Unity: Exegetical Version

Few phrases in the New Testament carry more weight in fewer words than “in Christ” and “in Him.” In Paul’s letters alone the Greek phrase ἐν Χριστῷ (“in Christ,” with or without “Jesus”) appears more than seventy times, and closely related expressions such as “in Him,” “in whom,” “in the Lord,” and “with Christ” add many more.[1] John expresses the same reality in his own vocabulary: believers “abide in Him,” and He abides in them (John 15:5; 1 John 3:24). Together these phrases describe what theologians call union with Christ: the living bond by which believers belong to Christ, share in what He has done, and live their lives in Him.

This study begins with two working lists of verses: about ninety containing “in Him” and eighty-five containing “in Christ” (NKJV). It sorts those verses by what they teach and gathers the findings into nine categories:

Who Christ is. “In Him” first describes Christ Himself: in Him is life, in Him all things hold together, in Him all the fullness of God dwells, and in Him there is no sin (John 1:4; Colossians 1:17, 19; 2:9; 1 John 3:5).
Chosen in Him. God’s eternal purpose was formed in Christ before time began (Ephesians 1:4, 11; 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Redeemed in Him. Salvation was accomplished in Christ: redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, righteousness, and life (Romans 3:24; 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32).
Believing in Him. Faith is the way a person comes to be in Christ. John’s repeated “believe in Him” describes the trust that unites a person to Christ (John 3:16; Galatians 3:26).
Found in Him. Union with Christ gives a new identity and standing: no condemnation, a new creation, complete, sealed, blessed, and seated with Him (Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:10; Ephesians 1:3, 13; 2:6).
One in Christ. To be in Christ is to be joined to everyone else who is in Him. The phrase forms a people: “one body in Christ” in which old divisions lose their power (Romans 12:5; Galatians 3:28).
Abiding in Him. Union with Christ is lived out day by day: walking in Him, abiding in Him, and bearing fruit (Colossians 2:6–7; John 15:5; 1 John 2:6).
Speaking and serving in Christ. Paul speaks, works, suffers, and rejoices “in Christ”; ministry is carried out in union with Him (Romans 9:1; 2 Corinthians 2:17; Philippians 1:13).
Hope in Him. The future of believers is secure in Christ, both in death and at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 John 2:28).

Four conclusions shape the study. First, “in Christ” is not a single fixed formula with one meaning; its sense must be read from its setting, and it can be local (“in the realm of Christ”), instrumental (“by means of Christ”), or relational (“in union with Christ”). Second, beneath its varied uses lies one great reality: believers have been joined to Christ, so that what is true of Him becomes true for them. Third, that union is never only private. Every person in Christ is in Christ together with all the others, which is why this study belongs to the Spirit–Body series. Fourth, union with Christ is not a doctrine to admire from a distance but a life to be lived: in Him we are chosen, redeemed, made new, joined to one another, and sent to serve, and in Him we hope.

Introduction

Purpose of the Study

The Spirit–Body series asks how the Holy Spirit forms believers into the body of Christ and how each member lives within that body. Earlier studies have examined the pictures of the church, the “one another” commands, fellowship, love, and forgiveness. This study goes to the root beneath them all. Believers can be “one body” only because each of them is “in Christ” (Romans 12:5). The church’s unity is not first something believers create; it is something they receive by being joined to the same Lord.

The Phrases and Their Greek

The study rests on a small family of Greek expressions:

ἐν Χριστῷ, “in Christ” (often with “Jesus” or “our Lord”), Paul’s characteristic phrase.
ἐν αὐτῷ, “in Him,” and ἐν ᾧ, “in whom,” which often carry the same sense when Christ is the antecedent (Ephesians 1:4, 7, 11, 13; Colossians 2:6–11).
ἐν κυρίῳ, “in the Lord,” which tends to appear in exhortations and greetings (Philippians 4:1; Ephesians 6:1, 10).
μένω ἐν, “abide in,” John’s way of describing the same union as a continuing, mutual indwelling (John 15:4–7; 1 John 2:6, 24–28).
πιστεύω εἰς αὐτόν, “believe in [into] Him,” John’s favorite way of describing saving faith (John 3:16, 18).
σὺν Χριστῷ, “with Christ,” which describes believers sharing in Christ’s death, resurrection, and future glory (Romans 6:8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3–4).

The preposition ἐν basically means “in.” Thayer’s lexicon notes that Paul often uses ἐν Χριστῷ to describe believers as “ingrafted as it were in Christ, in fellowship and union with Christ, with the Lord.”[2] HELPS Word-studies describes the figurative sense of ἐν as “in the realm (sphere) of.”[3] Both descriptions are useful, but neither settles every verse. The full range of ἐν should be confirmed in BDAG before teaching.[4]

How to Read “In Christ”

Constantine Campbell’s major study of the phrase argues that ἐν Χριστῷ “is not a formula that indicates the one concept in every instance of usage.”[5] He finds the phrase used in several senses, including:

Locative or sphere: believers live within the realm where Christ rules (“if anyone is in Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Instrumental: God acts by means of Christ (“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,” 2 Corinthians 5:19).
State or condition: “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1); “approved in Christ” (Romans 16:10).
Association or relationship: “fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3).

According to a published review, Campbell judges the instrumental use to be the most frequent: many verses describe what God has done through or in connection with Christ.[6] Campbell also proposes four English terms to describe the whole theme: union (believers dwelling in Christ and Christ in them), participation (sharing in His death, resurrection, and life), identification (belonging to Christ’s realm and lordship), and incorporation (being members of His body together).[7]

This study uses those senses as tools rather than as rigid boxes. Most verses fit more than one category, and the categories overlap because the reality they describe is one.

Method

The verses come from two NKJV search lists supplied for this study, one for “in Him” and one for “in Christ.” Each verse was read in its context and assigned to the category that best describes its main contribution. Verses in which “in him” refers to someone other than Christ (for example, John the Baptist in Matthew 14:2 or the devil in John 8:44), or in which the phrase simply means “about him” (“I find no fault in Him,” John 19:4), are set aside and listed in Appendix B. Key texts are quoted in full from the NKJV; others are given by reference. Related phrases not in the two lists (“in the Lord,” “in Me,” “in whom,” and “with Christ”) are noted where they shed light on a category. Appendix A indexes every verse by category.

