The Riches of Being in Christ

Jesus came to give us the abundant life (Jn. 10:10). In a parable, He describes this as a wedding feast to which all are invited (Matt. 22:1-14). Paul says that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Everyone in Christ has access to “the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). What are the riches of being in Christ?

I’ve compiled the following list to inform/remind and encourage you not to take lightly the abundant life found in Christ. (For ease of study, the passages are mostly in biblical order. Also, this is not an exhaustive list. I encourage you to study this more on your own.)

1. We are “justified…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

2. Once dead in sin, we are now dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:11).

3. We have eternal life in Christ (Rom. 6:23).

4. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1).

5. We are eternally inseparable “from the love of God which is in Christ” (Rom. 8:39).

6. We are sanctified in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2).

7. We are triumphant in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).

8. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

9. In Christ, we have been reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:19).

10. In Christ, we are the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

11. We have liberty in Christ (Gal. 2:4).

12. We are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28).

13. In Christ, we have obtained God’s inheritance (Eph. 1:11).

14. In Christ, we are brought near to God by His blood (Eph. 2:13).

15. In Christ, we have the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7).

16. We are perfect in Christ (Col. 1:28).

17. In Him, the body of sins of the flesh are put off, when we are baptized (Col. 2:11-12).

18. Salvation is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:10).

19. In Christ, we have no sin (1 Jn. 3:5).

Jesus said that the only way that someone could come to the Father was through Him (Jn. 14:6); and He also said that there are few who find this way (Matt. 7:14). Paul’s desire was to be a partaker of the abundant riches that are found in Christ. Consider his words, as he makes it very clear that the most important thing in his life was to be found in Christ: “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11 ESV).

-Cary Gillis D.Min.

April 28, 2019