A New Bible Series
“Our
Position in Christ # 1”
“Together”
With Christ
What comes to your minds when you imagine about being, or doing
something “together” with someone else?” Being
together, could be, that both of you share in the same events and partake in its
same outcomes and destinies. It could
also mean that both of you have a relationship with each other which is united
in some way. Finally, you can both
partake in certain events simultaneously.
Let us now look at the six
scriptures below. These verses define six
specific events that every ‘born
again” believer
shared in common “TOGETHER” with the Lord Jesus Christ. Every
Christian believer partook in these six occurrences simultaneously with the
Lord Jesus. These historical incidents therefore have exerted an identical
influence, and produced matching outcomes for us as it did for the Lord Jesus.
We are absolutely one with the Lord in the course and development that these
six events took Him through.
q Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that
our old man is crucified
with him, that the body
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
q Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
q Rom 6:4
Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism
into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
q Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;-) {by…: or, by whose grace}
q Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Let us briefly sum up these six historical events which all occurred
about two thousand years ago.
q
When
Christ was CRUCIFIED, we were CRUCIFIED “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.
q
When
Christ DIED on the cross, we DIED “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.
q
When
Christ was BURIED in the tomb, we were BURIED “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.
q
When
Christ was BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE ,we were BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.
q
When
Christ ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN ,we ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.”
q
When
Christ SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF
THE FATHER TO RULE AND REIGN, we SAT DOWN AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER TO RULE AND REIGN “TOGETHER” WITH HIM.
God’s Position Not Ours
I have taught
before on the notion that every believer is automatically “ IN CHRIST”. We must go over this concept, because it is
the foundation for our ‘spiritual position”, or “who we are
in Christ.” What am I talking about when I refer to our “spiritual
position” in Christ? It is the way in
which God through His eyes sees us, regards us, and speaks about us. The Heavenly Father perceives every Christian
believer through the understanding of what the Lord Jesus accomplished for each
of them by His death, burial, and resurrection. We, as people, see ourselves
through the eyes of our circumstances. God
regards us as a finished spiritual product, through the merits and undertakings
of His Son. We give an account of our selves based upon the undertones of
demonic lies, our low self-esteem, past bondages, and our constant failures to
overcome sin. In ninety nine percent of
all cases we judge ourselves as vastly inferior to what the Lord has in mind
for us. God wants to bring us into a
place where we will understand, and live out of all that “WE HAVE BECOME IN CHRIST,” by getting us out
from the mindset of “WHO WE STILL THINK WE ARE IN US.” Our success or failure in experiencing a
complete freedom from sin, hurtful bondages, and the lies of the enemy, is
directly tied up in us living our lives out in accordance to what the Lord
accomplished, and not by what our daily circumstances tell us.
In Christ
q
We know that
the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and the sitting down
of Christ at God’s right hand to reign, ARE ALL HISTORICAL EVENTS. Roughly two thousand years ago, in the succession
of time, theses six incidents left their mark in history. Their historical
occurrences will influence time for all eternity.
q
All
“born again believers”
from the past, the present-day, and the future, were “TOGETHER WITH CHRIST” and
therefore PRESENT AT THESE SIX EVENTS;
q
EVERY
BELIEVER WAS THERE EXACTLY AT THE SAME TIME, AND IN THE VERY SAME LOCATION AS
THE LORD JESUS WAS, when these events took place.
q
THE IMPACT,
AND THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THESE SIX EVENTS UPON THE LORD JESUS’ LIFE, WAS IN
EVERY WAY OUR IMPACT AND OUTCOME.
q The answer lies that every
born again believer IS IN CHRIST!
As I
have taught before, the great Chinese man of God Watchman Nee, has the most magnificent
explanation of what it means to be IN CHRIST.
This is what he said. Envision for
a moment that Christ Jesus is “a book.” You, and I, and every
believer that has and will pass through the pages of global history, is a
piece of paper.
We open the book, slip the piece of paper deep within its pages, and close the book. The piece of paper is now IN THE BOOK! Hence every born again believer is IN CHRIST! Every person, at the moment of his or her conversion, automatically becomes IN CHRIST.
Whatever happened to the book or wherever the book went, will also be the paper’s destiny because it is forevermore in the book. So it is with us, and the Lord Jesus.
Let me give you another Biblical example to clarify further what I am saying.
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Rom 5:12
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through
sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned—
Rom 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s
obedience many will be made righteous.
q
Every person in human civilization is IN
ADAM. Even though billions of us were not yet born when
Adam roamed the face of the earth, spiritually speaking, he and Eve gave birth
to all of us, through a long line of their descendants. Let us look at the result of our being IN
ADAM. Romans five and twelve tells us that sin came
into the world through this one man, Adam. Sin has spread and will continue to
spread to all men and women in civilization causing the eventual death of all
humanity. In other words, the impact
and the outcome that sin had upon Adam have now become our impact and outcome.
Our being IN ADAM has caused us partake “TOGETHER
WITH” him of his sinful nature.
q
However,
at the very moment that any man or a woman becomes “born again,” they have now
become IN CHRIST, and forevermore have partaken TOGETHER WITH
Christ in His life, death, resurrection and ruler ship.
God
Bless You,
Jose Alvarez