"In Christ" - the gospel as taught by Paul

[Robert]

1 Cor 4:15 "For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the gospel to you."

1 Tim 2:7 "I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—the teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth." 

 

Now notice Paul's persistent use of the "in Christ" motif:

 

"being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" [Rom 3:24]

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ"  [Rom 6:23]

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" [Rom 8:1]

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death"  [Rom 8:2]

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and justice and sanctification and redemption" [1 Cor 1:30]

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" [2 Cor 5:17]

"God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses" [2 Cor 5:19]

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law" [Gal 2:16]

"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" [Eph 1:3]

God "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" [Eph 1:6]

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." [Eph 2:13]

"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" [Phil 3:9]

"we present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" [Col 1:28]

"not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" [2 Tim 1:9]

 

 

 

[Robert]

The Objective Facts of the ‘In Christ’ Motif By E.H. “Jack” Sequeira

 

1. Most reliable New Testament scholars today recognize that the “in Christ” motif is the central theme of Paul’s theology. For example, in Grace Unlimited, edited by Clark H. Pinnock, several scholars admit that the “in Christ” motif is at the heart of Paul’s theology (see, for example, page 176); and John R. W. Stott states “to be ‘in Christ’ is a familiar and favorite expression of Paul” (The Gospel and the End of Time, page 27).

    

2. The apostle Paul was called of God to evangelize the Gentile world, but, unfortunately, none of Paul’s evangelistic sermons preached to the nonChristians have been recorded or preserved. All that we have are his epistles to believers who had already accepted the truth that is “in Christ.”

    

3. But, in spite of this, there is enough evidence in these epistles to show that he gave the “in Christ” motif an objective application that included all of mankind. That is to say, Paul does not limit the “in Christ” motif only to believers but to the entire human race that was redeemed “in Christ.” To Paul, believers are those who are faithful to the truth as it is “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:1; note also the expression “in Christ,” in Romans 16, applied to the faithful believers Paul knew in Rome).

    

4. The following evidence clearly proves that Paul gave the “in Christ” motif an objective application:

    

   1. Paul reminds believers that they were chosen and redeemed “in Christ” before their conversion (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 1:4, 2:5,6).

       

   2. He points out to the Corinthian believers that, just as in Adam all die, likewise, “in Christ,” all will be made alive — some to everlasting life (believers) and some to everlasting damnation (unbelievers). This second statement, made to the Corinthian believers, was because some of them questioned the resurrection (see verse 12). The point Paul is making is that Christ is the source of the resurrection for all mankind (1 Corinthians 15:21-23).

       

   3. Paul refers to Christ as the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). The word “Adam” in Hebrew means “mankind” and is used in the majority of cases, in the Old Testament, to mean the solidarity of mankind in Adam. When Christ assumed our corporate humanity at the incarnation, God placed the human race that needed redeeming into Christ and qualified Him to be our substitute and representative. Thus Christ became the Saviour of the world (John 3:16).

       

   4. Paul’s universal texts indicate an accomplished salvation for all men “in Christ” that is made effective by faith (Romans 5:18; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; 1 Tim. 2:6, 4:10; Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9).

       

   5. In most cases, Paul’s subjective application of the “in Christ” motif to believers, as well as himself, is based on an objective truth already accomplished “in Christ” (Gal. 2:20, 6:14; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Eph. 1:3-6; Colosians 2:20; 2 Tim. 2:11). If, because of our faith, God puts us into Christ, then faith becomes a form of works. But, by faith, we abide “in Christ” (John 15:4-8).

       

   6. To Paul, baptism, as a subjective experience, is always “into Christ.” By it the believer is confessing his or her faith obedience to an objective truth that took place some 2,000 years ago “in Christ” and Him crucified, buried, and resurrected (Gal. 3:27; Romans 6:3-8).

