Worship led by Ken Cowell
Philippians 3. 8-9 What is more, I consider everything but a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I might gain Christ 9. And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and his by faith.
If someone asked me where I live my first answer would be Crawley. But that isn’t enough to find and meet me. To do that you must go to 18, Constable Road Crawley where I live and where my home is. If we were asked you where is our spiritual home, how would we answer? Most of us would probably say Lee Street Church Horley. But is that your real spiritual home? If we asked Paul where his spiritual home was. From this passage he would boldly answer it is “found in him.” To put it more clearly he would say it is “in Christ.”
The most common name for a Christian in the New Testament is described as “a person in Christ.” Paul uses the term “in Christ” over 160 times in his letters. To be “in Christ” does not mean to be inside Christ like tools are in a box or clothes in a closet, but it is to be organically united to Christ as a limb in the body or a branch is in a tree. It is a personal relationship with Christ where I share his life. In the bible Christ is often described as the bridegroom and believer as the bride or he is the vine and we are the branches. To be “in Christ” with an intimate relationship is with him is our true spiritual home.
There is a big difference between person being “in Christ” and being a follower of Christianity. The first is a personal relationship with Christ but the second is just following the Christian religion. My spiritual home and source of life isn’t in Lee Street church but in Jesus Christ. The phrase to be “in Christ” is the very essence of being a Christian and the Christian life. Paul in Colossians 3.3. says, “you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” In other words God doesn’t see me me any more in my sin but in his Son. I am hidden in Christ. My new identity, new life and every blessing I have is because I am “in Christ.” It’s all about Christ and not about me. Let’s praise God for this wonderful union we have in Jesus.
936 My life is in You, Lord
Prayer
There are many blessings given to us because we are “in Christ.” The one mentioned in the text here is a righteousness given to us by God. It is not given because of our good works but through our faith in Christ. Not only through Christ’s death and resurrection have our sins been forgiven but we have also been clothed in His righteousness making us fully acceptable before God. That is how God sees us this morning “in Christ.” God also “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1.3 ) Let’s marvel and worship about our being “in Christ.”
1346 In Christ alone my hope is found.
Our response to being “in Christ” is one of praise and joy.
44 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Fanny Crosby, who wrote the hymn, caught an eye infection when she was 6 weeks old and through incompetent medical treatment became blind for the rest of her life. That didn’t stop her from living a life of joy and praise as she wrote over 800 hymns one of which is Blessed Assurance, one of her most well-known ones. She obviously knew the blessing of being “in Christ” as we can see from the third verse.
“Blessed submission all is at rest.
I in my Saviour am happy and blessed,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness and lost in his love.”
Alpha (6) – video and discussion groups on the subject “Why and how should I read the Bible?”
Notices
- The speaker next week will be Ken Cowell
- The annual church Members Meeting will be at 12 noon on Sunday 25th February 2024.