The Place of This Study in the Series

The earlier studies on the body of Christ described what the church is and how its members serve one another. This study explains why those things are possible at all. “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:5). The words “in Christ” stand at the center of that sentence. Without them there is no body, only a crowd.

Part 1: In Him, Who Christ Is

Before “in Him” describes believers, it describes Christ. Several verses use the phrase to say what is found in Christ Himself. These verses form the foundation of everything else: believers can be “in Him” with confidence only because of who He is.

1.1 Key Texts

John 1:4 (NKJV): In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Colossians 1:17 (NKJV): And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Colossians 2:9 (NKJV): For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV): For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

Also: Colossians 1:19; John 7:18; 10:38; 13:31–32; 1 John 1:5; 2:8; 3:5; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Acts 17:28.

1.2 Notes on the Text

Life in Him (John 1:4). John’s prologue locates life itself in the eternal Word. The life that believers receive “in Him” is His own life shared with them (John 5:26; 1 John 5:11–12).
All things hold together in Him (Colossians 1:17). The verb συνίστημι in the perfect tense pictures the universe as continuing to “stand together” in Christ.[8] The One in whom believers are placed is the One in whom the whole creation holds together.
All the fullness dwells in Him (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). The verb κατοικέω means to settle down and dwell permanently.[9] In 2:9 Paul adds “bodily”: the full deity of God dwells in the incarnate, risen Christ. The next verse draws the conclusion: “and you are complete in Him” (2:10). Believers are filled because they are joined to the One in whom God’s fullness dwells.
No sin in Him (1 John 3:5; John 7:18). Christ is the sinless One. Pilate’s repeated “I find no fault in Him” (John 18:38; 19:4, 6) uses the same words in a judicial sense; they are set aside in this study, but they unintentionally agree with John’s testimony.
God glorified in Him (John 13:31–32). On the night of His betrayal Jesus declares that God is glorified in the Son. The cross is the place where God’s glory is revealed in Christ.
Every promise is Yes in Him (2 Corinthians 1:19–20). All God’s promises find their fulfillment in Christ, and believers answer with “Amen” through Him.
In Him we live (Acts 17:28). Speaking to Athenian philosophers, Paul says of God the Creator, “in Him we live and move and have our being.” This is a different sense (God as the sustainer of all human life), but it reminds us that the language of being “in” God reaches back to creation itself.

1.3 Theological Significance

Union with Christ is safe because Christ is who He is. Believers are not joined to a good teacher or an inspiring example, but to the eternal Word in whom is life, the Creator in whom all things hold together, the Son in whom the fullness of God dwells, and the sinless Lamb who takes away sin. Every benefit that follows in this study flows from this source. What is “in Him” becomes available to those who are “in Him.”

1.4 Implications

Look first at Christ. Before asking what you have in Christ, consider who He is. Worship precedes privilege.
Find your completeness in Him. “You are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10). No spiritual experience, rule, or teaching can add to the fullness believers already have in Christ.
Rest on His promises. Every promise of God is “Yes” in Him. In uncertainty, the believer can say “Amen” to what God has said in Christ.

Part 2: Chosen in Him, the Eternal Purpose

A second group of verses looks back before time. God’s saving purpose was not an afterthought; it was formed “in Christ” from eternity.

2.1 Key Texts

Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV): just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

2 Timothy 1:9 (NKJV): who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Ephesians 1:10 (NKJV): that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Also: Ephesians 1:11, 12; 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:1; Galatians 3:17.

2.2 Notes on the Text

Chosen in Him (Ephesians 1:4). God’s choice of His people is not apart from Christ but “in Him.” Election is Christ-centered: believers are chosen as those who belong to the Son, and their goal is holiness “before Him in love.”
Grace given before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). Paul says grace was “given to us in Christ Jesus” before the ages. God’s grace was settled in Christ long before any human response.
All things gathered in Him (Ephesians 1:10). The verb ἀνακεφαλαιόω means to sum up or bring together under one head.[10] God’s plan for history is to unite all things under Christ. The church, gathered in Christ, is a preview of that final unity.
An inheritance in Him (Ephesians 1:11). “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance.” The verb can mean either “we have been made an inheritance” (God’s own portion) or “we have received an inheritance”; both are true in Christ.[11]
The eternal purpose accomplished in Christ (Ephesians 3:11). The plan to bring Jews and Gentiles together in one body was “accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
A textual note (Galatians 3:17). The NKJV reads “the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ.” The words “in Christ” follow the Majority/Received Text; many manuscripts do not include them. The teaching of the verse does not depend on the phrase.[12]

2.3 Theological Significance

These verses ground the believer’s security in God’s eternal purpose. Salvation did not begin with our decision, and it will not fail because of our weakness. God set His love on His people in Christ before the foundation of the world. The same verses guard against pride: we were chosen “in Him,” not because of anything in ourselves, and chosen for a purpose, that we “should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

The purpose is also corporate. God chose “us,” and He means to “gather together in one all things in Christ.” Election in Ephesians 1 is the election of a people, a body, gathered under one Head.

2.4 Implications

Rest in God’s purpose. Your place in Christ rests on God’s grace “given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” not on your performance.
Pursue the goal of election. God chose His people “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Assurance and holiness belong together.
See the church as a preview. When believers of different backgrounds gather in Christ, they display God’s plan to bring all things together in Him.

Part 3: Redeemed in Him, Salvation Accomplished

The largest theological group of “in Christ” verses describes what God has done to save. In these verses the phrase is often instrumental: God acted in and through Christ. But the benefits are also located in Him; believers have them because they are in Him.

3.1 Key Texts

Romans 3:24 (NKJV): being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV): that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV): For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV): In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Ephesians 2:13 (NKJV): But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Also: Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:20; 4:32; Colossians 2:11; Galatians 3:14; 2 Timothy 2:10.