    

5. All these facts point to the “in Christ” motif as the very heart of the gospel message Paul preached in his evangelistic efforts. When the good news of salvation is presented in the context of the “in Christ” motif, men and women will come to the realization that god has already reconciled them to Himself “in Christ” (Romans 5:10). What is left is for them to be reconciled to Him (2 Cor. 5:19-20). It is this goodness of God that leads to true repentance and conversion (Romans 2:4).

[GayatfootofCross]

He that dwellet in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide in the Shadow of the Almighty!

One of my go to verses and Chapter that God Comforts me with.

Psalms 91

 

# because HE  has set HIS love upon me!

[8thdaypriest]

HEAD OF THE CHURCH - THE TIMING

        Some folks teach that Christ has already been made “head of all things to the church” and the church was "in" His body when He died on the cross.  

Ephesians 1:19-22 “according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when  He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.”

        This is another place where Paul writes of things that have been promised, as if they are present reality.  We do not “not yet see all things put under Him” (Hebrews 8:2).
 
        A man does not become “head” of his wife, UNTIL the marriage. 

(Note: During Bible times, the betrothal was the marriage.  It was legally binding.  Adultery during this period was punishable with death.) 

According to Paul, the church did not become “the body of Christ” until the betrothal.  And Christ was not betrothed to “the church” UNTIL AFTER the Father “raised Him from the dead”. 

The entire church was not metaphysically "in" the body of Christ when He died.  She was not betrothed (married) to Christ until AFTER the Father “raised Him from the dead”.

 

[joeb]

This idea of the "in Christ" motif is very subtle deception.  It completely ignores what the laws of Isreal taught about the plan of salvation, and the laws of Isreal contain the entire plan of salvation.  You will find nothing about this "in Christ" motif in the OT laws.  It simply doesn't exist.  Also, part of the plan of salvation's purpose is to redeem our dominion over the earth and buy back our inheritance of it from the devil.  The "in Christ" motif doesn't even begin to address these things.    

The laws of Isreal taught that Christ came to ransom us as our "kinsman redeemer".  He had to become human to fulfill the laws of heaven and earth.  Ellen White, in speaking about what happened when Adam and Eve sinned quotes the Father as saying, Live sinner.  I have found a ransom.

The Hebrew concept of "ga'al" is taught repeatedly, hundreds of times in fact, in the OT as the legal justification for the plan of salvation.  Every OT reference to a Redeemer in English comes from the Hebrew word ga'al.  Every one of the words translated as redeem or redeemed comes from ga'al or Hebrew words meaning ransom.  It is the only concept taught about the plan of salvation in the OT.    In the NT all references to redeem and redeemed come from Greek words meaning to purchase, buy, or ransom.  The law of inheritance, ga'al, includes redeeming the earth and restoring it to us as our inheritance given to us from God. 

Paul said we are sold under sin, and that we, when we accept Christ's sacrifice, have been purchased by Him.  The OT makes several references to people having sold themselves through doing evil.   John, in Revelation, when it refers to "the redeemed" uses the Greek word for purchased, which is once again a continuance of the OT concept of ga'al.  Jesus uses the same word imagery in his statements about redemption and the redeemed. 

I've spent hundreds of hours on this study using, first, the Bible, and then studying the SOP books to see what Ellen White had to say about it.  Both sources are in complete agreement on this subject.  However, only by twisting, taking out of context, or even flat out ignoring concepts taught in multiple places in the Bible, can one find support for "in Christ" motif.  Ellen White says, in The Desire of Ages, that the law of inheritance, or ga'al, demonstrates Christ's relationship to His people. 

[Robert]

1 hour ago, joeb said:

This idea of the "in Christ" motif is very subtle deception.

Really?  Then you are accusing the Apostle Paul of deception.  Do you really desire to go there?

[Robert]

2 hours ago, 8thdaypriest said:

The entire church was not metaphysically "in" the body of Christ when He died.  She was not betrothed (married) to Christ until AFTER the Father “raised Him from the dead”.

The entire human race was "in Christ" when He died. 

