Who Is In Christ?

⚠️ This blog isn’t about answers—it’s about awakening. Gospel Reclaimed is where I wrestle, wonder, and write about a gospel that’s far bigger, deeper, and more healing—a Father more faithful, a Savior more triumphant, and a Spirit more personal than religion ever taught me.

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For centuries, denominations have been busy debating who is in Christ—as if it’s a VIP club with an ever-changing guest list. They’ve added conditions, actions, rituals, and hoops to jump through.

The list of “how to be included in Christ” is as long and ridiculous as the “salvation salad bar” (which, by the way, I’ve already addressed in another post). Each flavor of Christianity adds its own toppings—baptism, altar calls, the right denomination, perfect theology, moral perfection—you name it.

But here’s the deal: Jesus declared, “It is finished.” His mission to undo the fall, conquer sin and death, and restore the entire cosmos was accomplished—once and for all. Nothing to add. Nothing to take away.

So the real question isn’t “How do I get into Christ?”
It is: “Who was included in Him at the cross and who benefits from His finished work?”

The answer might just surprise you.
Let’s dig into what Romans 6:5-11 actually reveals, and it might just change how you see yourself (and everyone else).

Romans 6:5 – United in His Death, United in His Life

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection…” (Romans 6:5)

The word “if” here is rhetorical—more accurately rendered as “since.” Paul isn’t speculating; he’s declaring the very heart of the Gospel—God’s redemptive plan established before the world began.

Christ’s death wasn’t a conditional event waiting to be individually activated; it was a cosmic, unconditional act of union. Humanity was included in Him—no exceptions.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14: “If One died for all, then all died.”

Paul then anchors our confidence with the word “certainly”: those united with Him in death (i.e., all humanity) will just as surely be united with Him in resurrection.

👉 This echoes Jesus’ promise in John 12:32: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all mankind to Myself.”

The resurrection isn’t merely Christ’s personal victory over death—it’s humanity’s victory too.

As 1 Corinthians 15:21 says: “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.”

Romans 6:6 – Crucified with Him, Freed from Sin

“…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6)

“Knowing this”— Paul is affirming a revealed reality. Our old self was crucified with Him—past tense. Accomplished fact. 

“All we like sheep have gone astray… and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” — Isaiah 53:6

“…by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” — Hebrews 2:9

“For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy.” — Hebrews 10:14 (AMPC)

Ephesians 2:10 beautifully explains the purpose of our new creation: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

The enslaving system of sin and death was dismantled at its core. Because we were united with Christ in His death, we have also been raised into new life.

“So if (since) the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” — Colossians 3:3

As Paul declares in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”

Discover the freedom of your finished co-crucifixion in this article: Galatians 2:20 — The Declassified Reality of the Crucifixion

Romans 6:7 – Freed from Sin: A Reality, Not an Achievement

“For he who has died is freed from sin.”
(Romans 6:7)

According to verse 6, that includes all of humanity. Our old self was crucified with Christ.

“…freed from sin” — the Greek word here is δικαιόω (dikaioō), meaning justified, declared righteous. This isn’t about striving to be free—it’s about what Christ has already secured.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” — Galatians 5:1

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” — 2 Corinthians 5:21

Everyone died with Christ.

Everyone was made righeous.

Faith is the lens that lets us recognize it.

Romans 6:8 – Alive With Him, Forever Free

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.”
(Romans 6:8)

Do I need to remind you that the word “if” here is also rhetorical? So we read it as: Since we have died with Christ… and Paul declares the consequence of that co-crucifixion—we shall also live with Him.

This isn’t wishful thinking— it’s the result of Christ’s vicarious life lived on behalf of all humanity.

1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

We live because He lives.

His life is now our life.

Romans 6:9 — No More Dying: The Victory Is Final

“Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.”
(Romans 6:9)

Paul is unmistakably clear: death lost its grip on Christ, and because we were included in Him, it lost its grip on us as well. The sting of death was pulled out forever at the cross and sealed by the empty tomb. Death no longer reigns. It has been dethroned, disarmed, and defeated.

“Our Savior Christ Jesus… abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” —2 Timothy 1:10

We are not standing beneath death’s shadow, waiting for a final verdict. The judgment already took place at the cross (John 12:31-32). The resurrection was heaven’s verdict proclaimed to the universe: innocent, justified, alive forever.

Life wins—eternally and irrevocably.

The death of the flesh is not the end of life; it is the unveiling of our true life, hidden with Christ.

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” —Colossians 3:3

This is why Jesus could say: “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” — John 6:33

Christ was not offering life to a select few. He came to give life to the world.

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” — John 1:4

That life was never a mere possibility waiting on our response. It was the very essence of the Word made flesh—the Light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it.

Romans 6:10 — Once for All, Forever Alive

“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
(Romans 6:10)

Just like Christ’s death to sin was once and final, so is ours—because we were in Him.

The Gospel isn’t an offer to meet conditions—it’s the announcement of what is already true for all:

“We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” — Hebrews 10:10

Sin was dealt with once—for everyone. And the life He now lives is fully to God—that’s the life we now share.

“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” — Colossians 3:4

“If [since] Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” — Romans 8:10

Romans 6:11 — Dead to Sin, Alive to God

“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 6:11)

This isn’t motivational fluff—it’s Paul saying, “Do the math.” You’ve already died. You’ve already been raised. Now reckon it true.

“If [since] we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” — 2 Timothy 2:11

“He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” — 2 Corinthians 5:15

This is your reality: dead to sin, alive to God—in Christ.

So wake up to it.

Walk in it.

Live from it.

The Gospel doesn’t demand a response to make it true—it calls you to believe what already is.

So… Who Are in Christ?

All of humanity.

“If One died for all, then all died.” — 2 Corinthians 5:14

And again:
“Because I live, you will live also.” — John 14:19

👉 Your faith, your confession, your baptism, your repentance, your prayers, your works—
none of these created your union with Christ.

“By His doing you are in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Corinthians 1:30

Union with Christ is God’s doing.

He united you to Christ the same way He knit you together in your mother’s womb: without your consent, your effort, or your awareness.

He did this before the foundation of the world, before sin entered through Adam, before history ever began to unfold.

“This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
— 2 Timothy 1:9

The Incarnation was not a Plan B, not a response to failure in history, but God’s eternal decision to share His own life with humanity, conceived in His heart before anything was spoken into existence.

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… having predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will.” — Ephesians 1:4–5

Our union with Christ is our redemption; it is the assurance of our restoration.
And it carries us beyond salvation into the sharing of His glory.

In His triumph over sin, all were freed.
In His death, all died.
In His resurrection, all were raised.

That’s not motivational talk.
That’s the Good News.

But what about sin? Discover what sin really is — and how it remains relevant, even though we are all in Christ — in my article, ‘Missing the Mark.’

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