Union with Christ

Although we have covered some items related to our union with Christ in other chapters, it is a very important topic that needs to be covered in more detail in this chapter. I hope we would pay adequate attention to this truth.

The goal of God’s work is to work Himself into man and to work man into Himself so that we would be joined as one with Him. Our union with God is in Christ and through Christ. Therefore, when we speak of our union with God, we are also speaking of our union with Christ.

1. Christ’s union with us

In order for us to be in union with God, He first had to be in union with us, that is, with man. He came to be in union with us through His being in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19; Col. 2:9). Christ is the manifestation of God; consequently, Christ’s coming to be in union with us is equal to God’s coming to be in union with us. Christ’s union with man can be seen in four matters.

1. 1. In His incarnation

      1. “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:14).

The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men. Since the Word was God, the Word becoming flesh is God becoming flesh. God became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Christ is God manifested in the flesh to be in union with man (1 Tim. 3:16). Since human beings are flesh, His becoming flesh means that He became one of us, that is, a man. He took on our human nature and partook of our human nature to be in union with us (Heb. 2:14).

1. 1. 2. “Emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man” (Phil. 2:7-8).

Christ is God, and He had the form of God (v. 6), but in order to be in union with us, He emptied Himself and lowered Himself, taking the form of a human slave, becoming in the likeness of men to be found in fashion as a man. He became one with man in form and nature.

1. 1. 3. “In the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3).

         1. When Christ was incarnated to be in union with us, He did not come in the likeness of created man. Rather, He came in the likeness of fallen man, which was man in the likeness of the flesh of sin, that is, the likeness of the man who had been invaded by sin and mixed with sin. He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. This reveals that when Christ was incarnated to be in union with man, it was with the intention of being one with fallen man. His humanity was in the likeness of fallen humanity.

         2. Although the likeness that He bore was the same as our fallen likeness, we need to be clear that when Christ was incarnated, He did not have the reality of sin, even though He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin. He was incarnated in the likeness of the flesh of sin in order to be like us, but He did not have the reality of our sin. In His incarnation He had the likeness of the flesh of sin outwardly, but He did not have the reality of sin inwardly (Heb. 4:15). This truth is seen in the type of the bronze serpent in the Old Testament. The bronze serpent, which had the likeness of a poisonous snake outwardly but not the poison of the snake inwardly, typified Christ being in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Num. 21:6-9; John 3:14). In His incarnation Christ was completely one with us in all things except for sin. The incarnation was the initiation of His union with us. He entered into humanity and put on humanity.

   2. In our believing

      1. “It pleased God...to reveal His Son in me” (Gal. 1:15-16).

When we believed in and received Christ as our Savior, God revealed His Son, Christ, in us through His Spirit. Therefore, when we believed, Christ entered into union with us personally. He entered into union with us through the Spirit. Although He entered into union with humanity at His incarnation, He entered into a personal and practical union with us when we believed into Him.

1. 3. In our salvation

      1. “Jesus Christ is in you” (2 Cor. 13:5 see also Rom. 8:10).

Christ entered into us when we believed. Through our initial salvation He is in us. After He enters into us, He abides in us through His union with us. When He enters into us through our believing, He is joined to us and can never be separated from us.

1. 3. 2. “Christ...is powerful in you” (2 Cor. 13:3).

After we are saved, Christ not only remains in us and is joined to us, but He also wants to manifest His power so that we might experience and enjoy His power.

1. 3. 3. “Christ...lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Christ is in union with us and manifests His power in us by being our life. He remains in us as our life so that we might experience and enjoy His power. Thus, He lives in us and is in union with us to the extent that He is our life, living for us and causing us to live.

1. 3. 4. “Until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19).

Christ is in union with us not only to live in us as our life but also to be formed in us so that He can become our inward element of life, completely changing us into His likeness.

1. 3. 5. “That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17).

There are many verses in the New Testament that speak of Christ being in us and even living in us, but this verse is the only portion that speaks of Christ making His home in our hearts. Christ desires to live in us and be in union with us to such an extent that our hearts would be full of His living and His love. This speaks of a deep union with Him in our love and emotion.

