The gospel is all about prepositions not just propositions. Notice how Paul says it in Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Not only is Christ in us through the Holy Spirit, but we are in Christ through faith. As followers of Jesus we were baptized into Christ and invited to be baptized in or with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). This is the command not only to receive the Spirit (John 20:22) but also to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
So not only does He reside on the inside making us Temples of the Holy Spirit, but we are also clothed with Christ on the outside. We no longer wear the blemished rags of our past sin but wear white robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and celebratory garments of praise (Isaiah 61:3).
So are we in Christ or is He in us? Yes! Is the Holy Spirit in us or are we in the Spirit? Yes! Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). And in Jesus’s prayer for all future disciples, He takes it a step further and reveals how believers have now been brought into the divine Godhead:
“Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:21-23).
Paul expands on this idea in his letter to the Christians in Ephesus:
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…”(Ephesians 2:4-6). We were dead in sin but are now alive with Christ. So the way God sees us is seated with Christ even as Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. Not only is Christ in us, and we are in Him; not only are we clothed with Christ, but we are also seated with Him in the heavenly realms. So we don’t just look forward to moving from earth to heaven, but we live, right now, from heaven to earth.
Fire and Light 