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“We
Are In Christ”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Romans 8:1-11
“There is therefore now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Dear Sisters and Brothers, I know that we just read 11 verses from
Romans. We are in the
Reformed Church, which was born by the discovery that God does speak to
us through the Bible. And
one of the Reformation’s first teachings about how to understand
certain passages is that we should begin by using other scripture verses
to help interpret the scripture verses we are trying to understand.
Listen to what St. Paul wrote to the Colossians about our being in
Christ: “He [Jesus Christ] is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in*
him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things
have been created through him and for him. 17He
himself is before all things, and in*
him all things hold together.” [Col 1:15-17]
Yes, we are a small congregation. And I have been blessed by God, to be your preacher for 5
years. As amazing as this
sounds, we are being held together in Christ Jesus.
This is one of the deepest truths in our lives.
The very Gospel of Jesus Christ tells us so many amazing truths about
who Jesus is, what became of him, and how that has affected us.
God the Father likes us and loves us.
Christ is in us. We are in Christ. The
Holy Spirit is in us. We
are in the Holy Spirit.
These truths are not merely about emotional feelings in our hearts.
They are about the very nature of our being with God.
Also, if we are wrestling with some kind of sinful issue in our
lives, that does not change the truth of our being with God, in God, and
God in us. That will never change.
We are in an inescapable situation.
Paul is writing about having minds on the flesh and having minds on the
Spirit. I am not going to
give a long definition of having our minds on the flesh. It certainly may be summed up by us never really using our
thinking to relate to God in a personal way.
We are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. Every
Sunday, when I am able to say the benediction, I always mention “the
communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”
In our worship we always use the Apostle’s Creed when we affirm what
it is we believe. And that
is wonderful.
On page 15 in the hymnal there is the Nicene Creed.
This is the first creed written in the Church after the doctrine
of the Holy Trinity was discovered and made official. It talks about the
Holy Spirit coming out of and from both the Father and Son.
Within God the Holy Spirit brings the Father and Son together in love
for one another. One way we
may keep our minds on the Spirit, is to believe and remember that we are
in Christ, and he is in us. And we are united to God the Father.
Often when we think of the Holy Spirit, we think of miracles in
people’s lives. However,
the ultimate mission of the Holy Spirit is to bring persons together to
participate in the divine love of God the Father and Son.
That is one of the blessings of a small church.
We get to know one another on a personal level.
And if we keep our minds on the Spirit, we will be brought to
realize our participation in God’s love.
Let us pray …
Amen.
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