Quote

By His obedience to all the commandments of God, Christ wrought out a redemption for man. This was not done by going out of Himself to another, but by taking humanity into Himself. Thus Christ gave to humanity an existence out of Himself. To bring humanity into Christ, to bring the fallen race into oneness with divinity, is the work of redemption.  [EGW]

 

[phkrause]

3 hours ago, joeb said:

This idea of the "in Christ" motif is very subtle deception.  It completely ignores what the laws of Isreal taught about the plan of salvation, and the laws of Isreal contain the entire plan of salvation.  You will find nothing about this "in Christ" motif in the OT laws.  It simply doesn't exist.  Also, part of the plan of salvation's purpose is to redeem our dominion over the earth and buy back our inheritance of it from the devil.  The "in Christ" motif doesn't even begin to address these things.    

The laws of Isreal taught that Christ came to ransom us as our "kinsman redeemer".  He had to become human to fulfill the laws of heaven and earth.  Ellen White, in speaking about what happened when Adam and Eve sinned quotes the Father as saying, Live sinner.  I have found a ransom.

The Hebrew concept of "ga'al" is taught repeatedly, hundreds of times in fact, in the OT as the legal justification for the plan of salvation.  Every OT reference to a Redeemer in English comes from the Hebrew word ga'al.  Every one of the words translated as redeem or redeemed comes from ga'al or Hebrew words meaning ransom.  It is the only concept taught about the plan of salvation in the OT.    In the NT all references to redeem and redeemed come from Greek words meaning to purchase, buy, or ransom.  The law of inheritance, ga'al, includes redeeming the earth and restoring it to us as our inheritance given to us from God. 

Paul said we are sold under sin, and that we, when we accept Christ's sacrifice, have been purchased by Him.  The OT makes several references to people having sold themselves through doing evil.   John, in Revelation, when it refers to "the redeemed" uses the Greek word for purchased, which is once again a continuance of the OT concept of ga'al.  Jesus uses the same word imagery in his statements about redemption and the redeemed. 

I've spent hundreds of hours on this study using, first, the Bible, and then studying the SOP books to see what Ellen White had to say about it.  Both sources are in complete agreement on this subject.  However, only by twisting, taking out of context, or even flat out ignoring concepts taught in multiple places in the Bible, can one find support for "in Christ" motif.  Ellen White says, in The Desire of Ages, that the law of inheritance, or ga'al, demonstrates Christ's relationship to His people. 

Also the book of Ruth demonstrates what your talking about, and how it works!!

[Robert]

2 hours ago, jackson said:

He rejects many foundational pillars of Adventism and cannot reconcile his unique gospel with the Bible. 

His unique gospel?  What Jack presents is what Paul presents.  Jack got it from Paul.

Traditional, historic Adventism is the modern equivalent to the Judaizers of Paul's day.

[Robert]

2 hours ago, jackson said:

“As the Catholic theologians pointed out, it is a fundamental principle of all law, God’s or man’s, that guilt or punishment can­not be transferred from the guilty to the innocent, nor can the righteousness of one person be legally transferred to another.  Jack Sequeira, Beyond Belief (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1993), 40

So?  He is right.  Christ was sinless.  The law only condemns the guilty.  So from this point of view Christ cannot die for your sins.  You must die for your sins.

[Robert]

2 hours ago, jackson said:

Jesus volunteered to be the propitiation for sinners taking the penalty for them, thereby fulfilling the requirement for justice.

What part of the law condemns the guilty don''t you understand? Guilt cannot be transferred - that's insane.  No law will condemn the innocent and free the guilty.  That's not the function of justice.  So the doctrine of substitution is an unethical gospel for it does not answer the justice of God's law towards the sinner.

Guilt can't be transferred:

Ez 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

 

[Robert]

3 hours ago, jackson said:

Just a rudimentary understanding of the sanctuary procedures laid out in Exodus and Leviticus will teach anyone with a heart to understand that the lamb was a substitute for the sinner.

