Eternal life is not something God gives you; instead, it is someone that you are grafted into. Salvation, therefore, is not an external transaction but a person in whom we participate. The term that dominates the New Testament description of what it means to be a Christian is the phrase “in Christ.” It is imperative that you understand those words in the most literal way. Being “in Christ,” that is, being placed into the very life that Jesus lives, is God’s answer for broken humanity; for your broken humanity. I love the way Paul put it in Romans 5:10, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in His life.” The NASB is the most accurate English translation of all the translations, and even they missed the meaning of this verse because they translate that last phrase as saying, “.. we shall be saved “by” His life.” That is not a bad translation because it almost carries the same meaning, but the preposition “by” is wrong, for the original language uses the preposition “in” because that is what the Holy Spirit was trying to communicate through the apostle Paul. Our inclusion in the life that Jesus lives, His intimate fellowship with the Father, and His walk with God, is what makes us new creations, for Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are His poem, created “in” Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is “in” Christ they are a new creature (creation).” We were in Christ at the Cross, and in His crucifixion, our sins were paid for, but much more, who we were under the reign of sin died and was buried, and In His resurrection, we, still joined to Him, emerged from the dead in union with His victorious life. Can you imagine what it would be like for just one day in the nitty-gritty that makes up your daily living if Christ could zip Himself up in your humanity and live your day through you by His supernatural ability? Well, my wonderful brothers and sisters “in” Christ, don’t just imagine it, celebrate it because that is the Christian life that we are meant to experience every day. Being saved from who you were by participating in who He is, is God’s great masterpiece.