1. 3. 6. “I in you...I in him” (John 15:4-5).

Christ is in us, and in this union He abides in us as our inward content of life and as our outward expression of life so that He might become our everything. This can be compared to the vine being everything to its branches in its union with the branches.

1. 3. 7. “We will come to him and make an abode with him” (John 14:23).

This verse shows that Christ’s abiding with us to be our everything is equal to the Father and the Son making an abode with us and being in union with us to be our everything. Since Christ is the embodiment of God and is one with God (10:30), He is in God, and God is in Him (14:10). Therefore, His being in union with us to be our everything is God being in union with us to be our everything.

1. 4. In eternity

      1. “Its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23).

When we believed, Christ entered into us and entered into union with us. He will be in union with us for eternity in the new heaven and new earth after the millennial kingdom. In eternity future, in the eternity of the new heaven and new earth, Christ will be in union with us, and this union will attain to a most glorious peak. Revelation 21 says that the Lamb, Christ, will be the lamp of the city, the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will be a marvelous entity, composed of God and all the saved ones throughout the ages. As the lamp, Christ will be in union with His redeemed ones for eternity. God will be the light, and Christ will be the lamp, shining out the light of God through the believers in our union with Him. God will shine His light out through Christ, and Christ will shine His light out from us. This will be the highest peak of His glorious union with us. This union will be an eternal union that never ends.

2. Our union with Christ

We can be in union with Christ because He is in union with us. If Christ were not in union with us, we would have no way to be in union with Him. Since He is in union with us, we can enter into union with Him. There are seven aspects of our union with Him.

2. 1. Union with Christ in His crucifixion

      1. “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

         1. Christ, who did not know sin, was made sin by God on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Him who did not know sin refers to Christ, and sin refers to us. We are not simply sinners who commit sins, we are sin. From God’s point of view, we are sin. We became sin because sin entered into us. Thus, our sins and wickedness are the issue of the sin that dwells in us (Rom. 7:17-20). This can be compared to tea leaves being added to water. When tea leaves are added to hot water, the water turns into tea, and when a person drinks the water, he also drinks the tea. This is illustrated also by the experience of the children of Israel when they were bitten by poisonous serpents in the wilderness. When the poisonous element of the serpents entered them, they became serpents in God’s eyes. In His judgment of the situation, God commanded that a bronze serpent in the likeness of a serpent be hung upon a pole (Num. 21:6-9). Just as a bronze serpent was hung upon a pole to bear God’s judgment on the children of Israel, Christ became sin for us and was hung upon a tree to bear God’s judgment for us. Christ’s being made sin on the cross was His full identification with us since we are sin. In doing this, He entered into union with us sinners in order to bear our judgment so that we might enter into union with Him.

         2. We are sin, but Christ is righteousness, even the righteousness of God. Therefore, just as Christ became sin by entering into union with us on the cross, we become righteousness by entering into union with Christ in His crucifixion. We have even become the righteousness of God in Christ. He entered into union with us and became sin for us, bearing God’s condemnation and judgment so that we could enter into union with Him and become the righteousness of God in Him, being justified by God and becoming pleasing to God. This is God’s way of salvation. God’s way of salvation is for Christ to be in union with us, to become us and even to become sin, so that we could enter into union with Christ to become the righteousness of God in Christ. This does not mean that we traded positions with Christ in God’s salvation, that is, that Christ became sin and that we became righteousness. If this were the case, Christ and we would not be in union — nor would we need to be in union — we would merely be in different positions with respect to righteousness and sin. This is not God’s way of salvation. His way of salvation is to join Christ to us so that we can be joined to Christ. To accomplish this, Christ entered into union with us in order to receive God’s judgment for our sins. Furthermore, we entered into union with Christ in order to receive God’s righteousness in Him. He entered into union with us in order for us to be in union with Him so that we could become one with Him. Since we are sin, He entered into union with us on the cross when He was made sin on our behalf, and since He is the righteousness of God, we entered into union with Him in His crucifixion when we became the righteousness of God in Him.

