Our small group meet this week to share our study of Ephesians. We were looking at the book from a general overview, giving our first impressions of what we thought the apostle Paul's intent was in writing this letter to the faithful in Ephesus. One way to determine the ideas most important to an author is to look for repetition in his message.  What words or ideas occur over and over in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  I found in chapter 1 that the phrases "in Christ" and "in him" were used 7 times.  Previously in a post titled A List of Blessings, we had found a list of spiritual blessings that we have received from God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Each of those blessings are related to us either "in Christ" or "in him."  So, what exactly does this idea of "in Christ" mean?  How does this repeated idea help us in our understanding of the spiritual blessings we have received?

Our group discussed two thoughts that brought significant insight to us all.  The first idea is that in Christ means that it is through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ that we have these blessings and that they are exclusive to that relationship.  "In Christ" represents the one-on-one intimacy that the believer has with his or her Lord and Savior.  The second idea we discussed was that "in Christ" describes being in community with other believers.  I like this idea, especially as it relates to our small group.  We can look at the blessings we receive from God as personal and as a body working together to help one another and the world around us.  What is most exciting to me is that God revealed His word to us through one another sharing the impressions we received "in Him."