Being Found in Christ

The Apostle Paul used the terminology “in Him,” or “in Christ” more than 160 times to describe the new covenant relationship with God. It defines the perfect position Christ has accomplished on behalf of each believer and the foundation of an intimate connection between man and his Lord and Savior. More than just a description of a relationship, in Christ alludes to an organic, even an emotional connection between the believer and God. In John 14:11, Jesus said, Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. This organic connection is patterned and empowered by the intimacy between the Father and the Son.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing [gnosis – knowledge by experience rather than intuition] Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law [self-righteousness], but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.                      Philippians 3:8-11 

The Apostle Paul, a former devout Pharisee, recognizes in the above passage that the real treasure of this relationship “in Christ” is the experience of knowing Him beyond the Law of Moses he had previously treasured. The Law was the avenue that allowed him to succeed as a Pharisee and Jewish leader since he could perform to earn recognition. He understood that all his abilities and accomplishments through the Law were rubbish and an impediment to knowing Jesus Christ as Lord. This word gnosis emphasizes understanding rather than sensory perception and implies verification by the eye or other objective observation. Ultimately, it speaks of the deepest kind of relationship, a connection to the righteousness that comes from God based on faith.  

Righteousness from God 

Righteousness fulfills the claims of God, and in the case of the nonbeliever, the claims of that higher authority which a person adopts as his own standard. Thus, righteousness is conformity to the claims of a higher authority and stands in opposition to lawlessness. In both the Old and New Testaments, righteousness is the state commanded by God and stands the test of His judgment. It is conformity to all that He commands or appoints. Since God Himself is the standard of the believer, the righteousness of God means the righteousness which belongs to God or to oneself from God, or God-like righteousness. Thus, righteousness is God's uprightness or standard, without reference to any particular form of its embodiment, to which man is expected to conform.

Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.                                    Genesis 15:6

Paul further explains in Romans 4:4-5 that the righteousness of God cannot be earned but must be received as a gift based on faith. Now, to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor but as what is due. But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. God justifies or declares the believer righteous; man's role is to accept God's standards of living. God’s righteousness produces a life defined by integrity and blameless conduct.

Becoming the Righteousness of God 

But by His doing [ek autos – out of Him] you are in Christ Jesus, who became [ginomai – aorist indicative passive] to us wisdom from God, and righteousness [dikaiosune – standards of a higher authority] and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."                               1 Corinthians 1:30-31

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.                                  2 Corinthians 5:21 

The relationship between Jesus and the believer can best be understood in consideration of God’s righteousness. Since Jesus satisfied the just demands of a holy God in His first coming by being the perfect sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:11-14) on man’s behalf, the believer is given His righteousness by faith in who He is and what He accomplished. Receiving it happens in a moment of time, at salvation, since He became to us righteousness as a past event (1 Corinthians 1:30). Experiencing this righteousness is a byproduct of a living faith, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that we might become the righteousness of God. According to Romans 1:17, For in it [the gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." The original Greek could be better translated as “by or out of faith into faith.”  When the believer exercises his faith in a given situation, he experiences the righteousness of God, and it leads to another opportunity to trust God. 

An Exchanged Life

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live [zao – present active indicative – live unto God] by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.                  Galatians 2:20

To fully appreciate the exchanged life, the believer must be willing to give up his old life for a perceived better one. John the Baptist understood this in John 3:30 when he said, He must increase, but I must decrease. There is no room for two lives to function simultaneously. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that you cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). The committed believer is willing to relinquish control to the Spirit of Christ while the carnal man wrestles with his own fleshly life.

One of the big problems in our world today involves the issue of immigration and the principle of assimilation. Assimilation refers to the process by which individuals or groups from one culture adopt the customs, values, and behaviors of another culture, often leading to a loss of their original cultural identity. This concept is commonly discussed in the context of immigration, where newcomers may assimilate into the dominant culture of their new country. Failures to effectively assimilate has become the source of many troubles in the western world as immigrants, legal and illegal fail to make any attempt to assimilate into their new societies. Unless properly and judiciously enforced, immigrants tend to remain committed to their own cultures with little compromise. This is also a picture of the believer’s struggle. 

Whose Work?

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.                         Philippians 1:6

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.                  1 Thessalonians 5:24

for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.                                          Philippians 2:13

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.                          John 15:5

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.                             Ephesians 2:10

The above five verses (there are many others) reiterate the principle that man is not the center of God’s working in the world, but the object of God’s work as His workmanship. The world is trying to conform us outwardly into its image and values, but the Holy Spirit wishes to transform (metamorphoo – transfigure, change the form) the believer by renewing (anakainosis – renovating, making one different) the mind to prove what the will of God is (Romans 12:2). This same word metamorphoo is used to describe Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration as He appears with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-9). When the Father speaks, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him," He was telling the disciples that the Law of Moses and the Prophets were no longer the primary issue, but it was now important for them to listen to Him.

Righteousness Works

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness [sedaqah – blameless conduct, integrity] will abide in the fertile field. And the work [maseh – that which is accomplished] of righteousness will be peace [shalom – tranquility, wholeness], and the service [bodah – synonym of work] of righteousness, quietness [saqat – sense of safety and security] and confidence [betah – security, calm assurance] forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;            Isaiah 32:16-18

The above passage addresses Israel during the future Kingdom Age, but it also applies to the church in the current age since both ages are mediated by Jesus in the new covenant. The believer’s relationship to righteousness determines the quality of the work. The man who walks in God’s standards is righteous and righteousness will immediately produce peace. Therefore, having been justified [declared righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Then, righteousness also produces quietness and confidence. In another place, the Lord spoke, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing (Isaiah 30:15). The people were not willing to walk in repentance and rest, another way of describing righteousness. The righteous will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places. According to Romans 14:17, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteous Rewards

The wages [pullah – rewards for work] of the righteous is life [hayah – quality of experience], the income [tebuah – increase, revenue] of the wicked, punishment. He is on the path of life who heeds [shamar – protects, guards] instruction, but he who ignores reproof goes astray.            Proverbs 10:16-17 

The righteous life is the highest quality of life. This life is characterized by dependence on the authority of God and His will. Paul understood that this was Israel’s problem, as he relates in Romans 10:3-4, For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves [hupotasso – subjugate, place in submission] to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. They were not willing to place themselves in submission to God’s standards, but needed to maintain some independence to decide how they would accommodate God’s righteousness in their lives. Yet, on the other side is full submission and the life of Christ, who fully submitted Himself to His Father. With that subjugation, the reward for that righteousness is supreme life. The opposite also applies. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).

“Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. “But let justice roll down [flow abundantly] like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.      Amos 5:22-24

In Psalm 89:14, Righteousness and justice [mispat -judgment, a legal decision producing justice] are the foundation [makon – support] of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You. Through the prophet Amos, the Lord is expressing His dissatisfaction with the religious activities of His people without the right heart: justice and righteousness. These are the elements of a full revelation of God’s glory this side of heaven. For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory (2 Corinthians 3:9).