Foy E. Wallace once said that the book of Ephesians is a syllabus on the church of Christ.  That is not a bad assessment of the book.  Paul deals extensively with it in the epistle.  Being a member of the Lord’s church is a great blessing, realized only by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  To be in the church is to be in Christ, and the Bible has a lot to say about that.

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)
³  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Do you take for granted the privilege of being in Christ?  We should thank God regularly that we are in such a great place.  It is a place where Paul says all spiritual blessings are enjoyed.  What are some of those blessings?  Paul tells us.

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV)
⁴  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

In Christ is a place of chosen stature.  It is to be a part of God’s elect and to be in a place where God said, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me…” (2 Corinthians 6:18).

To be in Christ is to be in the only place where we can be holy and without blame.  Why?  Because to be in Christ one must obey the gospel (Romans 1:16), and that is when a person’s sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Romans 6:3-4), making him or her holy and without blame in the eyes of God.  This is the blessing of being in Christ.  It is there that we are justified by faith, meaning we appear before God just as if we have not sinned because we have been acquitted in heaven’s court.

All of the passages that speak of being in Christ refer to this blessed state of being.

Romans 8:1 (ESV)
¹  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

While this is a wonderful statement, it is not a surprising one.  It is, in fact, a logical conclusion.  If our sins have been taken away, there is nothing to condemn us.  Only sin separates us from God and condemns us in His sight (Isaiah 59:1-2); thus, when our sins are removed, our fellowship with Him is immediately restored.   At that exact moment, we are saved and added to the body of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Where is salvation to be found?  Paul says that it is in Christ Jesus.  Yes, in Christ is where anyone who wants to be in heaven after a while should want to be.  There is no other path that leads to eternal life.  There is no other road that will take you to heaven.  If you want to be saved, get into Christ.  If you are already there, thank God for His unmatchable mercy.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.