Union with Christ

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The great blessing of our union with Christ from Arminiamnism/Calvinism

THE BELIEVER’S UNION WITH CHRIST
The final perseverance of the saints rests on the objective basis of the immutability or infallibility of the eternal, redemptive purpose as it is expressed in the believer’s union with Christ. The Scriptures clearly teach that every true Christian has been brought into spiritual union with Christ, and that this vital relationship is by sovereign grace alone, was determined in eternity, is necessarily evidenced in the life, and will infallibly be consummated in glory. The believer’s union with Christ is thus the biblical reality that forms “the central truth of all theology and all religion”550:
• This truth has been largely neglected because of a sacramentarian approach to Christianity. The sacramentarian idea holds union with Christ to be by the “sacraments” of “baptism” (allegedly placing one in Christ) and “communion” (literally or mystically putting Christ into the communicant).
• This truth is also neglected due to the influence of those who hold that the believer’s union with Christ is merely experiential, mystical or subjective, necessarily denying the eternal, redemptive purpose of God; therefore believing that such a union can be dissolved (Arminianism, Pelagianism551).
• This truth finds its foundation in the eternal, redemptive purpose of God. This union was established in eternal election (Eph. 1:3–11), is analogically understood by the union or identification of all humanity in Adam (Rom. 5:12ff; 1 Cor. 15:22), found its reality in the incarnation and redemptive work of Christ (Rom. 5:10, 18–21; 6:1–10; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1–3), finds expression in biblical Christian experience (Rom. 6:1–14; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1–5ff), and will be fully realized in future glory (Eph. 2:6–7).
• This truth forms the eternal and objective basis for the believer’s experience, confidence and hope. Herein is the only scriptural basis for a true, biblical assurance of salvation. To deny this revealed, glorious truth is to base one’s salvation on an experience, on personal faithfulness, or on adherence to a subjective, legalistic system. In the believer’s union with Christ is revealed the glory of free and sovereign grace in its fullness.

 

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550 J. W. Alexander of Princeton Seminary, as quoted in A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 795. 551 Arminians or Pelagians are those who believe in free will or plenary human ability, denying the moral and noetic effects of the Fall. It is argued that if man possesses a free will to come to Christ savingly, he also must possess a free will to depart from Christ and so lose his salvation—a complete repudiation of the biblical truth of the believer’s union with Christ. 216
• The believer’s union with Christ is necessarily and clearly evidenced in the life and experience. It forms the basis of all valid Christian experience. It is an integral part of personal sanctification (Rom. 6:1–23; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1–5ff).
• This doctrine is plainly taught in Scripture, and consists of two approaches: doctrinal statements and analogical illustrations.
The doctrinal statements include those passages which:
(1) describe the believer’s position as “in [evn] Christ” or “into [eivj] Christ”: Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:11; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 15:22; Eph. 1:1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11; 2:6–7, 10; 1 Pet. 5:14.
(2) declare that believers are identified “with [su.n] Christ”: Rom. 6:4, 6, 8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:5; Col. 3:1–3; 2 Tim. 2:11–12.
(3) describe the believer’s relationship or standing before God “by” or “through” [di.a] Christ: Rom. 5:21; 6:8; Gal. 6:14.
(4) reveal that Christ is “in” [evn] the believer: Jn. 14:20, 23; Rom. 8:9–10; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27.
There are at least five scriptural analogies that are used to illustrate this vital union of the believer with Christ:
(1) The Vine and the branches (Jn. 15:1–7). The branch must be in vital living union with the vine both to be alive and to produce fruit.
(2) The husband and the wife, or the marriage relationship (Rom. 7:1–4; Eph. 5:23–33). The two become “one flesh” before God, i.e., a single entity.
(3) The body and its members or parts (1 Cor. 6:15, 19; 12:13; Eph. 1:22–23; 4:11–16). Although each member possesses certain distinctions, each is an organic or vital member of a larger whole.
(4) The building and its foundation (Eph. 2:20–22; Col. 2:6–7; 1 Pet. 2:4–5).
(5) The identification of all men with Adam (Rom. 5:12–19; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45–47).
The major passages revealing and teaching the believer’s union with Christ in the eternal, redemptive purpose include the following:
At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. Jn. 14:20
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by [in, in union with]552 his life. (Rom. 5:10)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead [died]553 to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
552 swqhso,meqa evn th/| zwh/| auvtou/. 553 oi[tinej avpeqa,nomen th/| a`marti,a|. “Such ones as we are,” a qualitative pers. pron. “Died”. The aor. tense in v. 1–10 all refer to “having died” as a past fact that is to be reckoned as such in the present experience. 217

death? Therefore we are [were] buried with him by baptism into death554: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is [was] crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead [died] is freed from sin. Now if we be dead [died] with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,555 but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 6: 1–11)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus… (Rom. 8:1)
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Rom. 8:9–11)
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:30)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22)
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead [all died]556: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.557 (2 Cor. 5:14–17)
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Cor. 13:5)
554

The reference to “baptism” is not literal, but must be taken figuratively. The Scriptures do not teach baptismal regeneration. The term “Baptism” was often used figuratively for identification with someone or thing (e.g., John the Baptist came to prepare or identify a people for the Messiah. Our Lord had to experience a “baptism” of suffering in Matt. 20:22–23; Mk. 10:38–39; Lk. 12:50, etc.). Here, of the believer’s union with Christ. Water baptism is symbolic of this union as an act of identification with Christ, but does not and cannot effect it. 555 The term changes at this point to “corpse,” i.e., the believer is to reckon himself to be as it were a corpse (logi,zesqe e`autou.j Îei=naiÐ nekrou.j me.n th/| a`marti,a|) with respect to sin—wholly unresponsive to sin’s solicitations. 556 o[ti eivj u`pe.r pa,ntwn avpe,qanen( a;ra oi` pa,ntej avpe,qanon. “That if one died on behalf of [the] all, then [the] all died,” revealing the covenant and effectual nature of Christ’s death and the believer’s vital union in this transaction. 557 The Lord Jesus Christ is now exalted at the Father’s right hand as the Lord of glory in an entirely new and different relationship as the God–man (a death and resurrection have taken place); just so, there is a distinct, radical change for every believer—the old life with its significance has passed away, and all has become new by virtue of his union with Christ. 218

 

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I am crucified [have been co–crucified] with Christ558: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.559 (Gal. 3:27)

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is [has been and continues to be]560 crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Gal. 6:14)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according 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: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Eph. 1:3–6)
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Eph. 1:10–12)

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.561 (Eph. 2:4–6)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.562 (Eph. 2:8–10)

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:26–27)

For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised

558 Cristw/| sunestau,rwmai. “With Christ I have been co–crucified.”\Aor. ptc.
If taken literally, this would teach sacramentarianism (a conferring of grace through physical means), i.e., baptismal regeneration. 560 …Ihsou/ Cristou/( diV ouv evmoi. ko,smoj evstau,rwtai kavgw. ko,smw|Å “Crucified” (evstau,rwtai) perf. pass.
Positionally, the believer is already in heaven, i.e., as good as there already—because he is “in Christ”. This vital union is the basis of the believer’s assurance in the infallibility of the redemptive purpose.

