In with and under book
In, With, and Under
Locational and legal language in the New Testament
Introduction
Small words carry a lot of weight in Scripture. In, with, upon, under, through: we read past them quickly, but the Gospels and Paul use them with care. They point to two very different ways that something can happen to a person.
Some things happen by being near. A spirit enters a man. An angel stands beside someone. The effect depends on where the other one is. That is locational.
Other things happen by authority. A word is spoken, a ruling is made, and the effect reaches a person who was never close. The effect depends on standing and jurisdiction, not on nearness. That is legal.
A simple test
Ask one question of any passage: if the person went away, would the effect stop? If it stops, it was locational. If it keeps going, it was legal.
When the demons leave the man in Luke 8, the occupation ends. When a decree is issued, it stands even after the judge goes home.
Why it matters
The two are easy to confuse, and the confusion has a cost. If you treat everything in salvation as locational, you will judge it by how near God feels. On a day when He feels far away, you will think something has been lost.
If you treat everything as legal, you may forget that Scripture also speaks of real presence, a Person who dwells in you. The New Testament uses both kinds of language, and it uses each where it belongs.
How this book is built
Part One looks at the locational words, in and with, through two scenes in Luke: the man called Legion, and the angel who strengthens Jesus. Part Two looks at the legal words, upon, under, and through, beginning with the centurion who asks Jesus only for a word. The last chapters bring in Roman law, the idea of civil death, and Paul's use of *in*, which turns out to work both ways.
This book stays inside the New Testament. Scripture is paraphrased, with references so you can read each passage in your own translation.
A caution
Greek prepositions have wide ranges, and no single English word matches them all. *Upon* and *under* are place words, and Scripture uses them as pictures of rank and authority. The test is not which word appears. The test is whether the effect depends on being near. We will read each word in its own passage and let the passage decide.
Chapter 1: In
Part One, locational. Luke 8:26-39
The first picture of "in" is the most direct one. Something enters a person and works from the inside.
The man and the legion (8:26-30)
Jesus meets a man from the city who has had demons for a long time. He wears no clothes and lives among the tombs (8:27). When Jesus orders the unclean spirit to come out of him (8:29), He asks the name, and the answer is "Legion," because many demons had entered him (8:30).
The word is *entered*. The demons are inside the man, and they speak, move, and control him from there. This is occupation.
What occupation looks like
The effects show in the whole man: his body, his voice, his behavior. He cannot be held with chains (8:29). The power comes from within the object, so it moves wherever the object moves.
That is the nature of a locational effect. It depends on where the occupant is. When the occupants leave, the effect ends.
The effect ends when they leave (8:33-35)
The demons come out of the man and enter the pigs (8:33). People come to see what had happened and find the man sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind (8:35).
Nothing about the man's standing had been argued or ruled on. What changed was who was inside him. Occupation can be removed, and when it is, the effect goes with it.
Even inside, under a word (8:31-32)
There is a detail that matters for later. The demons beg Jesus not to send them into the abyss, and then ask permission to enter the pigs (8:31-32). Jesus gives it.
They were inside the man, but they were still under His word. Occupation was real, and so was the authority above it. The legal had power over the locational even in the place where the locational seemed strongest. We will come back to this in chapter 4.
In is real
The New Testament uses the same kind of language for the dark side and the good side. Paul says sin dwells in him (Romans 7:17). He also says Christ is in you (Romans 8:10) and that the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus dwells in you (8:11).
This is not a figure of speech for a mood. It names a real presence working from within. Chapter 8 will show where this fits with being "in Christ."
Chapter 2: With
Part One, locational. Luke 22:43; Luke 24:13-35; John 14:17
The second locational word is "with." It is also about nearness, but it is a different kind. The one who is near stays beside you and does not enter.
The angel in the garden (Luke 22:43)
In Gethsemane, an angel from heaven appears to Jesus and strengthens Him (22:43). The angel is seen, and the help is real. But it comes from alongside. The angel does not enter Jesus or take His place.
Notice what the angel does not do. The cup is not removed, and the prayer goes on in great distress (22:42-44). Nearness can strengthen without settling the matter. (A few early manuscripts leave out verses 43-44, but they stand in the Greek text behind the traditional Received Text and the Majority text.)
