Post by Admin on May 9, 2023 0:17:38 GMT -5
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b2QRg_xCbk
In general, to understand the union between the Lord Jesus Christ
and his elect, who believe in and rely on him, I observe:
1. It is a spiritual union. In marriage, a man and woman become
one flesh through their union; Christ and true believers become
one spirit through this union, as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:17.
Just as one soul or spirit animates both the head and the
members in a natural body, the one Spirit of God dwells in
Christ and the Christian. For "if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, they do not belong to him," Romans 8:9. Earthly
unions are formed through contact, like the stones in a building,
but this is a union of a different nature. If it were possible for us
to physically eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, it would
not benefit us, as mentioned in John 6:63. It was not Mary's
physical act of bearing him in her womb but her faith in him that
made her a saint, as seen in Luke 11:27-28.
2. It is a real union. Due to our weaknesses in our current state and
our immersion in sin, we tend to create mental images of
everything presented to us, and whatever is denied to us, we are
inclined to suspect as mere fiction. However, nothing is more
real than what is spiritual, as it closely resembles the nature of
God, the source of all reality. We cannot see the union between
our own soul and body with our eyes, nor can we accurately
imagine it as we do with tangible things, but the reality of it is
undeniable. Faith is not a fantasy but "the substance of things
hoped for," Hebrews 11:1. The union between Christ and
believers, established through faith, is not imaginary but highly
real: "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones," Ephesians 5:30.
3. It is a close and intimate union. Believers, those who are
regenerated and rely on Christ, have put on Christ, as stated in
Galatians 3:27. If that is not enough, he is in them, as mentioned
in John 17:23, and is formed within them like a child in the
womb, according to Galatians 4:19. He is the foundation (1
Corinthians 3:11), and they are the living stones built upon him
(1 Peter 2:5). He is the head, and they are the body (Ephesians
1:22-23). Furthermore, he lives in them, as their very souls live
in their bodies (Galatians 2:20). And most significantly, they are
one with the Father and the Son, just as the Father is in Christ
and Christ is in the Father (John 17:21).
4. Although it is not merely a legal union, it is a union supported
by law. Christ, as the guarantor, and Christians as the principal
debtors, are one in the eyes of the law. When the elect incurred a
debt to God's justice along with the rest of humanity, Christ
became their guarantor and paid the debt. When they believe in
him, they are united to him in a spiritual marriage union. This
union is so effective that what Christ did and suffered for them is
considered, in a legal sense, as if they had done and suffered it
themselves. Hence, they are said to be crucified with Christ
(Galatians 2:20), buried with him (Colossians 2:12), and even
raised up together with Christ and made to sit with him in
heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), which can only be understood
in a legal context.
5. It is an indissoluble union. Once united with Christ, the bond
remains forever. He never leaves the heart where he has taken
residence. Nobody can break this blessed connection. Will Christ
himself dissolve it? No, he will not, as he says in Jeremiah
32:40, "I will not turn away from them." Can sinners sever the
bond? No, they cannot, for God declares, "they shall not depart
from me." Can devils do it? No, unless they are stronger than
Christ and his Father, for Christ declares in John 10:28-30,
"neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand," and "none is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Even death, which
separates husband and wife and the soul from the body, cannot
dissolve this union. As seen in Romans 8:38-39, the Apostle
Paul is convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons,
the present nor the future, nor any powers, height nor depth,
nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Just as death separated
Christ's soul from his body but could not separate either from
his divine nature, so too will the saints remain united to Christ
in both life and death, for they "sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians
4:14) and "he keeps all their bones" (Psalm 34:20). Union with
Christ is the grace in which we stand, firm and stable like Mount
Zion, which cannot be moved.
6. It is a mysterious union. The gospel is a doctrine of mysteries. It
reveals to us the substantial union of the three persons in one
Godhead (1 John 5:7), "These three are one;" the hypostatic
union of the divine and human natures in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 3:16), "God was manifest in the flesh;"
and the mystical union between Christ and believers, which is
also a great mystery (Ephesians 5:32). Oh, what mysteries are
here! The head in heaven, the members on earth, yet truly
united! "Christ in the believer, living in him, walking in him:"
and "the believer dwelling in God, putting on the Lord Jesus,
eating his flesh, and drinking his blood!" This makes the saints a
mystery to the world and even to themselves.
I now come to speak more specifically about this union with, and
grafting into, Jesus Christ.