         3. Christ entered into union with us when He was made sin on our behalf, and we entered into union with Him by becoming the righteousness of God. These are the accomplishments of Christ related to the cross. Although His union with us began at His incarnation, our union with Him did not begin until after He bore our sins on the cross. His bearing of our sins was His full union with us. He entered into union with us first on the cross, and then we entered into union with Him. After He bore our sins, we were able to enter into union with Him, having been made the righteousness of God in Him, which caused us to be well accepted by God.

      2. “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20 see also 6:14).

This verse confirms that we were crucified with Christ. Therefore, we are in union with Christ in His crucifixion. Since we are in union with Him, His crucifixion is our crucifixion. When He was crucified, we were crucified.

2. 1. 3. “Our old man has been crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6).

Our old man is the old “I” or our old self. When Christ was crucified, our old man, our old self, was crucified. We do not need to crucify ourselves; we have already been crucified with Christ. His crucifixion is our crucifixion because we are in union with Him. We were crucified with Him in His crucifixion.

2. 1. 4. “You died with Christ” (Col. 2:20).

Since we are in union with Christ and have been crucified with Him, we have died with Christ. When Christ died on the cross, we died on the cross with Him since we are in union with Him. According to the revelation of the Bible, our union with Christ began at His crucifixion. After Christ was crucified, we could enter into union with Him. His death is our death, and His dying is our dying.

2. 2. Union with Christ in His resurrection

      1. “Raised us up together with Him” (Eph. 2:6 see also Col. 3:1).

Since we are in union with Christ in His death, we surely are in union with Him in His resurrection. Just as we died together with Him, we were raised together with Him. We died in His death, and we were made alive in His resurrection.

2. 2. 2. “Because I live, you also shall live. In that day you will know...you in Me” (John 14:19-20).

Christ resurrected, and just as He lives, we also live because we are in Him and are in union with Him. He is living in resurrection, and since we are in Him, we have been resurrected together with Him to live together with Him.

2. 3. Union with Christ in His ascension

      1. “Seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).

Since we have died and resurrected together with Christ, we surely ascended together with Him. According to this verse, we are seated together with Him in the heavenlies. We are in union with Christ not only in His crucifixion and resurrection but also in His ascension. Because we are in union with Him, we partake not only of His death and resurrection but also of His ascension. His experiences are our history because we are in union with Him. His accomplishments are our gain: His death is our death; His resurrection is our resurrection; and His ascension is our ascension. What He has experienced, we have experienced. What He has attained, we have attained. We are seated in the heavenlies in Him because we are in union with Him.

2. 4. Union with Christ in our believing, baptism, and initial salvation

      1. “Everyone who believes into Him” (John 3:16).

When Christ was crucified, resurrected, and ascended, we were in union with Him in reality, but this reality was experientially applied to us when we believed into Him. When we believed into Him, we received Him and also entered into Him. Our receiving is related to receiving Him into us. Our entering into Him is related to our being in Him. Our receiving of Him and our entrance into Him make our union experiential. Our experience of the reality of our union with Christ began when we believed into Christ.

2. 4. 2. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27 see also Rom. 6:3).

Not only is our believing our entering into Christ to be in union with Him, but our baptism also is our entering into Christ to be in union with Him. Just as believing causes us to enter into Christ, baptism also causes us to enter into Him. Therefore, those who believe and have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

2. 4. 3. “Baptized into His death”; “Buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him” (Rom. 6:3; Col. 2:12).

According to spiritual reality, we died and resurrected together with Christ when He died and resurrected, but in our experience this occurred when we were baptized. We have been baptized into Christ’s death and buried together with Him. We also have been raised together with Him. We experienced this death and resurrection together with Christ, however, when we were baptized. When we were baptized, our baptism was a baptism into Christ and into His death. Since we have been buried together with Him, we also have been raised together with Him. We experientially entered into union with Him through our death, burial, and resurrection with Him in baptism.

