UNION WITH CHRIST IN JOHN’S LITERATURE

Abstract

Union with Christ in Johannine literature is coextensive with “in-one-another” relationship, that is the essence of eternal life, the life of the age to come, as inaugurated eschatology.

Introduction

The Bible is one story. The end of the biblical narrative is the conclusion of the beginning of the story. What will be consummated in Revelation 21-22 is what was meant to be in Genesis 1-2. The whole Bible is eschatological in its DNA, because from Genesis 3:15 onward, the people of God look forward to the New Creation in Christ, the serpent crusher. The entire Scripture is shaped both theologically and literally by the protoevangelium pattern. The first coming of the long-awaited Messiah fulfils the OT expectations, but also introduces a new eschatological feature: the overlapping of the ages, the two phases of the New Testament. For this reason, all the NT theology (including Union with Christ) is characterized by the “already, but not yet” mark. Gaffin argues that only NT believers can fully enjoy Union with Christ for it is Union with the exalted Christ, through whom you have entered in the age to come, you are brought now into the future eternal life of the New Creation, the new-creational Kingdom.

Methodological procedure

What does “Union with Christ” mean and what implications it produces now? We will consider the structure of the Bible and particularly of the Johannine corpus. Alexander suggested the following methodology: start to read from the end (Revelation 21-22), and then read backward from Genesis 1, keeping in mind that telos of biblical narrative. Eschatology informs protology and what follows. Future eschatology sheds light on inaugurated eschatology. Since the OT foreshadows Union with Christ, the Gospels present the inauguration of the full Union with Christ and Revelation 21-22 presents the consummation of Union with Christ, then we list from Revelation 21-22 the main theological points which we analyze in the inaugurated context, namely John’s Gospel and the first Epistle, in order to fully understand John’s theology of Union with Christ. “Jesus, according to John, has been raised from the dead, and so eternal life, the life of the age to come, has invaded the present age. John emphasizes realized eschatology: those who believe in Jesus already enjoy the life of the age to come”. Clive argues that especially in the farewell discourse of John 13-17, Jesus teaches about the eternal life that He is enjoying right now as resurrected first born of the New Creation, seated at the right hand of the Father, the life that He has conquered through His exaltation. That life is in a sense already available and enjoyable by the church through the Spirit. Revelation 21-22 presents five main topics that are the full version of what partially we can already enjoy in the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of eternal life, the downpayment of our future redemption, the seal of the age to come. These five aspects often overlap because they are different facets of the same “Union with Christ” diamond. Every topic will consider the same biblical pattern: creation – de-creation (fall) – inaugurated new creation (salvation) – consummation. Particular emphasis is put on the inaugurated eschatology presented in John’s Gospel and Letter. Final suggestions of applications will conclude each section.

Union with Christ as reciprocal God-men relationship

(Revelation 21:3)
“Behold, the dwelling place [σκηνὴ] of God is with man. He will dwell [σκηνώσει] with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God”

