As we turn our attention to Paul's words in Galatians 2:20, he expresses His spiritual relationship to Jesus Christ in a most peculiar way, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." You'll notice how Paul expressed in the verse "Christ lives in me".
How can it be that Jesus, a carpenter from first century Galilee, specifically Nazareth, could somehow indwell Paul and every follower of Jesus Christ in the many generations which have passed over the last 2,000 years? One answer we can give is the fact that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, the Word made flesh, ascended and exalted.
A second answer, the focus of today's post, is found in how the Holy Spirit performs upon every Christian from salvation a marvelous work known as "union with Christ". We find here what I call "the glue that holds together the Christian life". This "glue", if you will, this "union with Christ" is described all over the New Testament as the reader will see below.
Defining and describing union with Christ
We could define union with Christ as follows, the Holy Spirit's work of connecting me to Jesus Christ at saving faith organically to His finished work, mystically to His person in Heaven, spiritually as a participant in His deity, and corporately to other Christians.
John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue helpfully explain the Christian's union with Christ as follows,
"One of the most precious truths in all Scripture is the doctrine of the believer's union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The concept of being united to Christ speaks of the most vital spiritual intimacy that one can imagine between the Lord and His people."
They later add,
It is not that Christians merely worship Jesus, obey Him, or pray to Him, though surely those privileges would be enough. Rather, they are so intimately identified with Him and He with Him that Scripture says they are united-He is in them and they are in them."1
Jesus expressed this reality to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion in John 14:20-21 "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
No other religion, philosophy, or concept in any other movement has this notion of "union" defining the relationship of devotees to their founder. I as an American, along with others, celebrated this year the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation. The "Founding Fathers" as they are called should be read and understood as important historical figures. However, I am not in union with men such as George Washington, since he is locked away in history as an important figure of history.
Jesus Christ on the other hand is not just someone whom I read about in the four Gospels. He is someone to whom I daily pray, walk with in conscious awareness by faith, and am empowered by through the Holy Spirit. He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live the daily Christian life through me, and I through Him. This is "union with Jesus Christ".
He is not hermetically sealed away in Heaven or locked up on the pages of my Bible. He is in me and I in Him by the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul describes this wondrous union with Christ as a practical reality in Colossians 1:25-27
"Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Where in the Bible do we find union with Christ?
Over the years I've heard varied estimates of how often this doctrine of union with Christ is found in the New Testament. The "smoking gun" of the doctrine is found in the little preposition phrases that sprinkle the New Testament, such as "in Jesus Christ", "in Christ Jesus", "in Christ", "with Christ", "with Jesus", "through Christ", "through Jesus Christ our Lord", "through Jesus Christ", "by Christ Jesus", and "from Jesus Christ". As I've studied the passages that speak on this vital doctrine, I've found over 125 passages.
"in Jesus Christ", Romans 3:22; Galatians 3:22.
"in Christ Jesus" (50x)
Acts 24:24; Romans 3:24,6:11,23; 8:1,2,39; 15:17; 16:3; 1 Cor 1:2,3,4; 4:15; 15:31; 16:24; Galatians 2:4,16; 3:14,26,28; 5:6; Eph 1:11; 2:6,7,10,13; 3:6,11,21; Philippians 1:1,26;2:5; 3:3,14; 4:7; 4:19;4:21; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thess 2:14;5:18;1 Tim 1:14; 3:13; 2 Tim 1:1,9,13;2:1,10; 3:12,15; Philemon 1:23.
"in Christ" (40x)
Romans 9:1; 12:5; 15:17; 16:3,7,9,10; 1 Cor 3:1;4:10; 4:17; 15:18,19,22; 2 Cor 1:21; 2:14,17; 3:14; 5:17;12:2,19; Gal 1:22; 2:17; Eph 1:3,10,12,20; 4:32; Phil 2:1; 3:9; Col 1:2; 1:24; 1:28; 2:5; 1 Thess 4:16; Philemon 1:18; 1 Peter 3:16; 5:10; 5:14.
"with Christ" (12x)
Romans 6:8;8:17; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:5; Gal 3:27; Philippians 1:23; Colossians 2:20; 3:1,3; Revelation 20:4, "with Jesus", 2 Corinthians 4:14.
"through Christ", 2 Corinthians 1:5; 3:4; 5:18; "through Jesus Christ our Lord", Romans 5:21; 7:25; Jude 1:25; "through Jesus Christ", John 1:17; Acts 10:36; Romans 1:8; 5:21; 7:23; 16:27; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:5; Titus 3:6; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 2:5; 4:11.
"by Christ Jesus", Philippians 3:12; "from Jesus Christ", 2 John 1:3; Revelation 1:5.
The importance and application of union with Christ
Readers can see that the Scriptural data on this doctrine is massive to say the least. Arguably this precious truth is the most important of all the glorious doctrines of Christian salvation. John Calvin in Book 2, chapter 1 of his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" began his section on Christian salvation with this statement,
"And the first thing to be attended to is, that so long as we are without Christ and separated from him, nothing which he suffered and did for the salvation of the human race is of the least benefit to us. To communicate to us the blessings which he received from the Father, he must become ours and dwell in us." 2
As I said at the beginning of this post, union with Christ is the glue that holds together the Christian life. In the definition I offered, the Holy Spirit's work of connecting me to Jesus Christ at saving faith organically to His finished work, mystically to His person in Heaven, spiritually as a participant in His deity, and corporately to other Christians, this union covers every aspect of the Christian life. Tis union begins from the moment of regeneration in saving faith, through their growth in sanctification, through their relationships with other Christians in the local church, through death and the life hereafter, through what will be resurrection and the world to come.
Union with Christ is expressed visually when the church observes the Lord's Supper or when someone makes their public profession of faith in baptism. Union with Christ comforts me in difficult times, reminds me of my identity, grounds my Christian walk, and brings to me the Person and work of Christ who is my Mediator in Heaven. It is the glue that holds the Christian life together.
Endnotes.
1. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue. A Systematic Summary of Biblical Truth - Biblical Doctrine. Crossway. 2017. Page 602.
2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, online edition here John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion - Christian Classics Ethereal Library As for my statement of this doctrine being arguably the most important to the overall understanding of the Christian life, I have Sinclair Ferguson and Derek Thomas of Ligonier Ministries to thank in the marvelous discussion they have about this doctrine of union with Christ. They note how John Calvin and John Murray made "union with Christ" the centerpiece of their respective treatments of the doctrine of salvation. Their discussion can be found here Ferguson and Thomas: The Significance of Union with Christ (Seminar)
No comments:
Post a Comment