One of the great mystery's that God unfolded in the New Covenant was our union with Christ. Unfortunately there is very little teaching on this reality.
This union with the living Christ was one, if not the most greatest accomplishment He secured for the Church.
This union was to change and redefine the relationship between God and Man.
Understanding this union will redefine the way we relate to God as well as the way we pray, work and live our lives.
Salvation through Union
Let us start off by looking at our salvation through union, if we look at Eph 2 we can understand that our salvation was not accomplished apart from this union. Without union there is no salvation!
Eph 2:4-8 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
We were saved by union through His death, burial and resurrection. Salvation was not accomplished with Christ it was accomplished in Christ. Our salvation was not just something that kept us from going to hell, it was something that united us with God.
Our salvation was the deliverance of the human race from sin and the law through death (Rom 7:4,Rom 6:2) and the resurrection of a new creation that has been perfected and made holy in Christ (Heb 10:14).
This New Creation exists in Christ, it does not exist outside of Him (2Cor 5:17). We are in Him in union.
This new creation has also been united in Christ in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and is sharing in the same glory that Christ has with the Father (John 17:22).
We also share because of union in the same relationship the Son has with the Father (Gal 4:6)
You cant get any closer than Union
We do not have our own relationship with God in means of having nearness to the Father by our performance or our pressing into Him by human effort.
Because of what Jesus has done on the Cross and our union with His Son, we share in His nearness to the Father (Eph 2:13).
(This truth will make you rest from striving and seeking to be closer to God. Just trust that you have been BROUGHT NEAR BY HIS BLOOD. You are close to Him right now!; He is in you and you are in Him. This is a reality not a work!!)
No one ever hated His own flesh
Consider this also; since we are united with Christ, Jesus Himself sees us differently than He does to those outside of Him.
In (Eph 5:29-30) He considers the Church as His very own Body and therefore nurtures and cherishes it as His very own.
Jesus does not see any separation between His Church and Him but He considers it as really being His Body.
Oh! how this can change how we see ourselves and our relationship with Him!!
Astronomical
The ramifications of this reality are astronomical.
Eph 2:7 and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
In ages to come we will still be discovering the extent of our union and His grace towards us. Its so good it will take ages to realize. How can we go on and say we lack anything; we have an eternal inheritance that never ends. We are forever united together with Christ and nearer to Him than the angels and those around the Throne we are sitting together!
I will branch off this subject in future posts there is too much to cover.
