Relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ
In its widest sense, the phrase union with Christ refers to the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. In this sense, John Murray says, union with Christ is "the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation."[1] The expression "in Christ" (en Christo, en kyrio, en Christo Iesou, en auto etc.) occurs 216 times in the Pauline letters and 26 times in the Johannine literature.[2] Hence, according to Albert Schweitzer, "This 'being-in-Christ' is the prime enigma of the Pauline teaching: once grasped it gives the clue to the whole."[3] Given the large number of occurrences and the wide range of contexts, the phrase embodies a breadth of meaning.[4] (For example; Paul uses the phrase "en Christo" as a synonym for a Christian (Romans 16:7) and the phrase "en emoi" to describe the intimate identification of Christ with the believer (Galatians 2:20).)
According to the narrower sense of the phrase, used in Christian theology, union with Christ is a step in the ordo salutis ("order of salvation"), and the basis of the believer's justification.[5] In this sense, union with Christ follows faith and precedes adoption (Galatians 3:26-27). Augustus Strong describes it in this way: "union with Christ logically precedes both regeneration and justification; and yet, chronologically, the moment of our union with Christ is also the moment when we are regenerated and justified."[6]
^John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1955), p. 161.
^Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1997), p. 313.
^Schweitzer, Albert. The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, p. 3
^Demarest, The Cross and Salvation, 326.
^Philip Ryken, The Message of Salvation, BST (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001): 186.
^Augustus Strong, 'Union With Christ' monergism.com. "Union with Christ by Augustus Hopkins Strong". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
issued a formulation of the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ, one human and one divine, "united with neither confusion nor division". Most...
the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual personhood. In the most basic terms, the concept of hypostatic union states...
the term "mystical body of Christ" is also applied to the Eastern Orthodox Church in the sense that "mystical unionwithChrist is a reality in his Church"...
relates to sanctification. Calvin suggested that both came out of unionwithChrist. McGrath notes that while Martin Bucer suggested that justification...
Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and UnionwithChrist (2015) The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality...
The Churches of Christ in Christian Union (CCCU) is a Wesleyan-Holiness and Restorationist Christian denomination. The CCCU has a presence in 15 U.S....
and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist (see Eucharist in Lutheranism). The sacramental union is distinguished from the other "unions" in theology...
bridegroom; Ephesians 5:22–33 in particular compares the union of husband and wife to that of Christ and the church. It is a favorite ecclesial image. Interpretations...
repeats the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross; She further proclaims that: We also present ourselves as sacrifice in unionwithChrist (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter...
bread and wine, known as the sacramental union. Reformed Christians believe in a real spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Anglican eucharistic...
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Russian: Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, romanized: Khram Khristá Spasítelya, IPA: [xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə]) is a Russian...
and in his later writings stated that the imitation of Christ leads to a mystical unionwith him. The 895 Council of Tribur considered triple immersion...
Robert W. Jenson, eds. UnionwithChrist: The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther (1998); also Ted Dorman, Review of "UnionWithChrist: The New Finnish Interpretation...
of Christ on the Cross; with regard to the Eucharist, the Methodist Churches further teach that: We also present ourselves as sacrifice in unionwith Christ...
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional...
relationship with God in unionwithChrist and through the power of the Spirit. Maturity takes place as Christ-followers keep on meeting with fellow believers...
The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world...
Sacramental union, the Lutheran theological doctrine of the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist UnionwithChrist, the doctrine...
on "the self-offering of believers in unionwithChrist by which they share in his covenant relationship with the Father." Some Marian apparitions have...
teaching of Martin Luther in defining the presence of Christ in the eucharistic elements as sacramental union (often misconstrued as consubstantiation), meaning...
Global Information