Let’s finish up on union with Christ, and his power to satisfy everything we need for life - even when we’re faced with hostility.
Romanian Pastor Josef Tson says union with Christ is a complete worldview that endures hostility. It’s a full and wholly satisfying reality, answering questions of identity and restoring all that humanity lost in the fall of man (Genesis 1-3). Another modern theologian and pastor, Rev Lane Tipton, draws from Scripture to help us understand how deep and true this reality goes for the believer.
First and foremost, it’s a personal union. Rev Tipton and Josef Tson both point out that we are in personal union with Christ. That is, we’re in a union with the person of Christ Himself. That’s significant - it’s a reality that no other worldview offers.
The language in Christ is interesting; it’s biblical and it’s repeated often. This language of ‘in, with, and through’ connotes relationship, intimacy, and sharing.
Second, it’s a mystical union. Honestly, there’s a lot about union with Christ that we don’t know. How does it work? How do we all become one new Body, in his Body, connected spiritually in mind and purpose? There’s a lot about our union that we won’t know until we see Christ face to face.
But even though we can’t know God exhaustively about our union, He’s made it so that we can still know him truly. What we do know has been revealed through God’s Word, through his life, his promises, his mission, and the Holy Spirit.
Thank God for Jesus!
All blessings stem from Union with Christ; there is nothing apart from Union with Him -he’s the foundation of our identity.
When we look at Ephesians 1 and all the other Scriptures that emphasize blessings with the language of ‘n Christ,’ Rev. Tipton and Pastor Tson can preach (along with many others throughout history) that no blessing applies to the believer apart from union with Christ.
Everything comes from our Union with Christ; we are first in Christ, and then receive these blessings that affect who we are as his people. Union with Christ goes to the very heart of our identity - something we must be certain of when we face temptations, obstacles, or outright hostility.
Thirdly, Rev Tipton says that union with Christ has Christ as its priority, making it easy to emphasize the Person who grants all the blessings - including our new and complete identity. It’s baked into the name. The commonality is in Christ; what is distinct are the different blessings that stem from being in Christ.
“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…” - Ephesians 1:3
Grab your Bible and have a look at Ephesians 1. The first three verses set us up to know that we are ‘in Christ,’ united with the creator of the Universe made flesh, crucified, buried, raised, and now living, advocating for his people’s success and growth throughout history. Fasten your seatbelts for the roller-coaster ride of benefits and blessings that follow. Notice the constant repetition of the language ‘in, with, and through Christ:’
We are chosen in Christ and in love, he predestined us to be his through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. We have died and have risen with Christ, raised with him. Matter of fact, we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly places, in the sweet by and by, even though we’re currently moving through the nasty now and now. Our hearts are supernaturally circumcised with him, having been buried with him in baptism, and we’ve been raised up with him through faith. We were called into the fellowship of the Son of God, and he saved us for his purposes and by his grace in Christ - from all eternity, he desired us, his people. When he called us in him, he regenerated us in him and made us alive in him (because dead is dead and can’t answer any call!). He removed our guilt and justified us through his finished work on the cross - made it as though we were never sinners. He’s growing us spiritually - sanctifying us in Christ, so that we can mature and persevere in Christ … and on and on the chapter goes with many more benefits.
The amazing thing is the redemptive benefits aren’t confined to the list in Ephesians chapter one. You can grab a friend and work through the in, with, and through Christ language across the New Testament. Try it, you’ll be delighted to learn how far down, up, in, and out his blessings reach.
Practically speaking, what does union with Christ say about identity, to the areas where we are confused as to who we are, and why we are here? Let’s go back to Ephesians 1:3. It says, “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…”
Eery spiritual blessing. Again, there is absoutely nothing that the people of God lack to walk through this world - we endure, in, with, and through him.
Scripture tells quite a bit, then, about this ‘union with Christ,’ and that message has at least one major takeaway related to Christian endurance: We have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places NOW, that provides all we need to endure.
It’s stunning to realize that the church already has every blessing in this age that can be given. There are no future blessings in this age that the church now lacks. We have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places NOW, that provides all we need to endure.
We can add to that his mission, message, and an entirely new identity that rests on him. There’s work to do here on earth (mission) that only the people of God, to dispaly his glory and peace to a hungry and desperate world (mission), as only those who are wholly united in Christ, can do (identity).
“There is no sharing in the benefits of Christ unless we share in his person because the benefits can’t be separated from the person. The benefits are not deposited in a merely human person, or a priest, or a pastor, or in a Pope, or in a church, or in our works, or in big mama’s house, or in your ancestors faithlessness or in their faith . . . neither is our identity.
The treasury of the blessings of Christ are found nowhere but in Christ . . . there is no fellowship with the person of Christ without sharing with his person. Christ himself and all his benefits belong to the church – to each of us individually and collectively – through the Holy Spirit. - Lane Tipton
So. What does this mean for us today? I’ve added studying through Ephesians to my private devotionals, my friend groups, and to my courses and workshops on Christian Endurance Studies. If our union with Christ is that all-consuming and all-fulfilling, then Josef Tson is right - it’s the perfect worldview for moving through a world that’s hostile toward a Christianity that transforms people from destruction to life. That quick study we just did into Ephesians chapter 1 can expand out into the New Testament and directly addresses identity issues and the deep satisfaction of union with Christ.
If we ever face anti-Christian hostility (and some of us will to varying degrees), knowing who we are is key to remaining steadfast under pressure. I invite you to do the same, and together in your studies and groups, you can go deeper into the real-world implications of each union-with-Christ-blessing, based on an identity that’s seated in Christ. Identity satisfaction is a great place to turn anxiety into adventure - in Christ.
In a world of dissatisfaction, deconstruction, destruction, and identity confusion - that’s really good news.
Identity and endurance are most definitely connected - it’s all over Scripture. Next time, we’ll look at how identity satisfaction and trust worked out for one of our Old Testament biblical ancestors, how it worked for them under hostility.
Be sure to subscribe to catch it, and then watch for the next newsletter.
Share this post