How can we define “Union with Christ”? According to John it means to live now the eschatological eternal life, through an intimate, loving, active, two ways relationship with the Trinity, through Christ the Mediator. The Johannine language defines Union with Christ as relational oneness with Christ, the “Me-in-you and you-in-Me” dynamic and living bond between the Trinity and believers, “in-one-another” abiding personal activity. Bowsher defines Union with Christ in John as: “the intimate, loving, relational participation of the believer and God. They are involved in one another’s life, affections, ways and work”. Bowsher also affirms that “union with Christ”, “eternal life”, “life of the age to come” and “abiding with God” are coextensive concepts, namely they are the same thing in John’s theology. This is clear in the purpose of both the Gospel and the Letter. John intentionally wrote the Gospel in order to bring unbelievers into relationship with Christ: they must believe in Him to receive eternal life (John 20:31). In sequence, the intentional goal of the Letter is to assure doubtful believers, who are under attack, about the certainty of the eternal life they already have in Christ (1 John 5:13). To believe in Christ means to receive eternal life and to remain in the Son until the end. For John, to speak of “Union with Christ” is equivalent to speak about “relationship with God” and “the Trinity dwelling with/in His people”. For this reason, the Temple, symbol of God’s relational presence among His people, is one of the most important biblical-theological themes also in Johannine literature. God created Adam to dwell with him in Eden, the garden temple, in order to have a mutual relationship. Adam rebelled against God, declaring his independence from the Creator, breaking their relationship, divorcing from the Godhead and also from his wife (vertical relationship always impacts on the horizontal one!), losing his salvific knowledge of God and being exiled into the realm of death and suffering, far away from God’s presence. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second and last Adam, came to restore this mutual knowledge, loving bond and indwelling “in-one-another” personal relationship. Now in Christ, believers can enjoy again God’s presence and love, because God’s incarnate, Jesus, has already tabernacled (σκηνόω) among us (John 1:14) and therefore assures us that God will abide with us forever (Revelation 21:3).
Knowledge of God is one of the eschatological realities already present in the Christian’s life (John 8:32, 36) as a blessing of the New Covenant established by Jesus. Eternal life is to know God and His Christ (John 17:3), supernatural knowledge that believers already received by the anointing of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). In the broader context of 1 John 2:24-28, knowledge of God corresponds to enjoying eternal life and to abiding [μένει] in the Triune God until the Parousia of Christ, an “already” reality. Jesus came to exegete (ἐξηγήσατο) the Father (John 1:18), to reveal the Trinity and to grant saving knowledge and fellowship to those whom the Father drew near. Jesus promises to raise them on the last day (John 6:44). Infact, in Scripture “to know” is not a mere intellectual exercise, but a relational deep engagement. When Adam knew Eve they experienced sexual acts of communion, becoming one flesh. “God is love” (1 John 4:7-8) means that the Trinity is relational and personal. Therefore to know God means to be in an intimate, mutual, loving fellowship with the Trinity. To know God means to become one with Him, as the Son is one with the Father, not ontologically, but relationally. The transcendence of God, the orthodox-nicene distinction between Creator and creatures is kept. We don’t become little “gods”, and we don’t lose our distinct personality, but we participate in the trinitarian life and love. The trinitarian relational paradigm is the model for our Union with Christ. John considers himself “the disciple whom Jesus loves”. Can there exist a better definition of somebody who lives in Union with Christ? Someone loved by God, and therefore someone who loves God back. The relational aspect of salvation is so crucial that Fairbairn suggests that all the History of Creation and Redemption is structured according to the relational perspective. In eternity past, the Trinity enjoyed a perfect loving Father-Son (and Spirit) relationship. In Creation the Trinity shared this loving Father-Son fellowship with man, created in His image. The Fall into sin is precisely the loss of this Father-Son-sons relationship. Eschatological redemption is inaugurated by the incarnate God, Christ the true Son and last Adam. Because of Him, we can enter again by the Spirit into this Father-Son relationship and therefore receive back eternal life. Relationality is the heart of true christianity.
This is exegetically confirmed by John 6 where “to believe in Christ”, “to have eternal life” and “to abide in Christ” are coextensive concepts.

(John 6:40)
everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day
(John 6:54)
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day
(John 6:56)
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides [μένω] in me, and I in him
(John 6:57)
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me,
he also will live because of me

Feeding on the flesh and blood of Jesus is not literal cannibalism but signifies belief in Jesus. To have eternal life means to mutually abide in Christ, to stand (μένω) perpetually in Jesus in a two-ways indissoluble relationship. “In-one-anotherness” is inseparable from the “life of the age to come”. What does it mean to “abide in Christ”? The believer’s life reflects Jesus’s earthly life, which essence was His relationship with the Father. Consequently, the essence of the life of Jesus’s disciple is his relationship with the exalted Jesus. “In-one-anotherness” is the essence of the life of the age to come.
The present reality of the future life is confirmed by John 11: the Lazarus episode. Here Jesus affirms that He is the eternal life. Eternal life has a name, it’s a person: Jesus Christ. Everybody who believes in Jesus, who is in relationship with Him, experiences eternal life now.

(John 11:25-26)
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die [πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα]”

Martha despaired because of Lazarus’ death. When Jesus comforts her, saying that Lazarus will rise from the dead, Martha says that she knew that Lazarus will rise in the future, on the last day (v. 24). But Jesus corrects her thinking, stating He will raise Lazarus now (vv. 25-26): Jesus brings future eschatological life in the present. He caused the eschaton to invade the present evil age.
Also in John 5 there is a tension between the “now” and the future of resurrection and eternal life.

