In Christ

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

In Christ 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

Last May when we were here, we shared about the spiritual excellence of 3, particularly from Colossians 

1 Colossians 1:25-29

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

My favorite verse is Colossians 1:27: Christ in you, the hope of glory. This speaks of something far greater than our initial salvation experience of being born-again. It speaks of the spiritual development, the growth, the maturity of the believer. It speaks of the fullness of Christ being formed within the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit ... His nature, His character, being fully formed within us. Paul says his objective was to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 

The Greek word translated as perfect is teleios, that which has reached its end or nothing beyond. In truth, is nothing beyond the fullness of Christ for the Father has purposed that. 

Colossians 1:16-19 

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Ephesians 1:10

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him:

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

There are two basic Greek words translated as "new" in English.

Neos means new as to time. Kainos means new as to quality. 

In Verse 17 above, the word is kainos, or new as to quality. 

What the Lord is about is not to take natural man, save him, and make him more like Christ. That is not the Lord's purpose or plan. Whenever man corrupts what the Lord has done, He never makes that thing better; rather He replaces that corrupt thing with something else. The first Adam and the last Adam; the Levitical priesthood and the priesthood after the order of Melchisedec, the first covenant and a new covenant, the first man and the second man, the old covenant and the new covenant. Let us remember what Jesus said about Himself. 

John 5:19

... Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 8:38

I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 

Jesus said that He only did that which He saw the Father do. He only spoke that which He heard from the Father. Can we say or do anything else?

Perhaps there has never been a time such as now when there was more of what is called Christian service, when there was so much organization, machinery, advertisement, expenditure of time and energy in Christian enterprise; but it is doubtful if there ever was as little real spiritual effectiveness. The basic question is, how much of all this proceeds directly by revelation and initiation from God by the Holy Spirit? 

The measure of the real work of God accomplished through it is the measure of the identification of the instrument with Christ. There may be much which looks like success and impresses with a sense of real accomplishment, but when the fire has done its work it may be found that the real fruit as compared to the apparent is very small in the long run, the flesh profiteth nothing, though it may seem to get great results. 

Christ in you, the hope of glory is indeed a wonderful process. It is a mystery, but one which has been made known to His people. However, let us consider the other aspect of this mystery ... the believer in Christ. This likewise means far more than being born again and going to heaven one day. Let us consider what it means to be in Christ. Is that simply a doctrinal statement that we all can agree with but which has little application in reality?

Ephesians 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Very few phrases, if any, which occur in the New Testament more often than in Christ. It sometimes varies in translations when "by" and "through" and "with" are used. Sometimes the form is changed, such as in Christ Jesus, or in Him, or in Whom, but in all of the more than 200 times the phrase occurs, the principle is the same.

In the whole range of Christian doctrine or belief, nothing is more expressive, and yet nothing less understood and appreciated. We believers use the phrase often without really knowing the full extent of the meaning, much less appropriating it. Consider the following, which is only a partial list.

Life, our hope, our redemption, our faith, our rejoicing, the truth, one body, peace, the promises, our righteousness, our acceptance, all spiritual blessings, our purpose, our sanctification, wisdom, simplicity, salvation, grace, the prize of the high calling, the love of God, the law of the Spirit of life, we are complete, and in the eternity to come, we are to be glorified together in Christ.

We all are aware that no man could ever live up to the law, except for Jesus, who fulfilled the law. Likewise, all of the above, which is nothing more than quoting Scripture, helps us to recognize that no man can live the Christian life. There is only One Who can live that life, and that is Christ Himself. We must have such an experiential incorporation into Him that He lives His life through us as members of one body such that,

Galatians 2:20 

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

Philippians 1:21 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

The phrase, in Christ, or a similar one, describes the essence of the life of every Christian. The phrase "in Christ" occurs 12 times in Verses 1-13 of Ephesians 1. It refers to the spiritual union of Christ with His body, the body of Christ. 

Ephesians 4:20-21

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

The phrase in Christ as Paul uses it has to do uniquely and specifically with the risen Christ. Only once does Paul use the phrase in Jesus. The phrase in Jesus describes and expresses a physical relationship which is dependent on space and time. The truth which is in Jesus is the truth lived and taught by Jesus on earth before his resurrection and exaltation.

The phrase in Christ on the other hand, describes a spiritual relationship to a Person not limited by time and space, a relationship to the ever living Christ and the omnipresent risen Lord. To be taught by Him is for the believer to learn from the risen Christ and to hear the voice of the living Christ in his heart. Ephesians brings out the full light of the position in Christ from the standpoint of God's eternal counsel.

So again, what does it mean to be in Christ? Before attempting to answer that question, let us consider another principle. In John, Chapter 4, Jesus said He must needs go through Samaria. Why? because He knew that He was to meet a specific Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. How did Jesus know that? How did Jesus know that He was to raise Lazarus from the dead? Now some may say, but brother, Jesus knew everything! Then the question becomes, why did Jesus know everything?

Luke 4:1

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luke 4:14

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

The first thing Jesus did was to go to Nazareth, where He was born, to minister to those in His home town. 

Luke 4:24-27

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

How did Elijah know that he was sent only to one specific widow woman? How did Elisha know that he was to be used to cleanse Naaman the Syrian and no other leper? Acts 3 records the healing of the lame man by Peter and John. How did they know they were to heal that specific man? First of all, let us reflect on what Jesus said.

