In Christ, how does God see me?
The phrase "in Christ" appears several times in the Bible (1 Peter 5:14; Philippians 1:1; Romans 8:1). "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God," according to Colossians 3:3. He exchanges our sin for His righteousness when we come to Christ as broken sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We are even called His children if we repent and accept Jesus' death on our behalf (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26). God no longer sees our flaws; instead, He sees His own Son's righteousness (Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 8:12). God sees Christ's righteousness covering us because we are in Him. Our sin debt is forgiven, our relationship with God is restored, and our eternal destiny is assured only "in Christ" (John 3:16–18; 20:31). God sees me as a new creation in Christ: "Therefore, whoever is in Christ is a new creation." The old has gone, and the new has arrived" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have peace with God and are righteous in His eyes (verses 17–21). Rather than seeing my sin, God sees His Son's righteousness. He considers me to be righteous, redeemed, sanctified, and even glorified (see Romans 8:30).
We learn some of the ways God sees us in Christ in Ephesians 1:3–14. "Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places has been bestowed upon us in Christ," says God (verse 3). We have everything we require. "Be holy and blameless before [God]," we have been chosen (verse 4). Because we are in Christ, we are seen as holy and blameless (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18).
We have been predestined "for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ," according to Ephesians 1:5. This means that God considers me to be His child (John 1:12–13). "To the glory of [God's] glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved," says the author (Ephesians 1:6). God sees me in Christ and loves me, lavishing His abundant gifts and the "riches of his grace" on me (verses 7–8).
God sees me in Christ as a heavenly treasure heir (Ephesians 1:11; cf. Romans 8:17). God considers me to be His forever possession. He sealed me with the Holy Spirit as a "guarantee of our inheritance until we obtain possession of it, to the glory of God" (Ephesians 1:13–14).
God sees me as His creation (Psalm 139:13–16; cf. Ephesians 2:10), His friend (James 2:23), and a chosen one, "holy and beloved" (Colossians 3:12). He sees me as "dead to sin" (Romans 6:11) but "raised with Christ" (Colossians 3:1); as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16); as a living stone placed by a Master Builder (1 Peter 2:5); as part of "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession" (verse 9); and as one of the world's "foreigners and exiles" (verse 11). "He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care," God says of me (Psalm 95:7).
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