Paul’s most common phrase was ‘in Christ.’ It is a tiny phrase, used almost as frequently as punctuation, yet within it is abbreviated a whole universe of delight which many of us have barely tasted. For Paul being in Christ is so normal he never even explains what he means by it, or what he means by Christ dwelling in us for that matter. He is not exactly forthcoming about what exactly is involved in us having been crucified with, or having died with, been buried with, raised with, or seated with Christ either. He just expects us to keep up. What he does give us are a few little hints at what this union with Christ does. We get glimpses into the amazing things it does for us.
In forty days we visit just about every time Paul uses a phrase like ‘in Christ, ‘ ‘in him, ‘ ‘with Christ, ‘ and so on, meditating on each of the little hints that Paul provides. We do this in the hope of discovering just how deep this union goes.
A propos de l’auteur
Ben Pugh first trained as an artist with the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, UK, and still has a love for creative endeavors, especially in written form. After becoming a Christian at the age of nineteen, his love of writing combined with a newfound love for the Bible and a growing interest in Christian doctrine, especially the life-changing truth that we are justified in Christ. In time, this interest in theology led to an MA from Manchester University and a Ph D from Bangor. His first full-time academic role was as Director of Postgraduate Studies at Mattersey Hall College which, at the time, could boast of having the largest graduate school of its kind in Europe. However, Ben longed for more time in the classroom engaging with students, and, of course, more time to write theology. Along came the offer of the position of Lecturer in Theology at Cliff College, Derbyshire, where he has been happily employed since 2012. Ben is blessed to work at a desk in what was once Victorian country house from which he can look out across the second most visited national park in the world–Peak District.