The sanctuary services, with their sacrifices, was only a symbol of the reality found "in Christ".  

Heb 10:1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come (the reality is Christ), and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

The shedding of blood of bulls and goats were symbolic of the coming reality.  These symbols could never make the sinner perfect before God's law.  Then how was it done?

 5 Therefore, when He (the Son of God) came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You (God the Father) have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;...7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’”....9 He takes away the first (the Sanctuary services with their sacrifices) in order to establish the second (the gospel). 

10 By this will (i.e., by Christ's doing & dying) we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Please note that when the Son of God (Divinity) came into this world "a body" was prepared for Him.  This "body" was our corporate humanity from the womb of Mary. Thus God the Father untied the Divinity of Christ with the corporate, fallen life of the human race in Mary's womb.  This is what legally qualified Christ to be our substitute.  

The sanctuary services made no one holy. By Christ's doing & dying "we have been made holy...once for all".

Conclusion: Your theological conundrum is caused because you place too much significance on the sanctuary services, which have been abolished,  and not enough emphasis on the reality as it is found "in Christ".

[Robert]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

 5 Therefore, when He (the Son of God) came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You (God the Father) have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me....10 By this will (i.e., by Christ's doing & dying) we have been made holy through the offering of  the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

"Our old life was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with...." Rom 6:6

The "Him" here is the Divinity of Christ.

Again, the Divinity of Christ was united to "our body of sin".

Now what died on the cross?

a] The Divine life of Christ, which is immortal,

or

b] "our old life" that is under the condemnation of the law?

Answer: "b"

Even Ellen White agrees:

"In Christ were united the divine and the human—the Creator and the creature. The nature of God, whose law had been transgressed, and the nature of Adam, the transgressor, meet in Jesus—the Son of God, and the Son of man."

"Humanity died (i.e., "our old life"); divinity did not die."

 "Deity did not sink and die; that would have been impossible."

Conclusion:  Your life from Adam died "in Christ" and therefore the justice of God's law has been legally fulfilled. 

[Robert]

What can we conclude?  That the cross answered the justice of God's law.  Now the cross was not God's idea.  The cross is what Satan, through both the Romans & Jews, did to Christ.  Does that mean Satan has contributed towards our salvation because he had Jesus flogged and nailed to a wooden cross? No!   Christ's torture saves no one. Then what saves?  What God did to Christ.

You see when Christ became a man (our corporate man) He gave up, not His Divinity, but the independent use of His Divinity.  That's why He could say, "I can of my own self do nothing."  Also keep in mind that Christ was depending on His Father for the resurrection.  

Now what happened on the cross?  What did Christ, in His agony, cry out?

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Matt 27:46)

So when God the Father abandoned Christ the hope of the resurrection went with Him.  Hence Christ experienced the second death, which is not goodbye for 3 days, but goodbye to life forever!

“He (Christ as our corporate man) could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him the coming forth from the grave a conqueror or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that their separation was to be eternal.” Desire of Ages, by E.G. White, p 753:

 

[joeb]

On 1/26/2016 at 2:58 PM, phkrause said:

Also the book of Ruth demonstrates what your talking about, and how it works!!

The book of Ruth is only a small part of what the OT teaches on this subject.  Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, in fact, almost all but 1 or 2 the OT prophets used the imagery of ga'al or ransom when speaking about redemption, being redeemed, etc....  It is literally all the way through the entire OT.  In the NT, all four gospel writers, Paul, Peter, and Titus use the same imagery in their writings when referring to redeem, redemption, redeemed, etc....  It is very clear that they brought this understanding to their writings from the OT which exclusively teaches the concept of ga'al as the legal justification for Christ paying our penalty for our sins. 

Ellen White says Christ specifically gave ga'al, the law of inheritance, to not only explain the plan of salvation, but to show that God always operates justly and by the rule of law.  If He didn't the devil would immediately attack Him for being unjust and not operating according to His own laws.  In doing word studies on redeemer, redeemed, redeem, redemption, dominion, inheritance, and atonement from writings of Ellen White I have found more than 50 megabytes of statements in support of this.  It is all the way through her writings. 