The road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)
Two disciples walk toward Emmaus, and Jesus Himself draws near and walks with them (24:15). He is close enough to talk with, and they do not recognize Him (24:16). Later they ask Him to stay with them (24:29).
The nearness was real the whole way, whether or not they knew it. A locational effect does not depend on recognition. It depends on the one who is there.
"I am with you" (Matthew 28:20)
Jesus ends Matthew's Gospel with a promise: He is with them every day until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). The word is *with*, not *in*. It speaks of a companion who stays beside them.
From with to in (John 14:17)
Jesus says of the Spirit of truth that He lives with you and will be in you (John 14:17). Here the two words stand side by side.
They are different. "With" is nearness, and "in" is occupation. In this verse the Spirit's relationship to the disciples changes from the first to the second.
What with can and cannot do
*With* can strengthen, comfort, guide, and protect. It can be seen or unseen. But it ends when the companion goes, and it does not by itself change anyone's standing. That is why the next chapter asks a question that cuts across both words.
Chapter 3: Where Is It, and Who Says So?
The test between the two kinds
The first two chapters gave two locational words. Before we turn to the legal ones, we need a way to tell the two kinds apart.
Two questions
For any passage, ask two questions. The first is where is it, relative to the person? The second is what standing or authority applies? The first gets a locational answer, and the second gets a legal one.
The quickest test is this: if the person goes away, does the effect stop? If yes, it is locational. If no, it is legal.
Laid side by side
Locational: Where is it?
Legal: What authority applies?
Locational: Nearness or occupation
Legal: Standing and jurisdiction
Locational: The effect ends
Legal: The effect stays
Locational: By arrival or departure
Legal: By decree
Locational: in, with
Legal: upon, under, through
Locational: Legion in the man
Legal: The centurion's servant healed at a distance
Seen or unseen does not decide it
A common mistake is to think the locational is visible and the legal is invisible. Neither is true. The angel in Gethsemane is seen, and the Spirit within a believer is not, yet both are locational. A decree can be written down and sealed, and it is still legal.
What decides the category is whether the effect needs nearness.
The law already knows this
Modern law has the same two kinds. Territorial jurisdiction applies in a place, and personal jurisdiction follows the person wherever he goes. Paul's own case shows the second kind. When soldiers prepare to flog him in Jerusalem, he says he is a Roman citizen, and they stop (Acts 22:25-29).
His rights had not stayed in Rome. They went with him, because they belonged to his standing and not to a place.
Words that borrow place
One caution from the introduction applies again. *Upon* and *under* are place words. The Scriptures use them as pictures of authority, and the centurion will show how. The word does not decide the category. The effect does.
Chapter 4: Under
Part Two, legal. Luke 7:1-10
The legal words begin with a scene in which a Roman officer states the whole difference between the two kinds in a few sentences.
The request (7:1-5)
A centurion has a servant who is sick and about to die (7:2). He sends Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and save him (7:3). They speak well of him: he loves the nation and built them their synagogue (7:5).
Jesus goes with them (7:6)
Jesus goes with them. This is the locational move, and it is a gracious one. But when He is not far from the house, the centurion sends friends with a message.
Under my roof, and under authority (7:6-8)
The message is: do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that You should come under my roof (7:6). I did not think myself fit to come to You either. Say the word, and my servant will be healed (7:7).
Then he explains why: I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes (7:8).
He uses *under* twice, and the two uses differ. The first is a roof, which is a place. The second is rank, which is a chain of command. He declines the first and chooses the second.
Why a word is enough
The centurion does not need Jesus to be near. He understands that a command carries the authority of the one who gives it, wherever the order is heard. A word from the right person reaches the servant, whether the person is in the room or miles away.
That is the legal pattern. The effect does not depend on arrival. It depends on who has the authority to speak.
The result (7:9-10)
Jesus is amazed. He says He has not found such faith, even in Israel (7:9). The messengers return to the house and find the servant well (7:10).
The faith Jesus praises is not a feeling. It is recognizing the order of command: He speaks, and what He says is done.
