While Scripture contains many unending treasures, the doctrine of union between Christ and his people has been called the central truth of salvation1 and foundation of all believers' experience.2 For followers of Jesus, there is no deeper wellspring of joy, comfort, and strength in the Lord’s person and work.
Nevertheless, in treating this solidarity between Jesus and his followers, A. W. Pink, a respected theologian of the 19th and 20th centuries, wrote:
“…the subject of spiritual union is the most important, profound, and yet,
the most blessed of any that is set forth in the Scriptures and yet, sad to say,
there is hardly any which is now more generally neglected…
Probably its very profundity is the reason why it is so largely ignored in this superficial age…“3
In all likelihood, few of us have ever heard or made mention of our union with Jesus. Indeed, its bottomless riches are perhaps the reason why it has been so overlooked. So then, if we are among the ignorant, let us chart a different course by understanding this massive truth and Gospel reality. Let us examine both the doctrine and ourselves in order to see if we are living in light of what God has revealed. After all, our study of union with Christ ought to lead us to worship and the well-being of God's people, not merely the building up of our libraries…though, I do enjoy God, people and books.
The Roadmap
Where do we begin? Many map out this topic in three distinct steps.4 That is, a classic handling of union with Christ traverses:
- God’s designs from eternity
- Christ’s accomplishments in history (birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and reign)
- The Spirit's application to believers’ lives and experience in this age and the age to come
Today, we will focus on the application of redemption to believers (#3). Though we run the risk of slicing our treatment too thinly by foregoing attempts to penetrate God’s eternal contemplation (#1) and Christ’s historical achievements (#2), we stay within the scope of this essay and commend you to the Scriptures and bibliography for further study and reflection.
For our purposes, we will journey along the following path. First, we will consider the structure of union and provide the context for viewing Christ and the blessings we receive in the Gospel. Next, we will look to the biblical and theological language of union in order to recognize how Scripture and theologians articulate the doctrine. Lastly, we will anchor the doctrine to our lives of work and rest in Christ, by the Spirit, and for the Father’s world.
The Structure of Union
Consider the following question posed by one of history’s great theologians:
“How do we receive those benefits which the Father bestowed on His only-begotten Son
not for Christ’s own private use, but that He might enrich poor and needy men?5
In order to judge how we “poor and needy men (and women)” experience these “benefits,” let’s examine the two most familiar ones — justification and sanctification — and view them within the context of union with Christ. For the purposes of this discussion, let's begin with some classic definitions:
Justification – God graciously declares that believers have a righteous status before God.
Sanctification – God’s graciously provides believers with a renewed condition that manifests itself in righteous, Christlike character.
Perhaps you can already see an emerging difficulty. That is, we know that Scripture teaches BOTH that we are forgiven by God and declared righteous on the basis of faith AND that we must pursue Spirit-empowered righteousness in Christlike life and mission. But, if we’ve already been declared legally righteous before God, where is our incentive for practical righteousness? In fact, many have excused themselves from this new nature and walk in life (sanctification) by appealing to their supposed "right standing” before God (justification). However, since the Bible anticipates such questions and would-be loopholes (Rom 3:5, 6:1, 15), our theology and practice would do well to follow the Scriptures over and against other popular articulations of the application of redemption within Christian circles.
For instance, some popular Gospel presentations carry us along a sequence, or “chain,” of benefits in which we move from one blessed link to the next (see diagram below). Here, we extract the joy of one gift before progressing along the chain. In this paradigm, changed lives are either responses to Christ’s forgiveness or simple obedience to God’s commands (“Jesus teaches. We follow.”). These are fine as far as they go, but they must go further.
