In Christ: Your Identity Holds in Every Circumstance

Introduction

Second message in the series on identity in Christ. Ben had opened the previous week on "created in the image of God." Thierry continues here by pausing on a small phrase that Paul repeats constantly in the New Testament: "in Christ." Three words that, read quickly, slip by without leaving a trace, but that actually describe the new spiritual reality of the Christian. Thierry opens up the meaning of the word "Christ," recalls what Jesus accomplished at the cross, then unfolds four concrete implications for your life: salvation is in Christ, you are in Christ, you are a member of one body in Christ, and you stand firm in Christ in every circumstance.

Message Outline

1. Christ: the one who received the anointing

• The word "Christ" (Greek Christos) means "anointed," the one who received the anointing. It translates the Hebrew Machiah, Messiah.
• Under the first covenant, three categories of people received anointing to enter their service: prophets (1 Kings 19:16), priests (Exodus 40:13-15), and kings (1 Samuel 10:1).
• In the Old Testament, no one ever held all three offices at the same time. Jesus is the only one who sums them up in his own person: prophet, priest, and king.
• When Jesus comes to earth, the messianic expectation of the people of Israel is strong: under the yoke of an invader, God has been silent for centuries, and the people await the deliverer.
• Jesus is not simply a man adopted by God (that is the heresy of adoptionism). He is God who strips himself of his divinity and comes among us as a simple man, grows up, becomes aware of who he is, enters his ministry, and goes all the way to the cross.

2. Salvation is in Christ

• On the cross, Jesus "cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands" (Colossians 2:14). This accusing document is the law that condemns us, that decrees that we deserve death and separation from God.
• He does not cancel the law, he cancels its effect against you. And he goes further: "he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:15). The enemy, the accuser, who thought he had the victory by pushing the Romans, the Jewish priests, and the crowd to have Jesus nailed to the cross, finds himself stripped of all power.
• This is what Paul develops in Romans 6:3-4: in baptism, you are buried with Christ in his death and raised with him to walk in newness of life. Water baptism is not what makes this reality true: it illustrates what happened 2,000 years ago when Jesus carried you with him into the tomb, then out of the tomb.
• Galatians 2:16: we are declared righteous before God not by works of the law, but by faith placed in Christ Jesus. The Greek carries a nuance here that often goes unnoticed in translation: it is not only "the faith of Christ," it is faith placed toward, in Christ. Paul shows you the way: to be in Christ, you must first place your trust in Jesus.
• Jesus took every step he could take to open wide the doors of salvation for you. There remains one step that belongs to you alone: placing your trust in him. The Holy Spirit may be knocking at the door of your heart this morning. What you know is not enough. What you are familiar with is not enough. The Lord wants your faith to become a reality for you, not something you adhere to from a distance.

3. The Christian is in Christ

• Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set me free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
• When you are in Christ, you are no longer under condemnation. Jesus's victory at the cross cuts off the condemnation under which you were living.
• 2 Timothy 2:10 sums it up: salvation is in Christ Jesus.

4. We form one body in Christ

• Romans 12:5: "So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."
• In an individualistic society that shapes us, we need to hear this again: the Church is not an association we join because we share a common project or philosophy. It is a spiritual reality. It is not us who choose one another, Jesus chose us and put us together, here, in Paris, in 2026.
• Isaiah 53:6: "we all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned; every one; to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." At the cross, Jesus, without sin, takes our sin upon himself, he becomes the fuse that takes the lightning strike. And those who were straying then form a flock, a people walking in step together.
• To be a tree, you need roots planted in a plot of ground. To be a Christian, you need to live within a local church. The best is to be in Christ and rooted in a local church with other brothers and sisters.
• Whatever the circumstances, we are in Christ with one another. You can count on your brothers and sisters: praying for one another, supporting one another, acting for one another.

