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I’ve come to believe that this subject is central to our Christian faith and also most neglected topic. And so I’ll be doing a series of sermons on this topic starting today with the introduction to this topic. And then union with Christ in his humanity, union with Christ in his death, union with Christ in his resurrection, and union with Christ in glorification. And as I said that this topic is so central to the New Testament as a whole, and it is quite definitive of our Christian life. It is impossible to talk about the Christian experience without understanding the concept of believers’ union with Christ.
And it is very crucial, very important for every believer, every believer. And the implications of not understanding our union with Christ and not living daily in the light of our union with Christ has many severe consequences. The way we respond to our own sin, sins of other people and difficult circumstances, trials, tribulations, anxiety and stuff like that. That a lot of things, everything in Christian life is centered on this topic, that is union with Christ. I, I personally am very encouraged by reflecting on this topic over these past few weeks, and uh, it is, it is a crucial topic every Christian should understand. And because we live in, we
Christians live in transient circumstances and also in a transient world. You know what I mean by that? Changing times, changing circumstances, right? We do, we cannot be sure of what happens tomorrow, right? And and and we know that this world is not for sure. The relationships that we know feel so good about are not for sure. Jobs are not for sure. Marriages are not for sure. And we Christians are like strangers in this world, and everything in this world may bring a, bring anxiety, right? And this glorious truth of believers’ union with Christ is vital, and uh, and it’s my prayer for
myself and for the entire congregation that this knowledge of Christ would have and ever, an everlasting and incalculable effect and impression upon our hearts. Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for your grace, your, you, Father. We are aware, Father, Lord, of our own frailty, our own weaknesses, our own shortcomings, our own responses to life. And we confess, Father, that we always fall short of your standard, it, and we have failed to understand this beautiful concept, this mysterious concept, the mysterious reality of our union with our Lord Jesus Christ. And we fail to live in the light of
that reality father we ask you that you would strengthen our faith as we meditate on this precious truth. We pray that our lives will be changed. We thank you, Father, and bless the time. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. No, we must constantly examine the nature of our faith. When we speak of faith from the Bible, there are two expressions. One aspect is something we do or exercise or we respond to God by faith. And the other is something God creates or imparts. For example, the saving faith is imparted. We did not create saving faith. God imparted that saving faith into us.
And when God works in us by faith, daily we surrender to God, we obey God, we, we surrender to his plan and his structure, and we live by faith daily. And our union with Christ is integral to our salvation, and this is imputed to us. Our problem is we end up forgetting this virtue that we have in Christ and live like the rest of the world. We constantly interact with the world around us, which has a different outlook on life. And the concepts of faith and Christ, they seem like foolishness to this world.
measures life, relationships, success, identity, with altogether a different measuring rod. And when we are successful, there will be applause. And we may feel inflated, glad. But there is not much success. And there is disappointment. You know, the way we respond to success and failure is also, you know, kind of worldly at times or natural, you know, it's according to our normal way of living.
And even at the minor offense that we receive from our fellow beings, we lose peace. We want to settle this score. If someone does not appreciate it, appreciate us or recognize us, we are sad. With slight difficulties in life we are shattered. A small trial in life, we are shattered, we are anxious. Jesus said, “Come unto me, I will give you rest,” but why are we often restless? Why are we often restless? In all the storms of life, the hope that Christians have is that we can behold the Savior.
We can constantly look to Jesus and be at rest. It doesn’t mean there won’t be pain. It doesn’t mean that when we behold Christ, there won’t be hurts. It doesn’t mean that we are secure. We are secure financially or we have everything that we desire. It doesn’t mean that our children won’t rebel.
It doesn’t mean that there won’t be problems in our marriages. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have problems with our colleagues. It doesn’t mean that we will not lose our jobs. But because of Christ, we can sail through with hope through these life’s trials.
Because of Christ, we can hang on. We can hang on. Why is there such a gap between our experience and what the Bible promises? If you do, if you do not connect the truths of the Bible to our daily lives, the sad reality is the remains wide enough. If you are daily not confronted with the Word of God, with the realities of the Word of God and the revelation of God's Word, and we apply to our daily lives, live in, if we do not live in the light of all the truths of the Scriptures, if we do not rely upon the
blessed Holy Spirit daily, I think the why there is a wide gap, and the wide gap becomes wider and wider and wider. Our knowledge of Christ, our knowledge of God, of knowledge of God's Word will be only here in our head. We know, we acknowledge, we confirm, we confess that God is sovereign. We've confessed that God is good, no? God gives peace, God gives rest, no? We need not be anxious, no? All this will be here, but when we hit the real life circumstances, man, we are anxious, we are troubled, we are agitated. Someone spoke bad about me, I am restless, I am restless.
