In The Lord...?

In Him is life and His life is the Light of men.

 

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:14 ESV

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
Philippians 2:19 ESV

and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
Philippians 2:24 ESV

So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,
Philippians 2:29 ESV

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
Philippians 3:1 ESV

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Philippians 4:1 ESV

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
Philippians 4:2 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Philippians 4:4 ESV

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
Philippians 4:10 ESV

 

Thanks, not all uses are identical so I was wondering which use was meant.

 

The phrase 'in the Lord' appears to be primarily Paulistic, the apostle uses it literally dozens of times in his epistles. It is rarely used by the other NT authors.

What does it mean? I take is as a positional statement- i.e. we are 'in the Lord' as Christians. Or that is where we SHOULD be anyways.

 

"...in the Lord"
It is an inclusive statement, those who believe as Paul were brothers in the Lord.

The word “in”, connotes a proximity or position, more than just a state of mind;
The phrase communicates a positional walk with the Lord;
a controlling identification with him.

I read a quote last evening that seemed to lightly touch on this matter.

None can pray a psalm if they have not previously made the words of the psalm their own. But they will then be your own when you have the same feeling and the same spirit in which the words we said. If you pray without this, you resemble those who play a role in a comedy, where the action takes place with proper words, but with a reality that is artificial. What a shipwrecked person really says sounds quite different coming from the actor who plays the part of the shipwrecked, or a mask, even though the words remain the same. For the former speaks his own words, the latter speaks words that are foreign, and naturally with a different feeling. For the former, reality and words cohere; for the latter, reality is simulated.
Martin Luther: Die reformatiorschen grundschreften in vier Bunden (1516), quoted and translated by Roland E. Murphy, O Carm. in the book, The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter, edited by J. Clinton McCann, 1993.

To be “in the Lord” is to be a part of him and not just an acting of the part.

Rob