Introduction
∙ central topic – mentioned 172 times: “in…Christ/ Lord/ Jesus/ Him” in N.T., 124 times in Paul’s letters
∙ symptoms everywhere in church of failure to know who we are in Christ
∙ focus on our spirituality – leadership, gifts, faith, works, experiences; tiredness, burn out, stress, identity confusion, sin etc.
∙ “up and down, in and out” experiences – as if our obedience was the ground of our assurance (rather than Jesus)
∙ appropriation-centred rather than Christ-centred devotion
∙ use of mediation – Mary, saints, prophets, anointed leaders functioning as substitutes for Jesus
∙ order in Bible: us in Christ à Christ in us, objective à subjective justification à sanctification, grace à works e.g. Eph 2:8 -10
∙ union with Christ is the content of the gospel
What Does “Union with Christ” Mean?
1. Who Jesus is Today
∙ need to know who Jesus is for us before we can appreciate what he has done
∙ Athanasian Creed “our Lord Jesus Christ…although he be God and human is One; not by the conversion of the Godhead into flesh: but by the taking of the humanity into God”
∙ no longer to think of Jesus “from a worldy point of view” (2 Cor 5:16); he is not “Jesus of Nazareth”
∙ the glory of the exalted lord far exceeds that of the earthly Jesus (Acts 9:3 – 5; Rev 1:12 – 16)
∙ danger of a retrospective views of Jesus’ saving work; e.g. identify forgiveness with justification; think of going back to Adam’s state in Eden (Rom 5:15, 17, 20 “how much more”; “grace superabounded”)
∙ the “one mediator between men and God, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5) is now “glorified” (John 7:39) in “the Father’s heart” (John 1:14) with the glory he had with the Father “before the foundation of the earth” (John 17:5)
∙ Jesus own humanity (and ours “in him”) has been taken into God by a saving life – story involving conception, growth, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of God (and will come again)
∙ if sin is our share in the loss of “the glory of God” in Adam’s humanity (Rom 3:23), then salvation is our share in the restoration of the glory of God in Christ’s humanity (John 12:23, 31; 13:31; 17:1, 4; Acts 3:13; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 4:13; Heb 1:3; 2:9 -10). 1 Co 15:22 joins these together: “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.”.
∙ in the framework of scripture, Jesus is pre-eminently glorified in his resurrection (Acts 3:13, 15) “because he suffered death” (Heb 2:9 -10) (See also Luke 24:26; John 12:23, 31; 13:31, 17:1, 4; Phil 2:5-11.)
∙ whatever we receive from Jesus we receive from his “fullness” (John 1:16; Col 2:10)
∙ Jesus is not merely the instrument or the medium of our regeneration, adoption, justification, sanctification etc. but their reality and content e.g. 1 Cor 1:30; Gal 2:17; Eph 1:7
∙ Jesus’ death to sin on the cross is the substance of our death to sin (Rom 6:8 – 11; 2 Cor 5:14- 15)
∙ Jesus’ justification at his resurrection is the substance of our justification (Rom 4:25; 1 Tim 3:16)
∙ Christ’s sitting at the right hand of God is our position (Eph 2:6)
∙ who Jesus is today can be summarised in the expression, “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10; Col 3:10)
2. Our Union with Christ
a. Errors Concerning Union with Christ
∙ union with Christ is not simply a matter of a legal/forensic standing whereby certain things are imputed to us which are true of Jesus
∙ it is not something that happens apart from us – God does not “treat us” or “see us” “as if” we were righteous, holy etc, we are these things “in Christ”
∙ union with Christ is not to be equated with any single experience or set of experiences, whether these are mystical, moral or charismatic
∙ union with Jesus does not mean that we are somehow absorbed into God or that we lose our personal identity (Jesus identity was fulfilled when he returned to the Father)
∙ Jesus life and death are not simply instruments through which we are saved – we participate through them in Jesus himself
∙ union with Christ does not begin when we were are “born again” but is as eternal as Christ (Matt 25:34; Eph 1:3- 4)
b. The Content of our Union with Christ
∙ whatever has happened to Jesus has happened to us “in him” (see Appendix 1)
∙ “whoever is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor 6:17) means the union of every dimension of the life of Jesus with his people
∙ this means we have a share in his election, holy birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension and reign
∙ there is a particular focus on our dying and rising “with Christ” as these are the central person-forming events of his life and so of ours (Rom 6:4,5,6,8; 8:16,17, 26,29; Gal 2:19; Eph 2:5-6; Phil 3:10,21; Col 2:12 – 13; 3:1; 2 Tim 2:11-12)
∙ union with Christ is not only individual but corporate i.e. it is the church that is “in Christ” (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:13; Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2:14)
∙ believers are part of a new humanity or newly re- created human race (Rom 6:6; Eph 2:15)
∙ this means that the Christian life is essentially a life of community or fellowship
∙ a Christian is in Christ as Christ is in God (e.g. 1 Cor 3:21- 23; Col 3:1 – 4) or the Son is in the Father (John 14:10; 20; 17:23) “I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you (John 14:20).
