FBC Adult Bible Study

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I did not get one of the handouts in the back. I encourage you to get a hold of that for our lesson today.

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But we as believers in Christ, and a lot of Christians, I think this is true of a lot of Christians, we struggle with doubt, with intimidation, maybe with some fear, because we face a lot of the issues of life as if we're all alone.

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We're not, but we face those issues as if we are. If we were pressed intellectually, we would deny that.

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We would say, well, I know Christ is with me, I know Christ is with me, but on a practical level, on a functioning level, we struggle, we doubt, we feel intimidated, we fear, because on a practical level, we're functioning as if we're all alone.

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And a lot of Christians who really wanna serve the Lord and to do what pleases Him, a lot of us live under a constant sense of guilt, because we realize that even our best efforts, we are unprofitable servants.

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Our best efforts are tainted with sin and imperfection. And if we don't understand today's truth, that leads us to a constant sense of guilt.

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And then there are many of us who are kind of like Jacob, the son of Isaac. Remember the story of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac.

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In his dad's eyes, Jacob could never quite measure up.

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So he had to do all kinds of things to try to gain his father's blessing.

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And you remember specifically the story of the deception that he employed, pretending that he was his brother so he could get his father's blessing.

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Well, how many of us feel that way regarding our heavenly father? That no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we never quite measure up.

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We never measure up to gaining his favor. If we could just measure up a little better, then we would do a much better job of gaining his favor.

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Now, all of those ways of living the Christian life are, as you well know, some probably by personal experience, those are less than ideal ways of living the

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Christian life, and they are such. I mean, we live that way because we don't understand our union with Christ.

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We don't understand it. We know about it, we know the Bible teaches it, but we don't process it, we don't understand it.

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Michael Barrett, who's written a book, we're using as a basis for this study in holiness, he says this, he says, if only

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Christians would realize that regardless of personal failures, now get this, regardless of personal failures, imperfections, and sins, the merit of Jesus Christ encompasses and subsumes all their service to him.

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What we do, now listen to this, what we do personally cannot increase or decrease

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God's acceptance of us. What we do as believers in service to the

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Lord is pleasing and acceptable to God because he always sees us together with his son, his dearly beloved.

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Now, some might hear that and conclude, oh, well, okay, then I can pretty much do what

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I wanna do if I wanna pursue some kind of sin, I can pursue some sin. I don't have to pursue holiness, for sure,

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I mean, it doesn't matter what I do, God sees me in Christ, so I'm good. That would be a gross misunderstanding.

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In reality, this truth of our union with Christ and our acceptance before God in him, that should motivate us to the pursuit of holiness.

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I put it this way, the reality of our union with Christ generates the appropriate motivation for the pursuit, and I think this is on your handout, that progressing in holiness is not in order to somehow gain favor or acceptance with God, did you get that?

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Progressing in holiness, we don't pursue holiness, in order that we might somehow gain favor or acceptance with God.

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No, it is in view of the acceptance that we already have.

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It is in view of and because of the acceptance fixed in Christ to whom we are united that we pursue holiness.

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All right, now, with that kind of as a background, what I want us to see this Sunday and next in our

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Sunday school time is that the Bible indicates five different ways in which we are united to Christ.

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We'll look at two of them today and the other three next week. So the major headings on your handout today are that we are united with Christ representatively and we are united with Christ mystically, and we'll flesh that out.

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Next Lord's Day, Lord willing, we'll see that we are united to Christ vitally, intimately, and eternally.

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So there are those five ways in which we are united with Christ. The Bible speaks of that union.

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Representatively, mystically, vitally, intimately, and eternally.

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All right, so let's talk about this, the fact that we are united with Christ representatively.

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And let's turn in our Bibles to Romans chapter five as we begin this.

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When we speak of being united to Christ representatively, this primarily concerns our legal standing before God, how we stand before him legally.

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And we talked about that a few weeks ago when we spoke of the doctrine of justification and its relationship to the pursuit of holiness.

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This is more information regarding that subject of the legal standing with Christ.

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Now, the first Adam, the first man created by God served as our first representative.

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He's a representative head of the human race. And because of the failure of that first representative, we are alienated from God.

