 All right, good morning. We are starting our series this morning in union with Christ, so as you know we've been working through theology proper the doctrine of God over the last several months and we began with small groups on the Matthew Barrett book teaching none greater and then the brothers have been leading us on Sunday mornings during Sunday school dealing with the glory of God and essentially walking through scripture Looking at how scripture deals with the glory of God and reveals the glory of God to us And then at the end of that after having gone through Genesis essentially the revelation on the glory of God Formulating a theology of the glory of God at the end and putting that all together So we're essentially going to follow the same pattern in this study with in union with Christ and sort of the foundation of these studies have come from a series of books by Robert Peterson and This the one in particular the glory of God Joint work with Christopher Morgan on the glory of God and walking through scripture But this is this study will use as a basis for that if you're interested in looking at it a basis for that Or an outline for that study a book by Robert Peterson called Salvation applied by the spirit union with Christ salvation applied by the spirit and it essentially follows the same pattern We'll be walking through the Bible book by book by book Looking at how the Bible Lays the foundation for and teaches union with Christ and so it'll be probably the next 12 to 14 weeks I believe 15 weeks that we'll be looking at this study and we'll we'll coordinate this study with a small group on Tuesday and Wednesday nights Wednesday mornings In our first part of our study rejoicing with Christ and then a book on Christology after that so we're moving from theology proper into Christology and between these two studies and we'll go into something After that we'll announce to you later But we wanted to coordinate these two things together this year and we believe I think that with the Christology study that I'll probably carry us through the end of the year and We'll start something fresh in the new year So we begin union with Christ this morning and I thought that since I had just preached on this subject maybe a month a little more ago Noel's holding up redemption accomplished and applied there have been a lot of Requests for redemption accomplished and applied was a really good little book and that book is coming Maybe not here for a little bit. We'll we'll see but that's a very good book also We've benefited a lot from that book so this morning union with Christ and We will Start with an introduction this morning and then the brothers will begin to work through the Bible on this subject starting next week in the Old Testament and So sort of establishing a foundation for that in the Old Testament and then working through the Gospels In particular, there's a lot of a lot of good Teaching in the Gospels with respect to union with Christ and if you remember from the sermon that we preached about a month ago We essentially spent our whole hour walking through the Gospel of John There's a significant amount of Material in the Gospel of John that helps us understand union with Christ We'll get into Paul's epistles the general epistles wrap up with revelation And then just like we did in the glory of God study will put together a theology of union at the end and Deal with union with Christ in the church union with Christ in the Christian life Union with Christ and the ordinances baptism and the Lord's Supper how all of that relates together Union with Christ and how we relate to one another and so that will wrap up the series and After you've built the theology so to speak or laid the groundwork for a good theology of union with Christ walking through the Bible Genesis revelation then we'll sort of put it all together at the end. So I want to encourage you the brothers are gonna Have their outlines they'll put together an outline for you before each semi-school class begins And I pray that outline will be helpful to you And ask the brothers to be you know detailed with that as they teach their lessons so you can sort of follow along It's easy to get lost in the big picture if we're not careful, right just week after week after week and then Trying to keep track of where we are in the outline and so those weekly outlines will help and then it'll also help if you take notes and Keep key thoughts key statements key principles in your mind as we work through this study also so I encourage you to take notes and Pray it'll be a blessing to you. Okay. So this morning we come to union with Christ. We dealt with this in the essentials series during our morning worship service a little over a month ago, I guess it was and So I thought we could go through flesh out a little bit more from that introduction Spend maybe at this time in a couple of different texts But essentially it's just an introduction talking to you about the same subject union with Christ and I pray that That introduction and then our conversation this morning, which I want to be you know interactive and casual or informal I pray we'll form a good basis then going forward with those studies in the books For how the Bible reveals union with Christ to us So let me begin with some brief statements about union with Christ that I think will lay a good groundwork And then we'll get into a couple