In Christ

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21)

Picture the sequence. Two people meet ... maybe at a cafe or in an alley or wherever. One says, "Did you bring the stuff?" The other nods. "Did you?" Yes. So they hand each other the bag or the attache or whatever they're carrying. Each takes a look at the new one they acquired. "Yep, it's all there." So one walks away with Christ's righteousness having successfully exchanged it for his sin. Silly? Sure. But I think sometimes that's how we unconsciously see this little exchange. Our sin is "something" and Christ's righteousness is "something" and we've made the exchange.

That, of course, makes no sense. So how does it work?

In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus he describes something that Paul says is a great mystery.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is great, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Eph 5:31-32)

We're familiar with the concept, right? "The two shall become one flesh." It has been this way from the beginning (Gen 2:24). Even when it is illicit sex, there is a unifying (1 Cor 6:15-16). This is mysterious and powerful.

So, what happens when two people marry? This is an exchange, but not. It is a mutual sharing. You've heard of "mail-order brides" from other countries that seek American husbands primarily in order to become American citizens. That is, if she marries an American, she becomes an American. Or consider Diana Spencer. "Who?" Oh, you know her as Diana, Princess of Wales. She was born a commoner, but when she married Charles, Prince of Wales, she became a princess, through no merit or effort of her own. She exchanged her common classification for a royal one on the basis of the husband she married. We get that, don't we? A rich person marries a poor, and the poor is no longer poor. Marriage merges people. And Paul says that's a picture of "Christ and the church."

How is it that we became the righteousness of God? We did it by being "in Him" -- in Christ. It wasn't some exchange of stuff. It was a union. It isn't "outside" -- it's inside, the "marriage" with Christ. Just look at the many things that Scripture says about being "in Christ".

[We] are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:23-24)

The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:1)

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Rom 8:2)

[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:39)

We, who are many, are one body in Christ. (Rom 12:5)

By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. (1 Cor 1:30)

And that's just a smattering. "In Christ" is not a location; it's an existence. It is a union, a mysterious union. It is the source of our salvation, the reason we are seen by God as righteous (Phil 3:8-9). "In Christ", in fact, is the definition of our salvation. We don't have some external righteousness handed to us. We "become the righteousness of God in Him." In Christ we are free from condemnation. In Christ all the promises are sure (2 Cor 1:20).

If you think salvation is something handed to you, you're not seeing the scope of it. We become united with Christ. The whole purpose is "to become conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom 8:28-29). Marriage is important, but this union of Christ and His Bride is vital for every aspect of your spiritual life.