To be "in Christ" means everything To be a Christian is to be in Christ. This is why Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 12:2 that he knew a man "in Christ." He could have said, "I know a Christian." In Romans 16:7, Paul says that Andronicus and Junia were "in Christ" before he was. In other words, they were Christians before he was. Christians are those who are "in the Messiah."