5. In Christ in every circumstance

• Galatians 3:26-28: you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, no longer slave nor free, no longer male nor female. You are all one in Christ Jesus.
• The reality of being in Christ sweeps away many walls of separation. There is not one chosen people and one unloved people: there is one humanity that God loves. Paul, a Jew raised in rigorist thinking, comes to write this after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
• In a society where slavery was structural, the Gospel breaks in and puts together free men and slaves who share the same faith. It shakes the gradation between human beings, between those considered human and those who are not.
• "You are all one in Christ Jesus": there is Christ, the head; and there is the Church made up of men, women, children, the elderly, the young, from different backgrounds, different circles, different professions. Jesus looks upon each one the same way. In his eyes, you have the same value as your neighbor.
• You who think the opposite today: on Jesus's part, he loves you, and you have precious value in his eyes. He wants you to become aware of it, to receive it, and to believe it.
• "You have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). When you come to Christ, it is like a coat you put on yourself. Revelation speaks of the saints who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). Christ covers you with his coat of righteousness, he declares you righteous.
• Jesus alluded to this covering with the image of Jerusalem: "how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (Matthew 23:37). Day after day, Jesus is like a hen gathering her chick under her wing. "It's not glorious," Thierry admits, "we'd prefer the Lion of the tribe of Judah." But in daily life, the image of a hen gathering her chick under her wing is reassuring more than once.
• One last image, drawn from a vision received in prayer with the elders: Jesus standing in the boat (Matthew 8:23-26). He gets into the boat with his disciples, a great storm arises, the boat is swamped by the waves, and he is sleeping. The disciples wake him: "Lord, save us." He gets up, rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is a great calm.
• Jesus is in your boat. You have put on Christ, he is with you. No circumstance can strip you of this coat. If you are going through a storm right now, even if it seems to you that he is sleeping and doing nothing, he is watching, "he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). He is the one who can, in an instant, silence the storm and transform your circumstances.
• Philippians 4:6-7: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
• 2 Timothy 2:1: "You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus." We strengthen ourselves by encouraging one another, in reading the Word, in prayer. Whatever the circumstances, in Christ, he watches over you.

Key Takeaways

• "Christ" means "anointed." Jesus alone sums up in his person the three offices of the anointed in the Old Testament: prophet, priest, and king.
• Salvation is in Christ, not in religious performance: Jesus cancelled the accusing record of the law at the cross (Colossians 2:14) and disarmed the powers that thought they had won.
• Being in Christ is a spiritual reality: no more condemnation, a new identity, a coat of righteousness that covers you.
• You are not alone: Jesus put you together with brothers and sisters in a local church, like a tree planted in a plot of ground.
• Whatever the circumstances, Jesus is in your boat. Even if he seems to be sleeping, he is watching and he holds your heart steady.

Personal Application

1. Is "in Christ" for you a religious phrase or a reality lived out daily? Where is the gap?
2. Is there an "accusing record" you are still carrying even though Jesus cancelled it at the cross? A condemnation, a memory, a past sin that follows you?
3. Are you rooted in a local church, or only a "solo Christian"? What would be the next root to plant this week?
4. Who in your community can you concretely count on this week, and who is counting on you?
5. What storm are you going through today where Jesus seems to be sleeping in the boat? How can you tell him again of your trust without giving in to worry?

Scripture References

• 1 Kings 19:16 — Anointing of the prophet Elisha
• Exodus 40:13-15 — Anointing of Aaron and the priests
• 1 Samuel 10:1 — Anointing of King Saul
• Colossians 2:14-15 — The accusing record cancelled
• Romans 6:3-4 — Buried and raised with Christ
• Romans 6:11 — Dead to sin, alive to God in Christ
• Galatians 2:16 — Declared righteous by faith in Christ
• Romans 8:1 — No more condemnation in Christ
• Romans 12:5 — One body in Christ
• Isaiah 53:6 — The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all
• Galatians 3:26-28 — All one in Christ Jesus
• Revelation 7:14 — Washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb
• Matthew 23:37 — As a hen gathers her chicks
• Matthew 8:23-26 — Jesus calms the storm
• Philippians 4:6-7 — The peace that guards your hearts in Christ
• 2 Timothy 2:1 — Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus

Further reading

• Which Book of the Bible Should You Start With?
• One-Year Bible Reading Plan
• Taking Notes During Your Bible Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it concretely mean to "be in Christ"?

"In Christ" is not a mystical formula: it is the spiritual reality of the Christian who has passed from a life without God to new life. This reality was made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus. When you place your trust in him, you are buried with him in his death and raised with him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). Concretely: no more condemnation for you (Romans 8:1), you are clothed with his coat of righteousness, you belong to his body which is the Church, and he holds you steady in every circumstance.

Do you absolutely have to belong to a local church to be in Christ?

You are in Christ by faith, not by belonging to a parish. But Thierry insists: "to be a tree, you need roots planted in a plot of ground. To be a Christian, you need to live within a local church." This is the New Testament's recommendation, we are members of one another, members of one body in Christ (Romans 12:5). The best is to be in Christ and rooted in a local church, with brothers and sisters to count on and who can count on you.

If Jesus is with me, why do I still feel like he's asleep when the storm comes?

This is exactly the disciples' experience in the boat in Matthew 8. The boat is swamped by the waves, and he is sleeping. They wake him, he gets up, rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is a great calm. Jesus has never stopped watching — "he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). The impression that he is sleeping is sometimes just our reading of the situation. The text does not promise you the absence of storms; it promises you that Jesus is in the boat with you and that he can, in an instant, transform your circumstances. Philippians 4:6-7 draws out the application: instead of worrying, present your needs to God, and his peace will guard your heart in Christ Jesus.