of texts that I pray will be helpful. Okay the Holy Spirit's work of Uniting believers to the Lord Jesus Christ is how God works out his decreed will toward them in applying the death Work of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to them. Okay, let me say that again union with Christ the Holy Spirit's work of Uniting believers of the Lord Jesus Christ is how God Works out his decreed will toward them in other words all that God Decrees concerning believers is decreed by virtue of a union with his son We are chosen before the foundation of the world in him In him he has predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself right in him We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins. It's always in Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ So all that God has decreed concerning the Christian Concerning the people that he would redeem to himself all that God has decreed is worked out Through union with Christ. Okay, the Holy Spirit's work of uniting believers to Jesus Christ is how God works out His decreed will toward them in applying the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to them We can already see now in just that one statement. We're beginning to put a past present tense To this work. We have the decreed will of God in eternity past all that God is decreed concerning those he would redeem to himself and then we have the work of Jesus Christ in history and time in Jesus Christ's Life his perfect life his sacrificial death his resurrection in power and then all of that work is Applied to the believer by the spirit in time in our time Okay, the Holy Spirit's work of uniting believers to Christ is how God works out His decreed will toward them in applying the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to them John Owen said this the union this union is The cause of all other Graces that we are made partakers of and that is bar none so if you think about all of The blessings and benefits that are applied to us in the gospel Through the person in work of Jesus Christ all that's been afforded us in the gospel All of that comes to us by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ This union is the cause of all other graces that we are made partakers of they are all Communicated to us by virtue of our union with Christ Hence or through that is our adoption our justification our Sanctification our fruitfulness our perseverance our resurrection and our glory all right It all comes by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ And we've been talking about that recently on Sunday mornings and sermons dealing with a Sanctification and good works and the place of good works in the life of a believer Pastor Michael preach the sermon the end of last year on perseverance of the saints and perseverance of the saints is Directly tied to our union with Jesus Christ in other words Someone cannot persevere Apart from union with Christ We are not and will not be sanctified apart from union with Christ apart from him we can do Nothing we're not going to be fruitful apart from union with Christ So all of our fruit bearing is by virtue of a vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ All of our growth and maturity in the faith is by virtue of a vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ And the Lord pictures that in John 15 with the Vine connected to the or the branches connected to the vine right abide in me as I abide in you You will bear much fruit Even in glorification right our glorification is by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ And if you think about this with me, we will spend an eternity in heaven in Union with the Lord Jesus Christ right what Paul says in first Corinthians that this is the hope of glory Christ in you And it's not if you think about it that way It's not that we have or are given in and of ourselves eternal life Let me clarify that statement for you remember in I believe is John chapter 5 John chapter 5 When Jesus Christ says that God who has a life in himself God has life in himself And he has granted to the son that the son should have life in himself Right and that doctrine is called the doctrine of the eternal generation of the son the eternal generation of the son The son is eternally begotten of the father. He is the eternally begotten one Well by virtue of the Lord Jesus Christ We are brought into union with him and the life with with that We have that the eternal life that we've been given is only in the Lord Jesus Christ in other words You know if I were to take this and I were to hand this to Noel No, well would take it and it would be in his possession. He would have it, right? Internal life doesn't work the same way. It's not that Jesus Christ Threws his work on the cross gives us eternal life and then I take that to myself and I have now eternal life within myself It's my possession. I have it to myself and Independent of anything it never works that way in salvation for all eternity our eternal life the eternal life that we've been given is by virtue or sustained or maintained or Persisting because of our vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ It will always be us United to him and that is a glorious thought for the believer, right? That that's what the believer wants We want to spend eternity in union and fellowship and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and that union