Imagine the scenario where you're conversing with a person who has never heard of Christianity.
! They might be in the hospital and they've got the little form and there's no version of Christianity there.
! There's no knowledge of it at all.
They've never heard of the fact that their Bible exists.
They've never seen a Bible.
They've never heard of Jesus Christ.
No concept of the church at all.
And in conversing with them, you mentioned that you're a Christian.
And it's a term that they are just not familiar with.
And so they ask you, what do you mean by that?
What is a Christian?
How would you answer that?
What would you say?
How do you answer that question?
Maybe various forms of it might be something like,
well, I believe in Jesus of Nazareth and I follow his teachings.
Maybe you're a person who follows and adheres to Christianity.
Maybe, well, my parents were Christian.
I was born a Christian.
I've been baptized.
That's what makes me a Christian.
Maybe it's a person who lives in a way that's guided by the values of Jesus of Nazareth.
Someone who's a member of the church.
Its potential, particularly if you've been hanging around churches for a bit,
you might use language like, well, I'm someone who's been born again.
I've been saved.
I believe in Jesus.
I have faith in Jesus.
Or I'm a follower of Jesus.
Now, a number of those descriptors are certainly descriptors of the Bible, the Bible uses.
But none of them are the dominant descriptor of what it means to be a Christian.
The New Testament uses a phrase to describe the Christian that is everywhere in the pages of the New Testament,
very dominant in the New Testament, but almost nowhere in our churches,
to the point where I've not had a single Christian,
and I myself have not used it when someone's asked me, what is a Christian?
I've never used the term in Christ.
I'm in Christ.
In our society, a Christian, the term Christian is often open to a broad interpretation.
Broad interpretation.
And anyone can identify themselves as being Christian,
particularly if it helps their political agendas.
But in our society, Christianity is not so much connected to the person of Jesus,
or vaguely so, but it can be connected to things like traditional values and ethics
and conservative politics and institutions.
This is particularly in Western civilization.
And all of those things together kind of blur what it means to be a Christian,
and therefore what it means to live the Christian life.
The term in Christ is entirely different.
Entirely different.
Because the term in Christ demands that we reflect on something that is a dynamic relationship
and a living relationship.
And so what we're doing is, as we launch into term three,
we're spending this term on this issue, on the term in Christ,
on this deep foundational biblical term.
Theologians call this whole topic, the theology, it's called union with Christ.
It's a theology of union.
And the reason we're doing this term is because if we misunderstand the dynamic of what it means to be Christian,
the dynamic of our relationship to Jesus and his relationship to us,
then we entirely misunderstand Christianity,
and we entirely misunderstand what it means to live the Christian life.
And if you've been with us throughout the course of this year,
you might initially think that this topic here is entirely left field.
How do they come up with this one?
Why now?
Why this one?
The reality is, if you've been with us,
you would have hopefully seen that we've touched on it multiple times already.
We started the year in the book of Ephesians,
looking at who is the church.
Not what is the church, but who is the church.
And which is why we've read Ephesians 1 again this morning,
is because what we understand the book of Ephesians is that the church is in Christ.
Wrapped up in him, all that is his is ours.
Everything that the church is and has been called to do is hinge,
is entirely connected and hinges on us being united to Christ.
And last term, we were looking at Ephesians 5 and marriage,
and we were confronted with this startling claim
that when God brought Adam and Eve together in the union of marriage,
right at the very beginning of the Bible,
Ephesians 5 says that right at the beginning of the Bible,
when God did that,
that is a picture of a far greater reality.
The marriage, as the Bible describes it,
points to something much bigger,
the union of a man and a woman in marriage,
where the two become one,
which Ephesians 5 says is a profound mystery,
is a pointer to the greater reality of the union between Christ
and his church, his people.
And so we're going to unpack that reality.
To understand the dynamic of our union with Christ
ultimately leads to a greater confidence
of what Christ has done for us,
a deeper assurance and a hope as Christians,
and particularly confidence in living out the Christian life.
And that really is what we want for you here at St. Paul's,
for you to see not just the truth,
the goodness and the beauty of it,
that your affections and your hearts would grow for Christ.
So that's where we're heading.
And today is really an introductory.
In fact, when you think about it,
the whole term is really going to be an introduction to the topic.
