Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I'd like
to read verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5.17. The scripture says, therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. If any man be in Christ. I was looking at those two words
in Christ. And the more I look at those
two words, the more I realize the miracle of God's grace. Those two words I cannot explain. I can tell you what the scripture
says about being in Christ and Lord willing I'm going to make
a few comments on in Christ. But that thought, that position
in Christ is something that I cannot grasp the totality of. You can't either. in Christ. Scripture says if any man be
in Christ, he's a different nature. He's different. He's a new...
That word new doesn't mean concerning age, like a new baby, a new toy,
a new... It has nothing to do with time
or age. It means different in type. It's a new, it's something else,
it's a different nature. Look at Ephesians. We're going
through Ephesians on Wednesday nights and I was studying ahead
in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10. The scripture says, for we
are His workmanship created. in Christ Jesus unto good works
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We are His workmanship created, created, created. I can take a few tubes of paint
and you can take red, yellow, blue, black and white And you
can make any color, red, yellow, blue, black, white, any color. I'd take a canvas and those five
colors and a brush and try to put a little something on a canvas. And somebody would say, well,
you created a painting. No, no, I didn't create it. No,
the canvas was already there. And the paint was already there
and the brushes were there. I didn't create anything. Creation is when you make something
out of nothing. That's creation. We are His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. It takes God Almighty to make
a Christian. God Almighty creates a Christian. Creates him in Christ. Old things,
old original things. The word things there means benefits. Old benefits passed away. That means they're neglected.
They're cast off. Behold, all things ever benefit
now. Behold, all things are become
new. They're new. God Almighty has
created a new creature. And not only has He created the
new creature, He's created them to do that which He has eternally
purposed. for them to do, to walk in good
works. That's what I just read in Ephesians.
Now let's just consider for just a minute the beauty of those
words. If any man be in Christ, therefore
if any man be in Christ, obviously not all men are. If a man be
in Christ, The Lord told a group of Pharisees in John 10, 26,
but ye believe not because you're not of my sheep. You're not of
my sheep. If they were ever a sheep, they've
always been a sheep. Sheep don't become goats and
goats don't become sheep. A sheep has eternally been a
sheep. chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. If you are one of God's elect,
you've always been one of God's elect. And they don't cross over. Goat's a goat, sheep's a sheep.
You're not a machine, if any man be in Christ. Now, the scripture
says in 1 Corinthians 15.22, for as in Adam, In Adam. Here's another state
of being. In Adam. Or in Christ. If any man be in Adam, for as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ. Now listen to this. This is 1
Corinthians 15.22. You'll get exactly what I'm saying.
For as in Adam, represented only by Adam, Only in that state of
being is being in Adam. I'll say something about that
in a second. All die, even so in Christ. And I'll tell you
this, man or woman, chosen in Christ has always been there.
He's always been there. I know He was born dead in trespasses
and sins. He was born coming forth from
his mother's womb speaking lies. But if that man's been in Christ,
listen to this wording, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive. You see what I'm saying? All
who only possess a union in or with Adam. They're going to die. They're going to die eternally.
because they have one representative, one state, one head, they're
in Adam. In Adam, there's only disobedience. In Adam, there's only sin and
rebellion and death, separation and alienation and condemnation. In Adam, all men are born with
a corrupt nature, incapable of doing anything. They're dead
spiritually. So when we say in Adam, we're
speaking of being found like Adam, being made like Adam, regarded. But if any man be in Christ,
if any man be found having Him As his federal head, that man's
going to be made alive. God's going to save him. That
man in Christ, I know he's born just like everybody else. We
preach the gospel to every man. We go into all the world and
preach the gospel. I'm going to tell every man,
every person, I tell everybody here today, come to Christ. Seek him while he may be found.
Why will you perish? Why? Now I know something. I know this, that it's going
to take God to take those words and give a man, a woman, a new
heart. And give them faith to believe. I know that. But I'm
telling you, I declare to you today, you seek the Lord. You come to Christ. If you perish,
it'll be because you want to. you desire to. I won't have this
man to rule over me. The scripture sets forth that
God has a people and he's chosen them in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Now I've just got two or three
questions real fast. Number one, how'd they get there?
How did they get there? If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. How did he get to be in Christ
to begin with? God put him there. God put him
there. Ephesians 1.4 says, according
as He has chosen us in Him. When? Before the foundation of
the world. When were God's people's names
written in the Lamb's Book of Life? Before the foundation of
the world. No new recordings are being made.
God Almighty chose His people. Being in Christ, if any man be
in Christ, therefore being in Christ is an eternal state of
being. According to God's will and God's
purpose to show mercy, the Lord put His people in His Son before
time was, when there was but God. Secondly, being in Christ
is said to be the open manifestation. of what God Almighty has eternally
purposed. Listen to the words of the Apostle
Paul, Romans 16, 7. Salute, Andronicus and Junia,
my kinsmen, my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles,
who also were in Christ before me. Does that mean that they
were in Christ eternally before Paul? All of God's works were
finished from the beginning. God Almighty does everything
eternally. So Paul, just like Andronicus
and Junia or any other person in Christ, chosen in Him, all
of God's people, but being in Christ, also set forth by the
Scriptures as being the open manifestation. of what God has
purposed. Paul says, salute these two.