The believer’s union with Christ necessarily evidences itself in Christian experience. Cf. Rom. 6:1–23, despite some modern Dispensational teachers who hold that the believer’s position “in Christ” is merely objective and has no relation to the daily life.

him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. (Col. 2:9–13)

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead [ye died], and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Col. 3:1–3)

It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead [died]563 with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance… (2 Tim. 2:11–12)

This spiritual union of the believer with Christ—the reality of the infallible, eternal redemptive purpose may be described and explained in the following terms:
• It is an organic union. Believers become members of Christ as members of an organism, albeit this organism is spiritual. This spiritual union is to find expression in the local assembly (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:11–16; Phil. 1:27).
• It is a vital union. The life of Christ becomes the dominating and energizing principle within the believer (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:11–14; 8:5–14; 2 Cor. 13:5).
• It is a spiritual union. Not only is this union spiritual in nature, it is mediated and sustained by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9–16; Eph. 3:16–19).
• It is a personal union. Every believer is personally or individually united to Christ directly as to his spiritual life (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20).
• It is a legal or federal union. As the believer was once identified or in union with Adam, so he is now in union with Christ (Rom. 5:12–21). All the legal or covenant obligations of the believer rest on or are met in Christ, and all the legal or covenant merits accrue to the believer.
• It is a reciprocal union. This takes into account both the objective and subjective aspects. The initial action is on the part of Christ, to whom the believer in faith reacts, interacts, or reciprocates. This is not only union, but necessarily communion with the triune Godhead through Christ (Jn. 14:6, 9, 16–17, 20; Rom. 8:9–16; Eph. 3:16–19).
• It is a transforming union. Believers are changed into the image of Christ according to his human nature. This began at regeneration, when the image of God was restored in principle in righteousness, holiness of the truth and knowledge (Eph. 4:22–24564; Col. 3:9–10) and continues throughout the Christian experience as believers are “conformed to the image of his Son” in maturity, sufferings, etc. (Rom. 6:6, 14; 8:9–10; 14–17, 29; Eph. 2:10).
563 “…if we died with him…” (sunapeqa,nomen)., i.e., were identified or brought into union in his death. 564 Eph. 4:22–24 should read as does Col. 3:10—as a present condition based on a past fact, i.e., “you have [already] put on…you have [already] put off…” not as a command. Cf. the use of the aor. inf. of result, which views the action as past. 220
• It is an inscrutable union. This is what old Divines termed the “mystical union” of Christ and his own, i.e., this union is mysterious in the sense of being incomprehensible and incapable of intelligent comprehension in our finite state.
• It is an indissoluble union. This relation, identification or union between Christ and the believer can never be dissolved. Note that, in biblical teaching, justification by faith has an immediate relation to assurance of faith (e.g., Rom. 5:1–3). This relationship is both necessary and logical because of the reality of the believer’s indissoluble union with Christ.
Thus, the believer’s union with Christ stands at the very center of all redemptive truth and forms the objective scriptural basis for the final perseverance of the true people of God.

 

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Union with Christ and Romans Chapter Six
The Relation between Romans 5:10–21 And 6:1–23
Romans chapter six, more than any other passage, deals with practical implications and necessary expression of the believer’s union with Christ in the life and experience. The basis of the teaching in this chapter on the believer’s union with Christ is laid in 5:10, 12–21:
• Believers are saved by [in union with] the resurrection–life of our Lord (evn th/| zwh/| auvtou/).
• As every believer was once identified with or considered in union with Adam, so now every true believer is considered as identified with or in union with Christ.
• As the sin of Adam was imputed to the human race, and everyone inherited his sin–nature, so everyone in union with Christ has both an imputed righteousness [justification] and an imparted righteousness [sanctification].
• As sin reigned unto death in Adam, so grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, a converted life is the expression of the reality of the believer’s union with Christ.
The Analysis of Romans 6: A Warning against Antinomianism
The relation of the believer to sin is explored in 6:1–8:13. The believer cannot live in sin because of the necessary reality and practical implications of his union with Christ. Thus follows an inclusive argument against antinomianism (6:1–23). Then, the balance is given in a further argument against legalism (7:1–8:4),565 further followed by an exhortation to practical godliness in the life (8:5–13). Romans chapter six is thus a warning against antinomianism,566 and is itself two–fold:
565 It is absolutely essential that the reader notes that the extended section on the believer’s relation to the law does not end at 7:25, but at 8:4, and does not end on a note of defeat, but rather on a note of victory through the effectual ministry of the Holy Spirit! 566 Antinomianism, from avnti?, “against,” and no,moj “law.” Antinomianism is a historico– theological term first used by Martin Luther to describe those who, in their theology and practical religious experience, did not consider the Moral Law to be the rule of the believer’s life. It may also be used in a general sense to describe those who hold holiness or godliness of life to be optional for the professed believer. 221
1. A Doctrinal Warning concerning Antinomianism (6:1–14)
The Question (v. 1)
The Declaration (v. 2)
The Explanation (v. 3–10)
The Application (v. 11)
The Exhortation (v. 12–13)
The Conclusion (v. 14)
2. A Practical Warning concerning Antinomianism (6:15–23)
The Question (v. 15)
The Generalization (v. 16)
The Application (v. 17–18)
The Exhortation (v. 19)
The Explanation (v. 20–23)
A Summary of the Issues: The Implications of the Believer’s Union with Christ
• In the first statement (6:1–14), the practical implications and inevitable consequences of the believer’s union with Christ are set forth. Union with Christ means nothing less than identification in both his death and resurrection–life. This necessarily means that the dominating power of sin in the believer’s life has been broken so that he is no longer under the reigning power of sin or under a mere external principle of law, but rather under an inward principle of grace. Thus, identification [union] in the resurrection–life of the Lord Jesus Christ necessarily means a converted life.
• In the second statement (6:15–23), union with Christ in his death and resurrection–life necessarily means—not living in sin—but a change of masters. Not even one act of sin can be taken lightly! As believers once fervently and constantly served sin in their unregenerate state, they are now to serve righteousness with the very same determination. This is absolutely essential, as the wages of sin is death—eternal death!

