1 Corinthians 1:30
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30)
The New Testament contains a whole series of verses that mention the phrase “in Christ.” What is remarkable is that every one of them speaks only good things over those who are “in Him” — they are “seated in the heavenly realms,” they are blessed “with every spiritual blessing.” They have peace, healing, supernatural provision, and victory. To whom do these verses apply? Only to a few exceptional and super-spiritual Christians? No — to all believers, to all Christians, to us.
But, like every other word of God, in order for it to work for us it must be believed. And in order for it to be believed, it must be preached, heard, and understood.
Before we can claim that these gracious verses apply to us personally, before we can believe them and lay hold of them in our lives, we must first of all be certain that we are in Christ. Because if we know that we are in Christ, then we will not suppose that these great privileges, blessings, and promises belong to someone else, to some “more special” or “more spiritual” person — we will receive them personally for ourselves.
The answer to this question we find in 1 Corinthians 1:30:
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:30)
According to this verse, God Himself has placed us in Christ. Is it not astonishing and wonderful, all of this? God has chosen precisely us, made us His own, and placed us in Christ.
But what does it mean to be in Christ? What does it mean to be in someone at all? Let us look at the biblical understanding of this concept.
I. What Does It Mean to Be in Someone?
1. Levi “in Abraham.”
The passage that sheds the most light on what it means “to be in someone” is Hebrews 7:9-10:
“One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.” (Hebrews 7:9-10)
Although our aim at the moment is something else, when we consider these verses we cannot help but pause for a moment on Melchizedek.
This is a passage from the letter to the Hebrews that explains why the Melchizedekian priesthood is of a higher rank than the Levitical. Its purpose is to show that Christ, as our priest and “a high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:10), stands higher than the high priest of Israel.
But the argument the author of the letter uses in his proof is truly interesting. According to him, the fact that Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek after his victory over Kedorlaomer is testimony that the Melchizedekian priesthood is higher than that of Levi. Why? Because when Abraham gave the tenth to Melchizedek, Melchizedek not only received the tenth but also blessed Abraham (Hebrews 7:1):
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,” (Hebrews 7:1)
And according to Hebrews 7:7:
“And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.” (Hebrews 7:7)
Melchizedek not only received Abraham’s tenth but, as one higher than him in a spiritual sense, he blessed him.
What connection does this giving of a tenth and this blessing have with our subject and with Levi? According to the author of the letter to the Hebrews, when Melchizedek took Abraham’s tenth and blessed him, he took a tenth not only from him but also from the Levites and priests who are descendants of Levi. Why? Because when Abraham was doing this, Levi was “in Abraham.” As the son of Jacob and the great-grandson of Abraham, Levi was in the genes of his great-grandfather, because he descends from him, he was born of him.
2. The priests “in Levi.”
The priests and the Levites had also given a tenth to Melchizedek. How? Because in the same way that Levi was in Abraham, the priests and the Levites were in Levi.
It is another matter that the patriarch Levi himself, the son of Jacob, never in his whole life either gave or received a tenth. Because, as part of the law, the tithe was instituted after the Exodus from Egypt — about 400 years after the time of Levi, who together with his brothers had settled in Egypt back in the days of his brother Joseph.
Those who actually received the tithes were his descendants, not he himself. Nevertheless, the author of the letter to the Hebrews says that “Levi himself … collects the tenth.” Here Levi is mentioned as the representative of the priests and the Levites, because they are of his line.
But Melchizedek has a different descent (Hebrews 7:6):
“This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.” (Hebrews 7:6)
Regarding Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews applies a rabbinic interpretive principle, according to which the sacred text of the Torah speaks to us not only by what it tells us, but also by what it deliberately leaves unsaid.
In the book of Genesis, all people are mentioned with their genealogies, the names of their forefathers, and their years. The age at which they died is also given. But Melchizedek, as if out of nowhere, suddenly, unexpectedly appears on the scene, and in the same way he vanishes. There is no mention of who his father is, from which line he descended, nor the names of his sons, nor at what age he died. This is certainly not accidental, and it truly stands out against the background of the precise genealogies of the other figures in the book. For this reason, the author of Hebrews concludes that in this way God presents him as a type of the uncreated and eternal Son of God (Hebrews 7:3):
“Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” (Hebrews 7:3)
Not that Melchizedek had no father and mother, no genealogy, and that he was neither born nor died. But this information seems deliberately left unsaid by the Holy Spirit — something that makes Melchizedek a type of the Son of God.
Melchizedek was regarded as a type of Christ already about a thousand years before our era — in the days of David. His name means “king of righteousness,” and his title — king of Salem — means “king of peace.” Beyond that, he is not only a king but also a priest. In Psalm 110:4 David prophesies about the Messiah that He too, like Melchizedek, will be at once king and priest:
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’” (Psalm 110:4)
And the One to whom the Lord “swore,” according to that same Psalm 110:1, was David’s Lord — the Son of God:
“The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” (Psalm 110:1)
So much for Melchizedek. I have said all these things about him because, when we consider a given passage of the Bible, before we apply it to our lives we must understand its meaning.
But let us return to our subject — we are speaking about what it means “to be in someone.”
“To be in someone,” according to the Bible, means:
First, to be of his line — just as Levi was of the line of Abraham, and the priests and the Levites of the line of Levi.
And second, that what happened to your forefather actually happened to you as well. When Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, in fact all of Abraham’s offspring, including Levi and the priestly line, gave a tenth. When Melchizedek blessed Abraham, he in fact blessed not only him but also his offspring, including Levi and Aaron and the priestly line. Why? Because they were all “in Abraham.”
3. Mankind “in Adam.”
The concept of “being in someone” can be readily grasped and understood by applying it to ourselves and to our forefather according to the flesh — Adam.
