BLESSED BE THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: Eulogetos o theos kai pater tou kuriou hemon Iesou Christou:

John Stott summarized this great section, Ephesians 1:3-14, which is one long and magnificent sentence in the Greek text this way...

A gateway, a golden chain, a kaleidoscope, a snowball, a racehorse, an operatic overture and the flight of an eagle: all these metaphors in their different ways describe the impression of color, movement and grandeur which the sentence makes on the reader’s mind.” (Stott, John R. W.: God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1979)

In Ephesians 1:3-14 we encounter some of the most incredible truths in all of Scripture, so that many think that there is no section of Scripture with a greater concentration of truths than those written here. And although a cursory reading might suggest these verses are  a kind of theological "maze", they are in fact very purposely laid out by divine inspiration which brings together the entire Godhead -- Ephesians 1:3-6 describes the will of the Father, Ephesians 1:7-12 describes the work of the Son, and Ephesians 1:13-14 describes the witness of the Spirit.

Ray Stedman writes that

There is an unusual structure in this passage to which I'd like to call your attention. From Verse 3 through Verse 14 in the Greek text (not in the English) you have one complete, unbroken sentence filled with many adjectival phrases brought in to amplify and enrich it. If you want to get the effect of it, take a deep breath and try to read it through with one breath. You will see how much Paul has crammed into this great sentence. It's almost as though he is taking a walk through a treasure chamber, like those of the Pharaohs of Egypt, describing what he sees. He starts out with the most immediate and evident fact and tells us what that is. Then something else comes into view and he puts that in. And glory flashes upon glory here until he has this tremendously complicated sentence which includes vast and almost indescribable riches...You see, these are much more than mere doctrinal ambiguities, mere theological ideas. They are facts, foundational truths which undergird us in every moment of our life. And, unless you understand those facts, you can't utilize them, you can't benefit from them. In that way they are like natural laws. The laws of nature operate regardless of how we feel -- they are impersonal in that respect. I've been doing a bit of electrical work in an addition to my home, and I've discovered that electricity follows a pattern of its own and takes no notice of how I feel at the moment. That can be a shocking experience! It is not in the slightest degree impressed with my position as a pastor of Peninsula Bible Church. It doesn't hesitate to retaliate for any violation of its laws that I commit. It is up to me to discover how it works, and then to respect it, if I want to utilize it. The same thing is true of these great facts. They will do you not a particle of good if you don't discover what they are and believe them enough to operate on the basis of them. That is why we are having this study together. We couldn't possibly cover in one message all that is wrapped up in these great truths, and I don't want to attempt it. We want to take our time going through this passage so that we might grasp these fundamental facts. (See his full sermon Ephesians 1::3-14: Foundations) (Copyright © 1972 Discovery Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible Church.)

Notice that in a single verse Paul uses the entire word family -- the adjective (eulogetos), the verb (eulogeo) and the noun (eulogia) and the sentence still makes supernatural sense not nonsense as the natural man foolishly surmises!

Blessed (2128) (eulogetos from eu = good + logos = word - English "eulogy" = a speech or writing that praises someone highly) is the adjective describing the One Who is worthy of praise and in the NT is rightly used only of God and Christ Jesus. Rarely eulogetos is actually used as a Name for God -- "the Blessed One" (Mark 14:61).

Stated literally Paul is saying "Let God be well spoken of (adored, praised)...bless Him for His great goodness." When doctrine is rightly understood (as Paul surely understood what he would expound in verses 3-14) it will naturally (supernaturally) lead to doxology (short formula expressing praise to God). When we discover Who God is and what He has accomplished for us in His Son, we cannot help but bless His holy name.

As an aside, doxology is an interesting word which originates from Greek doxa = glory or opinion (from dokein = to seem, seem good) and -logia from logos =  word, speaking. Doxology is "speaking glory". Even as the thoughts begin to come into his mind (Ephesians 1:3-14ff), Paul cannot control himself and must preface it all by "speaking glory" to God the Father (speaking a proper opinion of the Father). And we should do likewise. The doxologies in almost all the Epistles imply the real sense of grace experienced by the writers and their readers.

Alexander Maclaren phrases it eloquently...