(John 5:21)
“For as the Father raises [ἐγείρει] the dead and gives [ζῳοποιεῖ] them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will [ὁ υἱὸς οὓς θέλει ζῳοποιεῖ]”

At the present time, Jesus gives eternal life to whom he pleased, by faith alone in Christ alone:

(John 5:24)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life [ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον]. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life [μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν]”

In conversion, believers have already crossed the boundary between death and life, overcoming the final judgement. Because of Jesus who already overcame death as the last enemy, believers also will prevail and share Jesus’ victory. Union with Christ produces “already, but not yet” eternal life.
Pneumatology plays a vital role in John’s understanding of Union with Christ. John 14 shows the crucial role of Christ (the giver of the Spirit) together with the Spirit (the glorifier of Christ) in uniting the believer to God. The indwelling presence of God in the Christian is a Christ-Spirit action. Notice the parallelism between John 14:15-17 and John 14:18-21 :

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever [αἰῶνα],
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him,
for he dwells [μένει] with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Yet a little while and the world will see me no more,
but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him”

“I will come to you” is a reference to the imminent resurrection of Christ. “Life in the Son” is coextensive with “life in the Spirit”. The present presence of the Spirit is the presence of the coming exalted Christ. To know the Spirit now, is to know the coming Christ. To ignore the Spirit now, is to ignore Christ. The Christ-Spirit life is the eternal life, already enjoyable by the disciples in these “last days”. Christ-centered eschatological life is pneumatological life and fellowship. The Spirit of Christ permanently indwells the believer, joining him into the relational trinitarian life. The “Christ event” is the source of the believer’s life with God. John 14 also shows that “in-one-anotherness”, “knowledge” and “mutual love” are coincident realities. They are not the same thing, but aspects of the Christian life that always go together. The Father and the Son love the disciples, who in turn love the Trinity in worship, in a mutual relationship, flourishing in evangelical obedience, the fulfilling of God’s commandments that flows out from love. The individual aspect of Union is underscored:

(John 14:23)
“Jesus answered him: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home [μονὴν] with him”

In John 14:23 “home [μονή]” refers to the “already” reality of the “not yet” expectation of John 14:2 “rooms [μοναὶ]”. The present relationship and indwelling presence of the Trinity in the believer’s life is the already inaugurated essence of eschatological future life. “Indwelling places” of 14:2 are defined by Ridderbos as “the spaces of God’s love”; it is a metaphorical language pointing to the consummated indwelling fellowship with God and believers in New Heaven and New Earth. The indwelling presence of the Father into the believer’s life is also never disassociated with the presence of the Son, emphasising the mediation of Christ.
The relational oneness of Jesus and His disciples is still clearer in John 15 where the famous image of the vine uniting the many branches is taught. John 15 is a theological bridge between the individualism of John 14 and the collectivism of John 17. Here the responsibility of bearing fruit belongs to the individual branch (believer) but the whole tree is in view: Christ and the church are one.
Fellowship with the Trinity and salvific knowledge are coincident realities also in 1 John. The letter opens with a bold proclamation of Jesus Christ who is the eternal life, life of the age to come: τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον (1 John 1:2). This proclamation is rooted in the first hand eyewitness of the apostles. They could speak of eternal life because they knew personally and intimately who Jesus is. Knowledge of God leads to fellowship (κοινωνία); fellowship leads to proclamation and assurance (the very goal of the Letter). This divine κοινωνία is transformational. Because God is light and God is love, so holiness and love must be the distinguishing marks of a healthy church. Κοινωνία and “walking in light”; κοινωνία and “Jesus’ purification by His blood”; κοινωνία and “forgiveness of sins” are inseparable realities, coincident theological elements. True κοινωνία is possible only through Jesus’ atoning death, that put the redeemed ones in Union with God. Because of Jesus, our propitiation (ἱλασμός), the church now participates in God’s character and ways. Believers know God and therefore keep His commandments. These are pneumatological results. The Spirit brings sinners into this new eschatological reality. He teaches and transforms them, so they might be restored in the communion with the Trinity and enjoy eternal life.
In 1 John also “being begotten of God”, to be child of God, is coextensive with being in Union with Christ, to abide with Christ, that produces progressive sanctification:

(1 John 3: 6, 9)
“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning”
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning…because he has been born of God”

Relationship with God is the source of eternal life, mediated by Jesus Christ, and applied by the Spirit.

