A mysterious unity
Paul’s writings imply a mysterious unity between Christ and the believer:
โI have been crucified with Christโ (Gal 2:20).
โChrist lives in meโ (Gal 2:20).
All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christโ (Gal 3:27).
In Christ
Phrases such as โby faith in the Son of Godโ (Gal 2:20) and โthrough faith in Christ Jesusโ (Gal 2:16; 3:26) are often understood as indicating a single concept, namely belief in Christ. However, the phrase โin Christโ is also used on its own. For example, “you are all one in Christ” (Gal 3:28). For that reason, it is possible to separate a phrase such as “through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26) into two concepts:
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- “”through faith” and
- “In Christ.”
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Consequently, the phrase โin Christโ has a separate meaning by itself.ย For example:
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- โIn Christ,โ the blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles (Gal 3:14, 29).
- โIn Christ,โ we have liberty from the law (Gal 2:4).
- โIn Christ,โ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything (Gal 5:6).
- โIn Christ,โ are we seeking to be justified (Gal 2:17).
- โIn Christ,โ there is no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gal 3:28).
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For example:
The NASB translates Galatians 3:26 as follows:
โyou are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.โ
The NIV recognizes the distinctive meaning of the phrase โin Christโ and separates the phrases โin Christโ and โthrough faithโ by translating this verse as follows:
โIn Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.โ
In this way, the NASB phrase โthrough faith in Christ Jesusโ is divided into two concepts:
Through Faith
The first concept is faith, which may be faith in Christ or faith in God. For instance, Abraham received the promise โthrough the righteousness of faithโ (Rom 4:13), but he did not literally have faith in Christ because he did not know about Christ; at least not as clearly as we do today.
In Christ
The second is the โin Christโ concept, referring to the mysterious unity between Christ and the believer.ย We should not think of ourselves as separate from Christ. As Paul explains in Galatians 3:16 and 19, the promises that were made to Abraham were actually made to and inherited by Christ. Christians are, metaphorically speaking, inside Christ, and only share in the promises โin Christ Jesus.โ
Conclusion
The point is perhaps that we should not underestimate the value of the Cross. Christ is the Vehicle through which we are saved. He โgave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Fatherโ (Gal 1:4). Without Christ, there would not have been any rescue.
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Listen to Graham Maxwell, a well-known preacher, as he explains, from the letter to the Galatians, his view of the Atonement and of Justification.