into an eternity Just gets better and better and better and better. It's gonna be a glorious thing. So Everything that comes to us the the moral of that story Everything every blessed benefit that comes to us comes to us by virtue of a union with the Lord Jesus Christ John Murray said There is nothing more basic or more central to Christian faith Then union and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ nothing more basic you boil it down To its essential substance it comes down to that We've been chosen in him. We've been redeemed in him. We are sanctified in him We will glorify it in him. We will spend an eternity in him, right? This is a precious thought to the believer. It's not simply a Teacher apprentice relationship. It's not simply a Master-disciple relationship or a master slave relationship. It is those things But I am united to him if you're in Christ you are united to him in a spiritual union It is far more intimate that that there's something mystical about it that we don't fully understand But that union is vital and real. It's like a Branch that is vitally connected to the vine and from that vine gets life Giving nutrients and sap that keeps the branch alive and producing fruit, right? It's there's a it's a mystical union, but it's far more intimate than just a teacher-disciple kind of relationship or a Lord Disciple or a master's student. It's far more intimate than just that the Bible Discusses or describes this union in the most intimate of terms It is I in him and he in me It just can't get any More intimate than what's being described by the Bible and words fail to describe it And you listen to for example the Lord's High Priest sleeper in John 17 and union with Christ is described as this Constantly in me I in you and we are one they may be one together in us We in them and they in us. It's just you know, it's almost like the repetition building up an emphasis on the intimacy of this relationship and In scripture, we'll talk about a few analogies here in a minute, but in scripture. There are many analogies that are used to flesh out or to describe the intimacy of that union and one of them is the most by far the Most intimate human relationship on the planet and that's the relationship between a husband and his wife In marriage and there is simply you know, and I'm speaking of I'm not just physical intimacy, right? We're not speaking of just physical intimacy But the spirit wrought intimacy that includes a physical intimacy between a husband and his wife in the covenant Relationship of a God honoring Christ exalting marriage that beautiful and blessed intimacy is just a shadow of the deep and rich Spiritual intimacy that will exist that does exist now and will exist in even greater glory In the new heavens in the new earth between the genuine believer and the Lord Jesus Christ By whom we are blood-bought Right and brought to himself and so all of these analogies Serve to just sort of inform our understanding and that's why it's helpful to look at all those analogies to inform understanding words pictures this physical temporal reality falls woefully short of Describing that mystical union and that's why for centuries theologians have called it a mystical union. It's a mystery Marvelous mystery. I've been crucified with him. I have died with him I am living in him and shall be raised together with him and have eternal life in him Paul says my life is hidden with Christ in God right speaking of that union Paul describes our union with Christ this way in Colossians chapter 1 verse 26 Union with Christ is the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations But now has been revealed it to his saints now. We're talking about an incomprehensible reality, but this incomprehensible reality has been revealed in the gospel right that this is a real and vital union to Them the saints God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles Which is Christ in you the hope of glory the riches of the glory of this mystery of union Christ in you the hope of glory We don't fully understand what all that entails. We don't fully understand how that's affected But it is rich and it is glorious and it's magnificent and it is the joy and hope of the believer Christ in you right full communion unfettered by sin Untainted uncorrupted by time Forever and eternally so vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an awesome thought Marcus Johnson and author said this the primary Central and fundamental reality of salvation is our union with Jesus Christ because of which all The benefits of the Savior flow to us and through which through which union all these benefits are to be understood That's an important point. We only fully understand our adoption in union with Christ We only fully understand our sanctification in union with Christ We only fully understand our glorification in union with Christ right all of the benefits all the blessings that flow to us in our redemption Can only rightly be understood through the lens or the perspective of our union with him It's not right that we should think otherwise our battle with sin Should be conceived of or thought of or work through in union with the Lord Jesus Christ our growth in maturity Should be seen as something that flows from a vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ Well, how does that practically let me ask you that question? Okay? If let's take our