United with Christ
The article below is a short extract from the Crosslands Foundation course, United with Christ. The full course covers:
- A Relational Connection (to be in Christ is to be in a friendship and a marriage)
An Organic Connection (to be in Christ is to be in a vine)
We Share Christ’s Standing (to be in Christ is to be in new clothes, the ark and a plane)
We Share Christ’s Sonship (to be in Christ is to be in the Father’s embrace)
We Share Christ’s People (to be in Christ is to be in the family)
We Share Christ’s Trajectory (to be in Christ is to be in a harness and rollercoaster)
We Share Christ’s Life (to be in Christ is to be plugged into a power socket)
We Share Christ’s Inheritance (to be in Christ is to be written into a will)
Remaining in Christ (to be in Christ is to be in a conversation)
If you were asked to describe your religious convictions then the chances are you would say, “I’m a Christian”. The word “Christian” means “belonging to Christ” or “with an allegiance to Christ” so it’s a perfectly good way of describing those who’ve put their faith in Christ. “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (Acts 11:26). But it’s not the term the early Christians usually used. The term “believer” or “believing brother” or sister is used more often in the New Testament. But perhaps the most common way the New
Testament refers to Christians is as those who are “in Christ”.
The New Testament presents believers as those who are united with Christ. Union with Christ is a big idea. As we shall see, this union with Christ is right at the heart of who we are as Christians, how we are saved, how we are to live as Christians, and our hope for the future.
But what does it actually mean to be united with Christ?
Think about all the ways we use the word “in” to describe who we are or where we are or how we’re feeling. We use “in” to describe our location – I’m writing this “in my study”. But we also use it to describe our status – I’m writing this “in my role” as a Bible teacher. We can use “in” language to describe our state of mind – I’m writing this “in a frenzy” of creativity. And we can use “in” language to describe relationship connections – I feel safe “in her arms”. When the New Testament speaks of being “in Christ” or united with Christ”, it uses versions of most of these senses of the word.
To start with, to be united with Christ is to be in a relationship with Christ: a friendship. On the night before he died, Jesus said to his disciples:
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 17:14-15)
It’s enough for a servant to know what his master wants; he doesn’t need to know why. All a servant needs to do is obey and a simple command is enough for that. But Jesus is showing his disciples – and us – the bigger picture.
- Jesus is giving us a vision of a life of love. It’s in this context that his commands make sense. We no longer obey like a servant simply because we must. Now we obey like a friend because we share Christ’s vision for life.
- Jesus is giving us a vision of a life of mission. He’s about to commission his disciples – and us – so that we share his mission. We’re not involved in mission like servants doing what they must. We’re involved in his mission because we share Christ’s concern for the lost and his desire to see God glorified.
So our first image of what it means to be united with Christ is friendship. But it goes even deeper than that.
A marriage
Jesus has said he will always be our friend. That ought to be enough to give us confidence for the future. After all, Jesus always keeps his word and no-one can stop him doing what he’s decided to do.
But Jesus wants us to be doubly confident so he binds himself to us in a covenant.
A covenant is a kind of contract. If you’ve ever negotiated a business deal then you probably confirmed that
deal with a contract. A contract is legally-binding document in which people make commitments. Usually one party agrees to supply something and the other party agrees to pay them for it. Perhaps it ought to be enough just to agree. But we sign contracts just in case. If one party breaks their commitments then the other party can take them to court for redress.
Jesus has committed to save us and he wants us to be doubly confident that he’ll deliver so he makes a contract. Hebrews 6:17 says: “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.” Jesus made a promise and then he made an oath to go with the promise.
But Jesus does more than simply make a contract with us. A covenant is a special type of contract. A covenant is a contract that creates a new relationship. When God made a covenant with Abraham and his family, God didn’t simply do a deal with them. They became his people and he became their God. They entered into a new relationship.
The best parallel we have is marriage. A marriage is a covenant. It’s a contract in which two people make promises or commitments to one another. But it’s not simply a business deal! It’s a covenant and
so it makes a new relationship. They become husband and wife.
