Father,
Thank you for being present with us, along with the Holy Spirit as we are in Christ. Thank you that we get to learn what it means to be “in Christ”. Thank you that it is a divine mystery that we will never fully understand. Come and be in our midst as we continue this study.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Welcome to this series on what it means to be “in Christ”. I look forward to walking through much of what Paul had to say on this topic, as it is a rich mine that rarely gets tapped. Last week’s memesplanations covered some passages from Colossians, and I want to recap to these passages, briefly today. I will put a nice little bow on those passages, and that will be the norm for this series.
Colossians 1:18-20
He is the Head of his body, which is the church. And since he is the beginning and the firstborn heir in resurrection,  he is the most exalted One, holding first place  in everything. For God is satisfied to have all his fullness dwelling in Christ. And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself—back to its original intent, restored to innocence again! 
If Jesus is the head of the Body of Christ, and we are that Body, then we have all the fullness of God available to us. Why do we miss this, more often than not? We are not told that it is available, or we don’t dig to find the Truth. Jesus is all in all through His sacrifice, and we are in Him. That is HUGE. Let that sink in, He has made us pure again. That is the starting point, not the endgame.
Colossians 3:1-4
Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.
Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory!

You are dead to this world, but alive in Christ. You no longer have to live as a slave to pride or any other thing that is not Him. Because we are dead to the world and alive to Him, we can feast, as this passage says, on the treasures of heaven, here and now. All of the buzz about identity and identities these days finds its proper end there. That is your identity, Christian. You are in Christ, first and foremost. Nothing else really matters.
Colossians 2:9-11
For he is the complete fullness of deity living in human form. And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us. He is the Head  of every kingdom and authority in the universe!
Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sin  has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us.

Juicy fruits, no? If Jesus is God incarnate, and we are in Him, then we get all of that as long as we submit to Him. We get to be filled with all the fullness of God. Let that sink in: since we are in Christ, we have full access to the riches of heaven.
So, God has made it possible for us to be more than we are, through Jesus. We have access to the fullness of God, the riches of heaven, both spiritually and in the natural. We are dead to the world, the pride which sets it and enslaved us in opposition to the Lord, and alive to the freedom that comes through submission to His ways. We get to be formed in His way now, rather than wandering the trackless places in this world.