Paul’s meaning of in Christ

An overview of Paul’s theology of the person and work of Christ and a summary of what Paul meant by being “in Christ.” What were Paul’s sources for his theology and his authority? How would you explain Paul’s view of being “in Christ” to a curious non-believer?

Paul’s theology recognizes both the full humanity and the full deity of Christ as critical components of his personhood. Millard Erickson observes that Paul provides evidence of Jesus’s humanity in the Apostle’s letter to the Romans by using the phrase “one man” three times in regards to Jesus (Romans 5:15, 17, 19 [NASB]).[1] Paul also references Jesus appearing in bodily form in 1 Timothy 3:16 further supporting Christ’s humanity. Paul also references Jesus’ deity. For example, Paul’s letter to the Colossians explicitly states, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). Although the person of Christ is crucial to orthodox theology, the work of Christ is also critically important. In fact, Erickson notes that the person of Christ and the work of Christ are indivisible.[2] F. F. Bruce summarizes Paul’s perspective of Christ’s work by referencing his letter to the Corinthians, which states that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).[3] Justyn Terry expands on Bruce’s observation by explaining that what Christ died for was the forgiveness of sins, which “lies at the heart of God’s gracious reconciling work in Christ.”[4] Ultimately, Christ’s work in Paul’s theology includes his sacrifice, propitiation, and substitution that results in the reconciliation of believers to God.[5]

Paul’s meaning of “in Christ” has both a personal and a communal aspect. The personal element is beautifully summarized by Adolf Deissmann who states, “Christ is Spirit; therefore He can live in Paul and Paul in Him. Just as the air of life which we breathe is ‘in’ us and fills us, and yet we at the same time live and breathe ‘in’ this air, so it is with St. Paul’s fellowship of Christ: Christ in him, he in Christ.”[6] The result of the incorporation of the believer into Christ and Christ into the believer is the manifestation of “every spiritual blessing” necessary for the believer’s spiritual health (Ephesians 1:3).[7] Additionally, F. F. Bruce summarizes the communal element by explaining that being “in Christ” breaks down social and racial barriers between Jews and Gentiles.[8] In other words, just as the Hebrew of Hebrews obtained new life in Christ through faith and not the law, Gentiles also have the opportunity to participate in God’s community through faith and not the law.[9] However, even beyond the Jew and Gentile community, Craig Keener notes that Paul’s emphasis on a corporate unity in Christ necessarily expands to “all ethnic, cultural, and earthly kinship connections.”[10]

Two primary sources of Paul’s theology and authority are revelation and tradition. In one sense, Paul did not receive the gospel from man, but directly from God (Galatians 1:12). More specifically, F. F. Bruce notes that Paul received the revelation of the gospel when he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus where he received the revelation of the mystery of the gospel – “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).[11] In another sense, Paul did receive the gospel from man; he received information from Peter in Jerusalem a few years after his Damascus experience.[12] In Jerusalem, Paul confirmed the reality and implications of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.[13] Furthermore, D. A. Caron and Douglas Moo provide additional sources of Paul’s theology and authority, which include early Christian traditions, such as creeds and hymns, the teachings of the earthly Jesus, the Old Testament, Paul’s Jewish upbringing, and, to a lesser extent, the Greek world of Paul.[14]

An explanation of “in Christ” to a curious non-believer starts with an understanding of the inner self. Every human has a body, but humans are also born with a spirit and when individuals confess their need for a Savior, then God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, joins their spirit through faith (Romans 8:16). The incorporation of God into the individual’s life provides the inner power to live healthily from the inside-out due to the righteousness of God residing within the new believer (Romans 3:22). The implications of receiving the gift of God’s righteousness are staggering (Romans 5:17). Specifically, the new believer no longer needs to attempt to find their value and worth from outside themselves in the things of the world such as their performance, other people’s opinions, or external circumstances. Instead, believers can rely on the righteousness of God within them to complete them (Colossians 2:10). The result is that the new believer has the opportunity to experience true freedom for the first time in their life (Galatians 5:1).