 

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HE NATURE OF UNION WITH CHRIST John Murray (1898-1975) NION with Christ is an important part of the application of redemption. We do not become actual partakers of Christ until redemption is effectually applied. Paul in writing to the believers at Ephesus reminded them that they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, but he also reminded them that there was a time when they were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12) and that they were “by nature the children of wrath” (Eph 2:3). Al-though they had been chosen in Christ before times eternal, yet they were Christless until they were called effectually into the fellowship of God’s Son (1Co 1:9)…Only then do they know the fellowship of Christ.

What is the nature of this union with Christ that is effected by the call of God? There are several things to be said in answer to this question.
1. It is Spiritual. Few words in the New Testament have been subjected to more distortion than the word spiritual. Frequently it is used to denote what is little more than vague sentimentality. Spiritual in the New Testament refers to that which is of the Holy Spirit. The spiritual man is the person who is indwelt and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and a spiritual state of mind is a state of mind that is produced and maintained by the Holy Spirit. Hence, when we say that union with Christ is spiritual, we mean, first of all, that the bond of this union is the Holy Spirit Himself. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1Co 12:13; cf. 1Co 6:17, 19; Rom 8:9-11; 1Jo 3:24; 4:13). We need to appreciate far more than we have been wont to12 the close interdependence of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the operations of saving grace. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord; and Christ is the Lord of the Spirit (cf. Rom 8:9; 2Co 3:18; 1Pe 1:11). Christ dwells in us if His Spirit dwells in us, and He dwells in us by the Spirit. Union with Christ is a great mystery. That the Holy Spirit is the bond of this union does not diminish the mystery, but this truth does throw a flood of light upon the mystery… This brings us to note, in the second place, that union with Christ is spiritual because it is a spiritual relationship that is in view. It is not the kind of union that we have in the Trinity—three persons in one God. It is not the kind of union we have in the Person of Christ—two natures in one Person. It is not the kind of union we have in man—body and soul constituting a human being. It is not simply the union of feeling, affection, understanding, mind, heart, will, and purpose. Here we have union that we are unable to define specifically. But it is union of an intensely spiritual character, consonant with the nature and work of the Holy Spirit so that in a real way, surpassing our power of analysis, Christ dwells in His people and His people dwell in Him.

2. It is Mystical. When we use the word mystical in this connection, it is well to take our starting-point from the word mystery, as it is used in the Scripture. We are liable to use the word to designate something that is completely unintelligible and of which we cannot have any understanding. That is not the sense of Scripture. The Apostle in Romans 16:25-26 sets the points for the understanding of this term. There Paul speaks of “the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.”

There are four things to be observed about this mystery:
(1) It was kept secret from times eternal—it was something hid in the mind and counsel of God.

(2) It did not continue to be kept hid—it was manifested and made known in accordance with the will and commandment of God.

3) This revelation on God’s part was mediated13 through and 11 sentimentality – over-indulgence of emotion. 12 wont to – accustomed to; used to. 13 mediated…Scripture – the Bible was the means through which the revelation came. U 5 deposited in the Scripture—it was revealed to all nations and is no longer a secret.

(4) This revelation is directed to the end that all nations may come to the obedience of faith. A mystery is, therefore, something that eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath entered into the heart of man (1Co 2:9), but which God has revealed unto us by His Spirit and which by revelation and faith comes to be known and appropriated by men. That union with Christ is such a mystery is apparent. In speaking of union with Christ and after comparing it with the union that exists between man and wife, Paul says, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Eph 5:32). Again Paul speaks of “the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” and describes it as “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Col 1:26-27).

Union with Christ is mystical because it is a mystery. The fact that it is a mystery underlines the preciousness of it and the intimacy of the relation it entails. The wide range of similitude14 used in Scripture to illustrate union with Christ is very striking. On the highest level of being, it is compared to the union that exists between the Persons of the Trinity in the Godhead. This is staggering, but it is the case (Joh 14:23; 17:21-23). On the lowest level, it is compared to the relation that exists between the stones of a building and the chief corner stone (Eph 2:19-22; 1Pe 2:4-5). In between these two limits, there is a variety of similitude drawn from different levels of being and relationship.

It is compared to the union that existed between Adam and all of posterity (Rom 5:12-19; 1Co 15:19-49). It is compared to the union that exists between man and wife (Eph 5:22-33; cf. Joh 3:29). It is compared to the union that exists between the head and the other members in the human body (Eph 4:15-16). It is compared to the relation of the vine to the branches (Joh 15:1-8). Hence, we have analogy drawn from the various strata of being, ascending from the inanimate15 realm to the very life of the Persons of the Godhead.

This should teach us a great principle. It is obvious that we must not reduce the nature and the mode of union with Christ to the measure of the kind of union that exists between the chief corner stone and the other stones in the building, nor to the measure of the kind of union that exists between the vine and the branches, nor to that of the head and the other members of the body, nor even to that of husband and wife. The mode, nature, and kind of union differ in the different cases.

There is similitude but not identity. But just as we may not reduce the union between Christ and His people to the level of the union that exists on these other strata of being, so we must not raise it to the level of the union that exists within the Godhead. Similitude here again does not mean identity. Union with Christ does not mean that we are incorporated into the life of the Godhead. That is one of the distortions to which this great truth has been subjected. But the process of thought by which such a view has been adopted neglects one of the simplest principles that must always guide our thinking, namely, that analogy does not mean identity. When we make a comparison, we do not make an equation. Of all the kinds of union or unity that exist for creatures, the union of believers with Christ is the highest.

The greatest mystery of being is the mystery of the Trinity—three Persons in one God. The great mystery of godliness is the mystery of the incarnation, that the Son of God became man and was manifest in the flesh (1Ti 3:16). But the greatest mystery of creaturely relations is the union of the people of God with Christ. And the mystery of it is attested by nothing more than this: it is compared to the union that exists between the Father and the Son in the unity of the Godhead.