John 14:9-12

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Jesus said that He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. Jesus knew what the Father was saying and doing because He abode in the Father. We will come back to the greater works shortly.

John 8:38 

I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

John 12:49

For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

Now some may say, but brother, I am not Jesus. I do not have that same relationship with the Lord as He has with the Father. The question is, Why not?

John 10:9 

I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

John 15:4-8

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

The secret to fellowship and fruitfulness in the Christian life is abiding in Christ. We must know in our spirit just what Christ is doing, the means which He will use, and His time for it. This is the realm in which the Church lived in apostolic times as recorded in Acts.

Note that there are two abidings, not one. This does not speak of salvation; it is communion, the communion of the Holy Ghost; it is fellowship with Him. We are to live such lives that Christ will continue to abide in us. This is our responsibility. You cannot separate these two abidings because it is necessary for this vital union in Christ. 

The iron of the blacksmith is in the fire and also the fire is in the iron. Likewise, we must experientially realize our position in Christ through the Cross before Christ can manifest Himself through us.

Now the question arises, what does it mean to abide in Him? Or how do we ensure that we abide in Him? We abide by being available to Him and being obedient to His Word. The Holy Spirit applies His word to our daily lives and the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us of all sin - this is the Father's pruning effort upon our daily lives.

Without Christ the most eloquent preaching and Bible discussion will be like a mist that quickly evaporates into thin air. Without Him we can do nothing, we cannot even take our next breath except by His grace. Let these words penetrate to the depths of your soul. I am nothing; Christ is everything. 

To abide in Christ is a conscious experience. The fact that our lives are producing the fruit of the Spirit demonstrates that we are in Christ and abiding in Him. Fruit of Christ's character in us is expressed in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When our Lord says: Abide in Me He is talking about our will, about the choices and the decisions we make. It is a deliberate choice we make whereby we decide to do that which exposes us to Him and keeps us in contact with Him. We have been placed into Christ by the Holy Spirit. Now we must choose to maintain that fellowship by the decisions we make. We choose to expose ourselves to His Word in order to learn about Him and to relate to Him. 

To remain in union with Christ, to abide in Christ, to dwell or continue in Him implies we are already in Him. To abide in Christ is for those who are already in Christ. Spiritual growth is making real in our daily experience what is already true for us in Christ. Our progressive sanctification is an ever putting off all that belongs to the old man, and putting on all that belongs to the new man in Christ. John the Baptist said, He must increase and I must decrease. We cannot become a mature believer and live anyway we choose.

Romans Chapter 7 pictures every Christian's spiritual battle in progress. Our old nature, though judged and condemned in the death of Christ, forever revolts against the sentence of death. It struggles daily to regain its lost supremacy. A true revelation of the worthlessness of the natural man in God's sight has always been a necessary prelude to anointing for service.

Moses: I cannot

Job: I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes

Isaiah: woe is me

Jeremiah: I am but a child

Peter: I am a sinful man

Paul: In me dwelleth no good thing

... are typical of all who have been called of God. These expressions are the result of the application of the true meaning of the cross.

Any believer who is in Christ not only has died with Christ, but is bound to die daily with Him so long as he is in the flesh. When I (my old nature) am weak then He is strong. The believer is always bearing about in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus. We are new creatures in Christ whose inward man is renewed day by day.

The cross and the resurrection of Christ extend their influence and power over the Christian's life until the day we are presented perfect to our Father in heaven. There is the mortifying, suppressing, subjecting the natural man, and the nurturing, renewing and developing the spiritual man who lives within.

In the crucifixion of the old man we make the death of Christ our own. The carnal mind must always be delivered up to death for Christ's sake. This is our life-long experience. If we are to become like Christ in our daily practice, we must subdue our sinful desires, behaviors and bring them under the influence of the cross. We are to have the same mind of Christ. Anything that is opposed to Christ in our lives must die.

The Holy Spirit is always bringing us to the surrender of self in all its forms to the will of God. However, no amount of self-denial of the old nature will make us holier, unless we are brought at the same time into a deeper intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Self-denial creates voids in our soul that must be replaced with Christ and divine affection. It is our desire to appropriate the eternal life Jesus has given us. This new life in Christ creates within the believer a hunger and thirst for more of Him. Meditation on the Word of God and contemplation of the character of Christ promotes that end. In the process He conforms us to the likeness of Christ until we have attained the fullness of the stature of Christ, His life constantly imparted and His character reflected in our lives.

Daily communion with Jesus is a certain way of overcoming sin in our lives. Then, one day the battle will be over and we cease from our putting off and putting on, and we are presented spotless in Christ.

Revelation 3:12

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.

1 Corinthians 15:53-55

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Now if we can return to the statement that Jesus made when He said, greater works than these shall ye do because I go to the Father. What are those greater works?

Acts 5:14-15

14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Acts 19:10-12

10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

In the final analysis, we must identify experientially with Christ 

What is true of the Head must be true of the members of the body. What is true of the Vine must be true of the branches. What is true of the Last Adam must be true of every member of His race.

There can be no resting of the Holy Spirit in and upon believers except as we allow ourselves to be incorporated into Christ crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended. For Elisha to receive the double portion of his master's spirit he must pass through Jordan with him and be with him in the place of ascension.

If we are to appear with Christ in glory we must have a life already hid with Christ in God, and ourselves be dead to things on the earth.

Colossians 3:1-3

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.