What does it mean to be in Christ?

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LeahPaz

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Reflecting on John 15:1-17

And in particular John 15:4-5

«Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.»
‭‭John‬ ‭15:4-5‬ ‭NABRE‬‬


I know that the church is the body of Christ. Where I have trouble is, having come from a Protestant background, they look at the church body as mystical, whereas I understand the Catholic church declares that this is visible. Which clearly the church is visible, although I can see how it is also mystical or spiritual because of the binding of the Holy Spirit… the communion of saints?

I am not sure that these verses or even this chapter of John really has to do with that in particular. Does it have more to do with one’s personal salvation? Are you obeying Christ and is that what it means to be in Christ? But clearly one needs to be part of the body of Christ, His church… which is also obedience.

I believe Jesus gave authority to his disciples. I know that they taught those under them over the generations. However, from my personal witness and experience, I have seen the Holy Spirit work in both evangelical (trinitarian) churches and in the Catholic church. Yet I don’t want to believe any false doctrine or heresy.

Every evangelical church I have been to, I noticed they may have been right in this or that, whereas they were wrong in another area. I saw this everywhere, an incompleteness. What one church lacked, another had… what that church had, the other lacked… but they were not unified to be each other’s strength.

Anyway, I need to know exactly what it means to be in Christ. I need to know to make sure that I am, and so that I can share the truth with others. I can’t just say, well it’s whatever you feel it means.
 
It means to share your soul with Christ, His will becomes your will. It’s a spiritual connection you are aspiring to.

I’ve no doubt that many other personal meanings will be forthcoming shortly but that’s what I take it to mean. And furthermore that’s my personal aspiration too, and to become a faithful servant by so doing.
 
LeahPaz said:
Anyway, I need to know exactly what it means to be in Christ. I need to know to make sure that I am, and so that I can share the truth with others. I can’t just say, well it’s whatever you feel it means.
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To be in Christ means to recognize His Spirit within yourself as your deepest identity, and settle into that by allowing Him to rule you. This “remaining in Christ” is something that is still more intimate than supplicating prayer.
LeahPaz said:
Are you obeying Christ and is that what it means to be in Christ?
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Once you recognize Christ’s Spirit in yourself and come to rest in it, His Will becomes your Will, like Lee1 wrote in his post above. When you are in that state, obedience becomes spontaneous. Perhaps you will occasionally still deviate from His Will in moments of weakness or temptation, but on the whole obedience will become natural.
 
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LeahPaz said:
Reflecting on John 15:1-17

And in particular John 15:4-5

«Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.»
‭‭John‬ ‭15:4-5‬ ‭NABRE‬‬
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We have to be with in the Catholic Church as JESUS CHRIS HIMSELF has established HIS TRUE CHURCH on earth and selected St Peter as the leader and the first pope and there after till this day Matthew 16:16-18 7 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.18 And I say to thee **: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.**The church is both physical and mystical, CCC **[763]( It was the Son’s task to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent.160 "The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in the scriptures."161 To fulfill the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."162 **
LeahPaz said:
I am not sure that these verses or even this chapter of John really has to do with that in particular. Does it have more to do with one’s personal salvation? Are you obeying Christ and is that what it means to be in Christ? But clearly one needs to be part of the body of Christ, His church… which is also obedience.
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III. THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH**

**[770] The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only "with the eyes of faith"183 that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.

The Church - both visible and spiritual

**[771] "The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men."184The Church is at the same time:

Christ has given us the sacraments,so to remain in the Catholic church is important for our salvation, which is thorough the 7 sacraments,as grace is restored through them ,it also means, for that we have to be faithful till the end,by keeping his Commandments the teaching of the Catholic Church
 
We are born again into Christ through Baptism. We remain in Him through persevering in faith and charity, being conformed to Him, with the aid of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God (especially as received through the other sacraments, in particular the Eucharist).
 
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LeahPaz said:
I believe Jesus gave authority to his disciples. I know that they taught those under them over the generations.Yet I don’t want to believe any false doctrine or heresy.
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Catholic Church as JESUS CHRIS HIMSELF has established HIS TRUE CHURCH on earth and selected St Peter as the leader and the first pope and there after till this day Matthew 16:16-18 7 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.18 And I say to thee **: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
LeahPaz said:
Every evangelical church I have been to, I noticed they may have been right in this or that, whereas they were wrong in another area. I saw this everywhere, an incompleteness. What one church lacked, another had… what that church had, the other lacked… but they were not unified to be each other’s strength.
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Your have answered your own question here,the fullness of grace and the fullness of the Holy spirit cannot be in other churches,which you mentioned.some are indeed false and man made.
LeahPaz said:
Anyway, I need to know exactly what it means to be in Christ. I need to know to make sure that I am, and so that I can share the truth with others. I can’t just say, well it’s whatever you feel it means.
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yes,it also means to be with the Catholic church which Jesus himself has established rather the man made church,to be or remain in Jesus also means to be united with him and be faithful 1 Corinthians 6:17 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.2 Timothy 2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. Colossians 2:2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,[c] and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. Colossians 1:17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
 
Thank you to everyone who posted. This has helped me a lot. God bless you! 🙏
 
In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with God, & the Word was God.