Two kinds of under in Paul
Paul uses the same word for two jurisdictions. You are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14). Before that, those under law needed redeeming (Galatians 4:4-5). These are not places. They are the authorities that currently cover you, and a person can be moved from one to the other.
Chapter 5: Upon
Part Two, legal. Luke 1:35; Luke 3:22; Luke 4:18; Acts 6:6
*Upon* is the word for something placed on a person. In Scripture it often marks a commission or an authorization, like a seal on a document.
The Spirit upon (Luke 1:35; 3:22; 4:18)
The angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her (Luke 1:35). At Jesus' baptism the Spirit comes down upon Him (3:22). In Nazareth He reads that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him because He was anointed to preach good news (4:18).
In the last of these, the reason is stated: because He anointed me. *Upon* is tied to anointing, and anointing is a setting apart for a task.
Hands laid on (Luke 4:40; Acts 6:6)
Jesus lays His hands on each of the sick and heals them (Luke 4:40). The apostles lay their hands on the seven who are chosen to serve (Acts 6:6). The church lays hands on Barnabas and Saul to send them out (Acts 13:3).
The hands are not the point. They mark a claim and a commission: this person is authorized, and this person is sent. The hands leaving does not undo it.
Power for the task (Acts 1:8)
Jesus tells the disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them, and they will be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). The upon comes first, and the witness follows.
This fits the pattern of the legal words. The weight is on who has authorized the person, and what the person is now sent to do.
A caution
Christians differ on how the Spirit upon people relates to the Spirit within them, and this book does not try to settle it. The point here is narrower: *upon* is mainly language of commissioning and authorization, and it does not depend on how close the one who commissions is standing.
Chapter 6: Through
Part Two, legal. Romans 5:12-19; Romans 7:4; Hebrews 10:10
*Through* names the instrument. It tells you what event or person a result passes by way of, and it can cross any distance in space or time.
Through one man (Romans 5:12, 5:18-19)
Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin (Romans 5:12). Through one trespass, condemnation came to all, and through one act of righteousness, justification and life (5:18). Through one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, and through one man's obedience, many are made righteous (5:19).
No one else was in the garden. Adam was not inside anyone and not beside them. The effect reached everyone by way of his act.
Through the body of Christ (Romans 7:4)
Paul says you died to the law through the body of Christ. That body was broken in Jerusalem about two thousand years ago. You were not there, and He was not in you.
Yet the event does its work now. It is the instrument through which your standing changes. The distance of time does not matter, because the effect does not need nearness.
Through the offering (Hebrews 10:10)
The writer of Hebrews says we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). The words "once for all" mark it as something that does not need repeating or being near. It was done, and it applies.
Through Christ to God (Romans 5:1; John 1:17)
Paul says that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). John says grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). In both, Christ is the way the result reaches us.
What through shows
Of the three legal words, *through* is the one that shows how a ruling reaches you. *Upon* marks who has been authorized, *under* marks who has authority over you, and *through* marks the event by which the change comes. All three work without nearness.
Chapter 7: A Decree That Works Without You
Civil death and Romans 5 to 8
Civil death is the best picture of how the legal words work. It is a status taken away or given by a ruling, and no one needs to be near for it to happen.
Losing your standing
In the law of the ancient world, a person could lose his standing without anyone touching him. Roman law knew a loss of status (*capitis deminutio*) that could strip a person of liberty, citizenship, or family standing. Later law used the phrase *civil death* for a person who was legally dead while still alive.
The person did not need to be in a courtroom. The ruling was made, and the person lost his rights while sitting at home. Civil death has been abolished in most places, in part because of how it was abused.
Adam: a ruling through one man
Romans 5 describes the same logic. Through one man, condemnation came to all (5:18). It did not wait for each person to feel guilty or to be near Adam. It was a ruling that covered everyone in him.
That is the first loss of standing: death reigning because of the one man's trespass (5:17).
Dying out of the claim (Romans 6:7; 7:1-4)
Then Paul uses another legal fact: death ends a claim. He who has died is freed from sin (6:7), and the word for freed can also mean justified. In chapter 7 he gives the example of marriage: the law has authority over a person only as long as he lives, and a woman is free from her husband when he dies (7:1-3).