It has been customary to use the word mystical to express the mysticism that enters into the exercise of faith. It is necessary for us to recognize that there is an intelligent mysticism in the life of faith. Believers are called into the fellowship of Christ and fellowship means communion. The life of faith is one of living union and communion with the exalted and ever-present Redeemer. Faith is directed not only to a Redeemer Who has come and completed once for all a work of redemption. It is directed to Him, not merely as the One Who died, but as the One Who rose again and Who ever lives as our great High Priest and Advocate. And because faith is directed to Him as living Savior and Lord, fellowship reaches the zenith of its exercise. There is no communion among men that is comparable to fellowship with Christ—He communes with His people and His people commune with Him in conscious reciprocal16 love. “Whom having not seen, ye love,” wrote the Apostle Peter, “in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1Pe 1:8). The life of faith is the life of love, and the life of love is the life of fellowship, of mystic communion with Him Who ever lives to make intercession for His people and Who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb 4:15). It is fellowship with Him Who has an inexhaustible reservoir of sympathy with His people’s temptations, afflictions, and infirmities because He was tempted in all points like as they are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15)…

 

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Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. All to which the people of God have been predestined in the eternal election of God, all that has been secured and procured for them in the once-for-all 14 similitude – comparisons drawn between two things. 15 inanimate – without life. 16 reciprocal – giving and receiving. 6 accomplishment of redemption, all of which they become the actual partakers in the application of redemption, and all that by God’s grace they will become in the state of consummated bliss is embraced within the compass of union and communion with Christ…It is significant that the election in Christ before the foundation of the world is election unto the adoption of sons. When Paul says that the Father chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world that they should be holy, he also adds that in love He predestinated them unto adoption through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4-5).

Apparently, election to holiness is parallel to predestination to adoption—these are two ways of expressing the same great truth. They disclose to us the different facets that belong to the Father’s election. Hence, union with Christ and adoption are complementary aspects of this amazing grace. Union with Christ reaches its zenith in adoption and adoption has its orbit in union with Christ. The people of God are “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17).

All things are theirs whether life or death or things present or things to come, all are theirs because they are Christ’s and Christ is God’s (1Co 3:22-23). They are united to Him in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and they are complete in Him Who is the head of all principality and power (Col 2:3, 10). It is out of the measureless fullness of grace and truth, of wisdom and power, of goodness and love, of righteousness and faithfulness that resides in Him that God’s people draw for all their needs in this life and for the hope of the life to come. There is no truth, therefore, more suited to impart confidence and strength, comfort and joy in the Lord than this one of union with Christ. It also promotes sanctification, not only because all sanctifying grace is derived from Christ as the crucified and exalted Redeemer, but also because the recognition of fellowship with Christ and of the high privilege it entails incites to gratitude, obedience, and devotion.

Union means also communion; and communion constrains a humble, reverent, loving walk with Him Who died and rose again that He might be our Lord. “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1Jo 2:5-6). “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (Joh 15:4). There is another phase of the subject of union with Christ that must not be omitted. If it were overlooked, there would be a serious defect in our understanding and appreciation of the implications of this union. These are the implications that arise from the relations of Christ to the other Persons of the Trinity and from our relations to the other Persons of the Trinity because of our union with Christ. Jesus Himself said, “I and my Father are one” (Joh 10:30). We should expect, therefore, that union with Christ would bring us into similar relation with the Father. This is exactly what our Lord Himself tells us: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (Joh 14:23).

The thought is overwhelming, but it is unmistakable: the Father, as well as Christ, comes and makes His abode with the believer! Perhaps even more striking is another word of Jesus: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I 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” (Joh 17:20-23). And not only is it the Father Who is united with believers and dwells in them; Jesus tells us likewise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (Joh 14:16-17). It is union, therefore, with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit that union with Christ draws along with it…Believers enter into the holy of holies of communion with the triune God, and they do so because they have been raised up together and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6). Their life is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3). They draw nigh in full assurance of faith having their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and their bodies washed with pure water because Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for them (Heb 9:24). From Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, published by Wm. B. Eerdman

 

[Iconoclast]

