Where do you find your identity? The gospel tells us that because of our union with Christ we are no longer defined by sin. We are called according to God’s purpose and given a secure future where we shall enjoy an endless fellowship with God.
What does it mean to be in Christ? This article raises a few important questions to help you understand the significance of this doctrine of union with Christ.
This article offers some helpful considerations of the doctrine of sanctification. It explains the two ways that the Bible speaks on the matter, and goes on to say that sanctification is hard, is an aspect of our union with Christ, is different for everyone, and is a community project.
John Calvin taught that the Christian life is rooted in our union with Christ, the inseparable link of faith and the Word, the need for daily repentance, and self-denial.
This article gives ten ways to show how our union with Christ defines our identity. It draws implications for the Christian life.
Where should Christians find their identity? This article argues that Christian identity is found in union with Christ. This union that also constitutes unity among believers is demonstrated in 1 Corinthians.
The final step in the order of salvation is glorification. This article explains that the truth of the believer’s glorification is rooted in the truth of the believer’s union with Christ. What Christians are waiting for in the coming of Christ is the full realization of the status of the believer.
What is stopping you as a Christian from sinning? One of the best answers is given by Paul in Romans 6. There he points out that our sanctification cannot be separated from our justification. This article shows that Paul would have us realize that our union with Christ marks every aspect of our salvation, including our justification, sanctification, and glorification.
This article discusses the doctrine of positional sanctification, part of the biblical teaching on sanctification. It gives consideration to the notion that the Lord Jesus "learned obedience" in his life, and how Christ's sanctification becomes our sanctification by virtue of our union with Christ.
This article explains what the doctrine of union with Christ means. It shows the relationship between union with Christ and conversion, justification, sanctification, and the church.
This article examines an important document that functions in Anglican-Roman Catholic relations. The document was produced by ARCIC, i.e., the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission. Their statement on salvation and the church was generally received with little criticism.
This article considers ten things the believer should know about his union with Christ.
This article discusses union with Christ through the lens of John 15.
This article meditates on Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 2:14, about God, through us, spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of himself. This becomes real for the Christian when he lives out of his union with Christ.
According to Bird, the central issue in current discussions with regard to the doctrine of justification is the topic of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. Bird wants to, in dialogue with the main protagonists, seek a solution that corresponds with the biblical evidence. He first offers a short history of the doctrine of imputed righteousness since the Reformation.
Without understanding the biblical teaching of the believer's union with Christ, justification will lose its meaning. This article looks at the meaning of justification in relation to the believer being in Christ.
How does regeneration and the believer’s justification by faith relate to the believer’s union with Christ? Chapter 30 explores how the Puritans answered this question. The authors consider the chief blessing that Christians receive, faith, and thus union with Christ as it relates to the ordo salutis (order of salvation).
This is a volume on believers’ union with Christ. Letham argues that union with God is founded in the very being of God as Trinity and relational. Man being made in the image of God reflects this characteristic. First Letham looks at the Trinitarian basis of creation. Next he notes the role of the Son of God as the mediator of creation. Man as one created in Christ is to be recognized as image of God.
Gaffin reflects in Chapter 11 on John Calvin’s view of justification and union with Christ in Book 3 of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Gaffin gives a brief overview of the treatment of justification in successive editions of the Institutes from 1536 to 1559. Next, he considers what Calvin mean by the “double grace” (duplex gratia) that believers receive by union with Christ.
What is the relationship between the believer and indwelling sin? This article explains via a discussion on the new man coming to life by virtue of union with Christ, and what this means for the old man, or sinful nature.
This chapter wants to correct a too-narrow focus on motivations for sanctification. DeYoung believes that preachers and counsellors are too limited in the tools available to encourage biblical holiness. He feels that commands, gratitude, and duties are unhelpful on their own. Believers are motivated in different ways. He illustrates from Colossians 3 that there is a wide array of motivations for holiness.
What is a biblical understanding of sanctification? The author explains that Scripture talks about sanctification in two different ways, definitive sanctification and progressive sanctification. He further warns against cheap slogans that communicate unhelpful and even misleading understandings of sanctification. He continues with a discussion of the centrality of union with Christ in believers’ sanctification.
Baptism signifies cleaning and remission of sins. It points to union with Christ in his death and resurrection. This article considers the relationship between the external and inward significance of the sign, the mode of baptism, and who are to be baptized.