There's a lot of old history stuff written about this.
Ironically, amazingly,
the theology of union with Christ
went unnoticed for,
in recent history,
the last couple of hundred years,
not referred to much.
But fortunately,
more recently,
theologians are going,
hang on a bit,
we've left this one behind
and we need to re-engage with it.
So, first of all,
I've got three points on the St. Paul's app.
Ephesians 1 opens with an astonishing claim.
Praise be the God and Father,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing.
See there?
Every spiritual blessing.
He has blessed us.
It's already happened.
Not that he will bless us,
he has blessed us,
and with every spiritual blessing.
And the language here is absolute language.
That is,
that is,
there's nothing held back.
There's nothing overlooked at all.
Nothing is lacking.
The word blessed is a very significant word.
It means,
it's close to the Hebrew word shalom,
which means that every joy and every benefit
that your heart and your soul needs and longs for
has been fulfilled.
That's what it means to be blessed.
And what we see in Ephesians is God's plan for all time and eternity
is to bless,
and that he has blessed.
A Christian is someone who's been already blessed
with every spiritual blessing from God.
And then what Paul does is he goes on
and he writes,
he gives a list for it.
And each one of these lists,
each one of these words could be expanded again,
more and more and more to libraries of books.
We're referred to as being holy,
blameless,
adopted,
redeemed,
forgiven,
we're given knowledge of God.
The blessings go on and on.
The implications of them are huge,
but the key to receiving all of the blessings
in verse 4,
sorry,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
9,
and 11
is the term in Christ
and its various forms.
That is how you receive all the blessing.
That is how you get every desire and longing
of your heart and your soul fulfilled.
It's in Christ.
And so the language here in Ephesians,
as is the New Testament,
is that to become a Christian
is not simply to get Jesus as your Lord to obey
or as a model in life to follow
or as a saviour to be grateful for.
A Christian is someone who has been put in Christ,
being put in Christ
so that everything that is his
becomes yours.
That's what it means.
All the blessings and privileges
of the Christian life
is by virtue of being united to Jesus Christ.
Now,
our union with Jesus,
as I said,
is by far
one of the most important theological concepts
in the New Testament.
It's the umbrella theology
that connects
so many of the important truths
and doctrines of the Christian faith.
many scholars agree
that the term in Christ
is the central category
in the Apostle Paul's thinking
and his writing in the New Testament.
He uses the term himself
over 160 times.
But it's not just Paul.
The term in all its various forms
is used over 200 times
in the New Testament
as the default way
of identifying
someone
who is
what we would call
a Christian
or a follower of Jesus.
And the language of union
in the New Testament
is used in two different ways.
First of all,
there's the cosmic level,
the big level,
if you like,
where on the cosmic level,
union with Christ
means that
he is your leader.
And as he goes,
so you go.
His fate
becomes your fate.
Now that may seem odd,
especially for those of us
who would come from
more of a Western
cultural perspective.
But for most
human cultures
throughout
most of human history,
including the Bible times,
this way of thinking
about a leader
and his people
or their people
was actually normal
and natural.
Entirely normal.
The idea
is the idea
of corporate solidarity
or another
theological term
to referring to it
is
a federal headship.
that is
the idea
that
as
the leader goes
so that people go.
I don't want to
delve into it too much
because I'm stealing
too much of John's sermon
for next week
as he takes us
a bit deeper into this.
But the Bible
usually uses it
in a very big
cosmic way.
simply
is
that the idea
is that the one
represents the many
and the many
are represented
by the one.
If the
President
of the United States
declares war
on another country,
the citizens
of that country
are at war
with that country
by the declaration
of the President.
It's that idea.
2 Corinthians 5.14
speaking of the work
of Christ
and how it connects
to us
says
one has died
for all
and therefore
all have died
because Christ
has died
and those
who are united
to him
share his fate.
Like Jesus,
the Christian too
has died
to their old life.
1 Corinthians
15.22
is the whole Bible
in a short summary.
As in Adam
all die,
so also in Christ
shall all
be made
alive.
And so
every human being
alive
or has ever
walked the face
of this earth
is either
in one of those
two categories.
They're either
in Adam
or they are
in Christ
and that is
the absolute
fundamental
defining reality
of all
of humanity.
and the message
of the New Testament
is absolutely
thrilling at this
point.