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Now, we see this brought out in Romans chapter five. Verse 19 makes it clear that when

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Adam sinned, I sinned. You see this? For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners.

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And that many is an all -encompassing many. The many were made sinners. So because Adam sinned, or when

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Adam sinned, I sinned. I sinned because I was in Adam. I was represented by Adam.

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He was the representative head of the human race. And furthermore, look at verse 12.

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When Adam died, I died. Remember, God said the punishment for sin, the wages of sin is death.

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You eat that fruit, you disobey what I tell you to do, and the day that you eat that fruit, you're gonna die.

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You will die. So verse 12 says, here in Romans five, therefore, just as through one man's sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men.

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When Adam died, I died. Verse 18 brings that out as well. Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation.

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So when he died, I died. And Paul mentions this also in 1 Corinthians 15, 22, when he says, in Adam, all die.

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So Adam, as our first representative, he failed in that representation of the human race.

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And because of that failure, we are all, every member of the human race is alienated from God.

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Therefore, we need another representative, and that representative is

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Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. And when it comes to Jesus, look with me at Hebrews 2.

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In Hebrews 2, the writer of Hebrews tells us, that though Jesus is

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God, he became a man to represent us.

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So this brought out in verses 11 and following. Hebrews chapter two, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he,

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Jesus, is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly,

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I will sing praise to you. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children whom

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God has given me. Now, verse 14, in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he,

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Jesus himself, likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

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For indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. All right, now look at verse 17.

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Therefore, in all things he, Jesus, had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

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For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted.

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So Jesus became man, God the Son became man, to represent us.

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Look back at 1 Corinthians 15 with me a minute, 1 Corinthians 15, and verses 45 through 47.

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And here we have Paul's talking about the two Adams, the first Adam being the created man, the first created man in the garden that represented us and failed, and then the second

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Adam, the last Adam, verse 45. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being.

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The last Adam became a life -giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural and afterward the spirit.

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The first man was of the earth made of dust. The second man is the

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Lord from heaven. All right, now go back to Romans chapter five with me, and look at verses 12 through 19, especially focus on verses 18 and 19.

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This passage in verse 12 begins talking about Adam's failure and the death that came through his sin.

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It spread to all men, verse 12, because all sinned. And then there's this lengthy parenthesis in verses 13 through 17.

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So, and then you get to verse 18 with a therefore. All right, so let's start at verse 12 and then jump to verse 18.

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It says, therefore, just as the one man's just as through one man sinned in the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned, verse 18.

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Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation, even so through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life.

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For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous.

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All right, so as our second representative and successful representative,

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Jesus, the son of God became man to represent us. And in his representation, verse 19 tells us he fulfilled completely, perfectly all of the demands of the law.

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See this again, by one man's obedience, the many will be made righteous and his righteousness results in our righteousness in the last part of verse 18.

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Even so through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men. Now look at this, look at the last statement here, resulting in justification of life, resulting in justification.

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You remember what that word justification means, what that's all about. That has to do with our standing before God.

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We are justified before God, that's our legal standing. God sees us in Christ as if we had not sinned, is the way that's often described, just as if I had never sinned, justification.

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It's not only, justification is not only just as if I never sinned, but it is the imputation or the imputation of Christ's righteousness, the declaration of Christ's righteousness upon us.

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We are declared righteous in that justification. So through God, or though God, though Jesus is

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God, he became man to represent us and he did so successfully, successfully.

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And his righteousness results in our life. Only in Christ can

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I live. That's what 1 Corinthians 15, 22 says. Remember, I mentioned this a minute ago.

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In Adam, all die. In Christ, all who are in Christ shall live.

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So this quote from Barrett, he says, as our representative, as our representative,

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Christ accepted, he accepted upon himself our liabilities, that's our sin, and his merit accrues to us.

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It's our representative. Now this answer is this, this matter of representation here answers two critical questions.

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And it's a question you've probably had, at least at some point in your life. A question, one of the questions is this, if Adam committed this sin, then how come

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I'm guilty? Have you ever thought that? Does that question ever come?

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If Adam committed this sin, how come I'm guilty? Because Adam was our representative head.

