Look at the Book
Free in Christ Jesus: Romans 8:1–3
In this session of Look at the Book on Romans 8, we're going to focus on the first two verses and in particular the reality of being in Christ. So Father, I ask that all of us who are now looking at this portion of your word together would be united to Christ in a deeper, stronger way and enjoy our standing without condemnation and the power of the Holy Spirit that you've given us. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death. So notice, the first effect of being united to Christ is that there is a legal dimension, of verdict, no condemnation. And the second effect of being in Christ is that the power of the spirit, the law of the spirit of life comes up against the law of sin and death. So law corresponds with the law, spirit with sin, life with death and this authority or power or force or principle of sin is matched by a law, authority, a power force, a principle of the spirit and when it conquers or frees from sin it brings life instead of death. So the two things to notice are this being united to Christ, unleashes a power dimension or sometimes called a transformative dimension and a legal dimension and a verdict of no condemnation. We are going to look next time at this word for and ask how does the fact that the spirit is freeing us from the power of sin support or argue for the fact that there is no condemnation for us. But today I just want us to look at this phrase in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus and ask the question how do you get there? You're jumping into Romans 8 and a lot has been said, especially back in chapter 6. So let's jump around a little bit and answer the question how do you get into Christ? Not everyone is in Christ, those who are in Christ are not everybody. So there's a union with Christ that happens, how does it, how does it happen? This Corinthians 1.30, from God, this is a very, from God. This is a very literal translation, from God you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us, Christ became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption as we've already seen. So here's the answer, from God, because of God, by the work of God. God is the one who unites us, plants us in Christ Jesus. This is not something we make happen, God makes this happen. How does he make it happen? People often say it's baptism. So let's go to that text and see where they get that. So here's Romans 6, 3 through 5. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? So there's the idea of baptism having this agency, baptism into Christ, for we were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ is raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. So baptism here is a portrayal of being buried in water with Christ and rising from the dead as we come out of the water to walk in newness of life. And that baptism is pictured as into Christ Jesus, a being united with Christ Jesus. And the question then becomes, well, are we united to Christ by the water? Is it the water and the act that unites us to Christ? Or is the water and the act a picture of what's happening because of another spiritual dynamic? And to get the answer to that, let's go over here to Colossians 2 and Galatians 2. You have been united, you have been buried with Him in baptism. So same picture as back in Romans 6 in which you were raised with Him through faith. So Paul pictures the event of baptism as portraying realities that happen through faith. So I would say the human, the most basic deep human agency or human experience that corresponds to being buried with Him and into Him is His faith. Or look at Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ. So same reality of being buried with Him, crucified with Him. It is no longer I, so this union with Him makes Christ prominent and dominant and decisive in our lives. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. So the human experience of this dying with Christ and being united with Him in His death and in His resurrection, this human experience that corresponds to that is I live by faith in the Son of God. So if you ask what would be the evidence in me, would be the sign in me that I am united with Christ, it would be faith. Baptism by itself, that is the actual water going over the body or being emerged into the body isn't the spiritually effective agent, it's faith that is the unifying human experience with Christ. And that raises the question, okay, since it said back in 1 Corinthians 1.30 from God, are you in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom and so on? How does God relate to faith? And the answer to that is given here in Ephesians 2, 8 in Romans 6, 17, the answer to that is given here in Ephesians 2, 8 in Romans 6, 17. By grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God and this refers back here to this whole thing including our faith. So our faith is a gift of God, that's how God unites us to Christ. He unites us to Christ and awakens faith. Or here in Romans 6, 17, thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart, that would be the active faith to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. So faith-rooted obedience here is something God gives, thanks be to God that you have had that kind of experience in your heart. So back here to Romans 8, 1 to 3, being in Christ Jesus, being in Christ Jesus is a miracle that happens from God and he does it by uniting us to Christ and awakening faith which leads to no condemnation and power from the Spirit, all of which should be expressed in baptism. So the main thing to notice is this double effect of union with Christ, a verdict, a legal dimension and the power of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit freeing us from sin. You
Paul uses the phrase “in Christ Jesus” 47 times in his letters. What does that crucial phrase mean?