Why does the Bible say that we are “in the Lord,” “in Christ,” and “in Christ Jesus,” but never “in Jesus” or “in Jesus Christ”?
Although 1 Thessalonians 4:14 says in Chinese, “So also those who have fallen asleep in Jesus,” it should be translated according to the Greek as follows: “So also those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.” There is no place in the Bible where we can find a phrase such as in Jesus or in Jesus Christ. The Bible always says “in the Lord,” “in Christ,” or “in Christ Jesus.” This matter is greatly related to redemption and us.
Jesus is the name the Lord received at His birth. It is His lowly name as a man. Christ is the name He received when He was anointed by God after His resurrection (Acts 2:36). It is His name in glory.
Jesus Christ means that the lowly Jesus is the One who is the Christ, while Christ Jesus means that the One who is now Christ is the One who was Jesus.
The Bible does not use the phrase in Jesus or in Jesus Christ because we are not united with the Lord in His living on the earth. We have no union with Him as the Son of Man. Jesus is His name as the Son of Man. He is the Man above all men. His virtues and beauty pertain to His being the Son of Man. We are not united with Him in such a life. The Bible never says that we share His sufferings on the earth. The meaning of Jesus is Savior. We are not united with Jesus, because we do not share in His work of saving men.
Saying “in the Lord,” “in Christ,” and “in Christ Jesus” indicates that Christ has resurrected from the dead and that God has made Him both Lord and Christ. Since we share in His resurrection, we also share in Christ Himself. God has put us in His resurrection. Our subjective experience is in His resurrection.
Jesus is an individual name, while Christ is both an individual and a corporate name. “For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). This verse is not speaking of Christ and the church, but simply of “Christ.” The Head is Christ, and the Body is also Christ. This is the corporate Christ. The Bible only has the title “Christian,” not “Jesusian.” Christian means “Christ-man.” In other words, a Christian is a part of Christ. There is only a “Christ-man,” not a “Jesus-man.” Jesus refers to His experience on the earth as the Son of Man; His life was miraculous and beyond man’s reach. We are Christ-men. The Head is Christ; the Body is also Christ. If we realize what the word Christ means, we will know how deeply we are united with Him. The Head is Christ; so is the Body. If a person’s little finger is broken off, he has a defect. If a Christian could perish, then Christ would be defective. But we can thank and praise God that Christ could never be defective. Once we are in Christ, we are in Christ forever. “That He [Christ] might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27).
The name Jesus refers to His own personal experience of God sending Him to be the Savior. For this reason, when the Bible refers to Him as a man, the title Jesus is used, but never Christ. However, after His resurrection, He is called either Christ or the Lord. This is to emphasize His resurrection and authority. Although He is addressed with the title Jesus in Acts and in the Epistles several times, these are special references to His humanity. Therefore, when we address Him, we should not simply call Him “Jesus” but “Lord Jesus.”
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