To be united
to Christ
as your
federal head
is to be
placed in
that new
realm
with him
alive
in his
new creation.
Jesus Christ
plunged
through death
and out
of the
other
side
resurrected
into the
dawning
of a new
creation
and to be
in him
means
that he
has pulled
you
with him
from death
to life.
That's what
it means.
Now,
the other way
that the New Testament
uses the image,
the language
of union
with Christ
is much
more
personal
and intimate,
not just
a federal
headship
sense.
And to
display this,
the authors
of the New
Testament
use vivid
imagery
to communicate
it
so that we
can understand
a bit clearer.
One of the
images
is that
of the vine
and the
branches
in John's
Gospel.
So John
15, 5,
I'm the vine,
you are the
branches,
if you
remain in me
and I
in you,
you will
bear much
fruit and
apart from
me,
you can
do
nothing.
That's
going to be
unpacked further
down the track
by Ash,
if I remember
correctly.
Jesus says,
he's the vine,
we are the
branches.
And so what
we have here
is a picture
of our
relationship
with Jesus
that is
an organic
connection.
It's an
organic,
alive
connection.
There's
also the
imagery
that we
saw last
term of
the one
flesh
union
in
Ephesians
5.
We are
members
of his
body.
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'm
talking about
Christ and
the church.
And so
in Ephesians
5,
as we
looked at
last term,
we have
here a
sexual
imagery and
a very
deeply
intimate
imagery
that
portrays
the
exclusivity,
the
closeness,
the
intimacy
of our
union
with
Jesus.
Just like
a couple
in marriage,
the Christian
is made
one
flesh
with
Jesus.
We are,
as it
says in
Ephesians
5,
we are
members
of
his
body.
Another
image
of union
is how
the New
Testament
refers to
the church
as the
body of
Christ
with
Christ
as our
head.
1
Corinthians
12
27.
Now
you are
the body
of Christ
and each
one of
you is
a part
of it.
What we
see in
every case
is there's
this organic
intimate
uniting
where we
share in
the properties.
We are
one
with
Christ,
in
Christ.
The vine
gives life
to the
branches,
the head
directs the
body and
the body
parts,
neither can
exist without
the other.
The
husband
nourishes
and cherishes
his wife
as he
does his
own body.
So what
we see
in the
New
Testament
is that
a Christian,
becoming a
Christian,
being a
Christian,
is far
deeper.
It is
far more
wondrous
than
walking an
aisle or
praying a
prayer or
raising a
hand or
going forward
in evangelistic
reality.
being a
Christian is
far deeper
than coming
to church
and reading
the Bible
and praying.
To be a
Christian is
to be
united,
one,
with the
living,
reigning,
resurrected
Jesus Christ
so that all
is his,
is ours.
And at
the core
of it,
implication
of it for
us,
is 2
Corinthians
5.17.
Therefore,
if anyone
is in
Christ,
they are a
new creation.
The old
has passed
away.
Behold,
the new
has come.
Being in
Christ
brings a
absolute
radical
transformation
and
reorientation.
God's
is a
movement
from an
external
attempt to
make myself
right in
God's eyes
to an
inward
righteousness
that
entirely
reorientation
transforms my
life.
That's what it
means to be
in Christ.
Now,
admittedly,
it's an
elusive
concept.
And so,
maybe one
of the
reasons why
we don't
talk about
it much,
it's much
easier to
grasp the
ideas of
being a
follower of
Jesus,
or to
being someone
who,
Jesus,
my Lord,
and I
obey Jesus,
or that
Jesus is my
saviour and
he's forgiven
me for my...
Much easier to
grasp hold of
those concepts
and to explain
those concepts.
Much easier to
grasp the
concept of
Jesus being
my leader,
or my Lord,
or my saviour,
or my inspiration,
or my teacher,
or my ruler.
So,
how does
being in
Christ work?
Maybe this
illustration
might help.
And it's an
illustration I
got from one
of the resources
that I've been
reading in the
past few
weeks.
You book a
trip to
Tasmania,
say,
for instance,
hi to all
the Tasmanians
online.
You're at
the airport,
you're ready
to begin
your trip,
and the
plane going
to Tasmania
is also
at the
airport,
ready for
the trip.
