Repetitio mater studiorum is. ” Repetition is the mother of all learning. The Apostle Paul understood this. Under the inspiration and supervision of the Holy Ghost, Paul has consistently repeated the fundamental truths of biblical doctrine, and has done so not only in each of his epistles, but sometimes in the same sentence. The clearest example of this can be found in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. In revealing the glorious mystery of our salvation, Paul repeats the phrase “In Christ?the first chapter, and almost ten times in verses 3 through 14, which is a long sentence in the original language. Many years ago, while preaching in chapter 1 of Ephesians, I explained to our congregation that if they remembered a truth from our Ephesians study, it would be the phrase “in Christ,” which is a short way to remember one of the most fundamental aspects of salvation: our union with Christ.
The union of the believer with Christ has long been a neglected doctrine in many churches, although it is a central doctrine of Scripture. God’s Word teaches us that we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and that we are united with Christ by God’s justifying grace through our faith alone by the atoning death of Christ (John 15: 4-7; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 12: 2; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 1: 4, 2:10; Philippians 3: 9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 John 4:13). The nature of this union is not just that we are in Christ, but that he is in us (John 6:56; Romans 8:10; 2 Corinthians 13: 5; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27 ). The theological implications of our union with Christ are staggering, and it was Christ himself who taught us that they are. In John 15, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit; because without me you can’t do anything? (v. 5). At the root of our sanctification is our union with Christ. As branches we bear fruit precisely because we are united to Christ, the vine, and we are united to the vine by the work of God the Father, who is the farmer. (15: 1). Furthermore, in his great priestly prayer, Jesus expressed the deep union he has with believers by saying: ?? I in them, and you in me, so that they are perfected in unity, so that the world knows that you sent me and that you loved them, as you also loved me. (17:23). In this glorious prayer, does Jesus reveal the absolute majesty of this doctrine by expressing our union with him? the Eternal Logos, the Son of God, the second person of the Godhead, God with us? This directly implies that in Christ the Father loves us as he loves his only begotten Son. And because we are united to Christ, we are united to him in his death and, therefore, we will also be united to him in his resurrection (Romans 6: 5).
By Burk Parson. Excerpt from the website www. ligonier. org. © 2013 Ligonier Ministries. Original: in Christ
This article is part of the February 2013 edition of Tabletalk magazine on “Union with Christ”.
Translation: Alan Cristie, Faithful Editor © All Rights Reserved, Original: In Christ (Burk Parsons)
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