Hello there,
In Colossians 1:27: (quoted above - #55), the words, 'Christ in you,' is, 'Christ among you,' ('en' with the plural = among). That being the case: in this context, it is a corporate application and not personal, isn't it? Salvation had been sent to the Gentile (ie., the nations - see Acts 28:28): therefore Christ was among them; God desired that the Gentile saints should know, that He (Christ) was their hope of (the) glory.
* This 'mystery' was not revealed until after Galatians was written: having been 'hid in God' until divinely made known to Paul, as it's Administrator, following Acts 28, and the laying aside (temporarily) of Israel in blindness and unbelief. Paul administered the fellowship of this mystery in his later epistles, (Eph. Phil, Col. 1&2 Timothy and Titus).
Praise God!
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Hello @soul man,Hi Chris, I think I understand what you are saying, could you elaborate some please. Also, can you give your understanding of the other 146 times (that I have counted, summed up in one answer) Paul places the believer in Christ? Thanks
Christ being 'among' the Gentiles was a new concept. During the Acts period Gentiles were grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel, for salvation was of the Jew (John 4:22), and they had prior place. However, with the laying aside of Israel (temporarily) at the end of the Acts period, in unbelief, salvation was sent to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28), for, said Paul, 'they would receive it'. It was now, Christ (in) or, 'among' them, that was the Gentile saint's hope of the glory, and not their association with Israel as the source of their blessing, as in the Olive Tree.
During the Acts period, Gentiles were brought in with the hope that Israel as a nation would emulate them, believe and repent, so that the times of refreshing could come from God, with the return of Christ (Acts 3:19). That was no longer a possibility, and awaited a yet future day, so Christ was now, 'among' the Gentile believers as their hope of the glory, independent of Israel as a nation. For as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ individual believers, regardless of race, were united with Christ their Head, and members one of another, 'in Him'.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
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