The Promise of Life

The Promise of Life

Wednesday. July 13th. 2022
7:21 a.m.
78º right about now.

We need to talk about the little word “IN” dear saint, 

…. it’s a powerful word, but often misused by our opposers to hem in the purpose of God and His revelation concerning His purpose.
I think that, if we can see this, it will bring us closer to believing God, and of course trusting Him.
You see, the word “IN” has two senses in which it shows up.
1. The instrumental case.
2. The locative case.
Our opposers so often use the Bible as a book of incantations. They scratch around the Bible looking for formulas — good luck formulas — they can apply to themselves and to sell in the open market.
And it easy enough to fall in with these guys. After all, words mean things. And when you first become acquainted with a language, you don’t get it all, not all at once.
But as you go along, you catch on. And thus… it’s understandable… to let the meaning of “IN” go right over your head, when you’re new in the faith.
So… the guys who peddle “the word of God” and use it as a “good luck formula”… tend to use the word “IN” in it’s locative sense. When actually, the word “IN” shows up often in it’s instrumental sense.
Why is this important?
Hang on… I’m working up to it.
You see, we have this matter of “IN CHRIST”… being referred to in the scriptures now and again.
And if… you understand the “IN CHRIST” to be locative… rather than instrumental… you’ll naturally tend to limit the scope of whatever is being discussed.
So… Those located “IN CHRIST” might be a limited number… but…
Those who are bless by the instrument of Christ — “IN CHRIST” might be more than a limited number. It might be universal in scope and applicability.
It’s what’s in view, you see.
If the “IN” is locative… what’s in view is those contained in Christ, in the scope the verse considered.
If the “IN” is instrumental… what’s in view is Christ Himself.
So, is “in Christ” the INSTRUMENT of all blessings…???
Or is “in Christ” the only place where the blessings can be found ???
Can a verse containing the words “in Christ” be both locative and instrumental?
The guys who tend to peddle “the gospel” — seem to love using “IN” in the locative sense. And of course they have a formula as to how to get yourself “IN” Christ so you don’t miss out on any blessings.
And they say… if you’re not “IN” Christ, there’s “big trouble in little china.”
But I submit for your consideration that “IN CHRIST” is HOW God does things… not WHO gets the goodies. Maybe not in every occurrence… but often we see “IN CHRIST” in the instrumental case, not the locative case.
And this should give us hope, and assurance in God, our savior.
Those who preach that “IN” is the locative case would scare the crap out of you in order to get you to buy their wares.
“For, you want to be found ‘in Christ; don’t you? Of course you do.”
At the circus they say “Step right up” but at church they say, “Come to the altar”. But it’s the same kind of peddling.
But how lovely and grand to see God’s operations. And to see that God operates “in Christ.”
Remember our passage from 2 Corinthians 5… verses 18-19….
18 Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation,
19 how that God was in Christ,
(1) conciliating the world to Himself, (2) not reckoning their offenses to them, (3) and placing in us the word of the conciliation.
Here, we can see the “IN CHRIST” (verse 19) as both locative and instrumental.
God was located IN Christ… but He was using Christ as an instrument to accomplish three great things:
(1) conciliating the world to Himself,
(2) not reckoning their offenses to them,
(3) and placing in us the word of the conciliation.
For all my years in the christian universe, I was always taught that being “in Christ” was something on the order of your own accomplishment. Something YOU MUST DO… to place yourself “IN CHRIST.”
But this passage in 2 Corinthian 5… says “God was IN CHRIST”.
Seems to me… this has to be more the instrumental case, than the locative case… God was DOING SOMETHING through Christ.
It wasn’t that God was lucky to be “in Christ”… like we’re told, that we’re lucky to be “in Christ”… NO.
God was busy.
God was using Christ as the instrument of ultimate blessings.
He was…
(1) conciliating the world to Himself,
(2) not reckoning their offenses to them,
(3) and placing in us the word of the conciliation.

8:13 a.m. 
Hang on… 
 8:19 a.m.

Onward… as fast as we can.

So, God was “in Christ”. 

And we want to be found “in Christ”.
And “in Christ” the world is conciliated to God.
And, even as “in Adam” all die, so “in Christ” shall all be vivified. (I Cor 15:22)
Was the “in Adam” locative or instrumental? It was both, but it was more that Adam was the instrument of our dying. Why ? Because there is nothing you can do or not do to place yourself “IN ADAM”… The locative sense is there, but it’s in the background. It’s the INSTRUMENTAL sense that takes over in this verse… as well as the verses found in Romans 5.
Through the instrument of Adam… all die.
And through the instrument of Christ all live.
You don’t have to “believe in Adam” to be effected by Adam. You are in Adam, as a matter of him being your ultimate ancestor.
In Adam, all die.
In Christ, all live.
Christ, don’t forget, is the beginning of the creation of God. (Rev 3:14)
So, even Adam was, in a sense, “in Christ”. And in that sense (locative and instrumental) we have “the promise of life”.
2 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, through the will of God, in accord with the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
So, from the above verse, I think we can say that the will of God is in accord with the promise of life.
And I think we can say that the promise of life, is in the instrumental instrument of Christ Jesus himself.
In this verse — 2 Tim 1:1… we’d be hard pressed to insist that the “in Christ” is locative… No. It’s clearly the instrumental case.
The focus is not WHO gets the promise of life, instead, the focus is HOW THE PROMISE OF LIFE IS DELIVERED.
This… is a very, worshipful verse.
So, we dare not limit the “who” gets the life promised, when what’s in view is Christ as the grand instrument of delivering that life to all who need life.
Keep in mind, what we have now… is a bit of life, mixed with the avoidance of death.
And you see, “life” is the opposite of death. We are all on the road to death. It is our lot at the moment. But the promise of life is in Christ.
And the promise of life is the abolition of death. (I COR 15:22)

 8:37 a.m. 
 Hang on… 

Christ Jesus, is the promise of life.
God raised Him from among the dead. — And this changes everything. For everyone.
This promise of life concerns everyone who has and is, experiencing the opposite of life. And that includes all.
We all struggle with aging, mortality, death-avoidance, and the best we can do is delay the matter a bit. But Christ Jesus is the promise of life. In both the locative sense, and the instrumental sense.

  Grace to you boys and girls. 
  God’s got this. 
  Appearance is everything, reality is nothing — so they say. 
 But I’m not so sure. 

  Ace.