AN ETERNAL UNION OF LOVE John Gill (1697-1771) shall begin with the union of God’s elect in Christ. I shall not here treat of any time-acts of union, [such as] our nature to the Son of God by His incarnation when He became our brother—our near kinsman, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone—and He and we were of one, that is, of one nature (Heb 2:11, 14, 16). Nor [will I treat] of the vital union of our persons to Him in regeneration,17 when we are quickened by the power and grace of God, Christ is formed in our hearts, and we become new creatures in Him and are living, fruitful branches in Him, the Living Vine. This is our open being in Christ in consequence of a secret being in Him from everlasting by electing grace (see Rom 16:7; 2Co 5:17; 12:2). Nor of the more open and manifest union of the saints to God hereafter, who being once in Christ are always found in Him, die in union to Him, rise from the dead by virtue of that union, and who will then in soul and body be one in God—Father, Son, and Spirit. [They will be one in God] as the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, Whose union to one another is the pattern and exemplar18 of theirs. For the open manifestation of [this,] Christ prays (Joh 17:21, 23). But I shall consider the union of the elect to God as it is in its original and as an eternal immanent act in God.
[This act] is no other than the going forth of His heart in love to them and thereby uniting them to Himself. [This] love—as it is from everlasting (Jer 31:3; Joh 17:23-24)—is of a cementing and uniting nature. Indeed, [it] is the bond of union between God and His chosen people, or that by which He has taken them into near union with Himself. Love is the bond of union among men, of friendship one to another. It was this that knit the soul of Jonathan to the soul of David, so that he loved him as his own soul. It is the bond of the saints’ union to each other; their hearts are knit together in love. Hence, charity, or love, is called the bond of perfectness, or the perfect bond, which joins and keeps them together (Col 2:7; 3:14).
It was love that so closely cemented the hearts of the first Christians to one another, insomuch that the multitude of them was of one heart and of one soul (Act 4:32). And now love must operate infinitely more strongly in the heart of God, attracting and uniting the objects of it to Himself, giving them such a nearness and union to Him that cannot be dissolved. Nothing can separate from the love of God! Not the fall of God’s elect in Adam nor their actual sins and transgressions in a state of unregeneracy nor their revoltings and backslidings after conversion (Rom 8:38-39; Eph 2:3-4; Hos 14:4). This bond of union is indissoluble by the joint power of men and devils. In virtue of this, the people of God become a part of Him, a near, dear, and tender part, even as the apple of His eye. [They] have a place in His heart, are engraven on the palms of His hands, and [are] ever in His thoughts. The desires and affections of His soul are always towards them, and He is ever devising and forming schemes for their welfare. How great is His goodness that He has laid up and wrought for them (Zec 2:8; Psa 139:17; Song 7:10; Isa 49:16; Psa 31:19)! The love of Christ to the elect is as early as that of His Father’s love to Him and them, and which, it seems, was a love of complacency and delight.
Before the world was, His delights were with the sons of men (Joh 15:9; Pro 8:30-31); and this is of the same cementing and uniting nature as His Father’s. This causes Him to stick closer than a brother to His people does, and nothing can separate from His love to them any more than from the love of the Father. Having loved His own, He loves them to the end. This bond of union remains firm and sure and gives such a nearness to Him the Church wished for: “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm” (Song 8:6; see Pro 18:24; Rom 8:35). The same may be said of the love of the Spirit: for it is the everlasting love of God—Father, Son, and Spirit—that is the bond of the union of God’s elect to the sacred three. They have all three loved the elect with an everlasting love and thereby have firmly and everlastingly united them to Themselves. Hence, because of the Spirit’s love of them and union to them, He in time becomes the Spirit of life and grace in them (Rom 15:30). Now of this love-union there are several branches, of which are so many illustrations and confirmations of it and all in eternity, as,
1. An election-union in Christ: This flows from the love of God—election presupposes love (see 2Th 2:13). Particular persons are said to be chosen in Christ, as Rufus (Rom 16:13). The Apostle says of himself and others that God had chosen them in Christ and that before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).
Election gives a being in Christ—a kind of subsistence in Him—though not an actual being, yet at least a representative being, even such a one as that they are capable of having grants of grace made to them in Christ and of being blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him before 17 See FGB 202, The New Birth, available from CHAPEL LIBRARY.
18 exemplar – something serving as an excellent example.
19 immanent – a mental act performed entirely within the mind.
20 complacency – satisfaction; the state of being pleased with someone.
21 subsistence – existence. I the world began (2Ti 1:9; Eph 1:3-4). How they can be said to have a being in Christ, and yet have no union to Him, I cannot conceive. Besides, in election, there is a near relation [that] commences between Christ and the elect. He is given to be a Head to them, and they are given as members to Him. As such, they are chosen together: He first in order of nature as the Head; and then they as members of Him. Nothing is more common with sound divines than to express themselves in this manner when speaking of the election of Christ and His people in Him. “Particularly,” says Dr. Goodwin,
22 “as in the womb, head and members are not conceived apart, but together, as having relation to each other; so were we and Christ (as making up one mystical body to God) formed together in the eternal womb of election.” In the same place he says, “Jesus Christ was the Head of election, and of the elect of God; and so in order of nature elected first, though in order of time we were elected together. In the womb of election He, the Head, came out first, and then we, the members.” Now what relation can well be thought of [as] nearer or more expressive of a close union than this of head and members? Christ is the chosen Head of the Church, [and] the Church the chosen Body of Christ, the fullness of Him that fills all in all (Eph 1:22-23). Hence is the safety and security of the saints—being in Christ through electing grace and united to Him, and therefore said to be preserved in Him. Herein and hereby put into His hand, made the sheep of His hand, out of Whose hands none can pluck them, nor [can] they ever fall (Jude 1:1).
2. There is a conjugal union between Christ and the elect that also flows from love and commenced in eternity. By the institution of natural marriage, the persons between whom it is contracted become one flesh, as did Adam and Eve. A nearer union than this cannot well be conceived of. [Their] marriage was a shadow and representation of that between Christ and His Church, whom, having espoused, He nourishes and cherishes as His own flesh.

 

[Iconoclast]