I lost a job, I know, I'm restless, I'm restless. We slowly get comfortable with that wide gap. Do you remember the lukewarm church in the book of Revelation? You can turn your Bibles with me to Revelation chapter 3 verse 20. Revelation chapter 3 verse 20. If you read about that church there, it is called a church, it is a church, the angel of the Lord. You know this letter is a letter written to a few churches, and and addresses, the Lord addresses them as the church.
It is called a church. But the sad reality of those believers is that Christ is knocking at the door. This is not a word for unbelievers. This is a word for believers, a church. And the Lord says in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me.”
It is a church and these are the words to the church. And it is a classic example of believers not living in the light of their union with Christ. They know that they are church. They know that they are bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. But on a daily, day-to-day basis of life, they're not living in the light of their union with Christ.
Christ is asking, let me in. Let me in. Have communion with me. I want to have communion with you. How is our Christian lives? The union of Christ is the greatest gifts of the gospel. I often forget this truth. And we must cherish this union and live in that union daily.
John Murray says, “Union with Christ is really the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation.” But this central truth is alien to many Christians. We do not contemplate it and live out this glorious union. And this shows a wide gap between our faith and lives, which is greatly neglected. John Owen, the 17th century pastor and theologian, said of his own experience in these words, he said, You know
what Owen is saying here? He has written wonderful classics. And even if today we read them, we are greatly edified. He is saying that he himself preached Christ without having any experimental, practical relationship with Christ. Is it possible? Possible. But he says by way of affliction Mr. Owen had come to an end of himself to see this glorious truth. Brothers and sisters, whatever trials that we have in life, they have a purpose. The purpose is to bring that so that we would come to an end of ourselves.
And personally and corporately so that we may look to Christ. Louis Berkhof defined union with Christ as “the intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and his people, in virtue of which he is the source of the life and strength of their blessedness and salvation.” So the realize, this realization of our union with Christ is the missing link in our day-to-day life issues, and we must understand the essence of the gospel, this essence of the gospel and the essence of the gospel, to grasp this vital truth. What exactly, what exactly is the union with Christ? Again John Murray says, “union with Christ does not mean that we are incorporated into the life of the
Godhead.” This is a misunderstanding, which means we don't become one with the Trinity. That is one of the distortions to which this great truth have been subjected. But what exactly is union with Christ? Someone said the doctrine of union with Christ lives in the prepositions of the New Testament, especially in the epistles of Paul. There's no other biblical author was emphasized more on this aspect of union with Christ. He may have not used this word Union, but when this author is saying that it is in the prepositions of the New Testament, it means that you, we quite often find this in Christ, with
Christ, Christ in us, right? Who has more often used those words? It’s Paul. And Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, he said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Sorry, “he’s a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.”
What is this new creature? To be in Christ means that Christ represents his people. He is the federal head of his people. If you read the book of Romans, we come across this — I mean, not the term, but the idea of federal headship there. There are two federal heads. Who are they? Adam and Christ. Adam represents all of our fallen humanity, right? And that’s how all humans receive, or the original sin was imputed to all human beings, right? That’s clear in Romans chapter 5. And Christ is another federal head who represents all his people. Christ assumed full humanity in his incarnation, and because of his work on the cross on our behalf, we are in Christ, represents his people who place their trust in him. And Paul’s classic
statement we find in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. I request you all to turn your Bibles with me to Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. You know, this is Paul’s personal experience. He says, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no who live.” You know, Paul knows that he is crucified with Christ, but he also says that is his personal experience. He is daily living in the light of his union with Christ. Jesus Christ our Lord was crucified as our substitute on the cross. Our sins were laid on our Lord Jesus Christ, and along with our Lord our sins were nailed to
the cross. Our old selves were crucified on the cross. And the con— this confession of Paul is true of every believer. It is a declaration of all believers who have put their faith in Christ Jesus. If you are daily not living in the light of our union with Christ, there seems to be a gap, but that doesn’t mean that this is not the reality of our experience.
We are like maybe that lukewarm church. We are church, we are believers, but there is a gap. There is a gap. Our Lord’s death fully paid our penalty. Such a union is also described as a mystery in the Bible. Colossians chapter 1 verses 26 and 27. Colossians chapter 1 verses 26 and 27.