We are all “in Adam,” we are of his line. He is the forefather of all people, including Jesus — on His mother’s side (Luke 3:38). We are “in Adam” because we have come from him. What happened to him has happened to us as well. Because Adam sinned, and at that time we were “in him,” we too sinned.
See how the apostle Paul explains this in Romans 5:12-14:
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12)
(“All sinned” not because each one of them separately had sinned, but because Adam had sinned, and at the time when he did so, they were “in him.”)
“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam…” (Romans 5:13-14)
Death reigned over them despite the fact that they “did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,” because death had already entered the world through Adam’s sin. This is why, according to 1 Corinthians 15:22, “in Adam all die.”
As we saw earlier, however, God in His boundless love has not left us to be only “in Adam,” but has taken us and placed us “in Christ” — “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus.”
II. What Does It Mean to Be in Christ?
As we said, “to be in someone” means:
- First, to be of his line;
- And second, that what happened to your forefather actually happened to you as well.
To be “in Christ” means these same two things:
1. To be “in Christ” means to be of His line.
i. Born again of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ was born of God, through the Holy Spirit. So then, to be of His line means that we too must be born of God through the Holy Spirit. The New Testament calls this experience “the new birth.”
This does not mean, as Nicodemus supposed in John 3:4, that a person must “enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born.” Jesus explained to him that the new birth is not fleshly but spiritual.
The kinship spoken of here is not physical but spiritual. And it comes through faith in Christ.
ii. Children of Abraham.
That is why we can say that before we come to be “in Christ,” we must come to be “in Abraham,” because according to Romans 4:11 he is “the father of all who believe.” Remember that we said being in someone, first of all, means that he is your forefather.
The joyful thing is that sonship — being children both of Abraham and of Jesus — does not depend on physical kinship. In Romans 9:6-7 the apostle Paul says:
“It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’” (Romans 9:6-7)
In His dispute with the Jews (John 8:37-44) the Lord Jesus Himself confirms this idea:
“37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.’ 39 ‘Abraham is our father,’ they answered. ‘If you were Abraham’s children,’ said Jesus, ‘then you would do what Abraham did.’” (John 8:37-39)
(Sonship of Abraham does not depend on physical kinship, but on the likeness of deeds and the resemblance of character!)
“40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.’ ‘We are not illegitimate children,’ they protested. ‘The only Father we have is God himself.’ 42 Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.’” (John 8:40-44)
To be children of Abraham means not to be his physical heirs, but to be like Abraham — to have his faith. As it is said in Galatians 3:7,
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7)
Being children of Abraham, we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and became “new creations.”
According to Galatians 3:29,
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
It is very important to be Abraham’s offspring, because this is the key to God’s blessing. Already from the book of Genesis we can understand that the way in which “in Abraham” “all nations of the earth” will be blessed (Genesis 18:18; 12:3) is by becoming his children (Genesis 17:4-5).
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:4-5)
Evidently the nations that will be blessed are those to whom Abraham will become a father.
There is a connection between being “in Abraham” and being “in Christ.”
To be in Christ means to be of His line. And the way to become of His line is to believe in Him — something for which we need to exercise faith, that is, to be children of Abraham.
2. To be “in Christ” means that what has happened to Christ has happened, and will happen, to us as well.
i. What has happened to Christ has happened to us.
According to Galatians 2:20, when Christ was crucified on the cross — we too were crucified with Him:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
According to Romans 6:11, when He died, bearing our sins — we too died to sin together with Him:
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11)
According to Ephesians 2:4-6, when He was raised and ascended into Heaven to His Father, then we too were raised and ascended together with Him:
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:4-6)
Notice that all of this is the work of God. It is He who has placed us “in Christ.” It is He who has also made us alive and raised us up together with Him.
Because God has placed us in Christ — and we have been in Him from the very beginning, because God chose us in Him before the creation of the world — what has happened to Him has happened to us as well — in exactly the same way that what happened to Adam happened to us.
ii. What has happened to Christ will happen in the future to us as well.
The changes that have happened to Him will happen to us also physically. Our perishable bodies will be transformed and conformed to His glorious body. In Philippians 3:21 it is said:
“who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:21)
According to Romans 5:14, Adam “is a pattern of the one to come.” Who is “the one to come”? The one to come is the Second Man — the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Last Adam and the Second Man. In 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 we read:
“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47)
Jesus is “the Last Adam” and “the Second Man.” With Him the race of “the first man Adam” is brought to an end, and the beginning of a new one is laid. The same thing happens with us Christians — “the first Adam” in us dies, and in his place there is born and grows within us “the Second Man.” Notice that Jesus is not called “the Second Adam,” because He is not sinful like the first. He is not earthly. He is not mortal. He is sinless, spiritual, a life-giving spirit, eternal — one who is “of heaven.” If we are “in Him,” then we too shall be such!
“As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.” (1 Corinthians 15:48-49)
In Whom Are You?
Earlier, in that same chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, verse 22, the apostle Paul says:
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
In whom are we — only in Adam, or in Adam and in Christ? All people in this world are “in Adam.” That is why all of us are mortal. Not everyone, however, is “in Christ.” Only those who are “children of Abraham” — “all who believe” (Romans 4:11) — only they are in Christ. God has placed all the children of Abraham in Christ — as it is said in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus…”
And being in Him, we can rejoice in all the privileges that belong to those who are in Christ.
We must know that we are in Christ. We must be absolutely certain of this fact — of this work of God, of this position of ours! Let us search the New Testament letters, discover what belongs to us in Christ, what our riches are in Him, and, as true children of Abraham, lay hold of it and receive it by faith. To a large degree, this is precisely what it means to be a Christian.
If you are not yet such, believe in the Lord Jesus, believe in the Word of God — become a child of Abraham — come and be in Christ!