How Can We Be In Christ, In His Body?
The genesis of this concept is found throughout the Old Testament. It was necessary that these steps were in place by the obedience of these faithful to God Plan so Jesus could fulfill all scripture and activate that Plan. To try to go to an explanation here is beyond the scope of this study.
In many of his Epistles Paul takes this concept of being in Christ, and being part of His Body, there are many scriptures I could use but I won’t. I will just draw on what I have extracted from my reading of his letters.
There are many places we read, ‘being in union’ with Him, Jesus. This the key point that ties all the other places that mentions one Body, one church, in Him, united with Him.
Firstly, we much be conscious that all this happening in a Spiritual dimension. So, we need to see how Jesus being the ‘Last Adam’ compares to the ‘First Adam’, one Spiritual and one Physical. Also, what makes them the same i.e., them both being compared as ‘Adam’.
I go into this in greater depth in another Post so, I ask you bear with me to the point and not a full explanation. This will need you open you mind and allow what I am about share sink into my mind.
Consider where we first read about the first Adam in Genesis. In chapter 1 we Adam (Mankind), as being both Male and Female. In chapter 2 we read about Adam being placed into deep sleep and the ‘Woman’ being taken out of his body. I am sure this could have been just skipped over and left out in the Scriptures, but I believe it was placed like this to show a very powerful principle.
In the first instance this explains why a Man and a Woman united by wedding is called ‘one flesh’. That while in chapter 1 there is on body hosing both male and female, they needed to be separate (chapter 2), to show that being unity with one another they reflected the Unity that there is in the Godhead.
So, when the Scriptures states “We are united with Christ”, this the principle that makes this possible. When we receive His Spirit, His Life, we are in the Spiritual Dimension being place in Christ. This could have been possible before Jesus’s Death and Resurection but, because He is now a Living Spirit (Paul’s words), this transformation can happen.
Being the Body, the Bride, the Church all have there basis in this principle. We could not be ‘United with Christ’ if this was not possible.
Now with Christ as the Head of the Body and we are many across the world. His impact of worldly affairs can have a greater affect. It truly amazing to consider the intrigue, that Our Father had this Plan from the beginning of time.
Now that we have gone back to the beginning let’s look into the purpose God had for you because He had Plan for you and this was before time began.
We will look into this next Study.
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(CJB)* The Complete Jewish Bible" used with permission.