Eternal Union of Christ and His Children

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Eternal Imputation !



This is a vast subject, lets look first of all at the definition of the word.

In the NT its used several Times Rom 4:11,22-24;5:13 and James 2:23

In all but Rom 5:13 its the greek word [verb]logizomai:

to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over

a) to take into account, to make an account of

1) metaph. to pass to one's account, to impute

2) a thing is reckoned as or to be something, i.e. as availing for or equivalent to something, as having the like force and weight

b) to number among, reckon with

c) to reckon or account

2) to reckon inward, count up or weigh the reasons, to deliberate

3) by reckoning up all the reasons, to gather or infer

a) to consider, take into account, weigh, meditate on

b) to suppose, deem, judge

c) to determine, purpose, decide

The word used in Rom 5:13 is the verb ellogeō:


to reckon in, set to one's account, lay to one's charge, impute

The Primary meaning appears to be to lay or to pass to ones account or Charge.

That which I would like to share is that, before the world began, The Triune God did in Eternal Purpose, decretively impute, laid to His Charge, the Lord Jesus Christ, the sins of all the elect of God, also in like fashion they did receive from Him, imputed Righteousness.

Yes, this Teaching is in connection with Eternal Union as well as Eternal Justification as well as God's Eternal Love for His People,which is only in Christ Jesus, the Eternal Head of His Church.

Jesus said this Jn 17:23-24

23I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Jer 31:3

3The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Don't be fooled, this verse of scripture is speaking about the church chosen in Christ, for God's Eternal Love for any People is in Christ Jesus Rom 8:39

39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, Yes, Jer 31:3 is the Church Loved in Christ ! No one outside of Christ, no race of people, jew or gentile, are the objects of God's Love, and His Justification.

The Truth that Christ did stand in eternity, as the Lamb of God already slain [decretively], shows that He did already receive the wages of sin and death for God's Sheep, before creation, in a decretively manner. He received these wages for the sins of the Sheep in a experimental manner on the Cross in 33 ad !

 

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More on Legal Union

Christ could only be constituted as an Surety for His People only if God did recognize a Legal Union between The Shepherd and His Sheep. As Surety of the Covenant, both the Everlasting and New Covenant, which are the same, He drew nigh unto God in the representation of, making Himself their substitute, and put Himself under binding promise, a sense of duty to His Father to pay for the sin debts, to satisfy all the demands of the Law, Justice and Righteousness for them, and on this ground obtained all the eternal blessings of Grace and Glory for them, to the Praise of the Glory of His Grace. God because of this Eternal Union was able to righteously look upon The Shepherd and the Sheep as One in the eye of the Law. He was able to justly impute their sins to Him, and His Righteousness to them. If This Legal Union between Christ and His Sheep did not occur before the world began, then there would be no reason for Christ coming into the world, and there would be no Truth to this statement of the Gospel 1 Cor 15:3

3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

This can only be True if an legal union is binding when Christ died for the sins of His Sheep.

 

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Heb 2:14

14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

This scripture shows or indicates the Eternal Union the Children had with their Head Christ, this is so because they [ The Children] took on flesh and blood in Adam; So this means they were in Union with their Head Christ, before they were in Union with Adam in flesh and blood, in which they sinned. They had been One with the Eternal Son Heb 2:11

11For both he[Christ] that sanctifieth and they[Children] who are sanctified are all of one [Seed]: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, See Gal 3:16,29

So the Children [ Children of God] preceded His coming in Flesh and Blood.

Because the Children partook of flesh and blood and sinned in Adam, transgressed God's Law, He also came in the fulness of time, to redeem these children Gal 4:4-5

4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

BTW, All the Elect were under the law when Adam sinned against that Law given in Creation, not to eat of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Was it not soon after that sin, that Christ the seed of the woman was revealed Gen 3:15 ? Thats because God's Law had now been Transgressed. The Ten commandments are merely an Amplification of that one Law..

