Do you know what it means to be “In Christ”?
Maybe if you’ve been walking with God for a long time you do, or maybe, like me, this is a new idea to you.
My husband and I took an amazing class at our old church called In Him Realities. It was an 8 week course dedicated to understanding what it truly means to live “In Christ”. It was one of the most incredible 8 weeks of my life; I wish I could share the entire class with you now, but I guess I will have to settle for sharing the most important thing I learned.
First, a quick definition of what “In Him Realities” are.
These are all of the Scriptures throughout the Bible that say things like, in Him, through Him, by Him, in Christ, in the Lord, in His Name… (There are more than 150 In Him Scriptures!) These Scriptures tell you who you are. They’re not based on you or anything you do, have done, or will do in the future, instead, they are solely based on who Jesus is, what He did, and what He gave back to you.
If you’ve ever wondered who you really are, these Scriptures are where you will find your answers.
Here are a few examples of In Him Scriptures:
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
This Scripture tells you that you are God’s workmanship, He knit you together with His hands, He breathed His life into you, and He knows your innermost being. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him, hand crafted with special care and love by God Himself. He has ordained every one of your days before even one of them came to be. He has good plans for you. He set you apart to do great things for His kingdom before you ever even existed!!
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:6
You have been resurrected; you have been made alive in Him. And God has also seated you with Christ in Heaven far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only for today but forever! That means that He has placed all things under your feet! You have been given the power and authority to overcome any obstacle by your place in Christ.
“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14
You can never do anything to earn grace, it is a gift freely given to you by the love of your Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You have been given abundant grace, even in times when it truly was unearned and undeserved, and yet God’s love is still so big that He freely gives you more grace when you humble yourself and ask! God’s unmerited favor has been poured out on you in such a huge way that you do not even have enough room to contain all of it. And His grace is NEVER ENDING, it’s always going to be there waiting for you. His grace, His love, and His faith surround you and flow through you. You have permanent access to the ultimate, always available, fountain of grace, love, and faith.
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philemon 1:6
When you share your faith with others it charges up your own faith. When you are active in sharing what you have been given, then those gifts are truly made alive in you and your own understanding is made complete. As you allow the Holy Spirit in you to share the good things that Christ has to offer with other people, He then also ministers to your own Spirit, reminding you that Christ has given you those things too, and helping you to fully understand those blessings.
“So my brothers you also died to the law through the body of Christ that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.” Romans 7:4
You are dead to your former self. You are dead to your former world. You no longer identify with the world. They do not have a grip on you because now you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. You no longer belong to the world because you now belong to Him. Your life is His and everything you do now is for Him, in Him. You are now made alive in Him so that you can bear good fruit and bring all of those good things back to the Father.
The single most important thing I want to share with you today about applying In Him Scriptures in your life is this:
You have to become righteous conscious, not sin conscious!
We all sin and fall short of God’s glory, so, I’m not saying that we have to live perfect lives. I’m also not saying that we should just overlook our sin altogether as if it doesn’t exist.
What we need to do is become more aware of Christ than we are of our sins. When you mess up, don’t allow yourself to become so weighted down with guilt and condemnation that you stop walking in the freedom Christ purchased for you.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1
There is no condemnation when you are in Christ. So don’t dwell on your mistakes and shortcomings. Focus on who God says you are, and God says you are righteous.
You have been made righteous because of Jesus. He wiped your slate clean, He set you free. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of this one perfect man, God now views you through a lens of righteousness. And He has a message for you, my friend…
He calls you blessed.
He calls you prosperous.
He calls you healed.
He calls you victorious.
He calls you forgiven.
He calls you an overcomer.
He calls you more than a conqueror.
He calls you triumphant.
Live life in light of who God says you are because of Jesus. Nobody else can tell you who you are. You have been set free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, and nothing less!
I want to encourage you to go through your week speaking the things God says about you. Look up some of these In Christ Scriptures and speak them over yourself. When Satan attacks, it is always with a thought that conflicts with the Word of God. Counter-act those thoughts and re-iterate the truth of who God says you are.
This is who you are, in every situation in life: You are MORE than a CONQUEROR, you are an OVERCOMER, you are ALWAYS TRIUMPHANT, and you are VICTORIOUS!
Have an empowering week friends!
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
Romans 5:17
Blessings and love,
Tiffany
I love this! Perfect fit for my Christ Esteem pinterest board. Great graphic too! Thanks for spreading the truth of God’s word.
Thank you Valerie!!