Applications
Today, many claim they love Jesus but they don’t want to be involved in any local church. But we must love the local church because God’s people is where God dwells now!
Many want the blessing but not the Blesser. “Prosperity gospel” churches beget pseudo-christians who go to church only to get benefits, but they aren’t engaged into a real relationship with God through the Bible, prayer and membership. You cannot get the blessing of God without being in love with Him!
Theology is not merely an intellectual exercise. The study of God has to be undertaken doxologically, personally and relationally with the living God.
Union with Christ implies perseverance of the saints. It’s hard to persevere facing persecution and temptations. But the exalted Christ exhorts believers to keep going because He will give them to eat from the tree of life and He will not erase their names from the book of life. Because we have already received eternal life now in Christ, this prompts us to press on until the consummation of the same eternal life. No matter the cost.

Union with Christ as covenantal nuptial-marital relationship

(Revelation 21: 2, 9)
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
…Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb”

Union with Christ could be tackled from the covenantal perspective. God relates to men by covenants. Turretin states: “[covenant] consisting in the communion of God with man”. Biblically, a union is a marriage, a covenantal treatise, a legal stipulation that makes official a loving bond between two parties. God created Adam and Eve in “their” image. Reflecting the Trinity, Adam knew Eve and they became one flesh. Multiplicity within unity. Oneness with plurality. But Adam rebelled against God, falling in spiritual adultery. Idolatry is prostitution. Instead of loving God the Bridegroom, Adam loved more himself and his prostitute the Serpent. Christ came to restore humanity’s marriage with God, to reconcile sinners to the Lover of their soul. Infact, marriage between believers reflects Christ’s union with His church.
God’s marriage with His people is based on the trinitarian steadfast love חֶ֫סֶד, the heart of God’s character (Exodus 34:6). The covenantal love shown in the book of Hosea where God never gives up to His beloved. The passionate love of Song of Songs, the engine that monergisticly moves God to redeem His people and unite them to Him in a nuptial bond of love.
Marriage is a feast, celebrated by shared food, in a covenantal banquet. Intentionally Jesus inaugurated the book of Signs in a marriage, bringing eschatological joy by transforming water into wine and bringing spiritual purification. Jesus is saying: “the eschatological Bridegroom has arrived among you! Rejoice!”. Schreiner states: “The kingdom brings joy because believers will enjoy God’s presence forever”.

Applications
Our Christian lives should be marked by supernatural joy. The two ages have overlapped. The corrupted dark age of prostitution and sadness has been invaded by the future eschaton of faithfulness and joy of the Holy Spirit. Because of Union with Christ, we can experience unconditional joy even when a dear person dies, we lose our job or we are caught by a rare disease.
We must value marriage. Our household should visibly display the invisible marriage of believers with God. We must keep our marriage holy as God is holy.

Union with Christ as familiar Father-sons relationship

(Revelation 21: 7)
“I will be his God and he will be my son”

Covenantal relationship has to do with marriage, but also with sonship. God is Father and Adam was God’s son but, as the prodigal son, he wanted to be independent from the Father and go away alone. Another Son is expected who will obey instead of disobey, will love and seek God instead of hiding and walking away. Infact, the main focus of Genesis, and indeed of the whole OT, is the genealogy of the promised Seed. Barrenness (no sons) is a symptom of the curse, a big fruitful family (many sons) is a symptom of God’s blessing, according to the abrahamic covenant. The Son-King is Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham. In Christ, the obedient Son of God, all the judgements are reversed: blessing instead of curses. God sent His Son not to judge the world but to save, not to perish but to receive life in Him, abundant life. Because of sinful rebellion “man is alienated from the ground from which he came…death rules life. But when the promised descendant of the woman finally comes, there will be a reversal, and life will rule death”. The fatherhood of God and the sonship of His people is a preeminent theme in Scripture. Who lives in covenantal relationship with the Trinity receives God as Father. Because of Christ, the only begotten (μονογενής) Son, believers are adopted in God’s family:

(John 1:12)
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become [γενέσθαι] children of God”

Sonship is developed by John in a “New Creation” context. John’s prologue uses creational language: “life”, “light overcoming darkness”, “all things are created through him”. Believers having entered in God’s family means that they have already entered in Christ’s New Creation. Adoption is coincident with eternal life, the life of the age to come.