What is this mystery that has been hidden? Now Paul repeats these statements in Colossians and also in Ephesians. But one mystery, mystery is something that is hidden, but revealed later. That God’s plan for Gentiles to incorporate them into God’s people, not only that, God accomplishes that through Christ. And the mystery is this, “Christ in you,” Christ in you. And this mystery is hidden, but is revealed in the new covenant. A mystery is therefore something which the eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, but which God has revealed unto us through the Spirit of God, by the revelation of God’s word.
And faith comes to be known and appropriated by people like us. How is this union created? How is this union, Christ in you, is created? Firstly, we must understand that this union with Christ, that our Christ in us, this whole idea was in the heart of God.
If you can turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1, and read verses 3 and 4. See, one thing you should see here is that Paul says that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ just as he has chosen in him before the foundation of the world that we be holy and blameless before him in love. Which means that our union with Christ, in Christ, and the blessings that we receive in Christ is God’s sovereign choice.
Father chose us from all eternity in Christ. This in Christ is the forever condition of believers. And we fail to live proper Christian lives here on earth because we fail to understand this condition. We have a misplaced identity crisis. According to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11, it says there that God works all things according to the counsel of his will. Our union with Christ is God’s eternal decree. It has been in the heart of God for all eternity, but he acted upon it at the right time, as Paul says in Galatians. We Christians miss out on this vital aspect, that is, God desired, God planned, God executed the best for his people. And what is the best that God could give us? Christ himself. Our place in Christ, our union with Christ is God’s best for his people. And how
often do we cherish in that, often do we cherish in that. John Murray again says that those who will be saved, that those who will be saved were not even contemplated by the Father in the ultimate counsel of his predestinating love apart from the union with Christ. They were chosen in Christ
We are all lost humanity brothers and sisters, bound in sin, bound in sin, if we win sin we would all be destroyed. God couldn't think best of us apart from Christ. Only because of Christ there's a hope for us to be saved. That's the only plan that God had. God's sovereign election of his people is for the union with Christ. God cannot imagine a people who are holy, righteous, blameless apart from the union with Christ Jesus.
Paul explains that there was a time when we were all alienated from God. He explains that in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12. He says that “remember that you were at the time separate from Christ. Excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise.”
Having no hope and without God in the world. Having no hope and without God in the world. And Paul also says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 that you were dead in your trespasses and sins. There is no life of God in us. There is nothing in us that could have connected us with God. No yatras, no bhajans, no prayers, no Christian family, nothing could have connected us with God. God took the initiation to bring us to him, to create that new life in us. And that union with Christ is an integral part of God saving his people.
And we Christians should constantly cherish in this reality that we are united with Christ. And secondly, how this union is created. Firstly it is in the heart of God. Secondly it is the effectual call. When a person who believed the gospel, what happened first? What precedes? He hears the gospel.
That is the effectual call. All the gospel is effective in his people. We are awakened, like Paul expounds in chapter 1 of Romans in verse 16, “the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe.” It is the power of God. It is that powerful dynamite of God which explodes in the lives of his people, that connects, you know, in a moment, in a moment with God. We are awakened to the glory of God. We are awakened to our own sinfulness. And we are awakened to the mercies of God. We are connected with God. And through this gospel we are called into the moment we put our
trust in Christ, we are united with Christ. No, all these works are simultaneous. Regeneration, justification, adoption, all are simultaneous. God doesn't wait, “Okay, let me first justify him, let after some time let me see and let me adopt him.” No, all these are simultaneous works of God in us. We are regenerated, we are up, we are— We are set apart by God for His glory for all eternity. To be a holy and blameless people before Him. On what basis? On the basis of Christ. In Christ. In Christ.
We are beautiful before Christ not because of our own deeds. We are beautiful before God because we are in Christ. Because Christ alone is beautiful to the Father. The Holy Spirit works in us. He unites us with Christ Jesus. And he holds us together with Christ. We are sealed with him until the day of redemption.
We are sealed with him until the day of redemption. Christ dwells in us through his Spirit. And it is essential that we live under the control of the Spirit daily. It's important that we daily yield to the control of God, the Spirit of God and remind of these realities.
Seek His help. Seek His grace. Otherwise we will forget. Otherwise we will not live in the light of this blessed union. Otherwise we will respond to our circumstances differently. Life's problems differently. And end up in regret. What are the implications of our union with Christ's work on the cross?
It means that we are a new creation by our union with Christ. Our old sinful nature is no longer our identity. We are justified and made right before God in Christ Jesus. No matter how many sins we are dealing with. Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, that is your identity. You are justified. You are made right. Not because of your deeds, but because of Christ.
Yes, when we sin, we have to repent. We have to confess. We have to get right with God. That is our identity. Identity. That is our identity. I get a whole new identity. My past life, my sins, my upbringing, my success, my failures are not my identities anymore. My family background, my family inheritance, all that stuff are like a dung, Paul says in Philippians.
