The phrase ‘in Christ Jesus’, and similar ones like ‘in Him’, ‘in Jesus’ and ‘in Christ’ are splashed all over the pages of the letters to the New Testament church. They make us understand that our Lord Jesus is both a Person and a Place in which you should be. Jesus Himself said for us to abide or reside in Him – Jn. 15:7.
It is because humans were first living in Jesus Christ. So, before we were put in the loins of our first earthly father Adam in Eden, we were in Christ Jesus – Eph. 1:4a, “…just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love”.
Where did you come from?
It is important to know your true source because the origin of an entity determines its ‘strength’. For example, if a piece of wooden furniture is made of mahogany tree, then it is as strong as its source, the mahogany. Thus, if you know that you came from Jesus, then you know that you can have ‘strength’ to live like Jesus on earth i.e. holy, without blame before God, and in love; as in our immediate quote. Hallelujah!
Where are you going?
Now, because all mankind (without choosing to do so) started in Jesus, God’s plan is that we should end up (this time round) willingly in Jesus again. Now, this plan of God will only happen when we reside in Jesus now – 2 Cor.5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold all things have become new”. You see from this verse that not everyone is in Christ now, although God wants all mankind to be in Him.
Beloved, this is the whole idea behind Jesus coming to us in the Virgin birth over two thousand years ago, and taking the place of all mankind on the Cross. It is so that all humans can get back their place in Him; as we have said, not by force, but as an act of their will.
An Upper-room understanding
In other words, those who are Jesus’ believers, (no matter how out of place they find themselves) can have back their former place in Him. And the Lord Jesus used the falling out-of-place of the Apostle Peter to illustrate this – Jn.13:37-14:3.
Let us read: “Peter said to Him, Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake. Jesus answered him, will you lay down your life for My sake?
Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am there you may be also.”
This incident took place in the Upper-room, the night that Jesus exposed His remaining eleven apostles to some higher truths about the Kingdom of God. There are a total of twelve main Upper-room truths or Kingdom-words that Jesus taught His believers, from the Book of John Chapters 13-17.