pt2
They become one…Now though the open marriage-relation between Christ and particular persons takes place at conversion, which is the day of their espousals24 to Him (Jer 2:2), the more public notification of it will be when all the elect of God are gathered in: [they] shall in one body be as a bride adorned for her husband, and the marriage of the Lamb shall be come. This [will be] declared in the most open manner and the nuptials solemnized most magnificently (Rev 21:2)! Yet the secret act of betrothing was in eternity, when Christ, being in love with the chosen ones, asked them of His Father to be His spouse and bride. Being given to Him, He betrothed them to Himself in lovingkindness and from thenceforward looked on them as standing in such a relation to Him. [This] is the foundation of all other after-acts of grace unto them. Hence, because of His marriage-relation to His Church, He became her Surety25 and gave Himself for her. [He] shed His precious blood to sanctify and cleanse her from all the impurities of the fall and other transgressions that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; even just such a Church and in such glory [in which] He had viewed her when He first betrothed her (Eph 5:25-27). So with the Jews, there was a private betrothing before open marriage and the consummation of it. At [this] betrothing, the relation of husband and wife commenced (Deu 22:23-24); so Christ is said to be the Husband of the Gentile Church before she was in actual being (Isa 44:5). 3. There is a federal26 union between Christ and the elect. They have a covenant-subsistence in Him as their Head and Representative. The covenant27 flows from and is the effect of the love, grace, and mercy of God—these are spoken of along with it as the foundation of it (Psa 89:2-3; 33-34; Isa 54:10). Hence, it is commonly called the Covenant of Grace, and this was made from everlasting. Christ was set up as the Mediator28 of it. His goings forth in it were so early (Pro 8:23; Mic 5:2), eternal life was promised before the world began, and blessings of grace so soon provided (Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:9)—all which proves the antiquity of this covenant. 22 Thomas Goodwin (1600-1679) – Congregational pastor and theologian; leader of the Dissenting Brethren of the Westminster Assembly. 23 conjugal – relating to marriage. 24 espousals – the promise to enter into marriage. 25 surety – one who undertakes the debt of another. 26 federal – Federal theology suggests that Adam, as the first human, acted as the “federal head” or legal representative of the rest of humankind. Thus, God entered into a covenantal relationship with Adam that promised blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience…Because Adam was disobedient, the curse extends to humankind, of which Adam is the covenantal representative…Just as Adam was the federal head of humanity, so also Christ enters history as a second Adam, free from the curse, and acts as the covenantal head of righteousness for all those who believe in Him. (Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, 50-51) 27 covenant – a solemn promise or oath of God to man. 28 Mediator – one who goes between two hostile parties to remove conflicts and to reconcile them; “It pleased God in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus His only begotten Son, according to the Covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator between God and Man; the Prophet, Priest and King; Head and Savior of His Church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world: Unto whom He did from all Eternity give a people to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.” (1689 London Baptist Confession, 8.1; available from CHAPEL LIBRARY) 9 Now this covenant was made with Christ, not as a single person, but as a common Head. [This was] not for Himself or on His own account only, but for and on the account of His people. As the Covenant of Works29 was made with Adam as the federal Head of all his posterity—hence he is said to be the figure or type of Him that was to come (Rom 5:14)—so the Covenant of Grace was made with Christ as the federal head of His spiritual offspring. For this reason a parallel is run between them in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, as if they had been the only two men in the world: the one called the first, the other the second man. Christ represented His people in this covenant, and they had a representative union to Him in it. All that He promised and engaged to do, He promised and engaged in their name and on their account: when performed, it was the same with God as if they had done it. What He received—promises and blessings of grace— He received in their name; and they received them in Him, being one with Him as their common Head and Representative. 4. There is a legal union between Christ and the elect, the bond of which is His suretyship for them, flowing from His strong love and affection to them. In this respect, Christ and they are one in the eye of the Law as the bondsman and debtor are one in a legal sense; so that if one of them pays the debt bound for, it is the same as if the other did. Christ is the Surety of the better testament: He drew nigh to God, gave His bond, laid Himself under obligation to pay the debts of His people and to satisfy for their sins; Who being as such accepted by God, He and they were considered as one. This is the ground and foundation of His payment of their debts, of His making satisfaction for their sins, of the imputation of their sins to Him, and of the imputation of His righteousness30 to them. In short, it is the saints’ antecedent31 union and relation to Christ in eternity…that are the ground and reason of all that Christ has done and suffered for them and not for others—and of all the blessings of grace that are or shall be bestowed upon them, [but] are denied to others. The reason why He became incarnate for them and took upon Him human nature with a peculiar regard to them was that they were children given to Him. He laid down His life for them because they were His sheep; He gave Himself for them because they were His Church; and He saved them from their sins because they were His people (Heb 2:13-14; Joh 10:14-15; Eph 5:25; Mat 1:21). In a word, union to Christ is the first thing, the first blessing of grace flowing from love and effected by it; hence, [it] is the application of all others. “Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus”—first loved and united to Christ—and then it follows, “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1Co 1:30). So Dr. Goodwin observes that “union with Christ is the first fundamental thing of justification32 and sanctification and all. Christ first takes us, and then sends His Spirit; He apprehends us first; it is not my being regenerate that puts me into a right of all these privileges; but it is Christ takes me, and then gives me His Spirit, faith, holiness.” From A Complete Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, reprinted by The Baptist Standard Bearer, www.standardbearer.org

 

[Iconoclast]

IN CHRIST JESUS David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” —Ephesians 2:4-7

HERE is a sense in which we can say quite rightly and truly that we have here one of the profoundest statements with respect to the condition and the position of the Christian that can be found anywhere in Scripture…Now there are obviously a number of preliminary remarks that one must make about a statement like this. The first that I feel constrained to make is that this is true Christianity, that it is the very essence of Christianity and nothing less than that. What is described in these words is the very nerve of this whole matter! It is what God has done to us and for us and not primarily anything that we have done.

Christianity, in other words, does not just mean that you and I have [made] a decision…People can decide to stop doing certain things and to start doing other things: that is not Christianity. People can believe that God forgives them their sins, but that is not Christianity in and of itself.

The essence of Christianity is the truth we have here: this is the real thing, and nothing less than this is the real thing.
I would emphasize, also, that this is true of every Christian…Here we come face to face with the wonderful teaching and doctrine about the union of the Christian with the Lord Jesus Christ…This is what makes us Christians; apart from this, we are not in the Christian position at all. It is important therefore that we should understand at once that we are really dealing here with something that is basic, fundamental, and primary. At the same time, of course, the doctrine is so glorious and great that it includes the whole of the Christian life. The Christian life is a whole; and you, as it were, have the whole at once and then proceed to appropriate it in its various parts and to understand it increasingly. This is Christianity: “When we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ…And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” What happens, I wonder, when we examine ourselves in the light of such a declaration? Can we say that we always think of ourselves as Christians in these terms? Is this my way of thinking of myself as a Christian? Or do I still tend to think of myself as a Christian in terms of what I am attempting and striving to do, and what I am trying to make myself or to make of myself? Now this is obviously quite basic because the Apostle’s whole emphasis here is that the primary thing, the first thing, is this that God does to us, not primarily what you and I do ourselves. There are two ways of looking at this great statement. There are some people who take a purely objective view of it. They think of it exclusively in terms of our position, or our standing, in the presence of God. What I mean is that they think of it as being something that, in a sense, is already true of us in Christ, but is not true of us in practice. They regard this as a statement of the fact that beyond death we shall be resurrected and shall share the life of glory that is awaiting all who are in Christ Jesus. They hold that the truth is that the Lord Jesus Christ has already been raised from the dead; He was quickened when He was dead in the grave, He was raised, He appeared to certain witnesses, He ascended into heaven, He is in the glory in the heavenly places. “Now,” they say, “that has happened to Him; and if we believe in Him, it will happen to us.” They say that it is true of us by faith now, but actually only by faith. It is not real in us now: it is entirely in Him. But it will be made real in us in the future. Now that is what I call the purely objective view of this statement. And of course as a statement, it is perfectly true, except that it does not go far enough. All that is true of us. There is a time coming when all of us who are Christians shall be resurrected unless our Lord returns before we die. Our bodies will be changed and will be glorified; and we shall live, and we shall reign with Him and enter into and share His glory with Him. That is perfectly true. But it seems to me that to interpret this statement solely in that way is very seriously to misinterpret it. And that I can prove. There are two arguments that make it quite inadequate as an interpretation. The first is that the whole context here is experimental. 33 The Apostle is not so much concerned to remind these Ephesians of something that is going to happen to them: his great concern here is to remind them of what has already happened to them and of their present 33 experimental – involving experience; experiential. T 11 position. It is important that we should always carry the context with us. What the Apostle is concerned about in this whole statement is that we may know “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Eph 1:19-20). He is praying, in other words, that these Ephesians may have the eyes of their understanding so enlightened that they may know what God is doing for them now, at that very time, not something that He is going to do in the future…He is concerned that they should appreciate now in the midst of all their difficulties what is actually true of them. But there is still stronger proof, it seems to me, in the fifth verse. The Apostle says, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,” and then in a parenthesis “(by grace ye are saved).” In other words, he says, “What I am talking about is your salvation at this moment.” “By grace ye are saved” means “by grace you have been saved.” That is the tense: “You have been saved.” Clearly, that is something that is experimental. This is something subjective, not something purely objective. The tragedy is that people so often put these things up as opposites, whereas in reality the Scripture shows always that the two things must go together. There is an objective side to my salvation; but thank God, there is a subjective side also…That is the thing the Apostle is so anxious for us to understand. In other words, this must be interpreted spiritually and subjectively. It must be understood experimentally. “What God has done to us spiritually,” says the Apostle, “is comparable to that which He did to the Lord Jesus Christ in a physical sense when He raised Him from the dead and took Him to Himself to be seated in the heavenly places.” We must go back to the end of the first chapter. The power that is working toward us and in us who believe is the same power that God “wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20). “Now,” says Paul, “I want you to know that the self-same power that did that is working in you spiritually.” That, then, enables us to say that all that has happened to us, if we are Christians, has happened by this self-same power of God. All the tenses the Apostle uses here in these very words that we are studying are all in the past. He does not say that God is going to raise us, is going to quicken us, is going to put us to be seated in the heavenly places; he says that He has done so already—that when we were dead, He quickened us…We must say of ourselves as Christian people that we have been quickened, we have been raised, we are seated in the heavenly places. Or, perhaps, we can put it best like this—and surely this is the thing that the Apostle had in his mind—the position of the Christian is the exact opposite of the man who is not a Christian. The man who is not a Christian is a man who is dead in trespasses and sins. He is being led about according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. His conversation34 is in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; he is under the wrath of God by nature. That is the non-Christian.