2. 4. 4. “Made alive together with Him” (Col. 2:13 see also Eph. 2:5).

When we were saved, God made us alive together with Christ. In our salvation Christ as life was imparted into our spirit through the Spirit. In our salvation our deadened spirit was made alive so that we could be joined as one spirit with Christ in our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).

2. 4. 5. “Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

         1. When we were saved, God brought us into union with Christ. When we believed in Christ, God put us into Christ, causing us to partake of Christ and making Christ our wisdom. This wisdom includes righteousness, by which we obtained salvation through justification in the past, sanctification, according to which we can live a sanctified life today, and redemption, which is related to the redemption of our body in the future. When we were saved, God brought us into union with Christ, making Christ our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This indicates that in our union with Christ, Christ is everything to us.

      6. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

When God puts us into Christ in our salvation, we partake of Christ and enter into union with Him. Thus, we receive the element of Christ, which is the element of God and the element of the resurrection life. This element makes us a new creation in which the old things have passed away. We become a new creation because we are in Christ and are in union with Christ.

2. 5. Union with Christ in our continuing salvation

      1. “Abide in Him” (1 John 2:27, 28 see also John 15:4-7).

         1. When we were saved, God put us into Christ and brought us into union with Christ. Therefore, after we are saved, we should abide in Christ to remain in the experience of our union with Him. When we were saved, we entered into union with Christ by getting into Christ. After we are saved, we need to remain in our union with Christ by abiding in Him. Abiding in Christ is to practically enjoy Christ by taking Him as our life and everything. This is related to the experience of our union with Christ in our living after we are saved.

      2. “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

When we are saved, we obtain Christ as life and enter into union with Him. After we are saved, we take Christ as our life and continue in our union with Him through His life. This life is hidden with Christ in God, so in this life we are in union with Him in God. Our spiritual living should be in the life of Christ and in our living in union with Christ in God.

2. 6. Union with Christ in His return

      1. “When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4).

After we are saved, we should live in Christ as our life, continuously experiencing our union with Him until He is manifested in His return. Then we will be manifested with Him in glory and experience a complete and full union with Him. At that time we will not only experience our union in His life but also our union in His glory. Our union with Him will be to such an extent that we will know both His life and His glory experientially. We will flow out His life and His glory.

2. 6. 2. “The heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

Our union with Christ begins in our spirit, spreads throughout our soul, and consummates in our body. When we were saved, our spirit received the life of Christ and was joined to Him. The element of Christ should saturate our soul until the day of His return. When He returns, our body will be so saturated with His element that our body will be transfigured to be conformed to the body of His glory. Thus, our union with Him will involve every part of our being — our spirit and soul and body. From the inside to the outside, our whole being will be saturated with His element and completely in union with Him in His life and glory. Oh, what a union that will be! What a complete union! What a glorious union! May this be our desire.

2. 6. 3. “If He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is” (1 John 3:2).

When the Lord is manifested, He will transfigure our bodies, saturating our whole being from the inside to the outside with His element, causing us to be completely in union with Him. Then we will be like Him. We will be in union with Him to the extent that we will be just like Him. When we are thus joined to Him, we will be fully one with Him.

2. 7. Union with Christ in eternity

      1. “The bride, the wife of the Lamb...the holy city, Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:9-10, see also vv. 1-2).

         1. In eternity future we will be the holy city, the New Jerusalem, which is the wife of the Lamb, Christ. We will be in union with Him forever, just as a husband and wife are one flesh (Eph. 5:31-32). In the garden of Eden, Eve was joined to Adam, and the two became one flesh. In the same way, the redeemed ones throughout the ages will be in union with Christ for eternity, and we will be a glorious entity that can never be separated (Matt. 19:6).

         2. God, in His salvation, wants to work on us to such an extent that Christ becomes one with us, and we become one with Christ so that Christ and we, we and Christ, would be in complete union. We must see this in order to know the high goal of God’s salvation. This is so glorious! God desires that we would be joined to Christ not only in His life and nature but also in His glory. In life, nature, and glory, we and Christ will be completely one in union with each other for eternity.