Being And Living In Christ by Maxie Dunnam

In my last article I introduced the fact that “In Christ” is the central category of Paul’s thinking. This phrase, “in Christ,” or “in Christ Jesus,” is used by Paul in his letters 169 times. His definition of a Christian is an illustration of this. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

We continue our thinking. Persons who are in Christ are people in whom a new principle of life has been implanted.

I think of that in two ways. First, from the perspective of what we might call imitation, then from the perspective of immersion.

There is a sense in which the Christian walk is an imitation of Christ – a call to walk as Christ walked. Isn’t that the way it should be with Christians? “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”(Col.2:6)

There are all sorts of legends and fairy tales about people who pretended to be someone they weren’t – but one day they actually became that person they pretended to be. And there’s truth in that. Someone may say that it’s hypocrisy – pretending to be someone you really aren’t. But not in the Christian walk – when we walk in Christ, we seek to walk as Christ would walk. And, as Martin Luther would say, “We actually become little Christs.”

So, there is a sense in which the Christian walk is an imitation of Christ.

But it’s more than that. We must go beyond the imitation of Christ to immerse ourselves in Christ. Persons in Christ are people in whom a new principle of life has been implanted.

Conversion to Christ without immersion in Christ is a perversion of the Gospel. Stop. Don’t continue reading until you read that sentence again –

Conversion to Christ without immersion in Christ is a perversion of the Gospel. 

Persons in Christ are people in whom a new principle of life has been implanted.

You can remember those key words. Conversion, immersion, perversion. My hope is that remembering those three words will bring awareness of the whole thought. Conversion to Christ without immersion in Christ is a perversion of the Gospel.

John A. Mackay, former Dean of Princeton University Theological Seminary, has captured the truth with succinct clarity in just two sentences: “We receive Jesus Christ without cost because of what he has done for us, but it becomes costly business to receive him, because of what he will do in us.” And then the second sentence, “God’s free grace in Jesus Christ, to which faith responds, becomes costly grace when Christ takes command.” (God’s Order: The Ephesian Letter and This Present Time, New York: The McMillan Company, 1953, p. 111).

Now what that means in a practical way is that our choice is not whether we will be new persons or not – that is a matter of grace. Christ makes us new creatures. Our choice is whether we will start to become new persons. It is our choice to start that gives Grace the opportunity to make us new persons.

The start requires the two things we have indicated: requires imitation and immersion. We begin to walk as we think Christ would have us walk, and we immerse ourselves in Christ – that is we surrender ourselves to His Spirit within, and allow His grace to make us, in fact, the new persons we already are, in principle.

“All on my own,” you may be thinking and asking. Not at all! Paul, the person who most clearly and powerful sounded this in Christ reality speaks for all of us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I’m sure you know people as I know – a young woman who is just finding it – a life in Christ and a source of strength to rear three little children alone; a 45 year old man who is suddenly alone because of the death of his wife – but is not going it alone – Christ dwells in him; I could name five recovering alcoholics who make it one day at a time and they would tell you they make it by the power of Christ.  

Scores of people are serving God’s people in need in my community with a love not their own. It is the love of Jesus in them. Many of them are new at this and could not have pictured themselves loving and serving in this fashion even a year ago. There are persons who are breaking out of prisons of prejudice, and are beginning to think in terms of brotherhood and community. They will tell you it’s not their doing; that they’ve been as racist as any of us – but something new is operating within them – a new source of strength.

I close this article the way I began. Remember the story I repeated in the beginning – about three year old Ryan – and Jesus walking around inside. When I told that story to a group some time ago, Tom, our Director of Youth Ministries, told me a similar experience he had had with his then four-year old son, Thomas. 

Tom and Thomas were playing doctor. Tom held the stethoscope to his own heart so Thomas could listen. He got still and quiet. “What do you hear?”Tom asked.

Four-year old Thomas said, “It’s Jesus; He’s walking around.” But then he added. “Dad, why can’t Jesus get out?”

That says something about the mystery of the indwelling Christ. He dwells within – but He does get out. He gets out in power and his presence is known through us to others, when we walk in Christ.