- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
The Benefits of Union with Christ
By Joseph Hall
Through our union with Christ, He has become our life. He also, “has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1 v30). This does not mean that He alone works these great things in and for us. This would be a limited understanding of His Divine works, but He actually becomes all these to us, who are true disciples of Him.
The character given to even the wisest person is accurately shown by the apostle Paul, “their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1 v21-22). And, the best of us if left to ourselves must agree with Asaph’s complaint, “I was senseless and ignorant, I was a brute beast before you” (Psalm 73 v22). We can also say with Agur, the son of Jakeh, “surely I am only a brute, not a man, I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One” (Proverbs 30 v2-3). If you honestly examine your own heart you are bound to reach the same conclusion as Solomon, “I said, ‘I am determined to be wise,’ but this was beyond me” (Ecclesiastes 7 v23). But however broken we may be there is enough wisdom in our mind, Christ Jesus, to supply all our needs. He that is Wisdom is made our Wisdom by the Father, “in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2 v3). So hidden that they are both revealed and communicated to His own, “for God, who said, 'let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4 v6). In and by Him it has pleased the Father to impart Himself to us, “the Son is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1 v15), and “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1 v3). He Himself pointed this out to Philip, “don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14 v9).
This wisdom is so great that all human philosophy is foolishness in comparison with it. The world’s most profound thinkers are either blind or search in darkness, for “the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2 v14). How much less then, are they able to know God Who is infinite and incomprehensible. He alone, Who is made our wisdom can enlighten our eyes with His divine knowledge. "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him" (Matthew 11 v27). Our ignorance, and mistakes are many and great, and our faith needs to reach out for help from our wise and all-sufficient Mediator.
Wisdom alone cannot make us acceptable to God. Even snakes are described as wise, and we are told to be wise like them (Matthew 10 v16). God who is righteousness, as well as being wisdom, wants all His people to be righteous and wise. In themselves this is impossible, "we all stumble in many ways" (James 3 v2). They must therefore, find this righteousness in Christ, their Head, Who has become for us wisdom and righteousness. Such mercy is beyond human understanding. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5 v21).
We see a marvellous and blessed exchange. We are sinful, but Christ is perfect righteousness, and in Him we are not only righteous, but righteousness itself. The only way we are made His righteousness is by God giving us His righteousness.
The second Adam is so much greater than the first Adam. "Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5 v18-19). Righteous not in themselves, for "death came to all people, because all sinned" (Romans 5 v12), but in Him that made them so, "through whom we have now received reconciliation" (Romans 5 v11). Our justification is free and perfect in Him, and believers are made righteous by Him.
Not even our sins can go against this blessing, for this is the wonder of mercy, that He "justifies the ungodly" (Romans 4 v5). If we were not sinners there would be no need for justification. His grace finds us sinful, but does not leave us in that state. The Righteous Judge of the world kills sin in us and forgives us, at the same time He cleanses and accepts us. Repentance and remission both meet at the same moment in a repentant soul. At the same time, our faith lays hold of Christ, and His hand lays hold of us to justify us, so that sins that are forgiven can no longer stop our happiness.
Sin may hinder us, but our weaknesses are no problem to God, and therefore no barrier in our path into His presence. It does not matter how much we feel unworthy in ourselves. Christ’s obedience is our righteousness, and this is mercifully accepted on our behalf by God the Father.
There is a great difference between being righteous, and being made righteousness. Every born again believer has in themselves an essential righteousness, “let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously” (Revelation 22 v11). But at best our righteousness is imperfect. “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130 v3). “Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence” (Ezra 9 v15). “But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? Though they wished to dispute with Him, they could not answer Him one time out of a thousand” (Job 9 v2-3). So then, “the one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1 John 3 v7). Those that are made righteousness are perfectly righteous by gracious acceptance, and the free gift of obedience.
It would be very bad for us if we were judged according to our own accomplishments, for “cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Galatians 3 v10). And, “if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1 v8). If we are honest we must admit that we have sin in us, and if we have sin we break the law, and if we break the law we are open to a curse. Our comfort is that our Saviour has paid our debt. It is true that we live under the death sentence, because justice is that, “the one who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18 v20). But mercy is now satisfied. The Son of God, whose every drop of blood was worth a world, paid this death for us, and now, “who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8 v33-34). Our sin and death, was laid upon Him, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53 v5). His death and obedience is passed to us so that the sin, for which we deserve to remain in slavery, is no longer our master, but the death He endured and performed is ours now.
We now have no need to fear appearing before the throne of the Almighty. We certainly know that He is infinitely just, that His pure eyes cannot look upon sin. We should have a reason to be afraid to appear in His presence if we had to appear in all our sin, but our faith confidently assures us that we will be presented before Him clothed in Christ’s righteousness. We will be clothed in our older brother’s clothes, which assure us of a blessing. While we might be upset by our sin, we also have a reason, on the other hand, to lift up our heads boldly in view of the perfect righteousness, which Christ has become for us.
In a law court, many people are pronounced innocent, who are actually guilty, for even the best law courts can only judge things as they appear, not as they are. But the Righteous Judge of all now makes us holy.
Mercy, which makes Christ our Righteousness, makes Him our Sanctification. It is His Holy Spirit Who purifies us “from everything that contaminates body and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7 v1), and works in us everyday. There could be nothing more opposed to His justice and holiness, than to justify those who still live in bondage of sin without His righteousness. However, those who will draw on Christ’s righteousness as a covering over their hidden weaknesses and give no place to sanctification as an evidence of their justification, have never truly learned to know Christ. We are only justified by faith, and wherever faith is it purifies and cleanses (Acts 15 v9).
In the same way the Spirit of Christ powerfully, though gradually, works in us by sanctifying and cleansing us by the Word. So His holiness is given to us, that He will “present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5 v27). That inner holiness is supplied daily by His absolute holiness.
When we look at ourselves we sometimes find reason to be ashamed, but when we look up to heaven, and see the infinite holiness of Christ, who we are united with, we can then cast off all discouragement. Then we can look with boldness into the face of God, for we are “holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation’ (Colossians 1 v22).
Lastly, the Son of God came down into the world to redeem us. Those of us who have His wisdom and are sanctified by His grace, still fight against temptations and have struggles. But we shall be fully delivered by our blessed and victorious Redeemer. He has saved us from the law, for it is written that He, “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3 v13). From sin, for the Bible reads, “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3 v13). “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6 v14). From death, “Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15 v55-57).
The whole position between the law and us is altered. It is no longer a cruel master, to beat us for our work. It is our school teacher, to direct and point us to Christ. It is not a severe judge now, but a friendly guide to direct our way to Heaven.
“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8 v3-4). Even death can threaten us, but we are still safe. “the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8 v2).
We now do not need to fear because Christ is our Redemption. And whatever else He is or does, He is also ours because of our union with Him. He is our Riches (Ephesians 1 v7), our strength (Psalm 27 v13), our Glory (Ephesians 1 v18), our salvation (1 Thessalonians 5 v9) and our All (Colossians 3 v11). He is all to us, and all is ours in Him.
From “One with Christ”.