God blesses us by gifts; we bless Him by words. The aim of His act of blessing is to evoke in our hearts the love that praises. We receive first, and then, moved by His mercies, we give. Our highest response to His most precious gifts is that we shall ‘take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord,’ and in the depth of thankful and recipient hearts shall say, ‘Blessed be, God who hath blessed us.’ (Read full sermon)

In all things speak well of Him, whether in the midst of pain, struggle, trials, frustration, opposition or adversity.  Speak well of Him. And we can speak well of Him in all such circumstances when we recall to our minds that He is always good, independent of what we are experiencing or how we might feel. (see His unchangeable attribute - Goodness). Does it not strike you as absolutely amazing that the creature can even bless the Creator? What a high and holy privilege believers have and yet far too often allow to "atrophy" through infrequent use. Have you blessed the LORD today? Let David's words stir your soul...

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits (Psalm 103:1-2)

C H Spurgeon's note on blessing God is worth pondering beloved...

Psalm 103:1. Bless the Lord O my soul. Soul music is the very soul of music. The Psalmist strikes the best keynote when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord. He soliloquizes, holds self-communion and exhorts himself, as though he felt that dullness would all too soon steal over his faculties, as, indeed, it will over us all, unless we are diligently on the watch. Jehovah is worthy to be praised by us in that highest style of adoration which is intended by the term bless -- "All Thy works praise thee, O God, but Thy saints shall bless thee." (Psalm 145:10) Our very life and essential self should be engrossed with this delightful service, and each one of us should arouse his own heart to the engagement. Let others forbear if they can: "Bless the Lord, O MY soul." Let others murmur, but do thou bless. Let others bless themselves and their idols, but do thou bless the LORD. Let others use only their tongues, but as for me I will cry, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."

And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Many are our faculties, emotions, and capacities, but God has given them all to us, and they ought all to join in chorus to His praise. Half-hearted, ill-conceived, unintelligent praises are not such as we should render to our loving Lord. If the law of justice demanded all our heart and soul and mind for the Creator, much more may the law of gratitude put in a comprehensive claim for the homage of our whole being to the God of grace. It is instructive to note how the Psalmist dwells upon the holy Name of God, as if His holiness were dearest to him; or, perhaps, because the holiness or wholeness of God was to his mind the grandest motive for rendering to Him the homage of his nature in its wholeness. Babes may praise the divine goodness, but fathers in grace magnify His holiness. By the Name we understand the revealed character of God, and assuredly those songs which are suggested, not by our fallible reasoning and imperfect observation, but by unerring inspiration, should more than any others arouse all our consecrated powers. (See study on the Names of the LORD) (Spurgeon's commentary on Psalm 103:1)

Psalm 103:2. Bless the LORD, O my soul. He is in real earnest, and again calls upon himself to arise. Had he been very sleepy before? Or was he now doubly sensible of the importance, the imperative necessity of adoration? Certainly, he uses no vain repetitions, for the Holy Spirit guides his pen; and thus he shews us that we have need, again and again, to bestir ourselves when we are about to worship God, for it would be shameful to offer him anything less than the utmost our souls can render. These first verses are a tuning of the harp, a screwing up of the loosened strings that not a note may fail in the sacred harmony.

And forget not all his benefits. Not so much as one of the divine dealings should be forgotten, they are all really beneficial to us, all worthy of Himself, and all subjects for praise. Memory is very treacherous about the best things; by a strange perversity, engendered by the fall, it treasures up the refuse of the past and permits priceless treasures to lie neglected, it is tenacious of grievances and holds benefits all too loosely. It needs spurring to its duty, though that duty ought to be its delight. Observe that he calls all that is within him to remember all the Lord's benefits. For our task our energies should be suitably called out. God's all cannot be praised with less than our all.

Reader, have we not cause enough at this time to bless Him Who blesses us? Come, let us read our diaries and see if there be not choice favours recorded there for which we have rendered no grateful return. Remember how the Persian king, when he could not sleep, read the chronicles of the empire, and discovered that one who had saved his life had never been rewarded. (see Esther 2:22, 6:1-10) How quickly did he do him honour! The Lord has saved us with a great salvation, shall we render no recompense? The name of ingrate is one of the most shameful that a man can wear; surely we cannot be content to run the risk of such a brand. Let us awake then, and with intense enthusiasm bless Jehovah. (Spurgeon's commentary on Psalm 103:2)

See some of Spurgeon's sermons related to the topic of blessing...

