Our New History "in Christ"
In our search of this "New History" we will begin by breaking down this biblical passage in First Corinthians.
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I Cor 1 (v. 30) But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,...
So, we were "put into" Christ by somebody!!
Now, we have 3 different parties here: Him, You, & Christ
First – Who is the “Him”?
II Cor 1 (v. 21) Now He who establishes us with you in Christ....is God.
What did he say? ....He which established us with you in Christ....is who? God does this; God places us in Christ. He not only places us in Christ, but then He actually follows through. Now notice verse 22.[1]
II Cor 1 (v. 22) who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts….
God puts us into Christ, anoints us in Christ, and then tells us that instead of our doing this, it is the Holy Spirit who is doing it. The Holy Spirit....keeps us in Christ, and then seals us.[1]
So, the first party "Him" refers to God himself! Second – Who is the "You"?
II Cor 5 (v. 18) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ....
God has reconciled "us" to Himself through Jesus Christ. Now continue with (verse 19) ....that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,...
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So, the second party, "You" and "Us" refers to the world, the whole human race!
Where were you when He obeyed that law in that humanity of His? “In Him.” Who put you there? Don’t give the credit to yourself. God put you there; God gets the credit for doing that. God gets the credit for putting you into Christ....[2]
The third party is obviously Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
So, I Cor 1:30 explains that God put us into Christ.
You can know why, by reading the 2nd half of verse 30.
I Cor 1 (v. 30) But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
We were made righteous, sanctified, and redeemed by God, because of being "in Christ."
....By His obedience to all the commandments of God, Christ wrought out a redemption for men. This was not done by going out of Himself to another, but by taking humanity into Himself....To bring humanity into Christ, to bring the fallen race into oneness with divinity, is the work of redemption.[3]
The following illustration further explains "Our New History in Christ" the process that God used to redeem us.
The first thing we should notice in the illustration, is that after this joining, there was a very important change to "the Christ." He now became the 2nd Adam, in whose actions would affect the whole human race, just as much as the 1st Adam did.
I Cor 15 (v. 45) ....The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (v. 47) The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
In order to qualify Christ to legally be our Savior, God had to first unite the divine life of His Son with our corporate, condemned life that needed redeeming.[3]
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When did this happen?
Gal 4 (v. 4) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born (or made) of a woman, born under the law....
Remember, God has to be ethical, in order for Christ to legally be our Savior!!
Continue with (verse 5) ....to redeem those who were under the law....
He could take the life of the human race because we share a common life that began in Adam. He took the corporate life of the human race and He put it into Christ at the incarnation. Before Jesus could save us, before He could be our substitute, He had to qualify to be our substitute. God qualified Him by taking the corporate life of the human race and putting it into Christ.[5]
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How did this happen?
Heb 10 (v. 5) Therefore, when He came into the world,...a body You have prepared for Me.
What kind of a body?
Rom 1 (v. 3) concerning His Son Jesus Christ....who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Christ did not come to this earth with super-human flesh, that could never be tempted or could never sin. He knows what we have to go through by having a real experience!!
The temptations to which Christ was subjected were a terrible reality. As a free agent He was placed on probation, with liberty to yield to satan’s temptations and work at cross-purposes with God. If this were not so, if it had not been possible for Him to fall, He could not have been tempted in all points as the human family is tempted.[6]
Heb 4 (v. 15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are....
Of the bitterness that falls to the lot of humanity, there was no part which Christ did not taste....Had He even admitted that there could be an excuse for sin, satan would have triumphed, and the world would have been lost. This is why the tempter worked to make His life as trying as possible, that He might be led to sin. But to every temptation He had one answer, “It is written.”[7]
Luke 4 (v. 3) And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” (v. 4) But Jesus answered him saying, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
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So now let’s look at “how” He was made:
Heb 2 (v. 17) Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren,...
Who are His brethren, the angels?
Read (v. 16) For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. [ KJV ]
....But as Christ humbled Himself to the nature of man, He could be tempted. He had not taken on Him even the nature of the angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin. A human body, a human mind, with all the peculiar properties, He was bone, brain, and muscle. A man of our flesh, He was compassed with the weakness of humanity.[8]
So, Christ had to “put on” like a jacket, the nature of what He came to redeem!!
In the next section we will learn, just what did Christ do with that body?
References:
1. Dan Augsburger, (2009). The Branch and the Vine (sermons by Frank B. Phillips), p.7, Booklet.
2. Vineyard Ministries. “The In Christ Motif” Tape 7B. The Gospel in a Nutshell, Audiocassette.
3. E.G. White, Selected Messages (book 1), p.250, par.3
4. Savior of the world Bible Course, (2000). Lesson 3, “The Truth as it is In Christ.”
5. Vineyard Ministries. “The In Christ Motif” Tape 7B. The Gospel in a Nutshell, Audiocassette.
6. E.G. White, Selected Messages (book 3), p.131, par.3
7. E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, p.88, par.2
8. Manuscript Releases (vol.16), p.181-182, “Christ’s Humiliation.”
Image #1: Youth World, (n.d.). God put mankind into Christ. Retrieved from http://ubdavid.org/youth-world/ttt/timely-topics2.html
Image #2: Author unknown, (n.d.). God reconciled us to Himself. Retrieved from https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nSRcN5g-uayjmR_zfjNCiRpgYhqoF4qxCXNpIo_OjGvngwJ0RyCigLyDkIiWZErysP1q=s114
Image #3: Jaylynn Sheron, (n.d.). God sent forth His son made of a woman. Retrieved from http://slideplayer.com/slide/3561736/12/images/11/Galatians+4:4+But+when+the+fulness+of+the+time+was+come,+God+sent+forth+his+Son,+made+of+a+woman,+made+under+the+law,.jpg
Image #4: Dr. Rick Griffith, (2004). The royal genealogy of Jesus Christ. Retrieved from http://slideplayer.com/slide/4654150/
Image #5: John Norman, (n.d.). Sharing in all human sufferings. Retrieved from http://slideplayer.com/slide/5845431/
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