Application
We should value family and children, because familiar relationships should reflect our communion with God.
We should promote adoption. To adopt a kid is very difficult and expensive. But we should facilitate this practice. As God has adopted us, we should share His love with those who don’t have a family.
We should live church life not as a religious and cold institution, but as a living, warm and loving family. God is “our Father in heaven”.

Union with Christ as locational King-servants relationship

(Revelation 22: 3-5)
“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever”

Man was created to live under God’s government, to extend His dominion and to represent the King on Earth. Adam in Eden was created in God’s image as king, priest and prophet. King to rule over creation and conquer the world, in order to expand Eden until the end of the earth. Priest to worship God, to “keep and work” the sanctuary garden, maintaining the holiness of the garden temple, the holy mountain where God manifested His special presence. Prophet to teach and put in practise the Word of God. This threefold ministry has to be lived in Union with the Trinity. Morales argues: “The image of God describes the uniqueness of human existence by virtue of which the individual can enter a relationship with God…the image of God is for the sake of the imitation of God and the imitation of God […] is for the sake of Sabbath union with God”. But Adam failed. Later on, Israel was meant to be a nation of kingly priests, but they also failed. So Jesus, the perfect King, Priest and Prophet, came in order to do what Adam and Israel didn’t. United to Christ, believers identify with Jesus and so the church is “the last days” nation of kings and priests, for the glory of God. “Jesus is the true Israel as the true vine (15:1), and thus all those who are joined to Him and abide in Him are part of the restored and new Israel in Jesus”, the Israel of God, the eschatological kingdom.
John speaks about God’s kingdom in Revelation but apparently not so much in the Gospel and in the Letters. But actually it’s just a matter of language. John connects explicitly the Kingdom with Eternal Life in the Gospel:

(John 3:3, 5)
“unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God…
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”

When John speaks of discipleship, eternal life, life in the Spirit, “in-one-anotherness”, he’s implying life in the kingdom of God. “This is John’s distinctive way of saying that those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah live under His Lordship and rule”.
In the OT the King was depicted as the shepherd of the nation: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who guarantees abundant life through His sacrificial atonement, the good King who cares for the citizens of His kingdom, their new Federal Head before God, the true Son of David. Union with the resurrected Christ allows the believer to already enjoy the eschatological New Creation under Christ’s kingship and realm. As the bride must be submitted to her bridegroom, so the Church must be submitted to her King’s headship.
Jesus, the humble but glorious King, desires to be friend of saved sinners. He eats with them in fellowship meals, as the Lord’s Supper, and washing their feet as example, leaving to them the ethical path to follow. Union with Christ is transformational for it leads to displaying His morality, His character and His holiness. The face of the King is seen in the faces of His citizens. It doesn’t transform believers into their best version of themselves. The Gospel is not an energy drink that enables us to obey God. But the Spirit indwells in us and transforms us into the image of Christ. We are now dead, crucified, and Christ lives in us: His moral identity substitutes ours. Believers now share Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, according to the Lord’s prayer: “not my will but yours…your kingdom come, do your will on earth as it is in heaven”.

Applications
Locational Union with Christ produces assurance of salvation, because Jesus our King is our infallible covenantal representative. In His kingdom Jesus guarantees safety, protection and provision.
When we waver in obedience to God’s Word, we can trust in the King’s power who lives in us, producing sanctification. We don’t rely on Him just for justification but also for transformation in holiness.
The King is our friend. Loneliness is devastating our society today. Knowing and feeling the proximity of God, in Jesus, really confort our needy hearts.
United with the King-Priest-Prophet, we can finally be what the Creator meant us to be: a nation of kings and priests for God’s glory. We can rule over Earth promoting God’s Law, justice and love. Proclaiming “thus says the King”, we can be the light of the world, fighting abortion, prostitution, immorality and pornography, adultery, drugs, slavery of children, idolatry, and so on.