It’s no accident that this is the best parallel we have to our relationship with Christ. That’s because marriage was invented by God for this very reason. God gave us sexuality and marriage to reveal the nature of his covenant love. In Ephesians 5:31-32 Paul quotes from Genesis 2:24 before adding his own comment:
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Christ and the church are in a covenant relationship just like a husband and wife. So our second image for what it means to be united with Christ is marriage.
A marriage is an identity-defining relationship
On the morning of my wedding day I was a single man; by the evening I was a married man. My identity changed. Ever since I’ve written something different when forms ask me for my “status”. In fact, so significant is this change that it can’t be reversed. I could become a widower. I could become divorced. But I can’t become single again. For my wife this identity change means a new name. She dropped her maiden name and took my surname.
When we’re united with Christ our identity changes. Becoming a Christian is not simply agreeing with a set of ideas or opting for a different lifestyle. It’s a radical change of identity. We belong to Christ and we take his name.
A marriage is a binding relationship
Marriage is meant to last until “death do us part”. Of course, tragically marriages sometimes end in divorce. But this is not God’s intention for marriage. That’s because he wants us to see marriage as a picture of Christ’s undying love for his bride. Christ ha
s made a commitment to us and nothing can break that commitment – not even death. Even the best human marriages end when one spouse dies. But Jesus died and rose again. He rises to eternal life, and that means an eternal relationship of love with his people.
A marriage is an intimate relationship
Marriage is the context in which God intends sex to take place. That’s because sex powerfully binds two people together. To bind yourself to another person through sex only to be then pulled apart damages the soul. Paul talks about it as sin against your very self (1 Cor. 6:18).
Obviously we don’t have sex with Jesus. But sex is God’s gift to reveal the passion of Christ’s love for us and the intimacy he desires with us. To be united with Christ is to be drawn into a relationship of intimate love in which Christ longs to enjoy his relationship with you.
A marriage is an exclusive relationship
Marriage not only involves committing yourself to your spouse; it also involves “forsaking all others”. Marriage is meant to be an exclusive relationship. It’s the same with our relationship with Christ. Obviously Christ relates to every Christian – not just you. But he only has one bride, the church. There is only one people to whom he is committed and whom he will save. And we’re called to only have one Saviour and Lord. In this sense, to be united to Christ is to forsake all others. Even our friends and family are now loved in Christ and for Christ.
A marriage is a fruitful relationship
Marriage is the context in which children are conceived, born and nurtured. Sadly that’s not true of every human marriage and some couples carry the heartache of childlessness. But it is true of Christ’s covenant relationship with his people. Because we’re united with Christ, we bear fruit. We bear the fruit of holiness (Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:6, 10; Heb. 13:15) and we also bear evangelistic fruit as God uses our witness to bring people to faith.
Why is this covenant important?
Let’s come back to marriage. Suppose my work takes me away from my wife for a period of time, perhaps somewhere the phone signal is intermittent. For several weeks we have very little contact. Are we any less married? No, obviously not. If our relationship was based on our sense of emotional connection then our relationship might become weak; it might fade.
But our marital status is an objective reality that can’t weaken or fade. Obviously it would be better if we were able to be in close contact with one another. But even when that’s not possible, we’re still as married as ever.
Or imagine a husband and wife who’ve had a row. (It happens!) How does their relationship feel? Pretty rotten, I suspect. But are they any less married? No, not at all. Indeed, hopefully their covenant commitments will provide the basis for reconciliation.
It’s the same with Christ. Hopefully we’re living in a close relationship with him – living in obedience to him, hearing his voice in the Bible, talking to him in prayer. But there are times in the Christian life when perhaps things feel flat. It may be that we’ve no choice but to be very busy. It may be that suffering is making us doubt Christ’s commitment to us. It may be we’ve had the equivalent of a row – we’ve sinned against Christ and now he feels distant.
Are we any less “in Christ”? Are we less united with him? No, not at all. We belong to him and he belongs to us. This is our great comfort in the ups and downs of the Christian life. This is the bedrock of our lives. This is the anchor that keeps us stable in the midst of emotional turmoil.