Ephesians 1:3-4: Blessing for Blessing
1 John 5:13 The Blessing Of Full Assurance
Psalm 68:19-20 Daily Blessings For God's People
Romans 8:28 The True Christian's Blessedness

Our God and Father...

F B Meyer has these devotional thoughts on "Father"...

IT WAS THUS THAT JESUS LIVED (Ephesians 1:3) There was no lack of either Grace or Peace in His human life, because He dwelt ever in the bosom of the Father. He spake no word, and wrought no deed of mercy, that was not derived from his Father. He refused to make one stone into bread, because so sure that his Father could not forget Him, but knew just what was needed for the body which He had provided for Him. The often upturned eye witnessed to the attitude of his spirit. There was never a film of separation or cloud of misunderstanding, for the Father never left Him alone for a single instant; not even when He cried, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me." How could He, when Jesus did always those things which pleased Him? "Even so, Father," was the whisper with which He met all the incidents of his life, whether cloud or sun.

Let us learn to live thus towards the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There must always be an impassable gulf between His relationship to the Father and ours. But, withal, there are points of contact. He waits to reveal to us the Father, according to his own words (Mt 11:27). He longs to reproduce in us, by the Holy Ghost, His own spirit of Sonship, and to bring us to know His Father as our Father, His God as ours. There is no joy, which more satisfies His soul for its travail, than that His own should come so to know the name and character of His Father, and so to abide in it, as that the love with which the Father loved Him, may be in them as a warm and blessed experience. When this purpose is accomplished in us, our Marahs will be turned to Elims; and we shall be full of peace, since our Father has mixed our cups, appointed our paths, set our life-tasks, and whispers to our secret hearts that He is well pleased with us in Jesus. (Chapter 1 - The Father)

WHO HAS BLESSED US WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING: o eulogesas (AAPMSN) hemas en pase eulogia pneumatike:

This letter is about riches, not exhaustible material wealth that can make itself wings, but the inexhaustible riches that every believer possesses in Christ as a present reality.  Paul sums our riches in this verse with the phrase "every spiritual blessing" and then he proceeds to explain them and to tell us how we can draw on them for effective Christian living. We need to remember that man's "days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; and its place acknowledges it no longer." (Psalm 103:15) In Isaiah God adds that "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." And that word is that we are spiritually wealthy become our wildest dreams. God wants us to live accordingly that the world might see it is to the praise of His glory. May His Spirit open each of our eyes so that we experience the reality of "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" to the praise of the glory of His grace. Amen.

Why wouldn’t God put material blessings in this list of spiritual blessings? The answer is simple -- they don’t last for eternity, whereas the things not seen do last forever! What are you living for...the temporal or the eternal?

Ray Stedman writes that

The epistle to the Ephesians ought to be a treasure store to which we go repeatedly anytime we get discouraged. I remember reading years ago about an old Navajo Indian who had become rich because oil had been found on his property. He took all the money and put it in a bank. His banker became familiar with the habits of this old gentleman. Every once in a while the Indian would show up at the bank and say to the banker, "Grass all gone, sheep all sick, water holes dry." The banker wouldn't say a word -- he knew what needed to be done. He'd bring the old man inside and seat him in the vault. Then he'd bring out several bags of silver dollars and say, "These are yours." The old man would spend about an hour in there looking at his money, stacking up the dollars and counting them. Then he'd come out and say, "Grass all green, sheep all well, water holes all full." He was simply reviewing his resources, that's all. That is where encouragement is found -- when you look at the resources which are yours, the riches, the facts which undergird your faith. As we go through this letter to the Ephesians I hope you will read it in that way.  (See his full sermon Ephesians 1::3-14: Foundations) (Used by permission. Copyright © 1972 Discovery Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible Church.)

Blessed (2127)  (eulogeo from eu = good + logos = word) is the verb form meaning to speak well of, to celebrate with praises, to praise.