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And likewise, the second question has to do with Jesus, the second Adam, if Christ did it, if he lived a perfect, sinless life, then how come

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I'm innocent? Because I certainly haven't lived a perfect, sinless life. And the answer is,

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Christ is our representative. And so again, a quote to bring this all together.

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He says, if it was a just thing for God to condemn us and Adam, because he,

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Adam, was the head of the whole human race, it is a just thing for God to justify us in Christ, because Christ is the head of the redeemed race.

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Christ's righteousness counts for us. That should thrill you.

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Your righteousness counts for nothing, right? All of my righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but Christ's righteousness counts for us.

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Therefore, what does Paul say in Romans 8 .1? Therefore, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are what?

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What is it? In Christ Jesus, right? And what does

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Ephesians 1 .6 say? We are graciously accepted of God, or accepted by God in Christ, the beloved.

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To be thus united with Christ is to be in the safest place possible.

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Here is the real security of the gospel, to be in Christ.

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So we are united to Christ, representatively, and then, secondly, we're united to Christ, mystically.

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Now, that may sound, that may sound like, woo -do -do -do -do -do -do -do, you know?

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A little bit like, meh, I don't know where you're going with this one here. But to speak of being united with Christ mystically simply means that there is spiritual truth here that is beyond our rational comprehension.

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Jesus said in Matthew 28 .20 to his disciples, "'Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

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Can you rationally comprehend that? Can you rationally comprehend that Christ who ascended, you know, after he said this, he ascended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the throne of the

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Father. Can you rationally comprehend the fact, the truth, that Jesus is with us, right here, right now, in this place?

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And at the same time, on the other side of the world, where it is 14 hours later, and there is the services of the day are over, and I think

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I've got this right, I can't remember if it's earlier or later, but the services of the day where the odds are serving are over,

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I think, or they haven't started it. But Jesus is there with them, too, at the same time.

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Can you comprehend that? If you can, you're a much smarter person than I, and I think, than any other theologian.

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No, you can't comprehend that. That's a spiritual truth that is beyond rational comprehension.

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And this is what we mean when we talk about Christ is united with us mystically.

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We're talking about spiritual truth that we can't comprehend, we believe by faith.

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So, for example, in the letters that Paul wrote to the churches at Ephesus and at Colossae, here's a good exercise to do sometime.

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Read through those two letters. It's like 10 chapters. It'll probably take you, well, because you're gonna be looking for something, it'll take you a little longer.

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Take an hour to do this. Read through those chapters with a pen in your hand, and every time you see the words in Christ, or in him, or something of that nature, circle it.

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Circle it, and you will be amazed how many times in those two letters Paul speaks of us, of this union, this mystical union that we have with Christ.

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All right, a couple things we wanna mention about this mystical union. One is that it is a spiritual union, a spiritual union.

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So let's look at this in Ephesians chapter two. In Ephesians two, and verses 19 through 22.

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Ephesians two, verse 19. Paul is writing to primarily

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Gentile believers in the church at Ephesus, and he's expressing the truth that though they're

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Gentiles, they're no longer alienated from the people of God just because of their ethnicity.

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He says in verse 19, now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

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Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, look at this, in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the

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Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the

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Spirit. All right, so what do we see here? This union that we have with Christ, this mystical union is a spiritual union.

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You see the in whom in the first part of verse 21, and the in whom in the first part of verse 22.

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And this union, this spiritual union, is a spiritual union that is accomplished by the

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Spirit. You see that at the end of verse 22. In whom, that is in Christ, you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the

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Spirit. This is something that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. Now listen, get this.

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If the Holy Spirit accomplishes this spiritual union, what do you do to bring that about?

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Now the answer to that question is nothing. You know, this is, in other words, this union is something that is accomplished by the

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Spirit. It is a divine work that requires no contribution from you and me whatsoever.

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This is the Spirit's work. Paul elsewhere speaks of being baptized into Christ.

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The Spirit baptizes us into Christ Jesus. Now let's turn back to Romans chapter eight.

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And so this is a spiritual union that is accomplished by the

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Holy Spirit. And in Romans eight, we discover that this spiritual union is a union that is attested to by the

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Holy Spirit. It's accomplished by the Spirit, and it's attested to by the

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Spirit. So look at verses nine and 10, Romans eight. He says, but you are not in the flesh, but in the

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Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

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Now look at what he says next. And if Christ is in you. You get that?

