The Spirit and Union with Christ

In the NT, the phrase that you will find most frequently to describe someone who is a Christian is not the word Christian, it’s not the term believer, it’s not disciple. The phrase you will find most often is the phrase “in Christ.” Being “in Christ” is so central to what it means to be a Christian, that Paul basically sees it as synonymous with the gospel and its his mission to proclaim it. He says in Colossians 1:27 that he has been given this mission, this stewardship from God, “to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is the heart of the gospel, that we are in Christ and He is in us - we are united to Him. This is why we have hope. And this is why we have all the other spiritual blessings from God.

But how is it that we actually receive all of these spiritual blessings? How is it that we are actually united to Christ and are thus saved and made a new creation? It is through the Holy Spirit.

• • John 14:17-20 - We know that Christ is in us because His Spirit is in us.

  • Rom 8:9-11 - The Spirit being in us means that Christ is in us. It is through the Spirit that we have communion with Christ, that we are in Him.

Sinclair Ferguson wrote a book called, “The Holy Spirit.” It’s definitely an academic level book, but it is very helpful in thinking about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and I definitely recommend it. He makes this statement in the book: “To be ‘in Christ’ means to share in all that Christ has accomplished. More specifically this means that those who are united to the risen Christ share in his justification, adoption, sanctification and glorification… Christ becomes our covenant partner, as the Holy Spirit binds us to Him… We become one with Christ in the mysterious union of which becoming one flesh in marriage is an analogy (Eph 5:30-32)... [And by the Holy Spirit] Christ bestows on us all His goods.”(1)

Just like in marriage, what belongs to one also belongs to the other (furniture, car, house, dishes, pets, bank accounts), so when we are united to Christ, all that is His also becomes ours. And that happens through the Spirit, because it is the Spirit that unites us to Christ and through whom we may say that we are in Christ.

1. Sinclair Ferguson, “The Holy Spirit,” 106.