The question
is,
what is your
relationship
to the
plane?
What's your
relationship to
the plane?
would it
help,
for example,
to be
under the
plane?
To submit
yourself to
the plane's
authority,
because it
is a much
more greater
authority you
are on this
whole thing of
aerodynamics and
airline travel,
so just to
submit yourself
and be under
the plane.
would it be
helpful to be
inspired by
the plane?
Stand in the
terminal as you
see the plane
take off and
you go,
my goodness,
look at,
I mean,
how,
you know,
one day I'm
going to do
that.
One day,
a bit more
practice,
I too am going
to run down
this runway,
and I too am
going to flap
my wings,
and I am going
to fly just
like that.
Would that be
helpful?
Is that your
relationship to
the plane?
Would it be
helpful to
follow the
plane?
Open up
flight radar
24,
push follow,
get,
and as the
plane takes
off,
you run down
the runway,
and you get
after it as
fast as your
little legs can
go,
and you follow
the path on
flight radar,
and eventually,
maybe,
you get to
Tasmania.
Is that your
relationship to
the plane?
You see,
the key
relationship you
need with the
plane is to
get in it.
Is that not
right?
I mean,
it might be,
I might be
pushed out,
but it's to
get in the
plane.
It's not
helpful to be
under it,
not helpful to
be behind it,
not helpful to
be inspired by
it.
You need to
be in it,
and the
reason is
because by
virtue of
being in
the plane,
what happens
to the plane
happens to
you.
The question
of your
arrival to
Tasmania
will be
answered,
that is,
the question
of did I
arrive to
Tasmania,
will be
answered by
a prior
and more
important
question.
Did the
plane
arrive in
Tasmania?
Because if
it did,
I do too.
It's as
simple as
that.
And at
its heart,
that is the
New Testament's
idea of
being in
Christ.
What the
New Testament
is saying
is that
through faith
in Jesus
Christ,
we become
united to
him,
and that
unity with
him means
that anything
that is true
of Jesus
is true
of you.
And you
had as
much to
do with
it as
being someone
who sits
on a
plane waiting
for the
destination
to arrive.
it's
all
him.
The
late
theologian
and
pastor
John
Stott
summed
up really
neatly,
I think.
He said,
the relationship
is
the
relationship
is
something
much more
than a
formal
attachment
or a
nodding
acquaintance,
something
more than
even than
a personal
friendship.
It is
nothing less
than a
vital,
organic,
intimate
union with
Jesus Christ
involving a
shared life
and love.
life.
That's
what it
means to
be in
Christ,
a vital
union,
a dynamic
union with
him.
Now,
this,
of course,
leads to
another
question,
and this
again will
be unpacked
more and
more,
so very
brief,
on how
to get
in Christ,
therefore.
What does it
mean to be
in Christ?
How does
that happen?
And this
is where
we might be
confused about
this,
because in
so many
places,
in so many
people's
thinking,
the way to
get in
Christ is
to find
myself
approved
of him,
to live
in such
a way
that he
will approve
of me,
God will
approve of
me.
But the
key to
unlock
every
spiritual
blessing
in
Ephesians
1 is
verse 7.
In
him,
that's
Christ,
we have
redemption
through his
blood,
the forgiveness
of sins.
In
Christ,
God has
redeemed
us,
brought us
back into
relationship
with himself
through the
blood of
Jesus.
And in
that,
my sins
are forgiven.
And this
is really
a summary
or points
to the
deep
central
point of
the Christian
faith,
that Jesus
Christ,
the Son
of God,
came into
this world.
Note that,
the eternal
God who
always existed,
God the
Son,
came into
this world
made as
a human.
God
took the
initiative
to unite
himself to
us
in human
flesh
in order
to
represent
humanity
to God,
back to
himself.
He not
only became
like us,
but he
came like
us in
order to
deal with
our deepest
problem and
the thing
that was
keeping us
separated from
God and
his blessing,
and that
is that
word sin
in Ephesians 1.
sin,
some reform in
the Bible,
is a desire to
live independently
of our
creator,
to not be in
him at all,
not even be
with him.
It's the sin
that Adam
committed with
Eve at the
very beginning
of the very
beginning of the
Bible.