But the point here is that, Just as the Son existed before He took on Flesh and Blood, The Children did as well before they took on flesh and blood in Adam, they existed as One with the Seed Christ, the Head, and they His seed in His Loins. Remember how God recognized the existence of Levi while In his Grand Fathers Loins Heb 7:9-10

9And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

10For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

You see, this shows that God recognized him as a Son, as a Child before he actually existed, its the same way with the Children who were Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Just as God recognized the Union of Abraham and Levi, so likewise God recognized the Union of Christ and the Children, even before they took on flesh and blood. When they are born physically into this world, their Union with Adam is manifested, and so likewise, when the Children are born again, their Union with Christ becomes Manifest.

 

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In Regards to the Eternal Union of the Church with Christ, which sinned in Adam, and became that which was lost [Lk 19:10], except for that previous Union of Christ with His Church before the Transgression of the Law in eden, it would have been to our Eternal Ruin; and if this Union of Christ and His Church did not exist before they sinned in Adam, how could it have been just for Him to take on flesh and die in their stead ? For it reads Heb 2:14

14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

 

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2 Cor 5:21

21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Merely the substitution of an Innocent and sinless Lamb, in our stead, to bare the penalty of the Law due to our iniquities, could not have accomplished our redemption unless the Surety had such a relationship to us that He could be Legally liable and a Representative for us. This establishes Eternal Union, if indeed, the Lamb slain from the foundation was made a Surety, struck an agreement in the counsels of the Everlasting Covenant, if such a Covenant took Place from Everlasting Heb 13:20. If Christ then stood not in legal Union with the Elect before the foundation, then no basis for Justice existed for our sins being laid or charged to Him, in that God's strict Justice demands, that the soul that sinneth, it shall die, and die in their sins. God must be able to legally reckon that our sins have been taken away by Christ, for it to be True that He died for our sins. If God did not reckon Christ and The elect in Union and One from Everlasting, He could never had entered into Covenant with the Father on our behalf and be punished in our stead !

 

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The Application of the figure evidences Eternal Union !

Rom 5:14

14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

The word figure is the greek word typos and means:

an example

a) in the technical sense, the pattern in conformity to which a thing must be made

Now, Adam was made according to the pattern in conformity with Christ, The Mediatorial Head of His Church, and not the other way around.

Adam was a figure of Him to Come. Christ not having yet come, did not mean He did not yet exist, because He existed before all things as the Mediatorial Head of the Church Col 1:15-18


15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Adam the earthy was made after the pattern of the Heavenly.

He the figure was not spiritual but natural, or earthy as stated in 1 Cor 15:46-47

46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

And he [ Adam] represented his posterity or his seed, he embodied all of their physical lives Acts 17:26

26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation

So as the Natural and Earthy Adam embodied a Natural race of men, So Christ the Last Adam [ In Manifestation ] who is the Lord [ Mediator] from heaven, the Spiritual or Heavenly Adam, He likewise embodied all the Spiritual family, all of that seed Chosen in Him before the foundation, which was ordained to serve Him, and to be counted unto Him for a generation Ps 22:30

30A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

1 Pet 2:9

9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Whom He shall see when He made His soul an offering for sin, and in seeing shall be satisfied Isa 53:10,11


10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Simply put, If Adam was one and in Union with a Seed in Him from the beginning of the world, then Christ, the Creator of Adam, in whom image and likeness Adam was made was one and in Union with a seed before the world began..

 

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A Time Union as well !

That Christ and His Church was in Union when He died for it is seen in Paul's Illustration of the Husband and Wife in Eph 5:25-32

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.


The Analogies vs 28 own bodies. The Church whom Christ gave Himself for was His Own Body ! Now does not that speak of Union ?

vs 29 Own Flesh ! Christ gave Himself for His Own Flesh. See Heb 2:16 Now how is that not a Union ?

vs 28 Loveth Himself, who Loves His Wife, its liken to Loving His Own Body, this denotes Union.

It was because of His Union with His Bride, His Body, that He Loved Her enough to sacrifice His Life for Her well being. If there was no Union involved, then this whole analogy and Illustration would be meaningless, and also, the there would be no real Union one One flesh relationship with the Husband and Wife, which would mean Eph 5:31 is a lie !