Those who have been blessed are "us" - Paul affirms that he had experienced this blessing also. God has endowed us with the ability to succeed in the spiritual life. Why are so many falling so far short of all that God desires for us and for which He has already made ample provision?

When we bless God we speak good of Him. When God blesses us, He bestows good to us. We bless Him with words. He blesses us with deeds! All we can do is to speak well of Him because in ourselves we have nothing good to give. And remember that to obey is better than sacrifice, so don't praise Him with your lips and walk unworthily in your life. Stated another way,  God cannot bless us for our goodness, because we have none. He blesses us with His abundant goodness. Our heavenly Father lavishes us with every goodness, good gift and blessing. That is His gracious nature and our great need.

Did you notice that the verse is not future tense but past tense. Blessed is in the aorist tense which speaks of effective action, completed in the past.  It is not that God will give us but that He has already given us.

Every (3956)(pas) means all, whole, every, without exception. The Ephesians lived in a city of great riches and Paul wanted them to understand what real riches were, where to find them, and what to do with them.

As Peter affirms God has

“His (the Lord Jesus) divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him (not superficial knowledge -- which is why inductive Bible study that causes you to dig into the passages is so valuable and life changing) who called us by His own glory and excellence."  (see note 2 Peter 1:3)

Alexander Maclaren commenting on "every" (pas) writes that Paul...

calls upon us to bless God for all spiritual blessings. That is to say, there is no gap in His gift. It is rounded and complete and perfect. Whatever a man’s needs may require, whatever his hopes can dream, whatever his wishes can stretch out towards, it is all here, compacted and complete. The spiritual gifts are encyclopaediacal and all-sufficient, They, are not, segments, but completed circles. When God gives He gives amply. (Read full sermon)

Spiritual (4152) (pneumatikos from pneuma = spirit) refers to that which belongs to the supernatural world as distinguished from what belongs to the natural world. In other words the although the "blessing" might include a big checking and savings account (etc), the primary focus is the inexhaustible spiritual bank account readily available to every believer and waiting to drawn on. Too many "wealthy" saints who are supplied with every spiritual blessing are living like spiritual paupers.

Alexander Maclaren explains that Paul...

calls them ‘spiritual,’ not because they are, unlike material and outward blessings, gifts for the inner man, the true self, but because they are imparted to the waiting spirit by that Divine Spirit who communicates to men all the most precious things of God. They are ‘spiritual’ because the Holy Spirit is the medium of communication by which they reach men’s spirit. (Read full sermon)

Blessing (2129) (eulogia - noun) is the act of speaking in favorable terms (praise) or the benefit of blessing. Here it speaks primarily of the spiritual benefits bestowed by God upon His family members. He confers every spiritual benefit upon His saints. He blesses because He is ready, willing and able to do so, not because we deserve His blessings or have earned them (it is all of grace). He is the source of all blessing, of every good thing. Goodness can only come from God because there is no source of goodness outside of God (the natural man bristles at truths such as this).

Paul is saying you may be as poor as a church mouse in the world's eyes but in the eyes of God, in terms of riches that will last forever, you are immeasurably wealthy. Even the national debt of America simply does not compare to your wealth for the former is material and temporal while the latter is spiritual and eternal.

WE MUST POSSESS
OUR POSSESSIONS

We are rich in Christ, but like all gifts they have to be received, and thus these blessings must be appropriated. We must live in the light of these blessings. We must live like they are true because they are even though they are largely unseen. We have to come to the point where by faith we lay hold of these blessings and "possess our possessions". We need to be like Joshua in the Old Testament to whom God declared...

"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses." (Joshua 1:3)

Like Joshua, God has given us the "land" so to speak, but like Joshua, our responsibility is to "put one foot in front of the other" and walk out in faith, not by sight, laying claim to our our "spiritual territory" in the heavenly places in Christ.

S Lewis Johnson tells the story of William Penn stating...

