God Designed a Special Place for You

God has reserved a place for every person in His Son Jesus Christ. Moses gave us the type and shadow of this In-Christ reality in Exodus 33:21-22. “Here is a place by me and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock…” Jesus Christ is that rock, and every believer gets placed in Christ upon conversion. Paul called this positioning being “in-Christ”. 

Transformation in Christ

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul says “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” These two words “in Christ” are the key to the doctrinal revelation God revealed through Paul. They reveal the method that God used to redeem, save, and transform the believer’s life. Jesus spoke of it in John 15:5 when He said “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” The Amplified translation of 2 Corinthians 5:17 uses the terminology ‘ingrafted’ into Christ. Becoming ingrafted into Christ is what makes us a new creation, a new creature altogether. 

You Were Crucified with Christ

He says old things have passed away! This is because of the disconnection from the previous condition. Romans 6:6 says that our old man was crucified with Christ so that the power of sin could be done away with. Its really good news when some old things are cut off of our lives! Old desires, old habits, old controlling influences completely cut off through the power of the death of Christ. There is a death in the gospel. Not just the death of Christ, but the death of our old nature.

Infused with New Life in Christ

Praise God there is also new life in the gospel! The new life that sprang from the resurrection of Christ into us when we were ingrafted into Him. This ingrafting into the vine of Christ infuses the believer with the very life of God, just as the sap of the vine begins to flow into an ingrafted branch. This makes us begin to bear fruit for God. Ephesians 2:5-6 says that God made us alive together with Christ, raised us up together, and make us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. See there it is! We have our place in Christ. 

The Importance of Seeing It

It is important for us to see these things are true! I want to point out to you that in 2 Corinthians 5:17 it does say ‘behold’, all things are made new. We need to be able to behold these truths in order to cooperate with them intelligently and purposefully. This word ‘behold’ means to stare at, see with the eyes, perceive, or discern clearly. Jesus said when you know the truth, the truth will make you free! 

I pray today that the eyes of your heart will be opened to the truth of who you are and what you have now that you are ingrafted into Christ. You are not who you once were. Those old things are now dead and gone. I pray you can see your new identity in Christ. You see, the life and vitality of Christ Himself flows into you because you have been united to Him. The fruits of righteousness are the natural byproduct of this union. May God bless you richly as you study and meditate upon who you are in Christ!

Jason Haskell is pastor of New Creation Church in Craig and a missionary to the nations. He can be reached at: pastorjason@ncccraig.com.