3.2 Notes on the Text

Redemption in Christ (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7). The word ἀπολύτρωσις means release by payment of a ransom.[13] Paul places this redemption “in Christ Jesus”; it is found in Him and nowhere else. Ephesians defines it as “the forgiveness of sins.”
Reconciliation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19). The NKJV’s “God was in Christ reconciling the world” can be read in two ways: that God was present in Christ, or (as many translations take it) that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself.”[14] The second reading treats “in Christ” as instrumental: Christ is the One through whom God reconciled the world. Both readings are true to Scripture; the second fits the sentence structure well.
Righteousness in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). This verse describes an exchange. Christ, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God “in Him.” Believers do not possess this righteousness apart from Christ; they have it in union with Him (compare Philippians 3:9).
Christ made our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus.” Every saving benefit is found by being in Him.
Made alive in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22). “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Paul contrasts two heads of humanity. Every person is “in Adam” by birth; believers are “in Christ” by grace. What happened to the head determines what happens to those who belong to him (Romans 5:12–21).
Forgiven in Christ (Ephesians 4:32). “Even as God in Christ forgave you.” God’s forgiveness came to us in Christ, and it becomes the pattern for forgiving one another.
Circumcised in Him (Colossians 2:11). Believers have received a “circumcision made without hands” in Christ: the putting off of the old life, connected in the next verse with being “buried with Him in baptism.”

3.3 Theological Significance

These verses show that salvation is not a set of benefits handed to us apart from Christ, as if He were only the delivery route. Every benefit is found in Him. We are justified in Him, redeemed in Him, reconciled in Him, made righteous in Him, and made alive in Him. To have Christ is to have all of them; to be without Christ is to have none of them.

John Murray famously described union with Christ as the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation, embracing everything from God’s eternal choice to final glory.[15] The verses gathered in Parts 2 and 3 show why. The same phrase links eternity past (chosen in Him), the cross (redeemed in Him), and the believer’s present standing (righteous in Him).

The Adam–Christ contrast also matters for the body of Christ. Humanity was united in Adam in sin and death. In Christ, God is forming a new humanity united in righteousness and life (Ephesians 2:15). The church is that new humanity.

3.4 Implications

Look to Christ alone for salvation. Redemption is “in Christ Jesus.” There is no other place to find it.
Receive His righteousness. When conscience accuses you, remember that believers “become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Forgive as you were forgiven. “Even as God in Christ forgave you.” The forgiveness you received in Christ is the measure of the forgiveness you extend.
Belong to the new humanity. You were in Adam; now you are in Christ. Let that change of family shape how you see yourself and others.

Part 4: Believing in Him, Faith That Unites

How does a person come to be in Christ? The New Testament answers with one word: faith. Many of the “in Him” verses in John’s Gospel are not about union language at all in the narrow sense; they describe believing in Christ. Yet they belong in this study, because faith is the way a person enters the union that Paul and John describe.

4.1 Key Texts

John 3:16 (NKJV): For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:18 (NKJV): He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Galatians 3:26 (NKJV): For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV): In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Also: John 2:11; 3:15; 4:39; 5:24; 6:29, 40; 7:31, 39; 8:30; 10:42; 11:45; 12:42, 44; Acts 10:43; 24:24; Romans 4:24; 10:14; Philippians 1:29; Colossians 1:4; 2:5; 1 Timothy 1:14; 3:13; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:15. Verses describing unbelief: John 7:5, 48; 12:37.

4.2 Notes on the Text

“Believe into Him.” John’s usual expression is πιστεύω εἰς αὐτόν, literally “believe into Him.”[16] The preposition suggests faith that moves toward and rests upon a person, not merely agreement with statements about Him. John uses this phrase far more than any other New Testament writer. In John, to believe in Him is to receive Him (John 1:12), to come to Him (6:35), and to abide in Him (6:56).
Faith “in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26; Colossians 1:4). Paul can also speak of faith ἐν Χριστῷ. Here “in Christ Jesus” may describe the object of faith (faith that rests in Christ) or the sphere in which believers now live (you are sons of God, in Christ, through faith).[17] Either way, faith and union belong together: verse 27 continues, “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Faith “which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14; 3:13; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:15). In the Pastoral Letters, faith and love are said to be “in Christ Jesus.” These are not human achievements that we bring to Christ; they are found in Him and given in union with Him.
Faith in Christ in Galatians 2:16 and Philippians 3:9. The NKJV translates διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ as “through faith in Christ.” Some scholars read the phrase as “through the faithfulness of Christ.” The NKJV’s reading is well supported, and in either case the passages teach that righteousness comes through Christ and not through works of the law.[18]
Trusted and sealed in Him (Ephesians 1:13). Paul traces the steps: they heard the word of truth, believed, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit “in Him.” Faith joins believers to Christ, and the Spirit is God’s seal that they belong to Him.
Many believed, some did not. John repeatedly reports both responses (John 7:31, 48; 12:37, 42). The same signs that led some to faith left others unmoved. Faith is a gift (Philippians 1:29), yet it is also a real response that each person must make.

4.3 Theological Significance

Faith is the bond on the human side of union with Christ; the Holy Spirit is the bond on God’s side (Ephesians 1:13; 1 John 3:24). Faith does not earn union; it receives it. That is why Paul can say both that believers are “in Christ” and that they are sons of God “through faith.” Faith is the empty hand that receives Christ, and in receiving Christ it receives all that is in Him.

John’s “believe into Him” also guards against a merely intellectual faith. The rulers in John 12:42 “believed in Him” but would not confess Him for fear of the synagogue. True faith in John’s Gospel continues, confesses, and abides (8:30–32).

4.4 Implications

Come to Christ, not only to ideas about Him. Saving faith rests on a Person.
Do not separate faith from belonging. Faith that joins a person to Christ also joins that person to His people.
Confess Him openly. The rulers who believed secretly “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Faith that unites to Christ seeks to honor Him publicly.

Part 5: Found in Him, a New Identity and Standing

Many of the most beloved “in Christ” verses describe who believers are because they are in Him. These verses speak in the present tense: no condemnation, a new creation, complete, blessed, seated, sealed.