They're of note. They're honorable people. They
walk according to God's word, God's command. They were in Christ
before I was. That means God called them out
of darkness before he called Paul out of darkness. But this
third day I want to tell you about it. Being in Christ is
the desire of everyone that's been truly regenerated. Being
in Christ is their desire. Philippians 3.89 said, Yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of
all things and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. Bound to Him by God's choice. Bound to Him by Christ's redemption. Bound to Him by my willingness
to come to Him because He's given me a new heart to come to Him.
You can tell an unregenerate, come to Christ, come to Christ,
come to Christ, and you know what he's going to do? Nothing.
Nothing. He has no heart to do it. How
do you know? I said, Scripture says he's dead.
That's why I know. He's dead. He's dead. Like I
said the other day, let's go to a graveyard. Let's go to a
graveyard and stand there and command those that are in those
graves to come out. You know what they're going to
do? Nothing. Why? They're dead. They have
no ability to do it. That's a physical death. This
is a spiritual death. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me draw him. Thy people shall be
willing in the day of God's power. He said, I'll give you a new
heart. I'll give you a new heart. I'll give you a willing heart.
I'll give you a heart that desires to come. Paul says his desire
is to be found in Christ. not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Here, as I wrap this up, I want
you to turn over to Ephesians. Just look at this with me. Ephesians
2, 11 and 12. I was... Ephesians 2, 11 and 12. I was reading over this this
morning as I was going over my notes. Ephesians 2, 11 and 12,
I just jotted this down. Wherefore remember, the apostle
says, he's writing to the church at Ephesus, that ye being in
time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcised
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands. Now
listen to this, that at that time ye were without Christ. being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, without God in the world. That right there, that part in
that twelfth verse, without Christ, that you, at that time, you were
without Christ. Now, let me ask you something,
you that know Him. Can you just, you can't, but
just Imagine right now if you knew you were without Christ. You're without Christ. And all you had right now, and
the clock's ticking, and all you got right now is your little
fickle, impotent effort to try to please God. And that you're going to stand
before God in your own work, and in your own effort, and in
your own self-righteousness that the Scripture says is as filthy
rags. And you're going to stand before
God and plead your own merit. And I can already tell you, according
to Matthew 7, what God's going to say. He's going to say, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Paul is telling
these Ephesians right here, setting forth the blessedness that God
Almighty has shown mercy and given them a heart. He said,
you were without Christ. You had not been called out of
darkness. If they are the Lord's, they've always been in Him, but
I'll tell you the manifestation. of being in Him is that God's
going to call them out. He's going to call them out under
this message right here. It's not going to be a message telling
a man to exercise his free will. I know better than that. And
you do too. According to God's Word. We don't
have one. We don't have a free will. Without Christ, Oh, we give thanks
unto God. We're bound to give thanks unto
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. We thank God for
election. So all God's sheep have eternally
been in Christ according to the grace of election. And in time,
they're said to be in Christ according to the grace of regeneration. And they're going to present
us a new nature. So there's a new man. If any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. Old things. Old securities. Old false securities. Passed
away. I remember I've told you this.
I remember I was nine years old. I remember this. I was nine years
old. I was in church. Mom and Daddy,
you know, they'd take me and I'd go to church. I remember
I walked down the aisle when I was nine years old. I remember
walking down the aisle when I was nine years old. You know why
I walked? I mean, I'll be honest with you
now. I wouldn't say it before, but I'll be honest with you now.
I had a cousin, Larry. And Larry walked down. And when
Larry walked down, Carl, I did too. Larry walked down, so I did.
And I went down and I held the preacher's hand and
I, you know, he asked me if I wanted to be saved. I thought I did,
yeah, I don't want to go to hell. He asked me, he said, you don't
want to go to hell, do you? I said, well, I don't want to go to hell. I
mean, what kid wants to go to hell? He said, well, pray this prayer.
So he prayed, I prayed, you know, whatever he said, I said, I could
hear. And I, you know, he says, are you serious? Well, yeah,
I was serious. I didn't want to go to hell.
And he told me, he said, well, he said, you're saved. He said,
we're going to baptize you. I said, okay. So they baptized
me. And I held on to that false profession
of faith for years and years and years. There'd be times I'd
have to rededicate, you know, because I'd slip. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature and old things, old false securities. If you're depending on something
that you did, if you went down and walked down the aisle because
your cousin did, and if you're resting in what somebody told
you that you could do to be right before God, I'm telling you,
you're lost. Old things are passed away. Old
thoughts of self-worth, they're neglected, they're cast off.
Paul said in Philippians 3, 7, what things were gained to me,
and that was gained to me. I mean, I was in church. I'd gone to church. And I did
what they told me was right. What things were gained to me,
Paul said, those I counted lost for Christ, and I do count them
but dung. You say, you mean that walking
down the aisle was dung? It was dung. It was refuge. It was garbage. Because all of
my hope was in me, in my profession. I count them but dung that I
might win, gain, get, behold. All things, everything has become
new. A man is truly in Christ. He knows that God saved him by
grace. Let me tell you something. A
man that God calls out of darkness, he puts no trust in himself. By a new heart, he casts himself
upon the mercy of God. He looks by faith, knowing, Lord,
if you don't save me, I'm lost. Have mercy on me. May the Lord
bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.