Paul's most common phrase was "in Christ." It is a tiny phrase, used almost as frequently as punctuation, yet within it is abbreviated a whole universe of delight which many of us have barely tasted. For Paul being in Christ is so normal he never even explains what he means by it, or what he means by Christ dwelling in us for that matter. He is not exactly forthcoming about what exactly is involved in us having been crucified with, or having died with, been buried with, raised with, or seated with Christ either. He just expects us to keep up. What he does give us are a few little hints at what this union with Christ does. We get glimpses into the amazing things it does for us.

In forty days we visit just about every time Paul uses a phrase like "in Christ, " "in him, " "with Christ, " and so on, meditating on each of the little hints that Paul provides. We do this in the hope of discovering just how deep this union goes.