Moses, in Exodus 30:11-16, ties the concept of atonement to ransom. 

In the following quotes from Ellen White she makes her position on the linkage of ransom, redemption, and the legal right Christ had to do this very clear.    

Quote

What right had Christ to take the captives out of the enemy’s hands?—the right of having made a sacrifice that satisfies the principles of justice by which the kingdom of heaven is governed. He came to this earth as the Redeemer of the lost race, to conquer the wily foe, and, by His steadfast allegiance to right, to save all who accept Him as their Saviour. On the cross of Calvary He paid the redemption price of the race. And thus He gained the right to take the captives from the grasp of the great deceiver, who, by a lie framed against the government of God, caused the fall of man, and thus forfeited all claim to be called a loyal subject of God’s glorious everlasting kingdom (The Signs of the Times, September 30, 1903).
 

 

Quote

As the sin bearer, and priest and representative of man before God, He entered into the life of humanity, bearing our flesh and blood. The life is in the living, vital current of blood, which blood was given for the life of the world. Christ made a full atonement, giving His life as a ransom for us. He was born without a taint of sin, but came into the world in like manner as the human family. He did not have a mere semblance of a body, but He took human nature, participating in the life of humanity.

According to the law Christ Himself gave, the forfeited inheritance was ransomed by the nearest of kin. Jesus Christ laid off His royal robe, His kingly crown, and clothed His divinity with humanity, in order to become a substitute and surety for humanity, that dying in humanity He might by His death destroy him who had the power of death. He could not have done this as God, but by coming as man Christ could die. By death He overcame death. The death of Christ bore to the death him who had the power of death, and opened the gates of the tomb for all who receive Him as their personal Saviour.

Christ proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He, the world’s Redeemer, has bruised the serpent’s head, depriving him of all power ever to make men feel his scorpion sting; for He has brought life and immortality to light. The gates of eternal life are thrown open to all who believe on Jesus Christ. All believers who pass through a natural death, have, through eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, eternal life in them, which is the life of Jesus Christ. In dying, Jesus has made it impossible for those who believe on Him to die eternally....

Christ lived and died as a man, that He might be God both of the living and of the dead. It was to make it impossible for men to lose eternal life if they believe on Him. The life of men and women is precious in the sight of God; for Christ has purchased that life by being executed in their stead. Thus He made it possible for us to attain to immortality (Letter 97, 1898).

Ellen White's statements on this are very clear.  I've given only two, but I have hundreds of quotations from her on this.  Notice in the above quote that she ties atonement directly to ransom just as Moses did. 

[LifeHiscost]

15 hours ago, Robert said:

 

You see when Christ became a man (our corporate man) He gave up, not His Divinity, but the independent use of His Divinity.  That's why He could say, "I can of my own self do nothing."  Also keep in mind that Christ was depending on His Father for the resurrection.  

 

¹⁷ Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

¹⁸ No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.....John 10

God is Love!~Jesus saves! 

[LifeHiscost]

   The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be

fully

understood by

man

. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt....

{CSA 39.1}  

(John 10:30.) Why Only One Mediator—Jesus alone could give security to God; for He was equal to God. He alone could be a mediator between God and man; for He possessed divinity and humanity (The Review and Herald, April 3, 1894). {7BC 914.7}

I have some more searching that I could add pointing out that Christ is seen as fully Man and fully God.

God is Love!~Jesus saves!    

 

[Robert]

5 hours ago, LifeHiscost said:

John 10:18  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. 