growth and maturity in the faith, for example, we just talked about Sanctification a couple of weeks ago Thinking about our sanctification How is it that we should practically think about pursuing our sanctification with respect to union with Christ? What does that look like in the life of a believer? So I'm gonna give me an example Been talking of Tyler Thank you, brother. I think Romans chapter 6 is just a really good explanation of that Union with Christ is the basis for our sanctification in the sense that Because we are united to Jesus Christ in the likeness of his death And in the likeness of his resurrection will also be you know Raised with him and we also our old man also was crucified with him And so on the basis of those truths we can no longer present our members as instruments of unrighteousness But as members of righteous as slaves to God in righteousness. Very good. So hold on to the mic You're Working to put off the old man That's been crucified with the flesh. You're working to put off the old man Now you're working to put on the new man with respect to some like practical holiness, right? Just sin I'm dealing with anger. I'm dealing with lust. I'm dealing with whatever the sin is and You're now going to In the Christian life Live work battle Strive we're gonna talk about this morning like pursuing Holiness pursuing godliness pursuing knowledge self-control Brotherly kindness love we're gonna talk about that in second Peter this morning What does that look like like how should the believer think and act? Knowing that that will be That war will be waged By virtue of our union with him how should we think how should we act? I know like like in a couple sermons ago, maybe the last sermon you preached the Indicative is prior to the imperative. So in the Christian life We have to understand truths before we're able to actually live on the basis of those So like take anger for example if I am confused about About where that anger comes from then I'm not gonna be able to battle it rightly you know my the motions of anger and unrighteous, you know wrath and those kinds of things that that begin to Show in me Those are the result of my old man of the fallen nature that's within me my corrupt nature And so if I know that that corrupt nature My fallen nature that was inherited from Adam if I know that that nature was crucified with Jesus Christ and that That's a true real vital union with his death Then I understand that that old man no longer has any dominion over me and I'm able to Through the the fact that I'm under grace now and no longer under the law by my own strength I'm able to put that the motions of that old man who is now dead To death very good. So now we're thinking about the old man crucified in the past What takes place then in the present? Yeah, that's your Michael. So I think in a very very practical way, you know And I and I know this is embedded in and what Tyler is explaining to you know You know apart from faith, it's impossible to it's impossible to please God Union with Christ and not only communicate it communicates us communicates to us two different Things kind of two different sides of a coin You've been communicating the one side that tells us That every blessing and benefit all of all grace all strength Eternal life faith repentance Regeneration justification conversion perseverance holiness all of these things flow from or by virtue of our union with Christ so union with Christ Communicates to us one thing all of all of the blessings and Benefits come to us by virtue of that union, but it also communicates to us that None of that can come from us. Yeah, none of that can come from us like yeah, you know eternal life Grace repentance faith perseverance. Yeah, any of that none of that comes from comes from us You can't find this the strength To to endure you you won't find the the power to put to death sin From from yourself so union with with with with Christ practically looks like the opposite of self-reliance Yeah, it looks like trust dependence reliance upon Christ and what he has done and and looking to him Empty handed for the grace that is needed for everything we're called to yeah Amen, I think that's a really good picture looking to him empty-handed right and that that's worked out in the present So what does an empty-handed sinner look like he looks out like someone who is praying over their Bible, right? Reading and studying scripture meditating on scripture Seeking God crying out to the Lord for help depending upon the Holy Spirit, right? That that's the that's the outflowing of union with Christ in the present Abide in me and I in you and you'll produce much fruit It's you know that present abiding right and then there's a future aspect. We'll talk about also. That's really good I once one of the reasons I think too among an innumerable number of reasons why like Armenian theology or semi-plagian theology is so miserably bad, right? It's not that the sinner in his sin can work up within himself a decision to do anything that pleases the Lord the only Way that we can please him is by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ Simply doesn't come first and we are brought into union with Christ when we're born again when the Spirit works in us So, okay Very good Richard Gaffin Says this he says certainly in its full dimensions this mystery is beyond the believer's comprehension Involved here