 

[Iconoclast]

pt2.What is the Christian? He is the exact opposite of that—quickened, alive, raised, seated in the heavenlies, entirely different, the complete contrast. The “but” brings out everywhere this aspect of contrast. Obviously, we cannot truly understand our position as Christians unless we realize that it is a complete contrast to what we once were. You see how important it is in interpreting the Scripture to take everything in its context. We must be clear about our state in sin because, if we are not, we shall never be clear about our state in grace and in salvation. If that is the truth about us as Christians now, two main matters must occupy our attention. The first is, “How has all this happened to us? How has this come to be true of me as a Christian?” The Apostle answers the question: it is “together with Christ.” Do you notice his constantly repeated emphasis? “When we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Here we are undoubtedly face-to-face with one of the greatest and most marvelous of all the Christian doctrines, one of the most glorious beyond any question at all. It is the whole teaching of the Scripture with regard to our union with Christ. It is a teaching that you find in many places. I would refer you to the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, which is in many ways the most extended statement of the doctrine to be found anywhere. But it is to be found in exactly the same way in the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. It is likewise found in 1 Corinthians 15, the great chapter that is read so often at funeral services; but it is seen equally clearly in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. Similarly it is the teaching found in those beautiful words at the end of the second chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). This is the most wonderful and the most amazing thing of all, and to me it is always a matter of great surprise that this blessed doctrine should receive so little attention! For some reason or other, Christian people seem to be afraid of it…[Yet] according to this teaching in Ephesians 2 and elsewhere, you are not Christians at all unless you are joined to Christ and “in Him”… 34 conversation – lifestyle; behavior. 12 What is meant by our being joined to Christ? It is used in two senses. The first is in what may be called a federal sense, or, in other words, a covenant sense. That is the teaching of the fifth chapter of Romans, verses 12–21. Adam was constituted and regarded by God as the head and the representative of the human race. He was the federal head, the federal representative, the covenant head. God made a covenant with Adam, made an agreement with him, made certain statements to him as to what He would do, and so on. Now that is the first sense in which this doctrine of union is taught. And what is said, therefore, about the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is our Federal Head, He is our Representative. Adam, our representative, rebelled against God: he sinned, he was punished, and certain consequences followed. But because Adam was our representative and our head, what happened to Adam also therefore happened to all his posterity and to us. Now that is one aspect of the matter and a very important one. We know something about this in ordinary life and living. The ambassador of this country in a foreign court represents the whole country, and he engages in actions in which we are all involved whether we want to be or not. As citizens of this country, we all suffer the consequences of actions that were taken before we were ever born…What the leader or the official representative of a nation does is binding upon all the citizens of that nation. Now that was true of Adam. It is also true of the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam was the first man; Jesus Christ is the Second Man. You have the first Adam; you have the Last Adam. Now Jesus Christ, according to this teaching, is the Representative of this new humanity. Therefore, what He did and what He suffered is something that applies to the whole of this new race that has come into being in Him. So that the union of the believer with Christ must be thought of in that federal sense.

 

[Iconoclast]

pt3.
But it does not stop at that. There is another aspect of the union that we may call mystical or vital. This is something that was taught by our Lord Himself in the famous words in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel according to John, where He says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (Joh 15:5). The union between the branches and the vine is not mechanical: it is vital and organic. They are bound together: the same sap, the same life is in the stock as in the branches. But that is not the only illustration used. At the end of the first chapter of [Ephesians], Paul says that the union between a Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ is comparable to the union of the various parts of the body with the whole body, and especially with the head. Now, any one of my fingers is a vital part of my body. It is not simply tied on: there is a living, organic, vital union. The blood that flows through my head flows through my fingers. That indicates a kind of internal, essential unity and not merely a federal, legal, or covenant union. All these blessings that we enjoy become ours because we are joined to Christ in this double manner: in the forensic,35 federal, covenant manner, but also in this vital and living manner.
We can therefore claim that what has happened to Christ has happened to us. This is the marvel and mystery of our salvation, and it is the most glorious thing we can ever contemplate! The Son of God, the Second Person in the eternal Godhead, came down from heaven to earth; He took unto Him human nature, He joined human nature unto Himself, He shared human nature; and as the result of His work we human beings share His life and are in Him, and are participators in all the benefits that come from Him.


