According to scholars, the phrases “in Christ”, “with Christ”,
“in Him” and other similar phrases are used over 200 times in the New
Testament. In other words, as we read
our Bibles, we come across these phrases all the time. But if you are like me, you have spent years
reading these phrases but very little time stopping and thinking what these
phrases mean. Over the past few weeks,
in the midst of preaching a series of sermons on our unity in Christ, that is
what I have had the privilege of doing.
I have been able to spend some time marinating my soul in what is means
for me to be “in Christ.”
One of the resources that has been a blessing to me has been
Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book, Found in Him:
The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ. I will admit, I began reading this book as a “work-related”
exercise to prepare for a series of sermons.
What I ended up with was a book that challenged me to deeply re-evaluate
what it means for me to be found “in Christ.”
Fitzpatrick’s book is wonderfully centered on Jesus. If you are looking for a self-help book
focused on your struggles, this is not it.
Rather, the focus of the book is intentionally on Jesus in order to help
us see who Jesus is and what He has done.
The book reminds us of who we are in Jesus. And in focusing on Jesus, his life, his
sacrifice and his victory, Fitzpatrick reminds us how those things are meant to
encourage and empower us in our daily struggles. If you believe that Jesus has an answer to
the struggles in your life, than Found In Him will help you see how the work of
Jesus speaks to those struggles.
The book is broken down into two main sections. The first six chapters focus on the
incarnation of Jesus Christ. Starting
with Jesus’ pre-existence and moving into his birth, his life, his death and
his resurrection victory, Fitzpatrick brings home to the reader how Jesus’ work
on earth impacts them. My favorite part
was then she focused on Jesus’ life and discussed how Jesus spent every minute
of every hour of every day focused on satisfying the demands of the Jewish law
so he could present himself to God as a sinless, perfect sacrifice for our
sakes. This quote hit home for me: “Everything
that you’ve left undone, He did for you.
Every sin you’ve committed, he joyfully shunned out of love for you.”
(p. 61)
The second part of the book is centered on our union with
Christ. What kind of relationship do
Christians have with Jesus right now?
What does it mean that Jesus is our representative, our brother in the
eternal family of God, and our husband?
The last one is especially difficult for us guys. Jesus as our husband? We are okay with that idea on a corporate
level – we agree that church is the bride of Christ. But on an individual level, the idea kind of
wierds us out a bit. But Fitzpatrick
does a great job explaining it, laying out the biblical basis and then
reminding us that this “marriage” is about unity and us being in submission to
Christ, who is the head of the church. I’ll
admit, while I read that section, I was a bit uncomfortable. But any discomfort I felt was my problem –
Scripture is clear that believers are found in a forever marriage relationship
with their husband, Jesus Christ.
Found in Him is a relatively easy read, but there is much to
digest. Let the biblical truths Elyse
Fitzpatrick lays out saturate your soul.
Let what Jesus did for our sake nourish your spirit. Let the meaning of our union with Christ
penetrate your life. After reading this
book, may you never read the phrase “in Christ” the same way again.