∙ this means a share in the inner life of the trinity (2 Pet 1:4) i.e. participation in God’s own “perfect love” (1 John 4:16 -18)
3. Our Present Experience of this Union
∙ the reality of our union with Christ is experienced through the life giving power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:2, 10)
∙ the Spirit who applies the life of Jesus to us is the Spirit who empowered Jesus’ ministry (Matt 12:28), death (Heb 9:14), resurrection (Rom 8:11; 1 Pet 3:18), ascension (1 Tim 3:16)
∙ all of this could be summed up as a share in Jesus’ “sonship” through his Spirit (Rom 8:15 – 16; Gal 4:6)
∙ the more we are aware of who Jesus is (for us) the more we aware we are of our union with Christ
∙ only the Spirit can reveal these things of God to us (1 Cor 2:10- 12; 1 John 4:13)
∙ we currently share in Jesus relationship before God, “as he is so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17), this means the Father loves us just as he loves the Son (John 17:23, 26)
∙ there is a certain “community of action” between Christ and the believer, Jesus and the believer act from one centre: this applies to ministry (1 Cor 4:15), speech (2 Cor 2:17; 5:10; Phil 1:21), labour (Rom 16:3, 9, 12, 1 Cor 15:58; Col 1:29), worship (1 Pet 2:5), suffering (Phil 1:13), weakness (2 Cor 13:4), strength (Phil 4:13)
∙ this applies not only to “spiritual activities” but to all the realms of life and godliness (Appendix 2)
∙ to “rejoice in the Lord” (Phil 4:4), “live together with him” (1 Thess 5:20), “beseech by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10:1) etc. is to actually share the current state of Jesus’ soul over the situations of life
∙ we share not only in Jesus past history but his future (Rom 8:17; Gal 4:7; 2 Tim 2:12; 1 John 3:2; Rev 5:10; 20:4)
Application
∙ the Christian does not primarily or essentially live in this world/city/building/year etc. but “with Christ in God” (Illustration – elderly Christian man in “old people’s home”)
∙ our fundamental identity is not drawn from our family, race, age, gender, education, social standing etc. but from “Christ who is our life”
∙ the Christian life cannot be a matter of outside in, for all is inside (we are in him as he is in us and all is in God)
∙ the more I am aware of who Jesus is the more I will want to become like him i.e. faith and obedience flow from revelation and are not causes of it
∙ primary challenge is to let Jesus live out his life through me as the Father lived out his life through him (and still does) in the powerful love of the Spirit
Appendix 1: Union with Christ References in the New Testament
(a) John: The Johannine writings e.g. Jn 15:4-5, 14:20, 17:21, 23, 26; 1 Jn 2:24, 3:6; 5:20. In 1 John it is more common to find the indwelling to refer to God.
(b) Paul:
election ‘in Christ’ Eph 1:4,11 ‘crucified with Christ’ Gal 2:20
creation ‘in Christ’ Eph 2:10 ‘died with Christ’ Col 2:20
grace ‘in Christ’ 1 Cor 1:4 ‘buried with him’ Rom 6:4; Col 2:12
redemption ‘in him’ Rom 3:24; Eph 1:7 ‘live with him’ Rom 6:8; Col 2:13
justified ‘in Christ’ Gal 2:17 ‘raised with him’ Col 2:12; 3:1
sonship ‘in Christ’ Eph 1:5 ‘seated with him’ Eph 2:6
wisdom ‘in Christ’ 1 Cor 1:30
(righteousness, holiness, redemption)
death ‘in Christ’ 1 Thess 4:16
resurrection ‘in Christ’ 1 Cor 15:22
eternal life ‘in Christ’ Rom 6:23
NB: also the ‘with Christ’ references: 2 Cor 4:14; 13:4; Col 2:13; plus Paul’s compound verb forms (40) eg. 1 Cor 4:8; Rom 8:22. Especially with Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom 6:4, 5, 6, 8; 8:16,17, 26,29; Gal 2:19; Eph 2:5-6; Phil 3:10,21; Col 2:12,123; 3:1; 2 Tim 2:11-12)
(c) Peter eg; 1 Peter 3:16; 5:1,10,14; 2 Peter 1:3-5
Appendix 2: The Entire Christian Life as an expression of Union with Christ
Rom 9:1 – speaking the truth in Christ Jesus
Rom 15:15-17 – glory in Christ Jesus
Rom16:10 – approved in Christ Jesus
1 Cor 4:15 – teacher in Christ Jesus
1 Cor 4:17 – way of life in Christ Jesus
1 Cor 9:1 – work in the Lord
1 Cor 15:58 – labour in the Lord
2 Cor 2:17 – speak in Christ
Eph 6:1 – obey parents in the Lord
Phil 4:1 – stand firm in the Lord
Phil 4:2 – agree in the Lord
Phil 4:10 – rejoice in the Lord
Phil 4:13 – do all things through him
Col 2:6-7 – live in …built up in him
Col 3:19- submit…in the Lord