31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

 

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Eternal Union !

Eph 1:6

6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

This is a vital Gospel doctrine, the Eternal Union of Christ and His Church, for without a glimpse of it, we would never understand who it is Paul means when he says in 1 Cor 15:3


3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Now whose sins is meant as ours ? Why the Church Eph 5:25

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

He died for the sins of the Church, that should be obvious ! The Church is His wife and His Body, those He had been in a Eternal Union with from before the foundation of the world !

In Eph 1:3-6

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Paul writes that the Father from before the world began, has chosen, predestinated and adopted believers in Christ, and this to the praise of the Glory of His Grace, wherein He hath made us accepted or highly favored in the Beloved, hence herein lies an unbreakable and eternal union between Christ and His Church. This union and or acceptance in Christ was done by God Alone " He hath MADE us accepted in the Beloved" before time began, and it is not something that comes about by the freewill of man in time, for this is something God had done !

 

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Accepted in the Beloved !


The word beloved as it applies to believers is derived by the fact of a Union and Oneness with the Beloved Son. The Father has made it quite clear that He is well pleased with His Beloved Son Matt 3:17;17:5, so this title beloved does apply to all who have been Chosen in Him [The Beloved]before the foundation of the world ! Eph 1:3-6. So all Chosen in the Beloved, must also be Beloved, because they are all One Heb 2:11

11For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Also this oneness is seen in the resurrection of Christ, for just as the Beloved Son was begotten Acts 13:33

33God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Note: Begotten here refers to Christ resurrection from the dead !

So were His members begotten by the resurrection of him 1 Pet 1:3

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

That is, when the beloved Son was resurrected, all those Chosen in Him [Eph 1:4] and in Union with Him, did rise together with Him Eph 2:6

6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

This association is seen later in the Epistle of 1 Peter 2:11

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

also 2 Pet 3:8


8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So being beloved of God is not a result of anything a sinner does in time, its accomplished however through Eternal Election in the Beloved Son Eph 1:4-6, before the foundation of the world, and its proof of an Union with Him as early !

 

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This Union with the Beloved Son is an Eternal One, and it is because of this Everlasting Union Jer 31:3 that the Elect have a promised hope of Eternal Life Titus 1:1-2

1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

For it was promised them as they were in the Beloved Son by Election 1 Jn 2:25

25And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

The Apostle John could not have made such a statement apart from a firm belief in the Eternal Union of His Church. It [The Union] is the source of all spiritual blessings that are bestowed upon them in time Eph 1:3

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

All the benefits and enablements of Grace, for this cause was given in the Beloved before the world began 2 Tim 1:9

9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

It is the Grace by which believers believe Acts 18:27

27And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

The Grace that was given us in Christ before the world began would not be Truth if there was not a Union with Christ Jesus then. Because the Elect did not yet exist in their literal persons, but Christ did, as an Covenant Head and Representative of His People the Church ! They were in Him as members, just like they were in Adam at the beginning of creation as to their physical lives and existence !

Everything the Elect receive in this Life of Grace and Blessing as per Jn 1:16

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. is owed solely to their Eternal Union with Christ, the Surety of the Eternal Covenant of grace or Everlasting Covenant, and so in Eph 1 alone we find the words 'in Christ" or it's equivalent many times, as a reference to this Eternal Union..

 

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As I am sure I have stated before, this Eternal Union is vital to the understanding whom it is that Christ died for, it most certainly was those that were in Union with Him, and this because of Eternal Election Eph 1:4.

There can absolutely be no Salvation apart from Election, Election in Christ, as a member of that body of which He was and is the head, the Heads Election Isa 42:1-4

1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

4He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

That word delighteth in vs 1 is the hebrew word ratsah and it means:

to be pleased with, be favourable to, accept favourably

a) (Qal)

1) to be pleased with, be favourable to

2) to accept

3) to be pleased, be determined

And so, that is why those Chosen in Him before the foundation have been made accepted in the Beloved Eph 1:6


6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

So the Election of the head Isa 42:1, is the Election of the body Eph 1:4, because the Head and the body are one !

