I have spent the past few months teaching a class on Christology. It has been an incredible time in the Word, first for me, and hopefully some others have benefited from it.
This past week we looked at the doctrine of the believer's union with Christ. This is one of the most profound concepts in Scripture. It is intensely personal and draws out of us gratitude, wonder, and joy. How I could be in Christ and Christ in me, considering my sinful state is an idea that is so deep the greatest theologians haven't plunged the depths but so sweet and simplistic that a child can comprehend. The bottom line is certainly the heart of the gospel: God treated Jesus as if He had lived your life so He could treat you as if you had lived His.
Paul wrote often of the believers union with Jesus. Being 'in Christ' is at the center of any discussion about salvation. There are many different avenues of this union to explore, but the one that keeps surfacing in my thoughts is our Judicial Union with Him. When God the Judge looks at me, he does not separate man the sinner from the Righteous Savior. In this Judicial sense, we are righteous. That is, perfectly righteous from the time of conversion (imputed righteousness).
This idea give me hope, it relieves guilt, it motivates me to fight sin, it inspires me to love the Savior more, it causes me to want others to enjoy this union, and it leaves me in awe again of my standing despite my sinning.
Here is a link to my notes from class on Sunday. If you find them helpful, please feel free to use them in whatever setting you like. I found Millard Erickson's, Christian Theology and a sermon by Michael Horton to be extremely helpful in shaping my thoughts. Please respect copyright of any cited works.
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