as much as in anything pertaining to salvation in the gospel is the hallmark of all truth theological understanding that knowledge of Christ's love that surpasses Knowledge of Christ's love that surpasses surpasses knowledge the knowledge of what is beyond all human knowing It's a mysterious union Let me say to that It's a matter of faith To apprehend to that we won't fully Comprehended it is something that is incomprehensible in all its fullness But it is something that we apprehend by faith both Tyler and Pastor Michael mentioned that that You believe that that is true believe that that's the case and you rely upon him in Whatever it is that you're doing So if by faith You have apprehended that we can do nothing apart from him, but that all is through our union with him then You're going to consider it your necessary food to be In communion with him in daily devotion Communion with him right in prayer Reading his word studying his word if you believe that it's through abiding in him that the blessings of his Work are applied in your life Presently then that's going to look a certain way you prioritize those things and how easy and how often do we forget that right we Forget on a regular basis I was thinking about that. I remember in the sermon we're talking about That with respect to I remember listening to a series of sermons that Albert Martin Had done. I'm not sure that the subject was union with Christ but he dealt with that subject in the series of sermons that he was dealing with and You know, I'd made the point that Jesus Christ is the fountain head or the source of All of our blessings like we've been talking about And he is the fountain head and the source of all of our faithfulness He's the fountain head and source of all of our growth and maturity He's the fountain head and the source of our sanctification apart from him None of those things happen apart from him. You can do nothing John 15 Albert Martin said this according to the New Testament we must increasingly understand and believingly embrace right it's there's an An issue of faith here believingly embrace The reality of who we are in Christ and what we possess in Christ if we are to increasingly conduct ourselves in a manner that glorifies Christ This was Tyler mentioned this a second ago with respect to indicatives and imperatives right indicative statements or assertions of fact Imperatives or commands commands flow from indicatives that both of those things overlap, right? We get a lot of indicatives that aren't necessarily followed by commands or commands that don't aren't necessarily predicated on in explicitly on Indicatives, but those two things go together in the Christian life and they're married. They cannot be divorced So everything flows from our Christian life flows from those assertions of truth or a faith in our in Jesus Christ for that union We must increasingly understand the indicatives if we are to make progress in our obedience to the imperatives We don't do and Be in order to have and become that's not the Christian life That's worldly religion right worldly religion pagan religion every other false teaching bar none you must do and Be in order to have and become I must do this in order to be saved. I must have this in order to become this right That's every other world religion in Christianity genuine Christianity and that includes Reformed theology and the doctrines of grace the sovereignty of God and an understanding of God's work and salvation first sovereignly freely We have and become in him Resulting in us doing and being that makes sense It's who we are And what we have that form the foundation or the basis on which we then do and be right? Paul said there are several examples of this in scripture one that comes to mind is Paul saying Purge out the old 11 Why? He says purge out the old 11. You might become a new lump. Why because you are a new lump You purge out the old 11 because the old 11's been purged from you So what do you do you purge out the old 11? You see the the connection between the two you become the walking talking thinking believing embodiment of the new creation because you are a New creation right one forms the basis of the other and it doesn't you cannot reverse the two You can't flip them around. It's not that you are going to work work work work so that you can Be this you have to think and believe apprehend by faith This is who I am in Jesus Christ And then you work work work work work to be what you are that makes sense And that's why to all that striving and diligence This morning in 2nd Peter chapter 1 give all Diligence to add to your faith virtue Give all the diligence give every effort zealous Fervent earnest pursuit to this these things why because that's who you are that's who you are in Christ We have that by virtue of our union with him. Okay, let's look at some texts turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1 We didn't spend time in Ephesians chapter 1 During the sermon we alluded to it at the beginning of the sermon we spent all of our time really in the gospel of John But it's difficult for us to discuss at any foundational level union with Christ without turning to Ephesians chapter 1 It's a foundational text and frankly if you've noticed Ephesians chapter 1 be brums really a Pivotal text a hinge text for many of the doctrines that we've discussed so far in the series on the essentials It's so helpful