| You in the Godhead John 17:21 . . . May they also be in us . . . Acts 17:28 For in him we live and move and have our being. . . . Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 16:7 . . . they were in Christ before I was. 1 Corinthians 1:30 . . . you are in Christ Jesus . . . 2 Corinthians 2:17 . . . in Christ we speak before God . . . 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . . Ephesians 1:1 7 . . . the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Emphasis mine.) Colossians 1:28 . . . so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. Colossians 2:10 you have been given fullness in Christ . . . Colossians 3:3 . . . your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 . . . the dead in Christ will rise first. 2 Timothy 3:12 . . . to live a godly life in Christ Jesus . . . 1 Peter 5:14 . . . Peace to all of you who are in Christ. 1 John 2:24 . . . you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 1 John 2:27 . . . remain in him. Psalm 90:1 . . . Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. The Godhead in You
John 14:17 the Spirit . . . will be in you.
John 14:23 . . . My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
John 17:23 I in them . . .
John 17:26 . . . that I myself may be in them.
Romans 8:9-11 . . . if the Spirit of God lives in you. . . . But if Christ is in you . . . And if the Spirit . . . is living in you, he . . . through his Spirit, who lives in you.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know . . . that God’s Spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19 . . . the Holy Spirit, who is in you . . .
2 Corinthians 6:16 . . . For we are the temple of the living God. . . .
Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Colossians 1:27 . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory.
1 John 3:24 . . . he lives in us . . .
1 John 4:4 . . . the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you . . . (Expression repeated in Ezekiel 37:14.)
In God and He in You
Of course, it is no slip that God’s Word says both that we are in God and that God is in us. In fact, it is so deliberate that there are times when the Bible puts both in the same verse, just as Jesus said in his prayer about his relationship with the Father (“. . . you are in me and I am in you. . . .” – John 17:21).
John 6:56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. . . .
1 John 4:13 . . . we live in him and he in us . . .
1 John 4:16 . . . lives in God, and God in him.
Isaiah 59:21 . . . My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth . . .
Judges 6:34 is particularly interesting. It is so ambiguous it allows both interpretations. Some translations speak of the Spirit of the Lord clothing Gideon with himself (eg The Amplified Bible) whereas others translate it as the Spirit of the Lord clothing himself with Gideon (eg English Standard Version).
Astonishing Intimacy
Given the depth of our merger with the divine, it comes as no surprise that there is also reference to us being one with the Godhead:
1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Ephesians 5:31-32 “ . . . and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Let’s unpack this a little. Scripture not only compares but contrasts the closest of human relationships with our union with God:
1 Corinthians 6:16-17 For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (Emphasis mine.)
The ultimate in being one flesh is conjoined (‘Siamese’) twins. Their lives, experiences and destinies are utterly intertwined. Even so, they remain two separate entities. A lifetime of experiences makes them superb at guessing each other’s thoughts but it is still a guess. As much as I would love to, I cannot get inside my wife’s mind.
It is impossible for two humans to have one spirit. Only if this could happen would they truly be one. Here’s why:
1 Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? . . .
The passage goes on to say, not merely that you and Christ can read each other’s minds, but you “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
This astonishing oneness is a miraculous restoration of the idyllic relationship with the awesomely holy Lord as it was before humanity’s sin ruined everything. Christ and you are not meant to be two separate identities, each striving for recognition, but merged in a mystical union; no clash of wills, just exquisite oneness.
This is a restoration of what humanity lost when Adam and Eve sinned. From that moment, sin entered the human gene pool, giving us not only a genetic predisposition to sin and a lost relationship with God, but a distorted perception of God.
For this to happen we must die to our own will. That is why Jesus kept emphasizing denying ourselves and “losing” our life to find it. It is why Paul kept saying similar things, such as “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
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