Now I reminded you at the beginning, and I must repeat it: that, and nothing less than that is Christianity. If we do not realize this, I wonder what our Christianity is? This is not something you arrive at; this is something with which you begin…What the Apostle is primarily concerned to emphasize is, that whereas we were dead, we are now alive. The question arises at once, “How can this happen?” Something must happen before we who are dead and under the wrath of God can ever be made alive. I can derive no benefit whatsoever until something has been done to satisfy the wrath of God, for I am not only dead and a creature of lusts and controlled by the god of this world, I am under the wrath of God—we were “by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (2:3). And, thank God, that something has happened. Christ has taken upon Him our nature, He has taken upon Him our sins, He has gone to the place of punishment; the wrath of God has been poured out upon Him. That is the whole meaning of His death upon the cross: it is sin being punished; it is God’s wrath against sin manifesting itself. And if we do not see that in the cross of Calvary, we are looking at that cross without New Testament eyes. There is that terrible aspect to the cross, and we must never forget it. We must never forget the cry of dereliction,36 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat 27:46). That was because He was experiencing the wrath of God against sin, nothing less. But the Apostle, here, is much more concerned to emphasize the positive aspect. Christ not only died and was buried; He rose again. God “raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named” (Eph 1:20-21). All that involved a quickening, a raising, and an exaltation. And the same thing, says the Apostle, is true of us because we are in Christ—“hath quickened us together with him.” This has happened to everybody who is a Christian. It is God’s action.

Surely, this does not need any demonstration. That 35 forensic – relating to law; judicial. 36 dereliction – being abandoned. 13 man who is dead in sins and under the wrath of God, what can he do? He can do nothing. God does it to him; He quickens him. As He quickened the dead body of His Son in the grave, He quickens us spiritually. What does “to quicken” mean? It means “to make alive,” it means “to impart life.” The first thing then that is true of the Christian is that he has come to the end of his death—we were dead in trespasses and sins, we were not born spiritually. There is no divine spark in anybody born into this world. All born into this world, because they are children of Adam, are born dead—born dead spiritually.

This whole idea of a divine spark remaining in man is a contradiction not only of this Scripture, but also of the whole of Scripture. The position of every person born into this world is that he is dead.


The comparison used to illustrate this is the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ buried in a grave with a stone rolled over the mouth. This then is the first positive truth: I have come to an end of my death. I am no longer dead in trespasses and sins, I am no longer dead spiritually. Why? Because I have died with Christ. I have died with Christ to the Law of God and to the wrath of God.

 

[Iconoclast]

Now a Christian is a man who must assert this truth. The beginning of Christianity is to say, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). The Christian is not a man who is hoping to be forgiven; the Christian is not a man who hopes that ultimately he will be able to satisfy the demands of the Law and to stand before God. If he is a Christian who understands Christianity, he says, “I am already there, I have ceased to be dead, I am alive, I have been quickened, I have been made alive!”

The first important aspect of that statement is the negative one, which says that I am no longer dead. I have finished dying; I am dead to sin, I am dead to the Law, I am dead to the wrath of God.

“There is therefore now no condemnation.” Can you say that? It is the statement that every Christian should be able to make…The Scriptures make this definite assertion:

I am not a Christian; I cannot be a Christian at all without being in Christ. It follows that if I am in Christ, what is true of Him is also true of me. He has died unto sin once, and I have died unto sin once, in Him. When the Lord Jesus Christ died on that cross on Calvary’s hill I was dying with Him…when Christ died on that cross and endured the wrath of God against sin, I was participating in it. I was in Him, I was dying with Him. I am dead to the Law, I am dead to the wrath of God…But, more, He has quickened us, He has made us alive…

Are you dead spiritually or are you alive spiritually? But look at the case more positively. It means that God has put a new Spirit of life into me. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ” is in the Christian. This is the opposite of death and deadness. Before this new Spirit of life in Christ Jesus came into us, we were dead in trespasses and sins and subject to a very different spirit—“the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2). But that is no longer true. There is a new Spirit of life. What is “quickening”? Quickening is regeneration and nothing else. When the Apostle says here, “You hath he quickened,” he means, “You He has regenerated.” He has given you new life, you have been born again, you have been created anew, you have become partakers of the divine nature. What is regeneration? I cannot think of a better definition than this: regeneration is an act of God by which a principle of new life is implanted in man and the governing disposition of the soul is made holy. That is regeneration. It means that God by His mighty action puts a new disposition into my soul. Notice I say “disposition,” not faculties. What man in sin needs is not new faculties: what he needs is a new disposition. What is the difference, you ask, between faculties and disposition? It is something like this: the disposition is that which determines the bent and the use of the faculties. The disposition is that which governs and organizes the use of the faculties, which makes one man a musician and another a poet and another something else.

So the difference between the sinner and the Christian, the unbeliever and the believer, is not that the believer, the Christian, has certain faculties that the other man lacks. No, what happens is that this new disposition given to the Christian directs his faculties in an entirely different way…What is new is a new bent, a new disposition. He has turned in a different direction; there is a new power working in him and guiding his faculties. That is the thing that makes a man a Christian. There is this principle of life in him; there is this new disposition. And it affects the whole man: it affects his mind, it affects his heart, it affects his will…

Are you alive? Has God put this principle of life into you? Just as you are at this moment, do you know that this has happened to you, that there is this essential difference between you and the man of the world?...Quickened! We were dead, lifeless, could not move ourselves spiritually, had no appetite spiritually, no apprehension or understanding spiritually. But if we are Christians that is no longer true. We have been quickened together with Christ, the life principle has come in, we have been regenerated. There is no Christianity apart from that…Because we are joined to Christ, something of His life is in us as the result of this vital, indissoluble union, this intimate, mystical connection…Have you life? Have you been quickened? It is the beginning of Christianity. There is no Christianity apart from this…Are you aware of a principle that is working within you, as it were, in spite of yourself, influencing you, molding you, guiding you, convicting you, leading you on? Are you aware of being possessed?—if I may so put it, at the risk of being misunderstood. The Christian is a possessed man; this principle of life has come in, this new disposition 14 possesses him. And he is aware of a working within him…God has begun a good work in me, and I know it. He has put this new life in me—in me! I am born again and in union with Christ. May God by His Spirit enlighten the eyes of our understanding so that we may begin to comprehend this mighty working of God’s power in us. From God’s Way of Reconciliation: An Exposition of Ephesians 2, 70-81, published by The Banner of Truth Trust, www.banneroftruth.org. Used by permission.