I. I will consider the natural stock from which the branches are taken.
II. The supernatural stock they are grafted into.
III. Which branches are cut off from the old stock and placed into the new.
IV. How this process occurs.
V. The benefits that flow from this union and grafting.
In general, to understand the union between the Lord Jesus Christ
and his elect, who believe in and rely on him, I observe:
1. It is a spiritual union. In marriage, a man and woman become
one flesh through their union; Christ and true believers become
one spirit through this union, as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:17.
Just as one soul or spirit animates both the head and the
members in a natural body, the one Spirit of God dwells in
Christ and the Christian. For "if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, they do not belong to him," Romans 8:9. Earthly
unions are formed through contact, like the stones in a building,
but this is a union of a different nature. If it were possible for us
to physically eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, it would
not benefit us, as mentioned in John 6:63. It was not Mary's
physical act of bearing him in her womb but her faith in him that
made her a saint, as seen in Luke 11:27-28.
2. It is a real union. Due to our weaknesses in our current state and
our immersion in sin, we tend to create mental images of
everything presented to us, and whatever is denied to us, we are
inclined to suspect as mere fiction. However, nothing is more
real than what is spiritual, as it closely resembles the nature of
God, the source of all reality. We cannot see the union between
our own soul and body with our eyes, nor can we accurately
imagine it as we do with tangible things, but the reality of it is
undeniable. Faith is not a fantasy but "the substance of things
hoped for," Hebrews 11:1. The union between Christ and
believers, established through faith, is not imaginary but highly
real: "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones," Ephesians 5:30.
3. It is a close and intimate union. Believers, those who are
regenerated and rely on Christ, have put on Christ, as stated in
Galatians 3:27. If that is not enough, he is in them, as mentioned
in John 17:23, and is formed within them like a child in the
womb, according to Galatians 4:19. He is the foundation (1
Corinthians 3:11), and they are the living stones built upon him
(1 Peter 2:5). He is the head, and they are the body (Ephesians
1:22-23). Furthermore, he lives in them, as their very souls live
in their bodies (Galatians 2:20). And most significantly, they are
one with the Father and the Son, just as the Father is in Christ
and Christ is in the Father (John 17:21).
4. Although it is not merely a legal union, it is a union supported
by law. Christ, as the guarantor, and Christians as the principal
debtors, are one in the eyes of the law. When the elect incurred a
debt to God's justice along with the rest of humanity, Christ
became their guarantor and paid the debt. When they believe in
him, they are united to him in a spiritual marriage union. This
union is so effective that what Christ did and suffered for them is
considered, in a legal sense, as if they had done and suffered it
themselves. Hence, they are said to be crucified with Christ
(Galatians 2:20), buried with him (Colossians 2:12), and even
raised up together with Christ and made to sit with him in
heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), which can only be understood
in a legal context.
5. It is an indissoluble union. Once united with Christ, the bond
remains forever. He never leaves the heart where he has taken
residence. Nobody can break this blessed connection. Will Christ
himself dissolve it? No, he will not, as he says in Jeremiah
32:40, "I will not turn away from them." Can sinners sever the
bond? No, they cannot, for God declares, "they shall not depart
from me." Can devils do it? No, unless they are stronger than
Christ and his Father, for Christ declares in John 10:28-30,
"neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand," and "none is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Even death, which
separates husband and wife and the soul from the body, cannot
dissolve this union. As seen in Romans 8:38-39, the Apostle
Paul is convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons,
the present nor the future, nor any powers, height nor depth,
nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Just as death separated
Christ's soul from his body but could not separate either from
his divine nature, so too will the saints remain united to Christ
in both life and death, for they "sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians
4:14) and "he keeps all their bones" (Psalm 34:20). Union with
Christ is the grace in which we stand, firm and stable like Mount
Zion, which cannot be moved.
6. It is a mysterious union. The gospel is a doctrine of mysteries. It
reveals to us the substantial union of the three persons in one
Godhead (1 John 5:7), "These three are one;" the hypostatic
union of the divine and human natures in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 3:16), "God was manifest in the flesh;"
and the mystical union between Christ and believers, which is
also a great mystery (Ephesians 5:32). Oh, what mysteries are
here! The head in heaven, the members on earth, yet truly
united! "Christ in the believer, living in him, walking in him:"
and "the believer dwelling in God, putting on the Lord Jesus,
eating his flesh, and drinking his blood!" This makes the saints a
mystery to the world and even to themselves.
I now come to speak more specifically about this union with, and
grafting into, Jesus Christ.
I. I will consider the natural stock from which the branches are taken.
II. The supernatural stock they are grafted into.
III. Which branches are cut off from the old stock and placed into the new.
IV. How this process occurs.
V. The benefits that flow from this union and grafting.