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The Benefits of Our Union with Christ
Christ in Us
We often talk about becoming a Christian in terms of “asking Jesus to come into our hearts.” This certainly is not incorrect. In Galatians 2:20, Paul says “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” And in Colossians 1:27, the gospel is proclaimed as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Bible does talk about how Christ is in us, but the Bible’s focus is more on the fact that we are in Christ. The phrase “in Christ” or “in him” is used well over one hundred times in the New Testament to describe how the benefits of the gospel—the effects of Jesus’s sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection—are applied to our lives.
What Does It Mean to Be “in Christ”?
The Bible teaches that, as believers, we are united to Jesus, both in his death and in his life (Col. 2:12–14). Jesus’s death on the cross was substitutionary; he died in our place, on our behalf. God looked on the work Jesus accomplished, he accepted it, and he applies it to all who believe in Jesus as Lord. Jesus’s own righteousness is imputed—that is, attributed—to us. What is his is now also ours.
This foundational aspect of the gospel has been described as the “Great Exchange.” At the cross Jesus took the punishment for our sin, and in return, he gave us his righteousness: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus in his great mercy received the awful thing that he did not deserve. And in his great grace he gave us what we do not deserve.
ESV Applying the Gospel Study Bible for Women
Featuring gospel-centered study notes, daily devotionals, articles, and engaging book introductions, this Bible is designed to help women discover Christ in Scripture and apply the gospel to their everyday lives.
At the most fundamental level this union with Christ—being in him—ensures our salvation. United to Jesus in faith, we receive his righteousness, which God credits to our account—the Bible calls this justification by faith: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23–24). To justify means to declare righteous. Justification means that, in Jesus, God brings us into a new relationship with himself by forgiving our sins and counting us as righteous
before him.
The practical implications of being in Christ—the ways in which this reality applies to our daily living—are vast. Being in Christ means that we can now do things that were impossible for us before he saved us. No longer enslaved to sin, we are free to love and serve God, and we are empowered by Jesus and his Spirit to do so. First Corinthians 2:16 assures us that “we have the mind of Christ.” Because of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we can discern and understand the Lord’s will and behave in such a way that honors and glorifies him. We can focus on others rather than ourselves. We can forgive grievous sins against us. We can discern what is good and true and beautiful. When we are tempted to say, “I can’t do that”—we probably are not wrong. But in Jesus, we can.
In Christ We Have Peace and Assurance
Our union with Jesus was established before the earth even came into existence:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Eph. 1:3–4)
[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Tim. 1:9)
Can you imagine? God’s work to know you and love you—making you safe and secure in your Savior—has been his plan before time even began! Oh, that we might keep this truth at the forefront of our hearts and minds! Could anything ever instill in us more confidence and peace? The Bible also assures us that nothing “in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). There has never been a time when we were not safe in our Savior, and there never will be.
When our thoughts run wild in the middle of the night and our worries threaten to overwhelm us, we can meditate on the loving command and the promise of Philippians 4:6–7:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In Jesus, our anxieties are calmed and our fears put to rest. God assures us that he “will supply every need of [ours] according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). We can turn to him for everything, “casting all [our] anxieties on him, because he cares for [us]” (1 Pet. 5:7). When we give in to that same sin yet again and worry that this is the last straw, we remember, despite what earthly consequences we may face, that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Our union with Jesus means that we are set free from sin and death, and through our union with him we receive all the blessings and promises of God—including his great peace, which is unlike anything the world has to offer.
In Christ Our Hope Is Secure
Reading the news is almost always a harrowing experience. Each article alerts us to another reason why we should despair. We cannot process or recover from one tragedy before another is piled on top of it. What keeps us going—what keeps us joyful—even amid this reality?
The only thing that can possibly outweigh all the bad we see around us is our hope as believers, which is firmly rooted in Jesus. In him we know how the story ends, regardless how many chapters seem to end on a foreboding note. This hope that we have is not mere optimism that everything will turn out okay in the end—it is a hard-and-fast reality promised in God’s Word and applied to us in Jesus.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Rom. 6:5)
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:20–22)
In Jesus, what unites us is far more powerful than anything that could ever divide us.
At the cross Jesus triumphed over sin, death, and the devil. Although these enemies will continue to harass us for a little while longer, their defeat has already happened. The day is fast approaching when the “Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16).
In Christ We Have Unity with Other Believers
One of the most distressing things we witness is how angry everyone seems at everyone else. There seems to be very little, if anything, we can all agree on. The vitriol and hate are alarming and discouraging.
But what is true of the world around us is not true for us as the church—individual people who are brought together as one body in Christ Jesus. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. (Eph. 4:4–7)
Although we are all wired differently, with many gifts and backgrounds and opinions, we are united in our Savior. The Bible teaches that these differences are intentional; God designed each of us individually and wonderfully so that our unique personhood serves the mission and purpose of the church overall. Scripture celebrates, rather than discourages, the fact that there is such variety within the body of Christ (Prov. 27:17; Rom. 12:4–8).
In Jesus, what unites us is far more powerful than anything that could ever divide us. In him and through the working of his Spirit, the things that have the potential to divide us have an even greater potential to shape us into his likeness.
Our Union with Christ Empowers Us to Live Godly Lives
Paul urges us in Ephesians 4:1, “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” We do not have to linger on that command for long to be struck by what it demands of us. Still plagued by sin and prone to think of our own desires and needs above all else, how can we get anywhere close to the holiness God requires?
On our own, we simply cannot. But in Jesus, God equips us to obey him. In fact, he shows us the how at the very same time he gives us the command:
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Phil. 2:4–7)
We are to treat others in a way that reflects the kindness, grace, and mercy that God has shown to us. And we can do this because the mind of the one who was humble to the point of death on a cross “is [ours] in Christ Jesus.” It is ours! We have only to ask God to help us abide in that reality—to empower us, by his Spirit, to think as Jesus thinks in every situation and season of our lives.
Hidden with Christ
It is through our union with Jesus that we are brought from death to life (Eph. 2:1–10) and made altogether new: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
While we wait for him to return for us, at which time we will see all God’s glorious promises to us fully realized, we press on and strive to live in such a way that reflects and honors Jesus—and that is being mindful of where our hope lies.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:1–4).
This article is by Erika Allen and is adapted from the ESV Applying the Gospel Study Bible for Women.
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