Union with Christ as participation in the missional-worship relationship

(Revelation 12:11)
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony [μαρτυρίας], for they loved not their lives even unto death”

Temple and mission are closely related. The “already, but not yet” permanent presence of God through Jesus who is always with His servants, prompts God’s people to “go and make disciples”. If “union” is a “be” word, then “participation” is a “doing” word. Identity leads to mission. Union with Christ produces participation in Christ’s mission and life. The Trinity is a missionary God and so must be Jesus’ disciples. In the upper room, Jesus performs an active parable (the washing of the feets) by which He shows to His disciples His redemptive work, His mission that shapes the disciples’ mission. As a descending parabolic U-curve, Jesus’ cosmic trajectory, Christ leaves His cloth (kenosis), bows down (incarnation), washes the dirty feet (atonement), gets up (resurrection), takes back His garment (ascension) and is restored to His initial position. Christian witnesses follow Jesus’ same missional trajectory. Participation in Jesus’ mission is clear in John’s version of Pentecost:

(John 20:21-23)
“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Also in Peter’s commission:

(John 21:17, 19)
“”Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep”.
…Follow me.”

John 17 emphasises very much the corporative dimension of christian life and mission. From this “in-one-another” relationship with God stems the unity of believers in the Christian character, in relational life and in outreach mission toward the lost world. Bauckham writes: “from the loving communion between the Father and the Son flows the love with which Jesus loved his disciples, a love that enables them to enjoying an intimate, ‘in-one-another’ relationship with Jesus and his Father, and it is from this overflowing of divine love into the world that the oneness of believers among themselves stems”. The very same love that intercurses between the Father and the Son is shared with the church who is united in Christian mission. The Church’s mission is a continuation of Jesus’ inaugurated mission, through suffering and spiritual battles. Today the risen Christ continues to operate by the Spirit through the church. Extended love causes extended mission.
Firstly, the genesis. Christians are begotten from above, by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus came from heaven. Believers receive their new eschatological nature from the heavenly realm of God. Secondly, life and mission. Christians are commissioned to bring into God’s family other sheep, through the proclamation of God’s Word, to keep God’s commandments and to stand against persecution. This is encapsulated into the word “martyr” that comes from the greek verb μαρτυρέω: “to bear witness” even to the point of death. As the Son participates in the Father’s works, so believers’ participate in Jesus’ work and revelatory preaching. Their missional proclamation is both about Jesus and from Jesus. Jesus is both the content of the disceple’s preaching and the One who sent them, experiencing the same suffering but also the same victory. Lastly, the final glory. Jesus’s disciples will reach the same glorification and we’ll be precisely as Jesus is now. Union with Christ brings about God’s image in believers’ life, which enables them to carry out Jesus’ mission. Vertical participation results in horizontal missional outcomes.

Conclusion

Pink’s awe before Union with Christ perfectly summarizes the reasoning so far:
“Christ Himself is mine! Christ Himself is thine, dear Christian reader. O that our poor finite hearts could apprehend a little of what that means. Think for a moment of who He is: the Brightness of God’s glory, the express Image of His person; Immanuel, God manifest in flesh. In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. What then cannot He do! All power in heaven and earth is His. Think too of what He has done for His people: He became poor that we might become rich, He came to earth that we might go to Heaven, He died that we might live. What must be His love for us! Think of His present relationship to us: His righteousness is imputed to our own account, His blood is our purity before God, His fullness is ours to draw upon (John 1:16), His Spirit indwells us; He is our great High Priest on high, ever living to make intercession for us. Christ is the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother””.

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———. Oneness with Christ, 2 January 2025, https://www.unionpublishing.org/resource/oneness-with-christ/
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———. The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019.
———. Patristic soteriology: three trajectories, 20 November 2024, https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/files_JETS-PDFs_50_50-2_JETS_50-2_289-310_Fairbairn.pdf
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Tematiche: Teologia biblica