God is love.

Jesus is the love of God made flesh.

I’m only human, so this is probably really simple & not suited for a comprehensive understanding.

To be in Him is to be totally encapsulated by His love. To have Him in you is to be completely filled with His love.

I can honestly say to people in my life, “God loves you. I know this because I love you. All love comes from God. All love is God.”

If that makes sense.
 
LeahPaz said:
Anyway, I need to know exactly what it means to be in Christ. I need to know to make sure that I am, and so that I can share the truth with others. I can’t just say, well it’s whatever you feel it means.
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It means to be in a state of grace, loving eachother with the love of God, and abiding in His Church, faithfully partaking of the sacraments including His Body and Blood.

1John4:12 …if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.
John6:56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.

It means being in a state of grace, abiding in His Church and loving with His Love.
 
To be in Christ is to be united to Him completely. He is the Vine, the Source of Life from which all believers get their life, & we are the branches.
 
"Take this and eat it, all of you": communion

[1384] The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."217

**[1385] To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."218 Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.

**[1386] Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent faith the words of the Centurion: “Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea” (“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.”).219 And in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the faithful pray in the same spirit:

O Son of God, bring me into communion today with your mystical supper. I shall not tell your enemies the secret, nor kiss you with Judas’ kiss. But like the good thief I cry, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

**[1387] To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church.220 Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.

1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions,221 receive communion when they participate in the Mass.222 As the Second Vatican Council says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s communion, receive the Lord’s Body from the same sacrifice, is warmly recommended."223

**[1389] The Church obliges the faithful to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days and, prepared by the sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible during the Easter season.224 But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the holy Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily.

1390 Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly."225 This is the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites.
 
To understand what it means to be “in” Christ, we must first understand what it means to be a Trinitarian God. The word knowing is critically important. God is not just Truth; God is Truth known. Truth that is known, however, is always good. Truth can never be otherwise. What is Good is loved. What is not Good is not loved. The begetting of the Son of God is an intellectual generation. It is the Father’s knowledge of himself; the Father is eternally “knowing” himself, i.e. generating the Son. This knowledge is eternally penetrated by the Holy Spirit who sees that what is known is perfect goodness that should be communicated to others (i.e. creation of man). Likewise, the Son is always knowing the Father by knowing himself. When the Father sends the Son into creation, does the Father forget his knowledge of himself? Of course not. That is why the Son is never absent from the Father, even though he has been sent, together with the Breath, the Holy Spirit, into creation. This is what is meant when Jesus tells us that he is in the Father, and the Father is in him.

In Scripture, the word “know” is often used to describe a very intimate union with, and knowledge of, another person. For example, “Now Adam knew [SML] Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain” (Gen. 4:1). After the fall, the Father could not send/express the Son in the Holy Spirit into creation. The Father can only express/send what he knows, which is infinite Goodness. All of creation lost the gift of life. God could no longer say of creation, “It is good.” In other words, the Father could no longer know us, and we could not know him.

This is where the Church comes in. When, through Baptism, we become the bride of Christ, we became one flesh with him. When Jesus ascended to the Father in body, soul, and Divinity, the ENTIRE PERSON of Jesus, including his glorified physical (but NOT mortal) body in which the Baptized are united, entered into the Trinitarian dialogue (i.e. the eternal begetting of the Son and the processing of the Holy Spirit). Therefore, since becoming members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we now know the Father and the Father knows us because we are in the Son and the Son is in us through Baptism and the Eucharist.

See Mystici Corporis Christi for a more complete understanding of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. Archbishop Fulton Sheen describes it thusly,
The Church is best construed as the prolongation of the Incarnation through space and time [Fulton J. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ . Ave Maria Press. Kindle Edition. Kindle Location 93].
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The soul/spirit is the substantial form of the body. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church at Pentecost, it became the soul that is the substantial form of the Mystical Body … a REAL organic body (Ibid., Location 330).
 
LeahPaz said:
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Anyway, I need to know exactly what it means to be in Christ. I need to know to make sure that I am, and so that I can share the truth with others. I can’t just say, well it’s whatever you feel it means.
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@LeahPaz , it needs to be seen in the light of our Baptism , and there It can’t be understood other than in relation to other truths .

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches , " Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit."

And there is a lot there of the most basic truths which need to be worked upon .

Your question is a good one , but one in no way open to simplistic answers . We are in the realms of the depths of the Godhead .
 
You are welcome. I hope it helped to answer your question.
 
Yes, and I will be reading Mystici Corporis Christi. God bless you! 🙏
 
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