“Accepted” is a term that refers to believers on the Lord Jesus Christ being “taken into favour” with God through receiving Christ as their Saviour (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 1:6 – J. N. Darby Trans.). As a result, they have a new standing before God in Christ that is beyond the reach of judgment.
To properly understand the Christian’s acceptance, it is necessary to first understand Christ’s acceptance, for they are one and the same. Not only has Christ’s work of atonement been accepted by God as that which has satisfied the claims of divine justice, but Christ Himself has been accepted before God. This is witnessed in His resurrection and ascension (1 Tim. 3:16). God has seated Him in the highest place in heaven—at His own right hand (Eph. 1:20-21; Phil. 2:9-11). He is there now as a glorified Man with all the favour of God resting on Him. The wonderful thing about this great fact is that the Bible states that believers on the Lord Jesus are “in Christ” (John 14:20; Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:17, etc.). This is a technical expression used in Paul’s epistles to denote that the believer is in Christ’s place before God. Hence, the measure of His acceptance is ours! We are “accepted in the Beloved!” (Eph. 1:6) The Apostle John states this same great fact: “As He is (accepted before God in heaven), so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
Scripture indicates that those with faith who have not had the privilege of hearing the gospel of God’s grace, who are therefore, not part of the Church of God, are accepted “with” Him (Acts 10:35). Christians, on the other hand, are said to be accepted “in” Him (Eph. 1:6). This indicates a nearer relationship to the Lord, resulting from having the indwelling Spirit of God.