TEACHING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BELIEVER'S UNION WITH CHRIST FOR MEMBERS OF GRACE FELLOWSHIP. The importance of union with Christ was shown above all through the understanding of the believer's identity in Christ.
Would Do Differently
LESSON HANDOUTS
The following handouts reflect what was distributed to participants for each of the eight lessons.
Ephesians 1:3–14
The source of all these blessings for the believer is their union with Christ, who possesses all these blessings. Union with Christ is not a passing reference, but is the very core of what Paul is communicating and the source of every blessing he describes. So our covenant union with Christ is the basis of all the goods that we as God's people possess or hope for.”1.
Unity with Christ means that what is said of Christ can now be said of his people. What are some implications in your life of the truth that in Christ you possess all spiritual blessings in heavenly places? How do you respond to the truth that no spiritual blessing is withheld from you because of Christ?
Do you believe that union with Christ means that what is said of Christ can now be said of you?
Galatians 3:28
The relative shift in our understanding of identity is nowhere more evident than in the area of gender identity. Union with Christ removes the subjectivity of understanding identity and the uncertainty of such an approach. The Church increasingly talks about identity, but not in relation to union with Christ.
Union with Christ provides a solid foundation for facing the inevitable end of the things in life that one believes in, shaping one's identity profoundly. If identity is to be properly understood, a person cannot look at the horizontal plane of his experiences, the actions of others, or even his beliefs about himself; he must look up to God. Only through union with Christ can a person understand their true Christian or in Christ identity.
Key Verse: Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
John 15:1-11
Union with Christ should be highly valued and the source of great joy in the life of the Christian. Believers must abide in Christ and that unity for their experience and delight in these blessings and in Christ himself. Identity: Humans are creatures made in the image of God to glorify him and enjoy him forever.
Marcus Peter Johnson writes, “To be in Christ is to have a newness of life established in him… Our new life, our holiness and. 2:10–13, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Therefore, remember that you were once Gentiles in the flesh. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
2 Corinthians 5:21
God did not (only) take away our sin and put us in an innocent state like Adam and Eve before the fall, but He made us righteous in Christ. Jesus became sin for us, and through our connection or union with him through faith, we become "the righteousness of God." 1 Corinthians 1:30, "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and.
He is mine, and his righteousness is mine, which is the righteousness of the God-man. Therefore, since we are now justified by his blood, we shall much more be saved from the wrath of God through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For our sake he made him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Galatians 4:3–7
Dad!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” United with Christ, we are also adopted by the Father and as such have all the rights, privileges and love that the Son of God himself receives from God.”23. This encourages us to come boldly to the throne of grace in Jesus name.
For example: "The Lord's compassion toward you is like a father toward his children." At your core, you will always be a dependent child, but as you grow into his image, you become more and more capable of fatherly care for others.”24. Being a child of God through union with Christ is more important than any other thing that could be used to define one's identity. How comforting you are in the fact that God is a perfect father who never fails.
How do you remain in the truth that you are a child of God in Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:2
Only through a willingness to identify with a Savior who suffered will we find ourselves dead to sin, and only by looking with faith at Christ's empty tomb will we find the resurrection power that Paul prayed for (Phil 3:10 ).”26. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Identity: Christians are those who are Christ-like and are becoming more and more Christ-like and will one day be very Christ-like. God works in us what pleases Him in and through Jesus Christ. Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 1:2, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all who everywhere call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours."
How do you stand in the truth that you are sanctified and glorified in Christ.
1 John 4:9–12 Loved and Cared for in Him
Unity with Christ means that the righteousness of Christ belongs to the believer, so that God the Father sees the believer. God's love for the Christian is not based on us, but on the love of the Father for the Son. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
8:37: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Identity: Through union with Christ, Christians are loved by God with the same unchanging love that the Father has for the Son. How does God's love and care for you through your union with Christ address these feelings.
How do you remain in union with Christ in relation to God's love and care for you.
Colossians 2:6–15; 1 Corinthians 10:16–17, 21 The Ordinances and Union
In other words, baptism is a visible and tangible experience of the exceedingly good news (gospel) that we have been crucified in Christ's death and raised to new life in Christ's resurrection. Paul Hamilton says, "The Lord's Supper dramatizes the believer's real need to be constantly vitally connected with Christ. Marcus Peter Johnson writes, "In the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, God impresses us.
The Lord's Supper, in other words, is a visible and edible experience of the exceedingly good news (gospel) that Christ dwells in us and that we dwell in him. As we have seen, the essence of the new covenant is a personal and deep relationship with God, in Christ. Therefore, when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, partaking of bread and wine, we are.
How do the ordinances of baptism and the sacrament help you stay in union with Christ?
Romans 12:4-5
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father hath sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God. Peterson writes, "the very idea of the body of Christ speaks of incorporation into him."40.
Constantine R. Campbell writes: "The metaphor is personal and implies a bond of intimacy that far surpasses the other metaphors Paul uses to show union with Christ."41 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his The bride got ready; it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean'— for fine linen is the righteous works of the saints. And the angel said to me: 'Write this down: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding of the Lamb.'" And he said to me: "These are the true words of God."
Peterson writes, “The Holy Spirit is God's bond of vital union with Christ and other believers.
UCIS RESULTS
The self as an organizing construct in the behavioral and social sciences." In Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Mark R. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. This project seeks to teach the meaning of the believer's union with Christ to the members of the Grace Fellowship Church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
An exegesis of these passages shows that union with Christ defines the believer's identity and is the source of all spiritual blessings for the believer.
