be permeated with His life — the Fruit of the Spirit. He sanctifies all of life, with no distinction between the “spiritual” and the “secular.”

In Ephesians 1, we have this mystery revealed. We have been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, in Him we have redemption, in Him we have an inheritance, and in Him we have been sealed (Ephesians 1:4,7,11,13). Colossians 2:9,10 says we are “complete” in Him for in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). There is nothing that can be added to us when we are in Christ, for in Christ dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).

“Come to Me,” Jesus says, “all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28, NKJV). We are to come with our anxieties, and even with the frustrations of failures of trying to love and obey Christ in the energy of the flesh. He calls us to abide in Him not only for forgiveness of sins, but to experience intimacy with Him. Abiding means not only legal justification and the imputation of His righteousness in salvation, but opening our hearts to dine with Him, even with our busy schedules, work, and continual distractions.

To abide in Christ is to submit to the lordship of Christ … to take up His cross and follow Him … to be taught and ruled by Him and to rest in the grace and love of God. We do the abiding. He gives us the strength to trust and obey. Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. … My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29,30). When we do, we find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29) and receive “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

We are now called to abide in Christ. To be in Christ (John 15:4) is the Spirit’s sovereign work in regeneration. We are not talking about salvation, but the fruit of salvation. He who is in us calls us to abide — to remain in Him.

It is as if the water says to the fish, “If you want to live and produce, you must remain in me. Resist the temptation to go out of me. There is no life outside of me.” It is as if the earth says to the seed, “If you want to produce, you must remain in me. Resist the temptation to go out of me.” “Abide in Me” Jesus says, “For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4,5).

You cannot be what you were created to be without abiding. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself (Romans 11:18; Philippians 1:11; Ephesians 5:9), but will only produce what the Vine is (Colossians 2:19). We are to remain in unbroken communion with Him in faith through prayer and habitual obedience to His will.

John 15:10 says that if we keep His commandments, we shall abide in His love. It is this continuous exercise of faith and obedience that is necessary to abide. In John 6:35, we have Christ in salvation, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” In John 6:56, Christ is the believer’s life and existence: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”

Abiding in Christ is like being ushered into a multilevel home we are free to explore. It has many fascinating and interesting rooms, many hidden passages and exciting possibilities galore. We who have been born again are invited to enter into all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ, not just stand in the doorway of eternity!

Dr. Reuben J. Sequeira ministers throughout the world as a missionary evangelist and teacher. From Sequeira’s Journal, May 2006. Excerpted with permission.