Now many of the adversaries of Election, attempt to discount it by stating that it is Christ who is God's Elect, and not individual's. However what these blind individuals fail to realize, is that Christ's Election, the Head, establishes the Election of His Body of whom He is Head, and the Body is made up of individual members 1 Cor 12:12

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Christ is and has always been One with His members that form His Body, in fact, that is what gave Him redemptive rights to doe for them in the satisfaction of God's Justice against them for their sins !

Also other scripture establishes the Union of Christ the beloved Son with His Members 1 Pet 2:4,6,9

4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [This verse refers to Christ]

He is Chosen of God !

The word Chosen is repeated as the word Elect in vs 6

6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Now the same word is used of believers in vs 9 as Chosen again

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

This establishes their Union with Christ the Chosen of God. They in vs 9 are called a Chosen generation ! What does that mean ? It means a Chosen seed, or offspring !

A seed and a generation or offspring are all the same as we see from Ps 22:30

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

Christ seed was Chosen in Him before the foundation Eph 1:4, So that is how long they have been in Union.

 

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Col 1:17-18

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

One of the sublime Truths in this passage of scripture is that an actual Union without question existed before the world began between Christ and His Body, The Church, which are the members of His Body. At this time however it was not a experimental Union, but a Life Union 1 Jn 5:11-12


11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

This from having been Chosen in Him before the foundation Eph 1:4. Those who do have this living Union with Christ our Head, we come into a experimental Union when we receive a communication of this life by New Birth, for it is then we experience that spiritual and immortal life. Though we had a living Union with our Head before the world began, we did not have a experimental Union until in time at the season of our New Birth. Just like the physical and natural life the elect had in Adam at his creation was not manifested until God's appointed time Acts 17:26, so likewise the Spiritual and Eternal Life we have is not made manifested until God's appointed time, in other words Ecc 3:1-2a

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born,

Applies to our Spiritual Birth as well as our Natural Birth. The Spiritual Birth occurs at the season of our Lives God has appointed for us to bring forth fruit !

The Eternal Life Paul had in Christ was communicated to him on the road to damascus Acts 9, and because his was so sudden and unexpected, it was as a untimely birth 1 Cor 15:8, but it was according to God's Divine Time Table, and so it is with all who have this Life with Christ by Eternal Union !
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;"

 

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When was the Church given Eternal Life ?


1 Jn 5:10-11

10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

The US is the Church, Christ's Body, which He is the Head of Col 1:18

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Eternal Life was given the Church in her Head [Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus] before the world began. This is True because the Church's Mediator Head Existed before the world began, and scriptures that indicate that are 2 Tim 1:9

9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

How could something have been given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, if Christ Jesus did not exist before the world began ?

Jesus Christ makes it known that He did exist before the world began by these words of His Jn 17:5,24

5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

How could this statement have meaning if He did not exist before the world was ?


24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

How could the Father Love Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, if He did not exist ?


Eph 3:9


9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

How could all things be created by Jesus Christ if Jesus Christ did not exist before all things ? And scripture plainly says He did Col 1:16-17

16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.


Col 1:18

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

He being the beginning, God set Him Up as the Mediatoral Head of the Election of Grace at the beginning of His Ways Prov 8:22-23

22The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

23I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

Now whether it is accepted or not, sufficient scripture has now been provided to establish the pre existence of Christ Jesus, the Mediatoral Head of the Body, and the Church actually existed in Him at that time ! And at that time, in the beginning He was that Eternal Life 1 Jn 1:

1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us )

These things establish that the Church, the Body of Christ was given Eternal Life in the Mediatoral Son before the world began..

 

[savedbygrace57]

Church existed before the world began ! - Today, 06:08 PM

Now how was the Church in actual existence in Christ before the world began without having a Physical Existence in Time ? Well its just as the Seed of Abraham did exist in him before any of them had being, and they being in him [Abraham] God is said to have given them the land of Canaan, a type of heaven Gen 17:8


8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

You see that Promise ? God not only made that Promise to Abraham, but to his seed as well. That is why God's Elect have been promised Eternal Life before the world began as Paul points out n Titus 1:1-2

1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

It was Promised to Christ their Head, but they were His Seed. Gal 3:16.

