In Christ
Different ways that “In Christ” is used in scripture
While searching the scriptures with the brethren after lunch a few Sunday’s ago, the matter of being “in Christ” was raised. In the discussion that followed, it was said that one was “in Christ” at regeneration. This provides an occasion to explore the concept of being “in Christ” in more detail. To that end I dusted off a short essay I wrote about a decade ago to define the concept of being “in Christ” and understand the nuances of how this terminology is used in the bible. Paul refers to God’s people as being “in Christ” in a number of different ways and they do not all design some single event like regeneration. Consider the following:
In Christ by ELECTION / COVENANT – “According as he hath chosen us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” (Ephesians 1:4) In this verse that speaks of God’s sovereign choice in election, Paul is using the phrase to refer to being “in Christ” by covenant. In other words, God chose a people to save and promised to save them in an everlasting covenant that is ordered all things and sure. This occurred for ALL of God’s covenant people before any of us existed. Note however that while all God’s elect are “in Christ” by covenant since the dawn of time, all God’s elect are NOT “in Christ” in every possible sense. That may sound alarming, but hear me out…
In Christ by REDEMPTION / SUBSTITUTION – “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) There is a redemption that is “in Christ” and those who are “in Christ” by covenant in the aforementioned sense were all likewise “in Christ” at Calvary in a redemptive or transactional sense. The Lord Jesus Christ was our legal representative, substitute, and atonement.
In Christ by REGENERATION – “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation.” (II Corinthians 5:17) In this passage, Paul is speaking of being “in Christ” by regeneration. This speaks not of the covenantal union of election, or the redemptive union at Calvary, but of the vital union that occurs when the Spirit of God quickens one of God’s elect unto life in Christ. We know this to be the case because being “in Christ” be election alone does NOT make someone a new creature. It certainly means that at some point during their natural lives they will be made a new creature, but being elect is not the same as being a new creature. Stated another way, the elect/unregenerate are NOT new creatures and thus are not “in Christ” vitally via regeneration, though they are “in Christ” covenantally.
In Christ by CONVERSION – “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” (Romans 16:7) While Paul’s use of “in Christ” here might be in reference to regeneration, it seems more amenable to the context of speaking to a gospel-converted church for Paul to be making reference to a disciple’s conversion to the faith by becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ as a member of the New Testament church. For one thing, it is impossible to know the precise moment of one’s regeneration (Luke 17:20) and so comparing times of regeneration seems at best speculative, untenable at worst. Moreover, it is certain that Anronicus, Junia, and Paul were all “in Christ” at precisely the same time in the aforementioned covenantal and redemptive senses. It is for these reasons that I’m inclined to regard Paul as having reference to conversion to discipleship. In my experience, this seems like what most modern evangelicals have in mind when they speak of being “in Christ.” Admittedly they may also incorrectly conjoin one or more of the other meanings into the phrase as well, but I’ll leave that alone for now.
Better to explain than to presume
As a result of those four distinctions in how “in Christ” is employed in scripture, we should be wary of insisting that “in Christ” only ever has reference to any one of these categories. Recognizing that there is more than one biblical sense in which one could be considered “in Christ” is needful in the service of clarity. For preachers, it is a possible point of confusion that, without proper qualification, might confound the flock. For the listener or reader, it should cause us to pause and ask “in Christ in what sense?” Armed with that probing question, a disciple is better equipped to understand precisely what Paul has in mind in the different ways that he uses the phrase. Suffice it to say that there’s more lurking in the matter of being “in Christ” than one might think at first blush.
"In Christ" and the Facets of Our Salvation
Just as the phrase "in Christ" has numerous biblical meanings, the term “saved” has a number of different possible meanings in scripture. That biblical observation is familiar to Old Baptists who regularly make mention of this distinction but it might seem unusual to some who have never given the matter due consideration. The different ways that scripture uses the terminology of “salvation” ranges from the blessings of temporal obedience (Exodus 14:13, Acts 2:40, James 5:19-20) to the possession of eternal life (Titus 3:5). As a result, I would submit that anyone who is “in Christ” must also be “saved” - at least in SOME sense. That sense varies based upon where one assess that salvation along a timeline. Stated more explicitly, anyone Paul refers to as “in Christ” must, at a bare minimum, be “saved” in the sense of being one of the elect family of God whose eternal salvation is certain. They are “saved” in covenant. Likewise, since redemption is an explicitly substitutionary and past completed action, all of God’s elect family since the time of the crucifixion are “in Christ” by the atonement in a redemptive and transactional sense. But neither in Paul’s day nor in ours could all of God’s elect family be said to be “in Christ” by regeneration (presuming that God’s work of regeneration is ongoing and incomplete). We could not say that the elect-unregenerate are “in Christ” in the II Corinthians 5:17 sense nor that the elect-regenerate-unconverted are "in Christ" in the Romans 16:7 sense. It follows that there are many phases or facets to being either “saved” or “in Christ” that are made manifest at different in scripture and across redemptive history.
- Elder Daniel Samons