I don’t know how true it is, but the Indians said to Mr. Penn, “You can have as much as land as you can walk around in one day.” So, the story is that Mr. Penn got up early in the morning, I would’ve too. And he walked fast. And he walked over a wide territory. And at the end of the day he had encompassed, well not the state of Pennsylvania, but nevertheless a wide territory and one of the Indians said laconically later, so I’m told, “Paleface has had a long walk today.” Well, he was appropriating land that was a promise to him, as he appropriated it. And so here, the appropriation is to tread upon these great promises and make them ours. (Ephesians 1:1-4 Paul's Grandest Epistle - Audio)

Alexander Maclaren wrote

"We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor?"

In another message Maclaren says of the "spiritual blessings" that

we possess them all today if our hearts are resting on Jesus Christ. The limit of the gift is only in ourselves. All has been given, but the question remains how much has been taken. Oh, Christian men and women, there is nothing that we require more than to have what we have, to posses what is ours, to make our own what has been bestowed. (Read full sermon)

IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST: en tois epouraniois en Christo:

In heavenly places - this expression locates our wealth in a place that is our future home.

Note that saints have two new "supernatural addresses" - in heaven and in Christ! Why do so many saints live as spiritual paupers clinging vainly to an earth which is passing away and which is not our home? This is where Ephesians wants to take us - into the heavenly places in Christ; to show us the treasure of riches and blessings that are for us there.

Heavenly (2032) (epouranios - used 5 times in Ephesians - Eph 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12) encompass the entire supernatural realm of God, His complete domain, and the full extent of His divine operation. Saints while on earth are aliens and just passing through for as Paul writes...

our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (see note Philippians 3:20; 3:21)

In (1722) (en) means in and in this phrase denotes the object of our faith is Christ, the Source of every spiritual blessing. Saints are "in" Christ and because of this covenantal, inseparable union are partakers of these benefits throughout this life and the life to come.

In the heavenly places is the place where believers receive “every spiritual blessing” because it is where the ascended, exalted Christ is (God "raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" see note Ephesians 1:20), and where believers also are, since they are incorporated “in Him” (God "raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus" see note Ephesians 2:6). In contrast to the present earthly realm, which represents experiential reality for the believer, the region designated by "the heavenly places" is the locus of the ascended Christ in His present state of exaltation, a spiritual (not figurative nor metaphorical but very real) reality in which believers currently share by virtue of their participation “in” Him as a result of their by faith entering into the New Covenant in His blood.

This truth of the believer’s present participation “in” Christ is amplified in Ephesians 2:5-6 where Paul uses 3 verbs that have the preposition "sun-" (picturing intimate union) in their prefix (suzoopoieo = "made alive together with Christ", sunegeiro = "raised up with Him" , sugkathizo = "seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"]) which describe the participation of believers with Christ in His resurrection and exaltation. This truth of the believer's present union with Christ is also explained by Paul in the well-known verse Galatians 2:20  (with reference to co-crucifixion). (see in depth discussion)

In Christ - in the sphere of Christ. The first 14 verses of Ephesians 1 specify the spiritual address or sphere of "in Christ", "in Christ Jesus", "in Him" or "in the Beloved" eleven times! Clearly this truth is key (see key words) to the understanding of this chapter and this entire epistle. Remember that we once were "in Adam" (see notes Ephesians 2:1;  2:2; 2:3) but when we believed upon our Redeemer Christ Jesus as our Substitutionary and fully atoning Sacrifice, God transferred us from the kingdom of darkness "in Adam" and into the kingdom of light, of His dear Son, so that we are now "in Christ". This transfer was the outworking of the New Covenant in His blood, which is an important truth to remember when trying to understand the concept (truth) of "in Christ". Covenant is a solemn, binding agreement between two parties in which there is a co-mingling of lives and identities. The two become one just as a husband and wife become one new person and just as the mystical church becomes one with Christ, the church as His body of which He is the Head. And so we see the vital nature of the inseparable union pictured in the phrase "in Christ". It is no longer the believer who lives but Christ Who lives in the believer (see notes Galatians 2:20 ). It is no longer our life, but it is Christ our life (see notes Colossians 3:4). We are no longer separate "branches" but attached to the Vine (Christ Jesus - see John 15, especially John 15:5) deriving our life and our purpose from HIm, for now Christ is our all in all, the very essence of our existence, now and forever. When others see us, they see Him (ideally, when we are being controlled by His Spirit). (For more thoughts on what the incomparable phrase "in Christ" in notes on Ephesians 1:1 "in Christ Jesus" )

In Christ expresses intimacy of a believers union with Christ. The preposition "in" is locative of sphere meaning that the believer's sainthood was (is) in the sphere of Christ, not because someone named them "saints" and not in the sphere of some worshipper of a pagan deity as the term was commonly used in the so-called "mystery" religions of Paul's day. Christ is the sphere in which the believer has his new life or as Paul phrases it in chapter 3, "Christ -- our life" (see note Colossians 3:4).