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Look at verse nine again. You're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

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Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, see?

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There is that union. The body is dead because of sin, but the

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Spirit is life because of righteousness. All right, now look down at verses 16 and 17. The Spirit himself is the third member of the

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Trinity. The Spirit himself bears witness with us, with our spirit, that we are children of God.

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And if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs, what's next?

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With Christ. There's our union again. Joint heirs with Christ.

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If indeed we suffer with Christ, that we may also be glorified together with Christ understood.

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So this spiritual union, this mystical union, that is a spiritual union, it's accomplished by the

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Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit attests to that union. He says, the Spirit says, you are a child of God.

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You see? And verse 15 says, it's by the Spirit of adoption we cry out, Abba, Father.

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You know, one of the interesting things, and this is an aside, I heard someone, or read someone mention this several years ago, and it struck me because, yeah, that's true.

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One of the key differences between a true believer in Christ and a religious person is that the religious person, a religious person will often pray to God, and say,

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God, would you do this, that, or the other thing? God, would you help me with this? God, and they cry out to God. But the genuine believer in Christ, is far more personal in his praying.

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He can be just as burdened, and just as weighed down, but he doesn't cry out and say, God, would you do this? God, would you do, he says,

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Father, Father. Have you noticed that about your own prayer life? That you don't just simply cry out to God?

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Not that you never do, but that you will use that term Father. Why do you use that term

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Father? That is the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit that you are his child.

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And so the Holy Spirit attests to this, and attests to this mystical union.

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So it's a spiritual union. And then for the rest of our time, I wanna explore the truth that this spiritual union is a spiritual communion, a spiritual communion.

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And here's what we mean by that. And Barrett explains it for us.

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He says, being in union with Christ means that every believer jointly participates and shares in the work of Christ.

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That's our communion with Christ. Being united with Christ means

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I am in communion with Christ, which is not talking about a prayer time, although we do have a prayer time, but that's not what he's talking about.

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What he's talking about here in this communion, the spiritual communion, is that we jointly participate and share in the work of Christ.

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Now, there are three things that the Bible tells us we wanted to look at this morning. Next 10, 12 minutes.

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Three things that the Bible says we experience with Christ. Number one, we die with Christ.

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We are in union with Christ's death. So listen to these verses, and you can turn to Colossians 2.

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We're gonna spend a few minutes in the book of Colossians anyway. So turn to Colossians 2. Paul says in Galatians 2 .20,

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I am crucified with Christ. Now, get this.

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Obviously, when Paul wrote that, he was alive and well on planet Earth, and it was some 20 some years after Christ died on the cross.

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But he nevertheless says, I am crucified with Christ.

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And in Romans 6 .3, he says, we are buried with Christ by baptism unto death.

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In Romans 6 .6, he says, our old man is crucified with him.

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And in 2 Corinthians 5 .14, he says, if one died for all, speaking of Christ, then all died.

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So our union with Christ, this spiritual communion that we're talking about, is it involves a union with Christ's death.

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We experience Christ's death because of that communion. So look at Colossians 2, verses 11 and 12.

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It says, in him, in him, there's the union, you also were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

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Now, what's he talking about there? When did

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Christ put off the body of the sins of the flesh? At the cross.

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Verse 12, buried with him in baptism, buried with him in baptism, speaking of his death.

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So when Christ died, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, all of Christ's people, all of God's children died with him.

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And so God counted at the death of Christ, at the crucifixion of Christ, God counted all believers as being in his son.

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When he saw Christ dying on the cross, he's seeing the millions of people who well after the death of Christ, who came to faith in Christ, whom

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God brought to himself through Christ, he saw all of them in Christ.

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When Christ died, you died in his death. Now this union with Christ's death means that, now listen, this is where it gets exciting.

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It means that everything Jesus purchased on the cross is the certain possession of those who are united to him.

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Everything, everything Jesus purchased on the cross is your possession if you are in Christ Jesus.

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What did Christ purchase on the cross? What did he accomplish on the cross? He satisfied

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God's righteousness. He secured the forgiveness of sins and he severed the connection to the doom and dominion of sin.

