 On Wednesdays we “walk in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, & gospel centered discipleship. Today we continue our short survey of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology): Knowing the Holy Spirit through union with Christ. Know the Holy Spirit: Week 1 Know the Holy Spirit’s Story: Week 2 Know the Holy Spirit- Covenant: Week 3 Key Verses John 14:16-20 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  What is Union with Christ? On October 13, 2010, 33 miners in northern Chile were rescued after spending more than two months underground. A copper and gold mine collapsed on Aug. 5, and the minors were trapped nearly a half of a mile underground for 69 days. The movie 33 captures their rescue through a capsule tunneled through the earth called the Fenix-1 (pictured). To move from darkness to light, death to life, desperation to liberation, each minor had to get into the Fenix-1 for rescue. The Spirit’s work of uniting believers with Christ is greater and more comprehensive than the rescue of Fenix-1, applying the work of Christ to move believers from “the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved son, through whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). Everything that is Jesus Christ’s becomes ours by virtue of union with Jesus. Mysteriously and miraculously, the Spirit of Jesus dwells inside of believers (Romans 8:9-11) making us “one Spirit with the Lord” (1 Corinthians 6:17). Through this “one Spirit” we have access to the eternal love of our Father as members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:18-19), children of the living God (Galatians 4:4-6; Romans 8:15-17). The Spirit is a bond of unbreakable union with Christ! Speaking to disciples, Jesus promised the Spirit would “live in you” (John 14:16-17) and after Pentecost, “on that day…” Jesus described the union intimately, saying “you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you…” (John 14:20) During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church linked the Spirit’s work of applying the redemption Jesus accomplished to the seven church sacraments as administered by the priest. The process and pattern of justification for the sinner was unbiblical and by consequence lead to the Protestant Reformation that reclaimed a biblical understanding of justification, specifically in regards to imputed righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4). The historic Catholic teaching of infused righteousness was biblically debunked exposing the need to de-sacramentalize their ordo salutis, taking the Spirit's application of Jesus' work out of the hands of priests and put in its proper place under the “joint action of Word and Spirit.” The reformation kicked open the door so all of God’s people could feast on God’s grace through the work of God’s Spirit. The reformation reclaimed the reality of the Holy Spirit bringing the individual directly into fellowship with Christ by faith alone, a fellowship of which the sacraments were signs and seals (rather than steps in succession). John Murray wrote that “union with Christ is . . . the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. . . It is not simply a phase of the application of redemption; it underlies every aspect of redemption” (Redemption—Accomplished and Applied [Eerdmans, 1955], pp. 201, 205). Sinclair Ferguson emphasizes this truth by noting “the central role of the Spirit is to reveal Christ and to unite us to him and to all those who participate in his body. Just as the indwelling of Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit are two aspects of one and the same reality in the New Testament, so to sustain us 'in Christ' (an expression which, with its variants, Paul uses around 160 times) is the heart and soul of the Spirit's ministry. The implication is that the model we employ for structuring the Spirit's ministry should be that of union with Christ” (Holy Spirit, p 100).  Here are a few Biblical distinctions scripture articulates as to why union with Jesus matters: Apart from Christ, we are… In Christ, we are… Guilty in sin (Romans 5:16) Forgiven of sin (Ephesians 1:7) Covered in shame (Jeremiah 17:13) Cleansed of shame (Hebrews 12:2) Deserving of God’s judgement (Romans 1:18) Declared righteous (Romans 4:5) Under the sway of the devil (Ephesians 2:2) Victorious over the devil (Rm 16:20) Enemies of God (James 4:4) Adopted into God’s family (Jn 1:12) Separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) Reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:18-19) Enslaved to sin (John 8:34) Free from the slavery of sin (Ro 6:18) Dead in transgressions (Ephesians 2:1) Risen with eternal life (Ro 8:11) The roots of union with Christ are in divine election (Ephesians 1:3-14), that we may know God’s eternal love through the covenant of redemption. There are (at least) eight ways that salvation, from beginning to end, is in Christ and applied to believers through the Holy Spirit: We are initially united with Christ in regeneration (Eph. 2:4-5, 10) We appropriate & continue to live out our union through faith (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:16-17) We are justified in union with Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8-9). We are sanctified through union with Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; Jn 15:4-5; Eph. 4:16; 2 Cor. 5:17) We persevere in the life of faith in union with Christ (John 10:27-28; Rom. 8:38-39). We are even said to die in Christ (Rom. 14:8; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 14:13). We shall be raised with Christ (Col. 3:1; 1 Cor. 15:22). We shall be eternally glorified with Christ (Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). The Holy Spirit’s work of uniting us with Christ secures us in God’s steadfast love, guaranteeing our sonship and eternal inheritance. This reality is the foundation of the Spirit’s gifts in and through believers and the power of formation through sanctification (the topics over the next two posts). Richly Dwelling -What stands out to you about the Spirit’s work in applying the finished work of Jesus to the believer? -Which aspect of Union with Christ is most potent for you personally, and how can you meditate on this reality to fuel your faith in Jesus and service to Him? Key Verse John 14:16-20 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. -If all of this is true, and by the Spirit you are secure in the steadfast love of Jesus, how does this (or should this) enhance your delight in Jesus and your discipleship? Be specific. 
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