You died to the law through the body of Christ (7:4). A death changed your legal position, and you did not need to feel anything first.
From loss to sonship (Galatians 4:4-5; Romans 8:15-17)
The movement does not stop at being freed. God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we would receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). Paul says in Romans 8 that those led by the Spirit are sons, and if children, then heirs (8:14-17).
Adoption is a legal act. It gives a person a new place in a family by a ruling and not by feeling. The same ruling that ends one standing gives another.
What the ruling does not wait for
The ruling does not depend on your feeling. Christians differ on the exact order of justification and the Spirit's coming to live in a believer, and many hold that they are given together when a person believes. The narrower point is this: the verdict stands even on a day when you feel nothing, and that is what lets you live from it and not for it.
Chapter 8: The Word "In" Works Both Ways
Romans 8:1, 8:10; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 15:4
We began with *in* as occupation, and that is real. But Paul also uses *in* in a legal sense, and the direction of the sentence tells you which.
In Adam, in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22)
Paul says that in Adam all die, and in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). Here *in* does not mean that Adam or Christ lives inside a person. It means a person's standing under a head: what he did counts for those in him.
This is legal. It fits Romans 5, where two heads act for many.
Two directions
Put two phrases side by side:
- Christ in you (Romans 8:10). Christ is the one inside. This is occupation, and it is locational.
- You in Christ (Romans 8:1). The person is the one placed. This is standing, and it is legal.
The same little word carries both. The question to ask is which way it points: who is inside whom, and does the effect need nearness?
John 15:4 holds both
Jesus says, abide in me, and I in you (John 15:4). The first half is the legal standing you stay in. The second is the real presence that follows. They come together in one sentence, and neither replaces the other.
Why you need both
The legal side gives you a standing that does not move: no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). It is true on a day when you feel far from God, because it never depended on nearness.
The locational side gives you the real life of Christ at work in you (Romans 8:10-11). It is not a verdict. It is a Person dwelling in you through the Spirit.
If you had only the first, you would be right with God and have nothing at work in you. If you had only the second, you would judge everything by what you feel. Scripture gives both, and it gives each in its own kind of word.
Tied to the other book
The companion study *In Christ, Christ in You* calls these two sides juridical and substantial. This book asks a related question about the words themselves, and the two fit together: the legal prepositions describe the juridical side, and the locational ones describe, roughly, the substantial side.
Conclusion
Two questions run through this book. Where is it? And who says so?
The locational words answer the first. In is occupation, like Legion in the man or Christ in you. With is accompaniment, like the angel in Gethsemane or Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Both depend on nearness, and both end if the one who is near goes.
The legal words answer the second. Under is rank, like the centurion under authority and believers under grace. Upon is commission, like the Spirit upon Jesus and hands laid on the seven. Through is the instrument, like the one man's act in Romans 5 and the body of Christ in Romans 7:4. None of them needs nearness.
Reading for yourself
When you meet one of these words in the New Testament, pause and ask two things. Does this effect need someone to be near? And if the person left, would it stop? The answers usually show which kind of language you are reading.
Last word
The centurion understood the difference better than most of us. He told Jesus not to come under his roof, and asked only for a word. Jesus called it great faith.
In the same way, the verdict about you does not wait for you to feel it. It was spoken through Christ, and it holds. The life of Christ in you is real as well. Scripture gives you both, and each of them needs its own words.
Appendix
A. Reading key: passages and words
B. The five words
Greek (as a rule): en, eis
Picture: Occupation, or standing under a head
Kind: Locational (Christ in you) or legal (you in Christ)
Greek (as a rule): meta, syn, para
Picture: Accompaniment
Kind: Locational
Greek (as a rule): epi
Picture: Authorization placed on someone
Kind: Legal
Greek (as a rule): hypo
Picture: Rank, covered by authority
Kind: Legal
Greek (as a rule): dia
Picture: Instrument or means
Kind: Legal
C. Terms to check before quoting
These are general terms from law and not Scripture. Check a legal dictionary before using them in print.
- Territorial jurisdiction: authority that applies in a place.
- Personal jurisdiction: authority that follows the person.
- Capitis deminutio: a loss of status in Roman law.
- Civil death: a person treated as legally dead while still alive.
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