And as
Jesus came
into this
world,
taking on
human flesh,
he lived a
life of
perfect
obedience to
God,
the one
person who
is the
only one
who's ever
done every
single thing
that God's
always required.
And that
included
obedience,
dying on a
Roman cross,
being rejected
by God
so that we
could be
brought back
to God.
He faced
expulsion so
that we
could be
brought in.
He
willingly
allowed God's
justice for
our sin to
be poured out
on him,
on that cross,
so that we
could be
redeemed,
we could be
ransomed,
we could be
brought back
in Christ.
And when God
poured out his
anger on
Jesus on
that cross,
he satisfied
the just
demands
of God's
justice.
It's like
in Australia,
one of the
things, in
fact, in my
previous life,
Rob said he
used to work
as a nurse,
I used to
work in the
national parks,
and apart from
things to do
with feral
animals, the
other things I
used to do
was bushfire,
I used to
fight bushfires,
and one of
the things we
used to do
in fighting a
bushfire is
a thing called
control burning.
And with
control burning,
what you do
is it's a
defensive
mechanism,
and it's
one of the
tips for
those of you
who have
never been out
there in the
bush and
you're going to
be in the
summer,
here's a
little tip for
you, always
take a box
of mattress
with you.
If there's a
bushfire that's
looming on
you, one of
the most,
the clearest
ways to be
safe in a
bushfire is to
start a fire.
That is, as a
fire's looming on
you, start a
fire, and as
this fire's coming
and this fire's
burning, step
into the fire
zone.
Step into
what's been
burnt.
Why?
Because a
fire can't
burn what's
already been
burnt.
It's burnt.
It's one of
the safety
mechanisms.
So I used to
go and start
fires, it was
fantastic.
In fact, one
back burning
control burn, or
one control burn
I started to
ward off a
bushfire that
was coming, was
so fierce, it
started another
fire 10
kilometres away.
That was my
bad.
anyway, I
mean, gave
those people
something to
do too.
Anyway, so
what the Bible's
telling us here
is that God
has poured
out his
justice for
our sin on
the person of
Jesus Christ,
scorched earth,
and Jesus
calls us to
stand in the
scorched earth,
cling to the
cross, the
work of
Christ, because
when you are
in Christ, you
have died with
him and you
are safe from
the justice of
God.
The fire can't
strike there
again because
you're safe in
Christ.
And so what
the union of
God and man in
the coming of
Jesus Christ is,
it is so, so
affirming, but
it's not
flattering.
His presence in
flesh, uniting
himself with us,
tells us that we
are on the wrong
track as
humanity.
And we need
redemption.
As we didn't
say it, one of
the old creeds
of the church,
the thing called
Nicene Creed,
helps us to
understand our
union with
Christ in
salvation terms.
For us and
for our
salvation, he
came down and
took on human
flesh.
It is for us
and our
salvation that
he united
himself to
us.
And things
only need
saving when
they've gone
horribly wrong.
and if God
is united to
us in the
coming of
his son, in
the person of
Jesus Christ,
then in his
saving death and
resurrection, we
are united to
him.
In
Philippians
3, Paul
uses this
language.
He says,
all the things
I used to have
confidence in,
all the things
that I put my
hope and my
trust in, that
God would find
me approved.
He said, I
now consider
them lost.
I consider
them garbage,
refuge,
sewage.
In fact, the
language is even
stronger than
that.
Now that I
am in
Christ.
And the
language he
uses is, I
am found to
be in
Christ.
Not that I
went finding
Christ, I am
found in
Christ.
Jesus Christ
came to
him, found
him, initiated
union with
him.
It is what
he has done
for us all.
And
Ephesians 1
tells us that
his whole
motive, God's
whole motive,
was a motive
of love, of
his goodwill, of
his grace.
And the
promise is that
everyone who
repents and
believes and
puts their
faith in him
is united to
him.
And in being
united to him,
everything that
is his is
yours.
The heart of
the matter is
not how much
faith you
have.
You know,
imagine jumping
in that plane,
you're heading to
Tasmania and
you've done it
multiple times,
you don't even
take any notice
anymore of the
safety briefing and
every time there's
a bit of a bump
and stuff like
that and there's
a little bit of
turbulence, you
go, whatever,
you know, been
here before,
joy.