Jesus as the Son of God had the power to take it up, but He had handed the independent use of His Divinity over to the Father as I previously stated.  Therefore while Christ Divinity had the power, it was His Father who raised Him:

Acts 3:14-15. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Acts 4:10. 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Acts 10:40 Him God raised up the third day

Romans 10:9  God hath raised him from the dead

I Corinthians 15:15.  we have testified of God that he raised up Christ

Romans 6:4 …Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father

I Corinthians 6:14  And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead 

Colossians 2:12 …God, who hath raised him from the dead

 

[Robert]

5 hours ago, jackson said:

Robert, I gave you enough scripture and SOP to see that Jesus was a propitiation for our sins. You don't want to believe it, and I will waste no more time with you.

You have an incomplete gospel.  The Apostle Paul explains, in detail, how Jesus was a propitiation for our sins.  Perhaps you shouldn't be so dogmatic.

[Robert]

5 hours ago, jackson said:

You hitched  your wagon to Jack Sequeira;s interpretation of Paul's epistles, and you refuse to serious pause and consider  scriptures  given you which directly contradict  your gospel.

In other words, according to your perception, I am interpreting Paul through Sequeira when I should be interpreting Paul through what you have given me.  Does that come off a bit arrogant?  Does that come off like you alone have the truth?

[Samie]

Jesus, the Bread of Life, came down to this world to give it life (John 6:33). Obviously, the world is dead, otherwise He would have not given it life. And apart from Christ Who is our Life (Col 3:4), we are all dead, spiritually dead, and can do NOTHING (John 15:4, 5) spiritually good (Jer 13:23), like believing, repenting, etc. So, on the cross, God through Christ fashioned us into the body of His Son to reconcile us all to Him (Eph 2:11-19), because no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him (John 6:44).  And being fashioned into His Body on the cross, when Christ the Head died, the Body likewise died (John 12:32, 33; 2 Cor 5:14, 15; Heb 2:9), and we all were freed and cleansed from sin (Rom 6:7; Rev 1:5), corporately justified (Rom 5:18), made holy or sanctified (Heb 10:10) and made perfect (Heb 10:14). When the Head resurrected, we, His Body, were resurrected together with Him (Eph 2:4, 5; Col 2:13), born again into a living hope of life eternal (1 Peter 1:3). Therefore, our being IN Christ, is God's work for man, without an iota of human participation.  The fact that people can now believe and repent is proof enough that people are already spiritually alive.

Being now part of His Body, each body part is expected to live in accordance with the will of the Head (Matt 7:21) and follow His bidding (John 10:27; 12:26; 14:12), which simply translates into overcoming evil with good (Rom 12:21). Attached to Him Who is our Strength, we have His Power to overcome evil (Phil 4:13). And overcomers will not be blotted out from the Book of Life (Rev 3:5). If we sin, the sin committed having been forgiven on the cross (Col 2:13), is not counted against us (2 Cor 5:18, 19) which is Christ's act of continually justifying us as He ministers for us in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest (Heb 9:24-26), because Jesus was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). In fact, that sin God remembers no more (Heb 10:16, 17).  But the act of sinning reminds the sinning person that, instead of overcoming it, he has been overcome by evil. If in the end of one's journey in life, one is found to have not overcome evil, his name gets blotted out from the Book of Life, dismembered from the family of God, detached from being part of the Body of Christ. God waits all-throughout the lifetime of a person for him to become an overcomer, for it is only after a person dies when judgement is rendered (Heb 9:27) whether to blot his name or not from the registry of heaven, the Book of Life (Rev 21:27; 20:15).

[Samie]

On 27/01/2016 at 3:07 PM, jackson said:

The cross made provision for the forgiveness of our sins, but our response to the cross determines whether we are forgiven or not.

As at Yom Kippur people were cleansed from all sin, so on the antitypical atonement made on the cross, people were forgiven and cleansed from all sin:

^NAS Leviticus 16:30 for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

^NAS Colossians 2:13-14 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

^KJV Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood

 

[LifeHiscost]

11 hours ago, Robert said:

 

I Corinthians 6:14  And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
 

Well done, Robert. I especially liked the promise added to the end of this text. When added to the statement where Jesus says He and the Father are One, I still find myself failing to plumb the depths of His capacities.