And this Promise was made to Abraham and his seed before they were born.

The Life or lives of all the offspring of Abraham was in him even though not yet brought forth, but yet they were known of God, in fact from the Divine standpoint Levi paid tithes unto melchisadec, while he was yet in the loins of his Great Grand Father Abraham Heb 7:9-10


9And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

10For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

Not only that, he was already given the priesthood, it was not offered him, but God sovereignly gave it to him before he was born. BTW those whom Christ makes priest as in 1 Pet 2:9


9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Rev 1:6

6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

These who of course are believers, were as Levi was, given their priesthood before they were born. Just as God purposed and gave Levi his priesthood in Abraham, God purposed and gave believers their Priesthood in Christ before the world began, that is why it is stated a seed shall serve Him Ps 22:30

30A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

How shall they serve Him ? Rev 5:9

9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

1 Pet 2:9

9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Notice the word generation in Ps 22:30 corresponds with the word generation in 1 Pet 2:9 !

This is why Believers are called Heirs of Promise Gal 3:29

29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise

As Christ was a chosen and called priest of God Heb 5:1-5

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

2Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

3And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

4And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

5So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.


So also Christ's seed Chosen in Him [Eph 1:4] have been made Priest unto God, this was Promised and purposed as much as Levi was in Abraham, chosen and promised to Priest ! So this is how the Church, the Priesthood 1 pet 2:9 existed before the world began, it existed in Christ, its Head, as Levi existed in Abraham his Great Grand Father, now the natural man will not be able to receive this Truth, it is foolishness to them..

 

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When Christ was appointed Heir ?

Heb 1:1-2

1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

When Christ was appointed Heir, so was His offspring in Him, for He was not appointed Heir as an Private Individual, but as the Father and Head of a Seed, and so they [those who comprised that seed, His Body] were appointed Joint Heirs with Christ Rom 8:17

17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Now when do you suppose the Father appointed Christ Heir of all things as pointed out in Heb 1:2 ?

It was before His Death, for Christ said during His Ministry

Jn 3:35

The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

Jn 13:3

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;


Christ was the Heir of His Father whenever He was brought Forth or Begotten, now when was that ? Was He not brought forth before the Creation ? If Christ is who is meant in Prov 8, then we have a foundation to go as to when He was brought Forth or Begotten Prov 8:22-25

22The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

23I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

24When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

25Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

In the LXX vs 25 here reads:

before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me.

Now scripture plainly declares Christ as the Wisdom of God 1 Cor 1:24

But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

And believers are Wisdom's Children Lk 7:35

But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Remember Jesus said this Heb 2:13

And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

That is He and all the Joint Heirs with Him that God gave Him Rom 8:17

17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

See that, Joint Heirs with Christ, who is the Wisdom of God 1 Cor 1:24

The Joint Heirs were Chosen in Him before the foundation of the World Eph 1:4.

So at the same time in eternity that the Father beget the Son Christ, He beget His body, The Church in Union with Him and appointed them with Him His Heirs !

Remember in Christ parable He alluded to Himself as the Heir Matt 21:38

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

 

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Existence before Manifestation !

Now understand this, if it was not for the fact that our physical lives where already in Adam by Divine Purpose and decree as Levi was in Abraham, then there would not have been our being brought forth in our generation, and it would have been no multiplying of Adam's seed as God decreed when He said Gen 1:28

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Now remember that Adam was a figure of Him to come, which is Christ, and God multiplies the Last Adam in like fashion through His Death Jn 12:24

24Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Now remember Christ must die Matt 16:21

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

He was slain in God's Eternal Purpose before the foundation, and His Multiplying His Seed was connected to His Death, The Fruit of His Death. The word fruit in Jn 12:24 is the greek word karpos and means:

the fruit of one's loins, i.e. his progeny, his posterity

Remember Levi was yet in the Loins of Abraham ! And so it with Christ, When He died His posterity was in His Loins, but only in a spiritual sense !