Wuest commenting on the phrase in Christ observes that

Here again we have separation, for that which surrounds the believer, namely, Christ in whom he is ensphered, separates him from all else. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

William MacDonald observes that

In Christ speaks of their spiritual position. When they were saved, God placed them in Christ, “accepted in the beloved.” (see note Ephesians 1:6) Henceforth, they had His life and nature (see note 2 Peter 1:4). Henceforth, they would no longer be seen God as children of Adam (1Cor 15:22) or as unregenerate men, but He would now see them in all the acceptability of His own Son. The expression in Christ conveys more of intimacy, acceptance, and security than any human mind can understand. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Spurgeon comments that...

One of the first doctrines of our holy faith is that of the union of all believing souls with Christ. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Apart from Christ we are nothing; in Christ we have "all spiritual blessings" We are rich as Christ is rich, when we are united to him by the living bond of faith. Another great doctrine of Holy Scripture is that of election. We are blessed in Christ according as the Father "hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." Why did God choose any unto eternal life? Was it because of any holiness in them then existing, or foreseen to exist? No, by no means; for we read that: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,"

Ray Stedman writes that...

The third element of this great verse is that the apostle points out that all this blessing is in Christ. All this comes to us in Christ, in the Person and the work of the Lord Jesus himself. This fact is going to be stressed again and again in this letter. No two words appear in it more frequently than "in Christ," or "in him." Over and over it is emphasized that everything comes to us through him.  We must learn not to listen to those who claim to have God's blessing in their lives, and yet to whose thinking Christ is not central. They are deceived, and they are deceiving us if we accept what they say. The only spiritual blessing that can ever come to you from God must always come in Christ. There is no other way that it can come. So if you are involved with some group which sets aside the Lord Jesus Christ and tries to go "directly to God," and thus claim some of the great spiritual promises of the New Testament, you are involved in a group which is leading you into fakery and fraud. It is completely spurious! For God accomplishes spiritual blessing only in Christ. Physical blessings are available "to the just and the unjust alike," but the inner spirit of man can be healed and cured only in Christ, and there is no other way. (Read full message Ephesians 1:1-14: God At Work)  (Copyright © 1972 Discovery Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible Church.)

that when Paul spoke of the Christian being in Christ, he meant that the Christian lives in Christ as a bird in the air, a fish in the water, the roots of a tree in the soil. What makes the Christian different is that he is always and everywhere conscious of the encircling presence of Jesus Christ.  (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

A Christian always moves in two spheres. He is in a certain place in this world; but he is also in Christ. He lives in two dimensions. He lives in this world whose duties he does not treat lightly; but above and beyond that he lives in Christ. In this world he may move from place to place; but wherever he is, he is in Christ. That is why outward circumstances make little difference to the Christian; his peace and his joy are not dependent on them. That is why he will do any job with all his heart. It may be menial, unpleasant, painful, it may be far less distinguished than he might expect to have; its rewards may be small and its praise non-existent; nevertheless the Christian will do it diligently, uncomplainingly and cheerfully, for he is in Christ and does all things as to the Lord. We are all in our own Colosse, but we are all in Christ, and it is Christ who sets the tone of our living." Barclay describes an ideal state writing that "There is the life that is dominated by the Spirit of God. As a man lives in the air, he lives in Christ, never separated from him. As he breathes in the air and the air fills him, so Christ fills him. He has no mind of his own; Christ is his mind. He has no desires of his own; the will of Christ is his only law. He is Spirit-controlled, Christ-controlled, God-focused."  (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

Guy King in his exposition of Philippians comments on the phrase in Christ writing that...

