Q-A: What does it REALLY mean to be 'In Christ'?
Read the shaded verses below slowly and carefully and then compare the first two verses to the last three. There is a HUGE difference in how Paul describes the believers at Corinth.
1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God —and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
1 Cor 3:3 ...for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
1 Cor 5:1 It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife!
1 Cor 5:2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Do you notice a difference? Paul is writing to the Christians at Corinth, a city infamous for its immorality. The last three verses reveal the low spiritual condition of the Corinthians, the fact that they were still carnal Christians, full of pride and still babes in the understanding of spiritual things. BUT, Paul calls them 'saints' in the first verse! Did you get that!
People talk about Saint Peter or Saint John or Saint Paul, but Paul said that the carnal, proud, envious, argumentative, immoral Corinthians were saints too. How can this be?
The first two verses listed above explains that it was in Christ that they were righteous and sanctified (made saints). Positionally they were saints; conditionally they had many unholy characteristics.
It is imperative to recognize the difference between the believer's position and condition. There is a lot of ignorance about this in the Church today, resulting in a lot of confusion. Our position in Christ is perfect and unchangeable; Christ's own righteousness having been imputed to us. Our condition is quite another matter; our behaviour is often far from perfect. God accepts us on the basis of our position in Christ, but He patiently, relentlessly, works in us (Phil.2:13) to bring our condition into conformance with our position.
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