Not imitation

This transformation takes place, not by imitation, but by indwelling, being “in him.” for Paul this indwelling is not a one-way relationship but mutual: we in Christ, Christ in us; we in the Spirit, the Spirit in us (see, e.g., Rom 8:1–17). The new-covenant promise of interiority has been fulfilled but also altered, as in John, to become mutual indwelling.— The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of the New Covenant, page 61