My identity is in Christ. Your education is not your identity. Your profession is not your identity. My identity is in Christ. If as believers we are not awestruck at this identity, my brothers and sisters, there is a gap. If you are relishing in your own upbringing, if you are relishing about your own family thing or your education, or I come from so and so background, I have such and such blessed parents, I have such a career, all that is trash, Paul says, not me. You can read your Bibles. As believers, the only thing that should stay in our hearts is our identity with Christ.
That’s the only comfort, brothers and sisters, which gives us in times of trials, in times of difficulties, in times of temptations, in times when people abandon us. What gives us a purpose to persevere is our identity, our union with Christ Jesus. I live upon this identity that now I belong to God in Christ. He is mine. I am his.
That is my identity. Paul said these words in Galatians again. He said, “It is no longer,” in chapter 2 verse 20, “but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” No, emphatically, Paul is saying that he had been transformed from a self-centered life to a Christ-centered life.
This statement is an affirmation. It doesn’t mean that it’s not something Gnostic kind of an experience, or you know, some supernatural experience like Christ comes and lives in me. I no longer live, I don’t exist, only Christ lives in me. No, it’s not like that. It’s not that mystical thing. No, one preacher came up to the pulpit and said, “Now the Holy Spirit is going to speak to you.” No, it’s not that kind of an experience. This statement is an affirmation that Christ lives in me. It is an affirmation of the resurrection of Christ. And Christ now lives which is the truth that points us to his resurrection.
Resurrection is not merely a historical fact but it is a powerful spiritual reality at work in every believer. The core of Christianity is the believer’s unity with Christ. We live in him and he lives in us through his Spirit. As Jesus promised, the Father and the Son makes their abode in his people through his Spirit. Through his Spirit, Christianity is not merely a legal matter of justification by faith alone. It is a profound and personal experience of transformative grace through the indwelling presence of our Savior through the Spirit of God.
That’s the reason John says in 1 John chapter 3 that, “Beloved, now we are the children of God. But what we shall be, we do not know yet. But when we shall see him, we shall be like him.” We will see him just as he is and also we will be like him. That is a hope that we are slowly, slowly being conformed into that image. And Rankin Wilbourne continues to say, “The Jesus who had compassion on the crowds and who had healed the sick, that Jesus is in you.
The humble Jesus who led as a servant, who washed his disciples’ feet, he is in you. The Jesus who repeatedly shattered racial barriers with his teachings and in his life, that Jesus is in you. The Jesus who suffered and loved to the end, he dwells in you. And Jesus who was raised to new life is living in you right now.”
What does that imply? That implies that we are to imitate our Savior. To follow his footsteps. Which means we have to become servants of others. We need to be humble and kind people. We need to be compassionate people. We need to be willing to lay our lives for others, suffer for the benefit of others.
We should believe, we should behave with others the same way we want Christ to treat us. We should have the same ambition as Jesus. That whatever we do, we do everything to please our Father, to please our Father, because Jesus alone was able to please the Father. Now Christ in us, wish it should become our aim, whether in home, whether in church, whether in a profession, whether in all our interactions, everything should be pleasing to our Father. We should have the same attitude towards trials and sufferings as Jesus did. Our imitation of Christ, our imitation of Christ grows from our union with Christ. Because we are united in Christ, we behold the glory of Christ through his word, we depend on Spirit daily, we receive grace upon grace, and we
live by the grace of Christ to be like Christ. And another implication is that we see, because we are in Christ, we always have peace and free access to God. Paul clarifies this in Romans chapter 5, verse 1 and 2. I request one of you to read those verses.
Brothers and sisters, this is our privilege and blessing in Christ Jesus. Here Paul isn't encouraging that believers to have peace with God. Instead he wants them to rejoice or celebrate this already situation, already condition that we are at peace with God. That peace is ours in Christ Jesus. And what's so great about this peace?
Now the word peace isn’t a relatively new term. We hear the word now and then, right? For example, if I fought with my wife a few days ago, but now we are at peace. We use that, right? I had an ugly disagreement with my colleague, but now we are at peace. India and Pakistan were at war, but then signed a peace treaty, right? Paul isn’t talking about that kind of a thing. Brothers and sisters, is this peace similar to the peace that we are, we keep hearing? What’s so great about this peace? This peace, the peace of the world is very fragile and
uncertain india and pakistan may have signed the priest peace treaty that can be broken anytime right? My wife and I can break our peace into pieces. If we do not deny ourselves daily. And the peace God declares is not like the peace we experience in the world. And Jesus said in John chapter 14 verse 27. He says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled. but let it be fearful.