5.1 Key Texts

Romans 8:1 (NKJV): There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Philippians 3:9 (NKJV): and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Colossians 2:10 (NKJV): and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Also: Romans 6:11; 8:2, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 3:14; Galatians 2:4; Ephesians 2:6, 10; 3:12; 1 John 5:14, 20.

5.2 Notes on the Text

No condemnation (Romans 8:1). The verdict of “no condemnation” belongs to “those who are in Christ Jesus.” Condemnation fell on Christ (8:3); those who are in Him are free. Verse 2 adds that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” has set them free from the law of sin and death.
Reckon yourselves alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). Believers are to “reckon” (λογίζομαι, count as true) what is already true of them in Christ: dead to sin and alive to God.[19] Identity comes before obedience.
A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Greek is compressed: “if anyone in Christ, new creation (καινὴ κτίσις).” Paul may mean that the believer is a new creature, or that a whole new creation has dawned for the one in Christ. Both are true; the second sets the believer’s renewal within God’s renewal of all things (Galatians 6:15).
Every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). All the blessings of Ephesians 1:3–14 (chosen, adopted, redeemed, given an inheritance, sealed) are “in Christ.” The phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” appears again and again through these verses like a refrain.
Seated with Him (Ephesians 2:6). God “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” What God did for Christ in 1:20 He has done for believers in Him. Their true position is already with Christ in heaven (Colossians 3:1–3).
Created in Him for good works (Ephesians 2:10). Believers are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The new identity has a purpose: a life of good works prepared by God.
Found in Him (Philippians 3:9). Paul’s deepest desire is to “be found in Him,” clothed with a righteousness that comes from God by faith, not his own. The verb pictures standing before God at the judgment and being found in Christ.
Complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). The perfect participle (πεπληρωμένοι) means “having been filled.”[20] Since all the fullness of God dwells in Christ (2:9), those in Him lack nothing that God gives for life and godliness.
Sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2). Even the troubled Corinthians are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” Holiness begins as a status received in Christ before it becomes a life practiced.
Inseparable love (Romans 8:39). Nothing in all creation can separate us “from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s love for His people is located in Christ, and nothing can remove them from Him.

5.3 Theological Significance

Here union with Christ becomes the believer’s identity. The New Testament repeatedly describes Christians not by their record or their feelings but by their location: they are “in Christ.” What is true of Christ is counted true of them. He died to sin, so they are dead to sin; He was raised, so they are alive to God; He is seated in heaven, so they are seated with Him; He is righteous, so they are found in Him with God’s righteousness.

This identity is the foundation for Christian living, not its reward. Paul does not say, “Live a new life and you will become a new creation.” He says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,” and then calls believers to live accordingly.

5.4 Implications

Know who you are. When guilt, shame, or the opinions of others tell you who you are, answer with what God says of those in Christ.
Reckon it true. Count as true what God has declared: dead to sin, alive to God (Romans 6:11).
Rest from striving. You are complete in Him. Spiritual growth is not earning fullness but growing into the fullness you already have.
See fellow believers the same way. Every believer in your congregation is a new creation, sanctified, and seated with Christ. That truth should shape how we speak to and about one another (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Part 6: One in Christ, the Body and the Fellowship of Believers

To be in Christ is never to be in Christ alone. The phrase forms a people. This category is especially important for the Spirit–Body series, because it shows that the unity of the church is rooted in each member’s union with Christ.

6.1 Key Texts

Romans 12:5 (NKJV): so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Galatians 3:28 (NKJV): There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:6 (NKJV): that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Philippians 2:1–2 (NKJV): Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Also: Galatians 1:22; 5:6; 6:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; 4:21; Colossians 1:2; Romans 16:3, 7, 9–10; 1 Corinthians 16:24; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Philemon 6, 23; 1 Peter 5:14.

6.2 Notes on the Text

One body in Christ (Romans 12:5). Paul does not say that believers are one body because they agree or because they like one another. They are one body “in Christ,” and therefore “members of one another.” Union with Christ creates belonging to one another.
All one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). The deepest human divisions of the ancient world (ethnic, social, and gender divisions) no longer determine standing before God or place in the church. Paul does not erase the differences; he removes their power to divide. “You are all one” uses the masculine εἷς: one new person in Christ (compare Ephesians 2:15).
Fellow heirs, same body (Ephesians 3:6). Paul uses three compound words beginning with σύν (“with”): fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, fellow partakers. The “mystery” revealed in Christ is that Gentiles and Jews share equally in God’s promise “in Christ.”
Churches in Christ (Galatians 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:14). Paul identifies congregations as “the churches of Judea which were in Christ.” A church’s true address is not only a city but Christ Himself.
Saints in Christ (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2). Paul’s letters are addressed to the saints “in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” Believers live at two addresses at once: in a particular place and in Christ.
Fellow workers and fellow prisoners in Christ (Romans 16; Philemon 23). Paul’s greetings are full of the phrase: Priscilla and Aquila, “my fellow workers in Christ Jesus”; Andronicus and Junia, who “were in Christ before me”; Apelles, “approved in Christ.” Relationships among believers are defined by their common union with Christ.
Consolation in Christ (Philippians 2:1). The encouragement believers give one another comes from Christ. Paul’s appeal for unity rests on what they share in Him.
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision (Galatians 5:6; 6:15). “In Christ Jesus” the old marks of religious identity count for nothing. What counts is “faith working through love” and “a new creation.”
Love in Christ (1 Corinthians 16:24; 1 Peter 5:14). Letters close with love and peace “in Christ Jesus.” The fellowship of believers is fellowship in Him.

6.3 Theological Significance

Campbell’s term incorporation names this category: being in Christ means being incorporated into His body.[21] Union with Christ is personal, but it is never private. The same act that joins a believer to Christ joins that believer to every other member of Christ.

This has three consequences. First, the church’s unity is a gift before it is a task. Believers are to “keep the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3), not to manufacture it. Second, no believer can say to another, “I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:21). If Christ has joined us both to Himself, we belong to each other. Third, the divisions that separate people in society (ethnicity, class, gender, education, or culture) lose their power to rank people within the body. Differences remain and are honored, but they no longer divide.

