"In Christ"

"A very small key may open a very complex lock and a very large door, and that door may itself lead into a vast building with priceless stores of wealth and beauty. This brief phrase - a preposition followed by a proper name - is the key to the whole New Testament. Those two short words, "in Christ", are, without doubt, the most important ever written, even by an inspired pen, to express the mutual relation of the believer and Christ. They occur, with their equivalents, "in Him", or "in whom", over one hundred and thirty times. Such repetition must have intense meaning. When in the Word of God a phras6 like this occurs so often and with such manifold applications, it cannot be a matter of accident; there is a deep design. God's Spirit is bringing a truth of the highest importance before us, repeating for the sake of emphasis, compelling even a careless reader to give heed to its vital teaching." (A. T. Pierson)

unknown | Dec 1974
General