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He accomplished that on the cross and that is your possession. You who are in Christ Jesus, these are the personal implications.

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You who are in Christ Jesus, you have received pardon from guilt because of what you did?

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No, because of what you will do? Never, because of what Christ did and you were in him when he died on that cross.

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You were forgiven of all our sins when

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Christ died on that cross and you died with him. Because of that union with Christ in his death, we have a constant ongoing access to the cleansing blood of Jesus every time we need forgiveness.

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The blood of Christ Jesus cleanses us from all sins, 1 John 1, 7 says. And we have, because of what

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Christ purchased on the cross, it's our possession, we have been freed from the dominating power of sins, what

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Paul says in Romans 6, 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.

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Here's the deal. In Christ, we have the freedom to pursue holiness.

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And this union with Christ's death, and here's the application to holiness and the pursuit of holiness.

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This union with Christ's death generates both the motive and the power for holy living.

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As Barrett explains it, it generates both the motive and the power for holy living. Here in Colossians, look at chapter three.

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The point is that a united life, united with Christ, a united life leads to a transformed life.

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And verse three tells us that you are united to Christ, you who are his.

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Verse three says, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

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You're united with Christ. When we died with Christ, we were at that very moment placed in Christ, and there we remain.

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You get that, child of God, believer in Christ? When we died, when you died with Christ, at that very moment, you were placed in Christ, and there you remain.

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But get this, there is a logical implication from that union with Christ's death.

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And that logical implication is a transformed life. Look at verse five.

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He says in verse three, you died, your life is hidden with Christ, verse five, therefore, here's the implication, therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth.

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And he lists off a bunch of examples, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

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Because for these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. And then look at verses 10 and 11.

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And you have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him.

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So your union with Christ in his death has a logical implication of a transformed life.

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Death to the old, life to the new, where you've been created in him.

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And in summarizing this, Barrett says this. Here is part of the secret to victorious

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Christian living. We, listen, we must learn to look down on sin from the vantage point of the cross.

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For we were indeed crucified with Christ. And then he makes this comment.

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I think this is very helpful. The sin that is so alluring when in our face will lose its appeal from the perspective of the old rugged cross.

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So we're united with Christ in his death. Secondly, we're united with Christ in his resurrection.

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When Christ arose from the dead, we rose with him. Oh boy, we're still here in Colossians 2.

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Colossians, so look at verses 12 and 13. Verses 12 and 13, again, says buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead.

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Verse 13, and you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, there's the union, with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

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And then look at the first verse of chapter three. In our

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English translation, it says, if then you were raised with Christ. That if would be better translated since.

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It's a technical Greek construction that communicates that idea. Since then, you were raised with Christ.

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So when Christ rose from the dead, you rose from the dead. And that in itself also has some practical implications.

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And the impact, verse one here, look at verse one again. Since you were raised with Christ, what's the implication?

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Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. And in verse two, set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.

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The impact of our union with Christ, resurrection is a new focus, a new pursuit, a new way of thinking.

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And then thirdly, hurriedly, we're united with Christ's session, his session.

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Believers, this is, here's why we call this a mystical union because we can't wrap our head around this.

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Believers sit with Christ on his throne. This is an incredible truth, but it's nevertheless stated in scripture.

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Ephesians 1, 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

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In Ephesians 2, verses four and six, but God, who is rich in mercy, raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

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We're united with Christ in his session. And again, the implications are powerful.

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One of them is that we are assured of our security in the gospel. If I'm with Christ in heaven now,

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I can't perish in hell later. Barrett puts it this way, he says, union with Christ is an excellent argument for our eternal security.

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I mean, Jesus himself said this. I have you in, you know, you're in my hand and no one can pluck you out of my

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Father's, no one can pluck you out of my hand. No one can pluck you out of my Father's hand. You're secure.

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And also, the implication of this sitting with Christ, the union with Christ session, is it strengthens us through the difficulties of life.

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Romans 8, 17 says this. If we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

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Here's the point that Barrett makes with that. He says, even when all of life seems to be against us, we have reason for confidence and joy, knowing by faith that appearance and reality are not the same.

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It looks like all of life is against us, but I am with Christ. I am in union with Christ.