For a Mennonite congregation, this category speaks directly to the tradition’s emphasis on the church as a visible community of disciples. The Anabaptist conviction that following Christ is lived out together, in mutual aid, accountability, and care, is an outworking of being “one body in Christ.”

6.4 Implications

Treat fellow believers as family in Christ. The person beside you in worship is joined to you in Christ.
Refuse divisions Christ has removed. Ask whether your congregation unconsciously ranks people by background, wealth, education, or culture.
Greet one another “in Christ.” Paul’s long greeting lists show that ordinary relationships in the church are holy. Learn names, remember stories, and honor fellow workers.
Draw on Christ’s consolation. When unity is strained, return to what you share: consolation in Christ, the fellowship of the Spirit, and the love of God.

Part 7: Abiding in Him, the Christian Walk

Union with Christ is not only a status; it is a life. A large group of verses, especially in Colossians and in John’s writings, describes how believers live out their union day by day: walking in Him, abiding in Him, being rooted and built up in Him.

7.1 Key Texts

Colossians 2:6–7 (NKJV): As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

John 15:5 (NKJV): I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

1 John 2:5–6 (NKJV): But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

1 John 3:24 (NKJV): Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Also: John 4:14; 6:56; 1 John 2:4, 10, 14, 24, 27–28; 3:6, 9, 14–15, 17; 4:13, 15–16; 2 John 2, 9; Philippians 2:5; 3:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 4:17; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 13:4; Colossians 1:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:1; 3:12; 1 Peter 3:16.

7.2 Notes on the Text

Walk in Him (Colossians 2:6). The Christian life continues the way it began: “as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Believers do not move on from Christ to something more advanced. They go deeper into Him.
Rooted and built up (Colossians 2:7). Paul mixes images from agriculture and building. “Rooted” is a perfect participle (having been rooted once for all); “built up” is present (being built up continually). Union is settled; growth continues.
Abide (John 15; 1 John). The verb μένω means to remain, stay, or continue.[22] Abiding is mutual: “He who abides in Me, and I in him.” It is the Johannine counterpart to Paul’s “in Christ.” Jesus warns that apart from Him the branches can do nothing; their fruitfulness depends entirely on remaining in the Vine.
The tests of abiding (1 John). John gives practical marks of those who abide in Him: they keep His word (2:5), walk as He walked (2:6), love the brethren (3:14), confess Jesus as the Son of God (4:15), and have received His Spirit (3:24; 4:13). Abiding is not a vague feeling; it shows itself in obedience, love, and confession.
Abide so that you are not ashamed (1 John 2:28). Abiding now prepares believers to meet Christ with confidence at His coming.
The mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The humility of Christ’s self-emptying (2:6–8) becomes the pattern for believers who live in Him.
Growing toward maturity (1 Corinthians 3:1; Colossians 1:28). Believers can be “babes in Christ,” and Paul’s labor aims to “present every man perfect [mature] in Christ Jesus.” Growth happens in Christ, toward the measure of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Strong in grace, ready to suffer (2 Timothy 2:1; 3:12). Timothy is to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” And “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Life in Christ draws both strength and opposition.
Weak in Him, alive with Him (2 Corinthians 13:4). Paul shares Christ’s weakness in the present and will share His resurrection power. Union includes participation in both the cross and the resurrection.

7.3 Theological Significance

Campbell’s term participation fits this category: believers share in Christ’s life, including His sufferings, His obedience, and His resurrection power.[23] Paul’s “with Christ” (σὺν Χριστῷ) language belongs here: believers have died with Christ, been raised with Christ, and their life “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3; Romans 6:4–8).

The Christian life is therefore not an imitation of a distant model, though imitation has its place (1 Corinthians 11:1). It is the life of Christ lived out in His people by the Spirit. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

The Anabaptist tradition has long insisted that union with Christ must show itself in discipleship. Hans Denck’s well-known saying expresses this conviction: no one can truly know Christ unless he follows Him in life.[24] John’s letters make the same point: “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

7.4 Implications

Keep going deeper into Christ. Spiritual growth is not moving beyond Christ but abiding more fully in Him.
Test your abiding. Use John’s marks: obedience, love for fellow believers, confession of Christ, and the witness of the Spirit.
Expect fruit, and expect pruning. Branches that abide bear fruit, and the Father prunes them so they bear more (John 15:2).
Share His mind. Ask what the humility of Christ in Philippians 2 looks like in your relationships this week.

Part 8: Speaking and Serving in Christ, Ministry

A distinctive group of verses describes Paul’s ministry “in Christ.” He speaks the truth in Christ, preaches in Christ, suffers in Christ, boasts in Christ, and rejoices in Christ Jesus. Ministry is not a separate activity performed for Christ; it is carried out in union with Him.

8.1 Key Texts

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV): Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

2 Corinthians 2:17 (NKJV): For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Philippians 1:13 (NKJV): so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;

Also: Romans 9:1; 15:17; 1 Corinthians 4:10, 15; 15:31; 2 Corinthians 12:2, 19; Philippians 3:3; 1 Timothy 2:7; Philemon 8.

8.2 Notes on the Text

Speaking the truth in Christ (Romans 9:1; 1 Timothy 2:7). Paul’s “I tell the truth in Christ” is almost an oath. Speaking in Christ means speaking as one who belongs to Christ and stands accountable to Him.
Speaking before God in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:17; 12:19). Unlike those who “peddle” God’s word for profit, Paul speaks with sincerity, from God, before God, in Christ. Ministry in Christ is marked by integrity.
Led in triumph in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). Paul pictures a Roman triumphal procession with God as the victor leading His servants. Ministry happens within Christ’s victory.
Chains in Christ (Philippians 1:13). Paul’s imprisonment became known as being “in Christ”: he suffered because of his union with Christ, and that suffering advanced the gospel.
Begotten in Christ (1 Corinthians 4:15). Paul calls himself the Corinthians’ spiritual father: “in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” New believers come into being in Christ through the gospel.
Bold in Christ (Philemon 8). Paul’s authority to command comes from his standing in Christ, yet he chooses to appeal in love (v. 9).
Boasting and rejoicing in Christ (Romans 15:17; 1 Corinthians 15:31; Philippians 3:3). Paul’s only boast is in what Christ has done through him. “We … rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
A man in Christ (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul describes his own extraordinary experience in the third person, simply as “a man in Christ.” Even his visions do not change his identity: he is a man in Christ.

