"And observe especially, it was not that he said, 'Come to me, and abide with me,' but, 'Abide in me.' The intercourse was not only to be unbroken, but most intimate and complete. ... There was a depth of meaning you cannot yet realize in His words: 'Abide in Me.'" (11)
This "in" word has baffled me for about two years now! Being "in Christ" is one of those concepts that I know should be waaaaaaaaay more important than I feel it is ... or act as if it is. I do not live in an experiential knowledge of this; nor is it something that I rest in, count on, or even think about in my everyday life. Consciously, it plays little part in the way that I choose to live.
And so, because my own well of wisdom seems so dry on this matter, I've dipped my bucket into the wells of others because I really think that there is something to this being "in Christ" ... even though I don't know what it is! So just in case anyone else is interested, here are a few quotes about the matter from some of the other books I've read:
- Andrew Murray, Humility "If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, this insight must but the more urge us to seek it in Him--for it is the indwelling Christ who will live in us this life, meek and lowly. ... [T]hat [we are] nothing but a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness. The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know we have nothing but what we receive, and bow in deepest humility to waith upon God for it." (28-29)
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Ephesians "What does it really mean to be saved? It means to be in Christ." (20) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 "He has blessed you in the heavenlies in Christ, and you are there regardless of your position down here. ... I have everything in Christ; I have been blessed with all spiritual blessings. You can't improve on that, can you?" (22-23)
- Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness "Being spiritually alive is most often portrayed in the New Testament with the prepositional phrases 'in Chirst' and 'in Him.' Being spiritually alive in Christ is the overwhelming theme of the New Testament. For example, in the six chapters of the book of Ephesians alone we find forty references to being 'in Christ' and having Christ in you." (45)
- Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker "Since you are alive in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenlies, you no longer need an outside agent to effect authority for you. You now reside 'in Christ' who has all authority. In order to resist the devil, you first need to understand and appropriate your identity, position, and authority in Christ." (26-27) We may have an even greater advantage in spiritual warfare than the first disciples did. They were with Christ (Mark 3:14-15), but we are in Christ." (81)
- There is also an entire chapter on "The Secret of Abiding in Christ" in Secrets of the Secret Place.
This is what I do know:
"In" and "life" cannot be separated. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, He will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John)
These are things I presently possess IN Christ:
- through the Father: every spiritual blessing in Christ; holiness; blamelessness; adoption
- through the Son: redemption; forgiveness; knowledge of the mystery of His will ... one head; chosenness
- through the Spirit: marked with a seal, a deposit guaranteeing my inheritance (Ephesians)
Otherwise ... I'm clueless!
I am beginning to figure out that there is a conditional aspect to my experience (not possession) of being "in Christ." ... My experience is conditional upon my persistance in abiding. I love to claim blessings, authority, and rest without abiding. So maybe that's why my experiential knowledge of the concept of being 'in Christ" is so lacking. ... I've ignored the condition of abiding. I really realized this when Murray discussed Matthew 11:28-30: Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This was the very first verse I ever memorized four and a half years ago. I've dwelt on it many times. Yet I JUST NOW see the condition in the verse! I will find rest for my soul when and if I take his yoke upon me and learn from Him. Oops ... Maybe I should start abiding there ...
2 comments:
Here are my thoughts on "in Christ." I have trouble with this because I nestle my identity into the things that I do much more than who I am. Its probably because of our society, American culture, blah, blah, blah...BUT that's the good news, God enabling us to be a certain kind of person internally who then naturally does certain kinds of things because to the nature of who we are. This is Murray's point, too. Being over doing is littered through Abide...
addie, I completely agree with you about thinking that I should be much farther "advanced" in my knowledge and experience in Abiding :) When I think back on my first intern year with Rebecca discipling me, that is often what I think of...all of the conversations that we had about something I was stressed about or how tired I was and she would ask me "Are you able to just abide?" And I would respond that I didnt even know what that meant much less what it looked like in real life. I think then I would TRY to abide. Which pretty much for me meant that I was striving to abide which isn't abiding at all. It actually makes things more stressful. Because I would then be stressed because I wasn't "abiding" right....I mean how ridiculous is that?? I think it is so hard with our culture because it is not our first nature to rest or let things be. For instance, I am at home right now with my family and when I come home, I am very busy. That is how my family is....we DO things. If there is nothing to do, we find something to do....we worry (Im trying to break this one) and think about everything. I am not saying that being busy and abiding are opposites, just that sometimes (at least with my fam) we busy ourselves to fulfill something inside of us instead of letting the Lord fill that and live in the fullness that He has for us. I think to me in reading the first few chapters, abiding would mean fullness of life, Abundance, power, love, perfect communion between us and our Father. I really do yearn for this...and I already have it at the same time..hmmm
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