So, Christ's offspring must have been in Union with Him, just as Adam's Offspring was in Union with him. Our being born Physically at the time we were born, that is not what constituted us sons and daughters of Adam, that was already determined in our creation in Adam, and so when we are born in our generation that determination is made manifested, and so it is in our Spiritual Birth, it is but the manifestation of that Life given us of God in Christ, which makes known our status as Children of God, Paul says Because we are Children, the Spirit is sent into our Hearts Gal 4:6

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father

And that Spirit witnesses with our Spirit that:

Rom 8:16

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

We always have been because of Election Union with Christ before the world began, but now through the Gospel and The Spirit it is brought to light..

 

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Eph 1:4 In Him

Eph 1:4

4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The Testimony of scripture to those who have been born again do set forth the Truth of that the Church of God was Created, Secured, preserved and set apart in Christ Jesus before the world began ! Eph 1:4; Jude 1:1; 2 Tim 1:9. Also I believe the Church, Chosen in Christ is being referenced here Ps 90:1-2

1Lord, thou hast been our[The Church] dwelling place in all generations.

2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

He was God [to them] because He was in Covenant with the Church through their Mediator and Head and Surety, the Man Christ Jesus from Everlasting.

Their Lives [spiritual] being hid with Christ in God Col 3:3

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

God the Word Jn 1:1-4

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

That Life in the Word, which was God, is the Life of the Elect Chosen in Him [The Life of Men] Col 3:3 Its the Life of the Church.

Now this Life of the Church was Eternal Life 1 Jn 5:11, and it was as real in their Covenant Head Christ, as He was their Mediator and Surety in the engagement of the Everlasting Covenant, as their Natural Life life was real and hid in their Covenant head of works Adam, as they had been created in him. This is the basis of being in union in Christ and in Adam.

1 Cor 15:22

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Those of us in each Head had nothing to do on how we got in each head, Adam or Christ, it was solely determined by God's Sovereign Choice !

 

[savedbygrace57]

More on In Him Eph 1:4

Just as God chose the Elect, the Church to be in Adam for their Natural lives, and they had no say so, so He chose them in Christ for their Spiritual Lives, and they had no say so. Now consider this, if the Elect had no real Representative existence in Adam, they could not have been charged [which was transferred to Christ] with sin and condemnation in him Rom 5:12-19 before they were actually born in time, proof of which is that they are born as sinners by nature in their natural lives given to them in Adam; Now likewise, if the Church did not have a real spiritual Representative existence in Christ secured, she could not have had a real promise made to her of Eternal Life! Such promise is revealed in Titus 1:2

1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; Note: Eternal Life is not an offer, but a promise made by God to a specific seed !

1 Jn 2:25

25And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

2 Tim 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

promised to a specific seed Rom 4:16 ; Gal 3:18.

It is the promise to Abraham and His Spiritual Seed seen here Gen 17:5-8

5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

 

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Union with Christ before that Union with Adam !


It should go without saying that the Union the Church sustained with Christ is prior to that which she had with Adam, which Union with him began in time . So they were the Children of God [ In Christ Heb 2:13] who became [in time] partakers of flesh and blood in Adam [Heb 2:14], which for redemptive purposes obliged their Head and Elder Brother Christ to partake of the same [Flesh and Blood]. Their had to be a Kinsmen redeemer relationship already established between Christ and the Elect He came to redeem for it to be a Legal Undertaking in the sight of God ! For He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are of one Heb 2:11

11For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Christ and His Body are One 1 Cor 12:12.

He is the One that sanctified by His One offering Heb 10:10 and they are sanctified by it Eph 5:25-26


25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, !

 

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Union will become manifest and experiential !


This Eternal Union with Christ the Church had before the world began, will issue into a experiential Union by God given Spiritual Faith, so each member must be born again. Jesus Christ is the True Vine Jn 15:1-2, and each member of His Body the Church are His branches. The Branches had a existence in the Vine before they became manifested. The Branch grows out of its existence in the Vine, their manifestation is by a Living Faith in Christ 1 Pet 1:3. Their Life of Faith and Hope is communicated unto them by their Head, The True and Living Vine !