Ask Dr. Couch

Dr. Couch, what does it mean “To be IN Christ?”


The Greek preposition IN (en, “to be in [en] Christ”) is used in Paul's letters 164 times. And the same expression is used by John in the Upper Room Discourse 12 times. This expression is real but it is also a mystical expression that may be difficult to fully describe. The great Greek scholar Deissmann says this of the preposition en and the expression “To be in Christ”: 

There cannot be any doubt that “Christ in me” means the exalted Christ living in Paul … and Paul in Christ. Christ, the exalted Christ is Spirit. Therefore, He can live in Paul and Paul in Him.” A. T. Robertson adds: “This mystic relation is likened to the air that is in us and yet we are in it.” -- Dr. Mal Couch (6/12)