Introduction
What is union with Christ?
This is the idea that there is a union which exists between a believer and Jesus. The precise nature of this union is unknown to us; hence, it is often called the mystical or mysterious union. The result of this union is that believers now receive, from this union, all the blessings of salvation. Clearly then, this doctrine lies at the basis of the Christian understanding of salvation.
What do you mean here by “all the blessings of salvation?”
These would include things like election, faith, repentance, justification, sanctification, and finally glorification.
Where does the Bible teach us about this union?
The Bible uses several metaphors to help us understand it, such as a building, a tree, a body, husband & wife, and the person of Adam.
The Building Metaphor
Start with the building metaphor.
We find this metaphor in both Peter and Paul. Paul writes to the churches in Asia Minor:
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Here Paul’s goal is to give gentile Christians the assurance that they are not second class Christians. They are “fellow citizens” with all the other saints. He illustrates this truth by teaching these Christians that they are building blocks in the building which has Jesus Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles as the foundation. There are no second class stones in this building; on the contrary, each one of them is shaped and designed to fill the spot where they are.
What does Paul understand here by a cornerstone?
The cornerstone was a very large stone that was laid in the corner of the foundation. It was important because by it, the rest of the foundation stones were aligned. Moffat writes (p308) that this word refers to a stone which was set in the foundation of the building and at the corner. By this stone, the architect fixed a standard for the bearings of the walls which would be built on it. Hence, this stone was critical for the success of the entire building.
Why is this important for Paul’s teaching here?
Because Paul has just said that the apostles and prophets were the foundation of the building. It is Christ, however, who gives these foundation stones their alignment and bearing. Moule writes (p84) that this word indicates that the cornerstone was essential to the foundation itself, not necessarily just the higher structure built on it. From this, he concludes:
Thus on the whole we take the image to be that of a vast stone at an angle of the substructure, into which the converging sides are imbedded, “in which” they “consist;” and the spiritual reality to be, that Jesus Christ Himself is that which gives coherence and fixity to the foundation doctrines of His Church; with the implied idea that He is the essential to the foundation, being the ultimate Foundation (1 Cor. 3:11). Apostles and Prophets reveal and enforce a basis of truths for the rest and settlement of the saints’ faith; those truths, at every point of juncture and prominence, are seen to be wholly dependent on Jesus Christ for significance, harmony and permanence.
Does Paul use this metaphor anywhere else?
Yes, he writes in Colossians:
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Here Paul uses the plant metaphor, having been firmly rooted, as well as the building metaphor, being built up in Him. The teaching here is much the same as that in Ephesians 2. Every Christian is part of the building and is resting on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ.
Before you had mentioned that Peter also used this metaphor. Where does he do this?
Peter writes:
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. (1 Peter 2:4-8)
Here Peter’s goal is to give assurance and comfort to struggling believers by pointing out the strength and sureness of the building because of the foundation on which it sits. This foundation will not disappoint anyone who is trusting in it.
What then does this metaphor teach us about our union with Christ?
The building metaphor shows us the unique value that each Christian has in the plan of God. It also shows us the sureness of the promises God makes to us; no one trusting in Jesus will fail to reach the promised land.
Adam
What does Adam teach us about our union with Christ?
Again, this is Paul’s teaching in Romans where he writes that all men die because all men are “in Adam.”
Where does Paul teach this?
In his letter to Rome, Paul writes:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned–for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:12-14) more
Here Paul teaches that death has come on all men because all sinned; see original sin. This is not because each man personally sinned himself, but because each man sinned in so far as they are in Adam. Even those people, writes Paul, who did not sin as Adam did by his own intentional choice, still die. The reason “death reigns” over them is because they are reckoned to be sinners or covenant breakers (Hosea 6:7) just as Adam was. Thus, we can say that all men, as they are born, are in Adam.
Paul also speaks of our being in Christ.
Yes, Paul gives us three contrasts between Adam and Christ:
- Adam’s act brought death to all his; Christ’s act brought life to all His. (Romans 5:15)
- Adam’s sin brought a guilty verdict while Christ’s righteousness brings a not-guilty verdict. (Romans 5:16)
- The third contrast pertains to who is holding the power or who is king. Adam sinned; and as a result, death now sits on the throne. Christ, however, came to earth and throws out this cruel tyrant and gives believers their life back. (Romans 5:17)
This shows us that Paul intends for us to see these two realities as in parallel. All men, as they are born, are in Adam; all those who are reborn are in Christ.
What does this teach us about our union with Christ?
It shows us that our union with Christ is a covenantal union:
- When we are in Adam, we are participants in his covenant. (Genesis 2:17) This means that we are held to the terms of that covenant.
- When we are in Christ, we are participants in His covenant. (Luke 22:20) This means that we are held to the terms of that covenant.
Forbes (p265):
So intimate is the union between Adam and his seed, that the moment a child is born, all that is Adam’s immediately becomes his. He has sinned with him; he has died with him. Sin and death have entered into his nature, and we need not to wait for their manifestation in outward act to be assured that they are already operative within. So it is with the new-born babe in Christ Jesus. As soon as by an act of true faith the believer becomes one with Christ Jesus, all that is Christ’s immediately becomes his. We have died with Christ. We have risen with Christ. His resurrection-life has become our new life; we are “made to sit together with Him in heavenly places,” Eph. 2:6. In the eye of that God who sees the end from the beginning, all these blessings procured by Christ are as fully assured to the Christian, as if he were already in full possession of them.