God's peace is transcendent and unfathomable. The peace is so rich, unique, stable and deep. God declared peace which means He is not going to break that peace treaty anymore. He is not going to look at His children with enmity anymore. If we sin. If we persistently sin. Without repenting. At one point of time. God may discipline us. He can allow trials in our lives. To discipline us. But He is not going to. Destroy us.
He is going to discipline us. As his children. That is redemptive. He wants to save us. Our sins may cause displeasure to God, but He will never treat us as His enemies. We are never going to lose that peace treaty. That peace with God is ours. Once we repent, my brothers and sisters, we can enjoy that peace again. We must. And the Paul's idea here is, the thought here is that as believers we must exalt in that, we must celebrate it. This peace permits being and it is a very fountain of our life. The second aspect that we see here is access. We have an access. The original words suggest coming near, intimate interaction. This access is
obtained by faith in Christ. In Christ, through Christ, a believer can have access to God. He can approach the throne of grace daily. He can grow in intimacy with God. We can have we have access to God at all times. We can stand before his throne daily.
That is a privilege and how often do we avail that? This grace and privilege is imputed to us. Given to us freely in Jesus Christ. It is something that we did not earn. It is unmerited favor which God bestowed on us. And Paul says, “into this grace in which we stand.”
He says, “we stand.” We are fixed. We are established. We are grounded here. In the peace and in our access to God. No one can move from that position. The world around us can beat us. But we are grounded in that situation. It is a settled position. A believer stands before God. This fellowship with God is not momentary.
We can forever approach God's presence through our eternal high priest. Our Lord Jesus Christ. What strengthens a believer in the trials, temptations and tribulations? Is it not this privilege to access God's presence from wherever we are? You can be in a prison. Paul could still sing.
Paul could write letters to encourage other believers. Because that peace is not disturbed. He is firmly grounded in that identity of Christ. Wouldn’t this world's trials, temptations and tribulations break us? The evil around us break us? We have access to God. We can cry out to the creator of the heavens and the earth at any time. Temptations knock on our door every time. We can access God's throne. The persecutors of people's faith want to intimidate us, but we can have access to God's throne.
Finally, what is the proof? What is the proof of our union with Christ? You’ve been attending a church for a long time. You’ve been Christian all your life, reading your Bible. You memorized Psalm 119. Right? And you know a lot of things from the Bible.
So what? What’s the proof of your union with Christ? How do you know that you are united with Christ? Not everyone who calls themselves as Christians is united with Christ. John Murray again says, “union means always communion, and communion constrains a humble, reverent, loving walk with him who died and rose again that he might be our Lord.” That is the essence and the proof of our union.
What is the proof that we are united with Christ? That we have communion with Christ. That we have a humble and reverent loving walk with our Savior. That is the proof. You examine your own life. You see that evidence. Of course, times there are ups and downs in our lives. I’m not saying that. We’ll be low at times. We’ll be disappointed. We are discouraged. You know, we are hurt. There’ll be times like that. But are those times like forever condition?
Do we ever break out from that? Again, cherish that sweet, sweet communion with Christ Jesus. I want you to turn to one final scripture passage. 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. And read verses 3, 4, 5, and 6. What is the proof?
Proof is we keep his commandments. We keep his word. The love of God is perfected in us. Daily we should remind ourselves of this gospel of union with Christ Jesus. But before that, I want to ask you this question: do you endeavor to live in the light of God’s word daily? Do you endeavor to respond to life circumstances in the light of God’s Word?
What’s the proof that we are united with Christ? We live by His Word. So brothers and sisters, daily we should remind ourselves of this glorious gospel union with Christ Jesus to ourselves. With the help of God, we should constantly turn our eyes away from ourselves to Christ. We should live in constant fellowship with Him. We should never forget that the perfect Christ saves us, not our imperfect obedience.
The doctrine of union with Christ is an invitation our home with God in Christ Jesus. It is an unbreakable fellowship, not because we strive to keep the faith, but because God the Father holds his people in his forever love in the Son of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's pray.
I want you to look into your own hearts. Bring all your insecurities, fears, failures, hurts. First examine your real life in the light of your union with Christ Jesus. Do you enjoy your union with Christ Jesus? And if you are anyone here who may have thought that you are a Christian because of something, Christian home or whatever, but you don’t see this reality of union with Christ in your own life, request you to turn to Christ, believe in the gospel. Christ died to save a
people for his own glory. Only through his finished work on the cross people are saved. God justifies or makes people right based on what Christ has accomplished.