What does the Bible mean by "In Christ," and why does it matter?

Romans 6:3 tells us that we (who have believed in Jesus and received Him as Savior and Lord) have been "baptized into Christ." The word baptized comes from the Greek word "baptizo" meaning to immerse or submerge.

A good illustration would be to think of immersing a glass in the ocean. The ocean is in the glass AND the glass is in the ocean. Likewise when we receive Christ, the Bible says that two things happen. One, that Christ, by His spirit comes into us. 1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV) "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?" and two, according to Romans 6:3 above, we come "into Christ". We all share His Spirit, and collectively we become the "body of Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:13 (ESV) For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

If you were to do a study, looking at all the Bible verses where the terms "in Christ," "in Him," and "in whom" are used, you would get a much greater picture of just what applies to those who are "in Christ." For example, Colossians 1:13–14 says, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." From this we understand that although Jesus died on the cross for everyone, the only people who are actually redeemed, who have their sins forgiven, are those who are "in Christ."

In this current blog series, we are focusing on our identity "in Christ" - that is - what God says about us in His word; who we are, what privileges we have, what promises are ours to claim, etc. As we said last time, being ignorant of these things causes us to live every day lives that are far below the abundant life Jesus secured for us through the cross. Lives which become a light to the world around us.

Therefore it's imperative that we learn, understand, and KNOW who we are "in Christ." In the coming blogs we will look at several Scriptures that teach us our identity in Christ.