The Doctrines of Justification and Union with Christ Illuminate One Another

A Temporary Clarification and Preliminary Protection

Scripture clearly says that Christians are united to Christ, however it isn’t intuitively apparent what this implies. Union with Christ is a obscure time period. How is one united to Christ? The solutions differ. Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Japanese Orthodox alike profess union with Christ whereas embracing soteriologies fairly completely different from each other. And over the previous century, outstanding theologians have developed quite a lot of fashions to clarify the character of the union.¹

After we study Scripture, we discover no dialogue of union with Christ within the summary. As a substitute, we study what it means to be united to Christ as we learn in Scripture a few vary of occasions and blessings, similar to Christ’s loss of life, burial, and resurrection (e.g., Rom. 6:3–5; Col. 2:11–12); baptism and the Lord’s Supper (e.g., Rom. 6:3–4; 1 Cor. 10:16–17); the brand new covenant (e.g., Gal. 3:25–29); the outpouring of the Spirit (e.g., 1 Cor. 6:15–19); or calling (e.g., Phil. 3:14), justification (e.g., Rom. 8:1; Gal. 2:17), adoption (e.g., Rom. 8:15–17), and sanctification (e.g., Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 1:4–5). This statement helps to clarify why completely different theological traditions can affirm union with Christ whereas attaching completely different meanings to it: since they’ve completely different theologies of the atonement, the sacraments, and the applying of salvation, their theologies of union tackle various hues.

Already, subsequently, we confront a compelling cause to be cautious about making union with Christ a controlling idea. It’s inconceivable to know what it means within the summary. A bundle of different essential biblical ideas give union with Christ its substantive that means. One in all these ideas is justification. Thus, a correct doctrine of justification (though clearly not solely the doctrine of justification) helps us perceive what it means to be united to Christ.

On the similar time, it’s also implausible to suppose that we are able to absolutely perceive the doctrine of justification independently of union with Christ. Granted, it’s most likely simpler to develop a biblical doctrine of justification than to develop a doctrine of union, since justification is significantly extra concrete and particular than the somewhat obscure union with Christ, and since a few locations in Scripture, particularly Romans 3–5, dedicate prolonged dialogue to unpacking explicitly what justification is, which no prolonged textual content does for union. Nonetheless, a biblical doctrine of justification relies on union simply as a biblical doctrine of union relies on justification. The obvious cause why is that Paul, within the midst of the very texts we most affiliate together with his doctrine of justification, says that justification happens “in Christ” or “in him” (Rom. 3:24; 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:17; Phil. 3:9). Evidently, a superb doctrine of union supplies needed perception for understanding how God justifies us.

These preliminary concerns present glorious cause to imagine that neither union nor justification is absolutely self-explanatory however that the that means of every relies on the opposite. And if that’s the case, our theology shouldn’t permit both one to manage the opposite however ought to search to grasp them as mutually figuring out and illuminating. Many different areas of theology add weight to this preliminary case. I point out three particularly.

The primary considerations Christ’s resurrection. Scripture tells us that Christ was justified in his resurrection (e.g., 1 Tim. 3:16), that now we have been raised with Christ (e.g., Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1), and that Christ was raised for our justification (e.g., Rom. 4:25). This interconnected set of concepts implies that to grasp our justification, we have to perceive Christ’s resurrection and our union with him; to grasp Christ’s resurrection, we have to perceive his justification and our justification; and to grasp our union with Christ, we have to perceive his resurrection and our justification. This manner of placing issues might sound complicated, however it highlights an essential level: the wealthy truths related to Christ’s resurrection point out that justification and union with Christ are mutually illuminating.

Second, each union with Christ and justification are covenantal,² as demonstrated by Galatians 3, for instance. Which means exploring the connection of union and justification is to replicate on the covenant of grace, and explaining the covenant of grace is to replicate on union and justification. In Scripture, covenant is relational, because it binds two events collectively in an oath-secured bond. However covenant in Scripture can be authorized, since covenants contain mutual obligations that must be enforced. To acknowledge that the relational bond that constitutes biblical covenants has a authorized dimension provides additional cause to imagine that justification and union with Christ needn’t be options or opponents however are in truth mutually illuminating.

Third, a biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit factors to the identical conclusion.³ The Holy Spirit is the bond of our union with Christ (e.g., Rom. 8:9–10; 1 Cor. 6:15–19); the Spirit raised Christ from the useless (e.g., Rom. 1:4; 1 Pet. 3:18); on this resurrection, Christ was justified by the Spirit (e.g., 1 Tim. 3:16); and the Spirit creates the religion by which believers are justified (e.g., 1 Thess. 1:3–5). From this theological angle as effectively, subsequently, justification and union with Christ illuminate each other.

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