8.3 Theological Significance

These verses show that union with Christ shapes the way service is done. Ministry in Christ is truthful, sincere, accountable, humble, and willing to suffer. It does not rely on the minister’s own strength or reputation; it rejoices in Christ and boasts only in what He accomplishes.

These verses also apply beyond apostles. Every member of the body serves “in Christ” (Romans 16:3, 9). Teaching a class, visiting the sick, serving on a committee, or caring for a neighbor are all done as members of Christ, under His lordship and by His strength.

8.4 Implications

Speak as one who is in Christ. Let your words in the church be truthful and free of manipulation.
Serve without self-promotion. Boast only in what Christ does.
See your suffering in Christ. Hardship for the gospel is not wasted; it can become a witness, as Paul’s chains did.
Lead by appeal rather than command. Like Paul with Philemon, use whatever authority you have in Christ to appeal in love.

Part 9: Hope in Him, the Future in Christ

The final category looks forward. Believers who are in Christ now will be in Christ in death, at His coming, and forever.

9.1 Key Texts

1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV): For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV): For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 John 3:2–3 (NKJV): Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Also: 1 Corinthians 15:18–19; Ephesians 2:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 1 John 2:17; Romans 15:12.

9.2 Notes on the Text

Fallen asleep in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:16). Death does not end union with Christ. Believers who die are “the dead in Christ,” and they will be raised first at His coming. The phrase is one of the greatest comforts in Scripture for the grieving.
Hope in Christ beyond this life (1 Corinthians 15:19). If hope in Christ were only for this life, Christians would be “of all men the most pitiable.” Union with Christ reaches beyond the grave.
Riches shown in the ages to come (Ephesians 2:7). God raised and seated believers with Christ so that “in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Eternity will be a display of grace in Christ.
Hope that purifies (1 John 3:3). The Greek is ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ, hope “set on Him.” The certainty of seeing Christ and being like Him moves believers to purity now.
In Him the Gentiles shall hope (Romans 15:12). Quoting Isaiah 11:10, Paul shows that the hope of the nations rests on the Root of Jesse. The same phrase (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ) points to Christ as the object of hope for all peoples.
Glorified in Him (2 Thessalonians 1:12). Paul prays that Christ’s name may be glorified in believers, “and you in Him.” Union with Christ ends in shared glory.

9.3 Theological Significance

Union with Christ spans all of time: chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, redeemed in Him at the cross, made new in Him now, and raised in Him at His coming. This is why the believer’s hope is secure. Nothing, not even death, can separate us “from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

The future is also corporate. “The dead in Christ” rise together, and those who are alive “shall be caught up together with them” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The body of Christ will be gathered in its fullness.

9.4 Implications

Grieve with hope. Believers who have died are “the dead in Christ.” Their union with Him has not ended.
Let hope purify. The hope of seeing Christ is a reason to pursue holiness now.
Encourage one another. Paul ends 1 Thessalonians 4 with “comfort one another with these words.” Hope in Christ is meant to be shared within the body.

Related Phrases

Several closely related phrases do not appear in the two verse lists but illuminate the categories above:

“In the Lord” (ἐν κυρίῳ). Often used in exhortations, where Christ’s lordship is in view: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1); “be strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10); “stand fast in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1); “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). It belongs especially with Parts 6–8.
“In Me” (John 15:1–10; 14:20; 16:33; 17:21). Jesus’ own words about union: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (15:4); “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us” (17:21). The unity of believers rests on their union with the Son, which reflects the Son’s union with the Father. This belongs with Parts 6 and 7.
“In whom” (ἐν ᾧ). Frequent in Ephesians and Colossians (Ephesians 1:7, 11, 13; 2:21–22; 3:12; Colossians 1:14; 2:3, 11). It often carries the same sense as “in Him,” particularly in Parts 2, 3, and 5.
“With Christ” (σὺν Χριστῷ). Describes participation in Christ’s death, resurrection, and glory (Romans 6:8; Colossians 2:20; 3:1–4; Philippians 1:23). It belongs with Parts 5, 7, and 9.
“Into Christ” (εἰς Χριστόν). Used of baptism: “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3). It describes the entrance into union, alongside faith (Part 4).

Theological Synthesis

Drawing the nine categories together, the New Testament teaches the following about being in Christ:

Its source is Christ Himself. Life, fullness, and every promise of God are in Him (Part 1).
It is rooted in eternity. God chose His people in Christ and gave them grace in Him before time began (Part 2).
It is secured at the cross. Redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, and righteousness are found in Christ and nowhere else (Part 3).
It is received by faith and sealed by the Spirit. Faith receives Christ; the Spirit unites believers to Him and assures them that they belong (Part 4).
It gives a new identity. Those in Christ are new creations, free from condemnation, complete, blessed, and seated with Him (Part 5).
It creates one body. To be in Christ is to be joined to all who are in Him, so that old divisions lose their power (Part 6).
It is lived out in abiding. Union shows itself in walking in Him, obedience, love, and fruit (Part 7).
It shapes ministry. Service in Christ is truthful, humble, and willing to suffer (Part 8).
It reaches into eternity. The dead in Christ will rise, and those in Him will share His glory (Part 9).

The phrase “in Christ” therefore works like a thread that ties the whole of salvation together. It links God’s purpose, Christ’s work, the Spirit’s application, the believer’s identity, the church’s unity, the Christian’s daily walk, and the final hope.

