Stuart Rankin's Blog

I am often asked what it actually means to be ‘In Christ’.

There are those will think it is a term of no real significance. To others it is ‘scriptural jargon’, and to some it has no meaning at all, because they simply just do not know.

So I thought tonight it would be worth trying to explain from scriptures just what Paul means when he uses this expression.

It is to be found in Gal. 3:27. ‘For all of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ’. We cover our unholy selves with Christ’s holiness that we might be holy through him.

The background to all this starts with Adam and Eve way back in Genesis, after they had been tempted into eating the forbidden fruit. After realising what they had done, they were in a bit of a panic, they realised that they had done something wrong, so they hid from God in their nakedness. Sowing fig leaves to cover themselves in their shame and embarrassment. God in his grace deals with them, and in v21 of Gen. 3. It says The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

To cover up the shame at their disobedience to God, man had to be clothed by God. A divinely provided garment, being made right by God, to stand before a holy God.

During the 40 years in the wilderness, the clothes which they wore, did not wear out nor did the sandals on their feet, God provided everything for the time the Hebrews spent in the Wilderness. This at a time when he was bringing them to believe, that if they trusted in him, he would meet all their needs both spiritual and’ temporal. So there is a need for all believers to be clothed by God that they would ‘be made fit' to be in his presence.

The 0. T. writers made full use of this terminology and there are many verses throughout; "Clothed in mercy, clothed in compassion, clothed with strength & clothed with humility".

The Crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus, was God’s method in providing us with a suit of Clothes that we might be fit’ to be in his presence, hence we pray we come not in any merit of our own, but we come before you in the merit of Christ. The merit of Calvary’s sacrifice, God's way of reconciling a sinful world to himself, where he bridged that gap between sinful man and a holy God.

Jesus himself said just before he ascended wait until you are clothed with power from on high. That is to say the Holy Spirit which was to come soon after on Pentecost.

Paul takes up this theme in, Galatians, the Galatian Christians were under persecution from the hard line Jews, the Judaisers, they stated that no one could become one of God's children, without first being circumcised, this was one of the reasons for the, council of Jerusalem, an early General Assembly, where the Apostle James of the Jerusalem Church, on hearing that all manner of people were receiving the Holy Spirit declared that the old Jewish ways could be by-passed and were not necessary to become a Christian.

Paul’s logical argument In the debate to the Galatians, was to point out that those who were baptized into Christ, were now clothed In Christ, and that In the eyes of God, there was no difference between Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ. All members of God’s family, all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, all "Clothed with his Righteousness".

This is part of Paul’s great theme of reconciliation. In other letters, he reminds us that there is no use boasting, no use thinking yourselves better than the person sitting next to you, for all are equal in the eyes of God, and all are gifted In some way for the building up of the Church.

The great adventure goes on and really takes off when we discover our gifts, and use them with other members of the body working that the body might be built up. That really is exciting, all working together, no one better than the next, but all equal In the eyes of each other, and of course in the eyes of God.

Let me encourage everyone, let’s start right now in discovering or even, for some rediscovering our gifts that we might pull together for God. Building up your local Church whrever it is in the world.

That others might say "I want to belong there", not just to have your child Christened or married or even buried by the Minister, but to belong Sunday by Sunday, joining and adding to the riches that are to be found when we are all clothed in the power and righteousness of Christ Jesus.

When I look around our country and see the other local churches which form the Church, It is those who through the word of God, build up the body of believers, they seem to be the most successful. I don’t, just mean in the strength of numbers, but In the strength of commitment which prospers. it is our earnest prayer that we will have that strength of commitment and thus we will grow, in his strength. Then God might be pleased to add to all our local churches wherever they might be.

Mon, Nov 14th - 3:04PM

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