Well, I am here in Christ at a hospital with Olivia in Birmingham, waiting to hear about the details of her surgery, which should be tomorrow or Friday. It would actually be more accurate to say that Olivia and I are both in Christ at the hospital. Every Christian is in Christ, and that is the first and primary reality about us at all times. Look at what Paul said about the Colossian believers when he introduced his letter to them;
“ To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (Colossians 1:2)
Paul said that they were first, “In Christ,” and secondly, they were “at Collosae.” A renewed mind is evidenced by a consciousness that we are first, and most importantly, In Christ, and every other reality is a secondary reality.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.
The NASB translation says, “ If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature,” but it could also be translated, “If anyone is in Christ, THERE IS A NEW CREATION.”
The point is that not only are you a new creature in Christ (a creature the world has never seen before), but you have also been placed into a new world, a new realm. You’ve been placed into the life and the world of Jesus. He is now your life, swallowing up your life and life story into His. You have been placed into a one-man play, and Jesus is the actor, the producer, the director, and the lone writer of the script. You and I are the living wardrobe that He lives through, as the script is being played out scene by scene in our daily lives. Sitting in this hospital, different medical personnel come in and out throughout the day. Those who come in who aren’t Christians may be standing next to me, but they are living in one world, and I am living in another, a heavenly one. I may look like just another human like them, but I am not the same. I’m in Christ, and He is actively living His life in and through me. Also, because I’m in Christ, I’m not here just because of a series of circumstances; I’m here because He has taken over my story, and I am seated in the Heavenly places. I, like you, died to self 2000 years ago, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God, and I am now caught up in His life and His world (story). I am a new creature, and my personal world is a new creation. I live now in the adventure that is His daily story.