Implications for the Local Church

Build the church on union with Christ. “We, being many, are one body in Christ” (Romans 12:5). Align: in teaching and membership classes, present the church first as people joined to Christ and therefore to one another, not as an organization people join.
Teach identity before duty. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Adjust: in preaching and teaching, ground every call to obedience in who believers already are in Christ.
Honor every member. “You are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Adjust: examine whether certain groups (by age, background, culture, or education) are treated as more important in the life of the congregation.
Cultivate abiding. “He who abides in Me … bears much fruit” (John 15:5). Align: encourage practices that help members abide: Scripture, prayer, worship, the Lord’s Supper, and fellowship.
Recognize ministry as shared life in Christ. “My fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3). Align: thank and honor those who serve, and help every member see his or her service as done in Christ.
Comfort the grieving with union. “The dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Align: at funerals and in pastoral care, speak plainly of the believer’s continuing union with Christ.
Guard the gospel’s center. “Redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Align: keep Christ, not programs or methods, at the center of the church’s message.

Summary of Key Ideas

“In Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ) and “in Him” (ἐν αὐτῷ) are among the most important phrases in the New Testament, appearing especially in Paul, with John’s “abide in Him” as a close parallel.
The phrases are not a single fixed formula; their sense (local, instrumental, relational) must be read from context.
Beneath their varied uses lies one reality: union with Christ, by which believers belong to Christ and share in all that He is and has done.
The verses gather into nine categories: who Christ is, the eternal purpose, salvation accomplished, faith that unites, a new identity, one body, abiding, ministry, and hope.
Union with Christ is received by faith and sealed by the Spirit.
Union with Christ is never private: being in Christ means being joined to all who are in Him.
Union with Christ is lived out in discipleship: walking, abiding, obeying, loving, and bearing fruit.
Union with Christ reaches from eternity past to eternity future, so the believer’s hope is secure.

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

Discussion Questions

Before this study, what did the phrase “in Christ” mean to you? How has your understanding changed?
Which of the nine categories was most new to you, and why?
Why do you think Paul uses “in Christ” so often in his greetings and personal notes (Romans 16; Philemon)?
How does knowing that the dead are “in Christ” shape the way believers grieve?
In what ways does your congregation display, or fail to display, the truth that “you are all one in Christ Jesus”?

Analysis Questions

Compare 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15. What does “new creation” mean in each context?
How does the Adam–Christ contrast in 1 Corinthians 15:22 and Romans 5:12–21 help explain what it means to be “in Christ”?
Compare John’s “abide in Him” with Paul’s “in Christ.” What does each emphasize?
In Ephesians 1:3–14, list every blessing said to be “in Christ” or “in Him.” What pattern do you see?
How do Colossians 2:9 (“in Him dwells all the fullness”) and 2:10 (“you are complete in Him”) relate to each other?

Personal Evaluation Question

Which of the truths in Part 5 (no condemnation, a new creation, complete in Him, seated with Him, inseparable from His love) do you find hardest to believe about yourself, and what would change if you reckoned it to be true this week?

Worldview Impact Question

If every believer in your congregation is “in Christ,” how should that truth change the way members of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and opinions speak to and treat one another?

Appendix A: Verses by Category

Every verse from the two working lists is listed once, under the category of its main contribution. Many verses could fit more than one category.

Part 1: In Him, Who Christ Is. John 1:4; 7:18; 10:38; 13:31–32; Acts 17:28; 2 Corinthians 1:19–20; Colossians 1:17, 19; 2:9; 1 John 1:5; 2:8; 3:5.

Part 2: Chosen in Him. Galatians 3:17; Ephesians 1:4, 10, 11, 12; 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:1, 9.

Part 3: Redeemed in Him. Romans 3:24; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:7, 20; 2:13; 4:32; Colossians 2:11; 2 Timothy 2:10.

Part 4: Believing in Him. John 2:11; 3:15, 16, 18; 4:39; 5:24; 6:29, 40; 7:5, 31, 39, 48; 8:30; 9:36; 10:42; 11:45, 48; 12:37, 42, 44; Acts 10:43; 24:24; Romans 4:24; 10:14; Galatians 2:16; 3:26; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 1:29; Colossians 1:4; 2:5; 1 Timothy 1:14; 3:13; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:15.

Part 5: Found in Him. Romans 6:11; 8:1–2, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 3:14; 5:17; Galatians 2:4; Ephesians 1:3; 2:6, 10; 3:12; Philippians 3:9; Colossians 2:10; 1 John 5:14, 20.

Part 6: One in Christ. Romans 12:5; 16:3, 7, 9–10; 1 Corinthians 16:24; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 1:22; 3:28; 5:6; 6:15; Ephesians 1:1; 3:6; Philippians 1:1; 2:1; 4:21; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; Philemon 6, 23; 1 Peter 5:14.

Part 7: Abiding in Him. John 4:14; 6:56; 15:5; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 4:17; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 13:4; Philippians 2:5; 3:14; Colossians 1:28; 2:6–7; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:1; 3:12; 1 Peter 3:16; 1 John 2:4, 5–6, 10, 14, 24, 27, 28; 3:6, 9, 14–15, 17, 24; 4:13, 15–16; 2 John 2, 9.

Part 8: Speaking and Serving in Christ. Romans 9:1; 15:17; 1 Corinthians 4:10, 15; 15:31; 2 Corinthians 2:14, 17; 12:2, 19; Philippians 1:13; 3:3; 1 Timothy 2:7; Philemon 8.

Part 9: Hope in Him. Romans 15:12; 1 Corinthians 15:18, 19, 22; Ephesians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 1 John 2:17; 3:3.

Appendix B: Verses Set Aside

These verses appear in the “in Him” list but do not describe union with Christ:

“In him” refers to someone other than Christ or the believer in Christ: Matthew 14:2 and Mark 6:14 (powers at work in John the Baptist); John 8:44 (no truth in the devil); John 9:3 (God’s works revealed in the man born blind); John 11:10 (the light is not in the one who walks at night); Acts 20:10 (Eutychus’s life is in him); 1 Corinthians 2:11 (the spirit of a man in him); Hebrews 10:38 (God has no pleasure in the one who draws back).
“In Him” means “about Him” or “in His case”: Luke 23:22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6; Acts 13:28 (no fault or cause for death found in Jesus); Acts 25:5 (fault in Paul).
Christ’s own trust in the Father: Hebrews 2:13 (“I will put My trust in Him”), quoting Isaiah 8:17 as the words of the Son.

