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New Testament, the expression “in Christ” is used over and
over and over.
The Bible says that we are found in Christ, preserved in
Christ, sanctified in Christ Jesus and we are rooted in Christ in
Jesus and we’re made perfect in the Lord. We’re called to think
in the Lord, walk in the Lord, speak in the Lord, labor in the
Lord, suffer in the Lord, and rejoice in the Lord. Everything is
in Christ Jesus. We conquer in the Lord. We get married only
in the Lord. Children obey their parents in the Lord. We
receive one another in Christ Jesus. We reign in life in Christ
Jesus. We submit to one another in the Lord. We die in the
Lord. We are asleep in Jesus. When He returns we return with
Him. All of that pictures union in Christ.
I have a problem. I want union with Christ. Where do I
begin? There is so much in the Bible that pictures union with
Christ, like eating and drinking. I think the greatest picture of
union with Christ is John 17:21, “…that they may all be one;
even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also
may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send
Me.” The Trinity; God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
pictures our union with Jesus. Let me tell you my heart as I
present union with Christ.
I want to tell you the two aspects of union which have
most changed my life. We’ll leave many things out but this has
changed my life. I want to show you how union with Jesus
relates to His Lordship. I always use a Bible illustration. To
illustrate that I want to use Mary, the mother of Jesus. Then the
second illustration is the head related to the body and that is the
flow of His life. Then right at the end, very quickly, I want to
give the illustration of marriage.
We begin with the Virgin Mary. I believe she is the first
picture of the church in the New Testament. You can tell that
by her contribution to the world. What was her contribution?
She gave Christ to the world. That’s the contribution for the
church; we are to give Christ to the world. Colossians 1:28-29,
“And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching
every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man
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