But over the
aisle from you,
there's someone in
the safety briefing
taking notes and
reflecting on it and
asking the hostess
multiple times,
you know, can you
please go and
check on the
pilots to make
sure everything's
as they're
expecting it to
be.
You know,
they're a nervous
traveller, every
time there's a
bump, we're
going to die.
When you get to
Tasmania, do you
both get to
Tasmania?
The nervous,
anxious flyer and
the confident flyer,
do you both get
there?
Yes, you do.
Because your anxiety
levels mean absolutely
nothing to the
process.
It's got everything
to do with the
plane.
It's got everything
plane.
See, one of the
many wonderful
things about being
in Christ is that
it causes us to
take our eyes off
ourselves and to
put our eyes
fiercely focused
on him.
When we understand
the foundation of
our salvation is to
be found in him,
then we know that
it's not faith in
the abstract or
the amount of
faith that will
save us, but it's
the one to whom
we have our
faith, that we
are saved in
him.
Which just brings
me briefly to my
last point that we
are secure in
Christ.
That's one of the
big implications
for this, which is
why we want to be
speaking in this
season.
The whole point
for us to
understand it is
so that our
comfort and our
joy soars,
soars as we
melt into the
calm reassurance
of who God
actually is and
who we are in
Christ.
I would be
encouraging you
in this series to
let your mind and
your heart go deep
into the reality of
this truth of
union with
Christ.
You are in
Christ.
You have every
spiritual blessing.
He is your
intimate companion
moment by moment.
Being in Christ
means you cannot
lose.
You are
inexhaustibly rich
for you are
one with
Christ and
he is
himself
inexhaustibly
rich.
He is the
heir of the
universe.
And through
no activity
of your own
or my own,
but by the
sheer and
mighty grace
of God,
you have been
folded in,
brought in,
the triumphant
and tender
ruler of the
cosmos,
Jesus Christ.
That means
nothing can
touch you
that does not
touch him.
Nothing can
touch you
that does not
touch him.
That's what it
means.
anything to
get to you,
every pain,
every assault,
every disappointment
has to go
through him
first because
you are in
him.
And when you
are in the
midst of that
moment of pain
and suffering
and doubting
and confusion
and disillusionment,
he's not out
there, you are
still in him.
and it has
to go through
him to get
to you,
to get to
me.
You are
shielded by
his invincible
love.
Everything that
comes into
your life,
no matter how
hard it is,
comes from
and through
the tender
care of
Christ.
he himself
feels your
anguish
even more
deeply than
you do.
He feels
it even more
deeply than
you do
because you're
one with
him.
You're united
to him.
Amid the
storms of
your and
my little
existences,
sins,
the sins
that we
know we
struggle with,
the sufferings,
the failures,
the faltering,
the waywardness,
the wandering,
the lack of
following.
In all
those things,
he will
walk you
into his
eternal
presence.
He will
do it.
not just
with you,
he is
in you
and you
are in
him.
His
destiny
falls on,
sorry,
his destiny
now falls
on you.
Everything
that is
his is
yours
in Christ.
His union
with you
at both
the macro
and the
micro levels
guarantees
that he
will walk
you into
heaven,
into
everything
that he's
promised.
How do
I know?
Because
he's
achieved it
all already.
How do
I know
that he's
not going
to reverse
his plans?
He won't
reverse his
plans.
He can't
undo
his union
with you
any more
than he
can be
de-incarnated
in human
flesh
any more
than he
can be
de-crucified,
any more
than he
can be
de-resurrected,
any more
than he
can de-ascend.
And if
he was
to do
any of
that,
union
stops.
But it
won't.
It
won't.
you
were in
Christ.
And so
as we
go through
this
series,
draw strength
from your
oneness
with Jesus.
You are
no longer
alone.
You are
not isolated.
And when
you sin,
don't give
up.
he
hasn't
turned
his
back
on you
in any
way,
shape,
or form.
In fact,
in that
moment,
he draws
close to
you,
even closer
than you
thought he
was.
In that
moment,
he draws
close and
he lifts
your chin
and he
looks you
in the
eye
and he
says,
I am
your
existence,
not your
sin,
I am
your
existence
and your
existence
is this,
I am
in the
Father
and you
are in
me
and I
am in
you.