Kingdom Ready Blog

I am doing a lot of thinking of the Pauline phrase “in Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ). The people of the New Covenant are said to be again and again “in Christ” or one of the many variations. The picture given in Greek is a circle where the people of God are entering into. The circle is characterized by the messianic title Christ, which we all know denotes the anointed king of God’s kingdom. It seems that Paul wants to portray a reality that those who are in Christ are somewhat represented by the one man Jesus, in particular with his kingly role. A good bit of evidence can be found in the Old Testament of David the king (called the anointed one at times) who is depicted as actually representing the people of God in a way unparalleled to other Old Testament individuals. Consider the following:
(1) Isaiah 55:1, 3
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost…Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

Note that the everlasting covenant according to the mercies of David is promised to “everyone who thirsts” (when the Hebrew says incline, come, and listen these are all in the plural verb forms, as well as the “you”). The Davidic Covenant was originally promised to the single king, but it is seemingly being transferred to the people. The Messiah as well as the people will be kings (Rev. 5:10) and have a kingdom forever.
 

Note that the everlasting covenant according to the mercies of David is promised to “everyone who thirsts” (when the Hebrew says and these are all in the plural verb forms, as well as the “you”). The Davidic Covenant was originally promised to the single king, but it is seemingly being transferred to the people. The Messiah as well as the people will be kings (Rev. 5:10) and have a kingdom forever.

(2) 1 Chron. 11:1
Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.”

Clearly the people of God are metaphorically to be represented by David whom they are about to anoint as king. David fought Israel’s battles on behalf of the people.
 

(3) David vs. Goliath (1 Sam. 17)
David goes before the people, representing them (as well as God) and defeats the foes who curse YHWH. David ultimately becomes king. In the passage David talks how he (singular – David) will deliver Goliath into our (plural – the people of God) hands.
 

(4) 2 Sam 19:43-20:1
But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel. Now a worthless fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!”

Three times in these two verses the Hebrew prefix בְּ־ is used, once for the king (v.43) and twice for David (v. 43, v.1). These could reasonably be translated “in the king” and “in David,” where the people are seen as being represented by their anointed leader. The LXX is striking furthermore: ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐν τῷ Δαυιδ, just like “in Christ.”
 

(5) 1 Kings 12:16
When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;

Same point as above, same Hebrew as above, but different king (Rehoboam in the Davidic line). Israel pulls away and no longer wishes to be associated with David’s messianic king.
 

(6) The title “Son of God” is a title given to the king, but it was first given to the people.
“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. (Ex. 4:22)
 

When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. (Hos 11:1)
 

I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me (2 Sam. 7:14)
 

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (Ps. 2:7)

Israel is first called “Son of God” and the king later comes along and represents his people with that very title. Let us not forget that the Israel passage in Hosea 11:1 is quotes in the New Testament to refer to Jesus (Israel => Messiah)
 

(7) David represents the people even in punishment (2 Sam. 24:10-15)
Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” When David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the LORD says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”‘” So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

David sinned by numbering the people. David’s punishment for this sin didn’t affect just him, but all of the people he represented as well.

It would seem that one of the significant things about David’s kingship is that it is bound of within the people of God by representing them in a very close way. I could also go further in stating that the king represents the ideal Adam, ruling the land on behalf of God (Christ overtones all over the place there).

If this hypothesis is true, then various passages in Paul jump out in three dimensions:
 

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:29 NAU)
 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2Co 5:17 NAU)
 

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:11 NAU) This immediately follows the baptism passage in Romans 6 where we are representatively identified with Christ’s death and resurrection.
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Rom 12:5 NAU)

and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1Th 4:16 NAU)

Look forward to some interesting engagement.
Posts not on topic will be politely removed =)