Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
Throughout this glorious Epistle Paul speaks of being “in Christ.” Of course being in Christ is where we find our “being;” that is, our identity, and true worth. It’s important to understand that the moment you became a Christian, new birth actually happened. You became a totally new person, with a new past, present, and future. You received a new identity, and that new identity is all found “in Christ.” You were placed in Him, and His past became your past; His present (all that He is and has, and is able to do) became your present; and His future became your future. Verse 7 says that your redemption (new creation that forgiveness begets) is in a “WHOM,” not a “what.” Romans 5:10 says it says so clearly; “we are saved in (not by) His life.” A lot of translations say “by” His life, and that is powerful, but the true translation is “in” His life. It’s because I’m in union with His very life that everything about me has changed.
One more thing I want you to see. At the end of verse 6 instead of saying “in Christ,” the Holy Spirit uses the phrase “in the Beloved.” You and I are “in the Beloved.” Think about that; in Christ His history is your history. Because of your union with Him; His nature is your nature. His ability therefore, is your ability. Your present situation is Now His present situation to deal with. His future; a bodily resurrection, is your future, and gloriously, His unchanging position as the Beloved before God, is your position as beloved before God. His story, is now your new story; as if your old story was crucified on the Cross and forever buried. No wonder verse 10 says everything is summed up “in Christ.”