In union with Christ, we have a more elegant answer. Here, we find an organic connection between our justification (righteous standing) and our sanctification (righteous nature and life): Jesus Himself. As long as we remain apart from Him, we experience no Gospel blessings!6 However, should we be united to Jesus so that we are “in Christ” and He "in us,” we come to experience and enjoy all the benefits of being definitively united to the Benefactor (Jesus).7 So then, the only way that there would be any conflict between justification and sanctification would be if believers only received a partial Christ. But, we do not receive only the Christ who forgives or the Christ who transforms, but both. We receive the whole Christ! As such, if we desire freedom from sin’s power (sanctification), we must receive Christ. If we want freedom from sin’s guilt (justification), we must receive Christ. But, since both are given distinctly, yet inseparably and simultaneously in Him, we possess all at once...in Christ.8
What we see is that by being united to a complete, comprehensive, and whole Christ, we are relieved of groping for, or leaning exclusively on, one benefit until we come to the next. Instead, by faith in Jesus, we are united to all that Jesus has become in and for us (1 Cor 1:30, Col 3:4, Eph 1:3) by his Spirit. In short, union with Christ centers on the Lord and keeps him as the root and fiber of our redemptive experience.
As has been said, just as the sunlight in our rooms points to something more basic (the sun), so the benefits of the Gospel manifest something more fundamental: our union with the Son of God himself.9
The Biblical Language of Union
If this is such a cornerstone of biblical truth, how can we know when we’ve come across it in our English bibles? Will the phrase “union with Christ” appear on every other page? Hardly. We won’t find it at all. Then again, neither can we highlight, boldface, or underline words like trinity, incarnation, and bible. However, there are two approaches employed by biblical writers to convey the concept of union with Christ: prepositions and metaphors/images. So, with that in mind, let's survey the little words that point to this Gibraltar-esque truth.
Prepositions (“in,” “with,” “for”)10
“in” – To be “in Christ” summarizes all that it means to be a Christian. In fact, this was the chief manner in which the earliest believers thought of themselves. Undoubtedly, this resulted from the fact that the early Church tooks its cue from the apostolic writings (Acts 2:42). Certainly, this was Paul’s most oft-preferred expression for describing union. In fact, if you read his epistles (letters), you will find this extremely hard to miss. Therefore, to this day, “in Christ” remains the single greatest reminder that to be a follower of Jesus is to have our identity anchored in him so that our activity reflects his character, nature, and purposes.
“with” – In some way, by God’s design, when Jesus died, we died with him to the crushing burden of sin’s guilt and condemnation. Likewise, when he rose in triumph, we rose with him with a new status and condition under his good, gracious and victorious reign. So, we see that when biblical writers, especially Paul, pen the phrase “with Christ,” they are referring to our union with Jesus during the most climactic moments in redemptive history, namely his death and resurrection.
“for” – What has been done in and with Christ has been done “for us.” God had appointed his Son to be a representative head for a new humanity (Rom 5:12-21). As such, what Jesus did and became through life, death, resurrection, and reign, he has done and become for our benefit, to deliver a salvation that was suited to our condition and need.
Metaphors, Images
In addition to these short punctuated phrases, Scripture is replete with metaphors and images that are loaded with meaning, particularly regarding God’s relationship with his people. Rather than unpacking each of these motifs, I’ll merely point you to the Bible so that you can see a small sampling of how frequently, diversely, and uniquely God presents our bond with Jesus.
Old Testament: High Priest’s garments (Exod 28),
David as Israel’s representative (1 Sam 17)
Suffering Servant (Isa 53)
New Testament: Baptism (Rom 6), Head-Body (Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 1, 4, 5)
Cornerstone-Building (Eph 2, 1 Pet 2), Husband-Wife (Rom 7, Eph 5)
Vine-Branches (John 15), in Adam-in Christ (Rom 5, 1 Cor 15)
God-Temple (1 Cor 3)
The Theological Language of Union
Having studied the biblical revelation regarding union with Christ, many have attempted the tall task of categorizing it. So, the more theologically-inclined have opted for these adjectives, among others: spiritual, mystical, and vital,11 though most of us would likely have settled for something like “awesome” or “Jesus for the win!”
Spiritual - First and foremost, as we have mentioned, union is an intimate relationship with Jesus. But, he is not merely the source and ultimate destination of that bond. Rather, our bond continues and flourishes by direct participation with Christ through the Holy Spirit. In his resurrection, the Spirit so transformed and consumed Jesus that though they remain distinct in identity, they have become one in activity (1 Cor. 15:45). Now, Jesus is the posessor and conveyor of God's Spirit to his people such that the Spirit's presence and power in our lives is the very presence and power of Christ himself (Eph 1:19-20). Though our culture uses the word “spiritual” to describe a wide spectrum of ecstatic exercises, we mean it with a capital “S.” In other words, God the Holy Spirit, initiates, nurtures, and completes our relationship with God the Father through our union with God the Son.