…16"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18"No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."…John 10

   Now was proved the truth of His words, “

I

lay down My life, that

I

might take it again....

I

have power to lay it down, and

I

have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days

I will raise

it up.”

John 10:17, 18

;

John 2:19

.

{CSA 43.6}

  [/quote]

God is Love!~Jesus saves! 

 

[joeb]

I'd like to point something out here.  You cannot "prove" the "in Christ" motif from the OT.  We are told if we really want to understand Christ and His mission we must study the OT diligently for there is the light by which we are to understand the NT.

Quote

The history of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as that of the Son of God, cannot be fully demonstrated without the evidence contained in the Old Testament. Christ is revealed in the Old Testament as clearly as in the New. The one testifies of a Saviour to come, while the other testifies of a Saviour that has come in the manner predicted by the prophets. In order to appreciate the plan of redemption, the Scripture of the Old Testament must be thoroughly understood. It is the glorified light from the prophetic past that brings out the life of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty. The miracles of Jesus are a proof of his divinity; but the strongest proofs that he is the world’s Redeemer are found in the prophecies of the Old Testament compared with the history of the New. Jesus said to the Jews “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” At that time there was no other scripture in existence save that of the Old Testament; so the injunction of the Saviour is plain. {3SP 211.2}

Note that to really understand the life of Christ and the teachings of the NT we must fully understand what the OT teaches us first.  The law of inheritance is such a doctrine.  It is not fully understood even yet, but I have to say that the hundreds of hours I have put into this study has brought me greater understanding of Jesus, His mission, and the plan of salvation.  You will find no contradictions, no need for reading into scriptural passages what you want to find.  It is like the Gospel in that it is simple, straightforward, and easily understandable.  Even kids can understand this doctrine fairly easily. 

This is not true of "in Christ".  That doctrine is very sketchy and requires ignoring a lot of scripture and purely scriptural topics.  I've even been told by supporters of this doctrine that we need it because the doctrine of justification by faith when it goes back to Luther is too old and we need fresh ideas.  Really?  Hmmmm....  Think about that argument.   I guess we need new doctrines on creation, the divinity of Christ, the Sabbath, etc....  That argument implies that everything Christian's believe is too old to be reliable.  A guy I see as pretty intelligent and quite knowledgable about the Bible gave me that argument.  Go figure....

[joeb]

Quote

Of Christ’s relation to His people, there is a beautiful illustration in the laws given to Israel.
When through poverty a Hebrew had been forced to part with his patrimony, and to sell himself as
a bondservant, the duty of redeeming him and his inheritance fell to the one who was nearest of
kin. See Leviticus 25:25, 47-49; Ruth 2:20. So the work of redeeming us and our inheritance, lost
through sin, fell upon Him who is “near of kin” unto us. It was to redeem us that He became our
kinsman. Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. “Fear not,”
He says, “for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” “Since thou
wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give
men for thee, and people for thy life.” Isaiah 43:1, 4.

 

Notice Ellen White's wording.  A "beautiful illustration" of Christ's relationship to His people.  Notice it is the relationship of a kinsman.  He is the nearest of kin to all of humanity that is capable of redeeming us, of ransoming us back from the devil after we have been sold under sin and become bondservants of the devil.  Ellen White says nothing about being "in Christ" here.  Why?  Because that is unnecessay mumbo jumbo.  Jesus is human, and because He is human He has the right under the laws of heaven and earth to buy us back, to ransom us from the deciever if He can pay our debt.  He did so by living a perfect life.  

One more thing on this subject.  "In Christ" says we are guilty of Adam's sin.  That is contradictory to Biblical truth.  Ezekiel 18 tells us the father is not guilty of the sins of the son, nor is the son guilty of the sins of his father.  Right there is all you need to know to know that "in Christ" is a deception for it contradicts plainly stated scripture.  The Bible devotes almost an entire chapter to this subject so we know it is a very important truth, and one that we can ignore only at our own peril.