Appendix C: Key Greek Terms

Strong’s numbers are given only as lookup identifiers. Meanings follow the standard lexicons and should be confirmed in BDAG before teaching.

Greek	Strong’s	Meaning	Key texts
ἐν	G1722	in; in the sphere of; by means of	Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17
Χριστός	G5547	Christ, the Anointed One	Romans 12:5
εἰς	G1519	into, toward (with “believe”)	John 3:16
πιστεύω	G4100	believe, trust	John 3:18; Ephesians 1:13
μένω	G3306	remain, abide, continue	John 15:5; 1 John 2:6
σύν	G4862	with, together with	Colossians 3:3
κύριος	G2962	Lord	Ephesians 6:10
ἐκλέγομαι	G1586	choose	Ephesians 1:4
ἀνακεφαλαιόω	G346	sum up, bring together under one head	Ephesians 1:10
ἀπολύτρωσις	G629	redemption, release by ransom	Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7
καταλλάσσω	G2644	reconcile	2 Corinthians 5:19
συνίστημι	G4921	hold together, consist	Colossians 1:17
κατοικέω	G2730	dwell, settle permanently	Colossians 1:19; 2:9
πληρόω	G4137	fill, make complete	Colossians 2:10
λογίζομαι	G3049	reckon, count as true	Romans 6:11
καινός	G2537	new	2 Corinthians 5:17
κτίσις	G2937	creation, creature	2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15

Bibliography

Directly Retrieved and Verified This Session

HELPS Word-studies. S.v. ἐν. Accessed via BibleHub.com, October 28, 2026.

“Paul and Union with Christ (Review).” Crux Sola (Patheos blog). https://www.patheos.com/blogs/cruxsola/?p=3638. Accessed October 28, 2026.

Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. New York: American Book Company, 1889. S.v. ἐν. Accessed via BibleHub.com, October 28, 2026.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Verse lists supplied by the author.

Located Only Through Secondary Summary

Campbell, Constantine R. Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. Summarized in the Crux Sola review above.

Denck, Hans. “Was geredet sei, das die Schrift sagt” (1526). In Schriften, vol. 2, edited by Walter Fellmann. Cited through the Wikipedia article “Hans Denck.”

Recommended but Not Directly Consulted This Session

Bauer, Walter, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Billings, J. Todd. Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.

Dunn, James D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Murray, John. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955.

Smedes, Lewis B. Union with Christ: A Biblical View of the New Life in Jesus Christ. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

[1] Constantine R. Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), as summarized in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola (Patheos blog), https://www.patheos.com/blogs/cruxsola/?p=3638, accessed October 28, 2026, which reports Campbell’s study of 73 occurrences of ἐν Χριστῷ. Located through a secondary summary; the count should be confirmed in Campbell before it is taught.

[2] Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: American Book Company, 1889), s.v. ἐν, sec. I.6b, as displayed at BibleHub.com. Thayer predates the Koine papyri discoveries; the definition should be confirmed in BDAG.

[3] HELPS Word-studies, s.v. ἐν, as displayed at BibleHub.com.

[4] Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. ἐν. Not retrieved this session; confirm before teaching.

[5] Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ, as quoted in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola. Located through a secondary summary; page number not verified.

[6] Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ, ch. 3, as summarized in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola. Located through a secondary summary.

[7] Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ, ch. 12, as summarized in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola. Located through a secondary summary; the definitions given here are paraphrased from the review.

[8] On συνίστημι in Colossians 1:17, see BDAG, s.v. συνίστημι; not retrieved this session. Confirm before teaching.

[9] BDAG, s.v. κατοικέω; not retrieved this session. Confirm before teaching.

[10] BDAG, s.v. ἀνακεφαλαιόω; not retrieved this session. The sense “sum up, bring together” is standard in the commentaries; confirm before teaching.

[11] The verb is ἐκληρώθημεν. The two readings are discussed in the standard commentaries on Ephesians; not directly consulted this session.

[12] The phrase εἰς Χριστόν in Galatians 3:17 is present in the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus and absent from the Nestle-Aland and SBL texts. Based on the published apparatus as generally reported; not directly consulted this session.

[13] The sense “release by ransom” is standard in the lexicons; see BDAG and Thayer, s.v. ἀπολύτρωσις. Not retrieved this session; confirm before teaching.

[14] Compare the NKJV, ESV (“in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself”), and NIV (“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ”). Translation renderings from general knowledge; confirm before teaching.

[15] John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), part 2, chap. “Union with Christ.” Paraphrased from general knowledge; not directly consulted this session. Confirm wording before quoting.

[16] On πιστεύω with εἰς, see BDAG, s.v. πιστεύω; not retrieved this session. The frequency of the construction in John is noted in the standard commentaries; confirm before teaching.

[17] The relation of “in Christ Jesus” to “through faith” in Galatians 3:26 is discussed in the commentaries on Galatians; not directly consulted this session.

[18] On the debate over πίστις Χριστοῦ (“faith in Christ” or “the faithfulness of Christ”), see James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), §14. From general knowledge; not directly consulted this session.

[19] BDAG, s.v. λογίζομαι; not retrieved this session. Confirm before teaching.

[20] BDAG, s.v. πληρόω; not retrieved this session. Confirm before teaching.

[21] Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ, ch. 12, as summarized in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola. Located through a secondary summary.

[22] The sense “remain, abide, continue” is standard in the lexicons; see BDAG and Thayer, s.v. μένω. Not retrieved this session; confirm before teaching.

[23] Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ, ch. 12, as summarized in “Paul and Union with Christ (Review),” Crux Sola. Located through a secondary summary.

[24] Hans Denck, “Was geredet sei, das die Schrift sagt” (1526), in Schriften, ed. Walter Fellmann, 2:22ff., as cited in the Wikipedia article “Hans Denck,” accessed October 28, 2026. Located through a secondary source; confirm the wording in a scholarly edition before quoting.