Mystical – Finding earthly analogies to describe this connection proves to be a rather elusive task. Thus, we call the union mystical. Again, let’s keep the cultural connotations of mysticism at a distance. This simply means that our union is like nothing else and is easier to describe in terms of what it is not. So, it is not like the union between the persons of the Trinity (ontological), the human and divine natures of Christ (hypostatic), and the human body and soul (psychosomatic). Rather, it is something like the closest bibical analogy (Eph 5:22-33), although the mystical nature of union with Christ surpasses even that mysterious one-flesh union between husband and wife.
However, there is something that Scripture does reveal about this mystery. It was purposely hidden by God, both in eternity and in earlier stages of history. But now, through the unfolding of God’s plan in time, this mystery has unfolded in the Gospel and will find its full bloom in the complete realization of the kingdom. There, our union will be experienced in HD, 4D, surround-sound, sensory-overloaded joy with followers of Jesus from every tribe, tongue, people group, and nation.
Vital – Though the affections, intents, and actions of Jesus have become ours in Christ, we have also been given his life-sustaining and flourishing resources. Simply put, walking in the newness of life is now not only a slight possibility, it is a promise fueled by God himself. But, just as we are often unaware of the circulation of the blood in our body, so too the extent to which Christ is the very source and condition of our life may escape us. For this reason, take heart even as our present state and pressures of life distract us for by virtue of our union with Jesus, Christ remains our life. Amen.
As we conclude our discussion, we turn to some brief comments on how the life of Christ acts as the fountain from which our life in Christ flows, springing us forward into his mission through our work and rest.
Union with Christ in Work & Rest (“The Already & The Yet to Come”)
When we began our discussion, we looked at two structures of redemption. In the more popular paradigm, an assembly line of blessings carries believers from one redemptive blessing to the next. However, in looking at the application of redemption through our union with Christ, the Son of God becomes all that we need.
There is one extremely helpful facet of redemption that remains hidden in the former construct, but becomes obvious in the latter.12 By putting Jesus at the forefront of our experience, the doctrine of union bookends our redemption with the two comings of Christ. Through the work of his first coming, in his decisive victory at the cross & empty tomb, we have “already” come into the possession of every spiritual blessing (justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification). Yet, the tangible, full-blown and full-bodied experience of these gifts is “yet to come” and awaits the return of our Lord and King.
Practically, this means that in our prayers, the “already” gives us boldness, while the “yet to come” commends us towards hope and eager expectation. In our care for others, the “already” imparts assurance and comfort, while the “yet to come” carries us along a path with maturity and patience. In our teaching and training, the “already” provides us with power through a great Gospel wind at our backs, while the “yet to come” reminds us that perfection awaits us because of the many headwinds that come against us in a still-fallen world. Finally, in rest, we may “already” cease from our toil in the sabbath rest of Jesus, while we anticipate the indestructible rest and peace in the kingdom “yet to come.”
As you can see, the breadth and scope of Jesus and our union with Him is deep and wide. Earlier, I used the word "bottomless" and so it is. Hopefully, this primer has combed the surface and given us a glimpse of the greatness of being followers of Jesus, those who are “in Christ.” Though the range of our essay has allowed us to only rake some leaves, by God’s grace, we will turn to him and his Word to spend the rest of our lives mining for gold.
In Christ, by the Spirit, for the Father’s world,
Protim Adhikari (“Tim”)
ENDNOTES
1 J. Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1955), 170.
2 S. Ferguson, Know Your Christian Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1981), 92–93.
3 A.W. Pink, Spiritual Union and Communion (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker, 1971), 7.
4 S. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996), 104.
5 J. Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume 1, 3.1.1 (Louisville, KY.: Westminster Press, 2006), 537.
6 Ibid., p.537
7 Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, 102.
8 Calvin., p.798
9 Westminster Larger Catechism, Question #69, (also available at www.reformed.org/documents/larger1.html)
10 Ferguson, The Holy Spirit,108.
11 Murray, 165-171.
12 Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, 102-105.