Herein lay

(a) Their (referring to the saints at Philippi but applicable to saints of all places and ages!) protection from evil life. The moral condition of a heathen city would be a constant peril to any new converts, especially as they themselves had but just recently come out of that very heathenism. Philippi may not have been so utterly debased as Corinth, or Rome, but its atmosphere must have been a subversive influence threatening any who would live pure and true. Yet, they could be kept safe. Christians must, of course, remain in such hostile surroundings, for CHRIST must have there, as Matthew 5:13 (note), 5:14 (note) teaches, the salt, the light, and the testimony.

So He Himself prays "not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil", John 17:15.

That keeping, that protection, is ministered to us in the fact of our being, not only "in the world", but more closely, "in Christ."

A shipwrecked man writes a message, and throws it into the sea, in the hope that it may reach some shore. But will not the water damage and destroy it? No; for, while it is cast into the sea, it is first sealed in a bottle - and so it arrives. Yes; in Philippi, with all its destructive influences, but "in Christ" - so they are secure, and so, in spite of all antagonistic forces, they arrive at "the haven where they would be." Herein lay also

(b) Their possibility of holy life. We are called not only to a negative but to a positive life - "eschew (abstain from) evil, and do good", as 1 Peter 3:11 (note) says. But how can a holy life be lived in such unholy surroundings?

Mark that little water-spider going down to the bottom of that pond. It doesn't really belong there, even as we believers are: "in the world" ...but not of it, John 17:11, 16. The little creature has the queer, and amazing, ability of weaving a bubble of air around itself, and hidden in that it is able to pursue its way even amid such inimical conditions - in the water, but in the bubble!

So we come back to our glorious truth - in Philippi, but "in Christ"; then even in the midst of the most uncongenial surroundings, the Christ-life can be lived.  (King, Guy: Joy Way: An Exposition of the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, 1952, Christian Literature Crusade - Pdf) (Bolding added)

Guy King in his commentary on Colossians comments on their earthly and supernatural positions explaining...

Oh yes, I know they were at Colossae - breathing the fetid atmosphere of this typically pagan city. How could the fair flowers of fidelity and holiness flourish in such a place? Only because they enjoyed the nearer, purer air of being in Christ.

The clever little water beetle is able to live in the muddy bed of the pond because it has the gift of weaving around itself a bubble of air. Thus it takes its own atmosphere down with it. I often invert a "let's pretend" story of a man shipwrecked on a desert island, who, happening to have his fountain pen still in his pocket, decides to write a message on a large island leaf to send to his people. Having thrown it into the sea, he could then only wait, and hope for the best. But, silly man, the leaf will soon be pulped and the message obliterated by the ocean. Oh, I forgot to mention that on his island he happened to find a bottle with a sealing top. So his SOS reached home, and led to his rescue, because though it was in the sea, it was in the bottle. Yes, although these Christians were in that Colossian sea of iniquity, they were kept safe and saintly because they were "in Christ".

It is one of Paul's chief inspired conceptions, so often reiterated through all his correspondence, that we are "in Him", "in the Lord", "in Christ". What amazing privilege and prediction is here! "Christ in you, the hope of glory", he says in Colossians 1:27; and now it is the other side of the blessed truth: you in CHRIST, the hope of safety. (Colossians 1:1-2 His Tactful Approach - Pdf)

F B Meyer in his "Devotional Commentary of Ephesians" explains "in Him" writing that...

THE sponge, as it expands in its native seas, is in the clear warm water; and the water is in it. Thus there is a double In-ness between the Lord and the soul that loves Him. He is in the believer, as the sap is in the vine, and the spirit of energetic life in the body. But, in a very deep and blessed sense, the believer is in Christ. Of each of these sides of this marvellous truth there are many illustrations in this Epistle, so specially devoted to the study of the preposition in. We are dealing now with those passages only that assure us, as believers, of being in the Beloved.

WE ARE IN CHRIST, IN THE FATHER'S THOUGHT (see notes Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:11) The disclosures made to the apostle Paul of God's hidden things, hidden from ages and generations, are perfectly overwhelming. He tells us that our connection with Christ, in the thought of God, is not a matter of yesterday, nor of the day before, but of eternity.