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If I do a search on the relative frequencies of "in Christ," "in Christ Jesus," "in Jesus Christ," and "in Jesus," the vast majority are written as "in Christ" or "in Christ Jesus." Is there a reason theologically between "Christ Jesus" and "Jesus Christ" and why would we be "in" one and not the other?

Examples:

Rom 3:24 "and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

Rom 9:1 "I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit"

Rom 3:22 "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."

Rom 3:26 "It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

ESV:

  • "in Christ Jesus" (50 occurrences)
  • "in Christ" (37 occurrences)
  • "in Jesus Christ" (3 occurrences)
  • "in Jesus" (6 occurrences)

NIV

  • "in Christ Jesus" (47 occurrences)
  • "in Christ" (38 occurrences)
  • "in Jesus Christ" (3 occurrences)
  • "in Jesus" (7 occurrences)
noblerare
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  • Welcome to BH.SE! I like this question, but for the site we'd like to see it expanded. Can you edit into it an example verse of each phrase and maybe the number of hits you found for each? – Frank Luke Jun 23 '17 at 13:25
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    I updated my original post. – noblerare Jun 23 '17 at 19:30
  • The answer could be different per author and work, and even in each context. This is too broad. Also, you specifically are looking for a theological reason, which is not clear and too broad. – Dan Jul 13 '17 at 23:54
  • @Dan Of course the answer could differ per author and work (and also translation) but in that case pointing out a few notable differences would make a decent answer. I don't tend to thing this is too broad because it's explicitly about a specific pattern and whether the pattern is meaningful. Where the differences and what boundaries they cross basically is the question. If you tried to narrow this down to one instance you'd loose the gist of what's being asked. – Caleb Jul 14 '17 at 10:58

1 Answers1

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In the texts you quote, there is no distinction between "Jesus Christ" and "Christ Jesus." Initially, "Christ" was considered a title. It was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means "the Anointed One." Christos is the Greek, and Mashiach is the Hebrew. In ancient Israel, kings and high priests were appointed to office by being anointed with oil. The Messiah would be God's ideal Anointed One.

Jesus is a personal name (Yeshuah in Hebrew). So "Jesus Christ" means "Jesus the Messiah," and "Christ Jesus" means "the Messiah Jesus." In Rom. 3:24 and 9:1 the simple preposition en ("in") is used, referring to "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" and "the truth in Christ." These are ways of expressing redemption in the Messiah Jesus and the truth in the Messiah. They refer to the same person.

Rom. 3:22 and 3:26 have no preposition in the Greek, but instead are in the genitive case which indicates possession, and may be literally translated "of Jesus Christ" and "of Jesus". There has been much discussion as to whether this involves our own faith in Jesus or the faith of Jesus himself. Is it our faith or Jesus' faith? Grammarians refer to this as the subjective genitive as opposed to the objective genitive.

You did not quote any texts which refer to believers as being in Christ, such as Gal. 3:28; 2 Cor. 12:2. With regard to this 'being in Christ,' the emphasis is upon "Christ" because believers are taken into the body of Christ and thereby share his anointing in the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 Cor. 12:12, 27)

Pilgrim
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