In outlining many of these subjects that we've been covering right so in Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 opens with worship Apollo is worshiping and not just worshiping God the father or the Lord Jesus Christ He's worshiping God the father God the son God the Holy Spirit This is Trinitarian doxology that opens Ephesians the book of Ephesians. He's praising God For the Trinitarian work of our redemption right the Trinitarian work of our salvation And he begins by praising God for determining to save a people from before the foundation of the world from before creation It's interesting. It's it's a it's a an interesting implication of that fact that we are decreed We are chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world It's interesting to tie to that the fact that that means it was Before we could do anything about it right before we were brought into creation Before we could make a decision for ourselves This foolish absurd notion that God just sort of looks down the quarter of time and he sees what's going to happen so then he chooses based upon what he foresees is Ridiculous and goes against every Understanding of the Bible that God is not the viewer or the spectator of history God is the author of history Fashioning all our days for us when as yet there were none of them, right? God doing all things whatever the counsel of his will stays doing all his good pleasure he sits before the foundation of the world and Decrees all his good pleasure and then he calls bird of prey from the far country or is his agent a man from the far Reaches to accomplish all his will That's the work of our God. It's he's the one who determines all things whatsoever to come to pass verse 3 Paul praises God the father blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every Spiritual blessing those are blessings of the spirit blessings that coordinate with the life of the spirit blessings that flow to us from the spirit Right, that's what that means by spiritual blessing He's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It's interesting that he connects us To heavenly places in the here and now right? He by virtue of our union with him automatically connects us with spiritual realities that are heavenly in nature. It's like he takes you've got them and I Are not a computer genius, but you take the the computer and you Hook in the cable and it connects you to the worldwide web You're connected now, right you it's in the Lord and God the father. It's a really bad analogy he takes the the the person who he's going to redeem to himself and he Connects him vitally cat 5 cable. You could say to the heavenly places once detached Strangers from the covenants of the promise foreigners aliens, right? He vitally attaches now to heavenly realities And all those heavenly realities a spiritual realm Kingdom of light when we trudge around in a kingdom of darkness We're conveyed into the kingdom of the son of his love when once formerly we were of this World and in it and loved it, right? So he is vitally connecting us to heavenly places and that is done verse 3 in Christ It's not done in any other way. It's not done by virtue of any other Reality, it's done by virtue of that reality and that reality Alone if we are going to be connected to heavenly realities spiritual realities in our Christian life That's going to be done by virtue of a vital union with Jesus Christ Doesn't come any other way just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world It's as if that needed to be emphasized like it's um, I Know this is happening. It's happened to me many times where it's like in speaking. I'm not always Thinking about being precise as I should be with what I say and to my shame I have to forget but when you're really wanting to be precise and there's There's a point that you you want to make sure that you drive home That you don't forget because it's so important that you just want to make sure that that sort of pervades Everything that you're saying that's what Paul's doing here in him in him in him in him in him Paul does not want to There to be any impression given He doesn't want to neglect or forget to tell you that everything comes to us every spiritual blessing by virtue of our being in Christ in union with him right so he just continues to emphasize that just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world That we should be hold with that purpose that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. That's our purpose, right? Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself According to the good pleasure of his world of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted In him in the beloved you see everything by virtue of our being in union with the Lord Jesus Christ We've worked through many of these statements, so I won't belabor them here, but Notice the emphasis on our union with Christ Then beginning in verse 7 Paul praises the son He praised the father for his work in eternity past and notice that planning that determination decree in eternity is by virtue of our union with Jesus Christ, so Union with Jesus Christ then is not just a north another step in the Ordo Salutus, right the order of salvation God causes us to are he effectually calls us by his grace He causes us to be born again and then from the basis of new birth new life in Jesus Christ We turn from our sin and we turn to Christ in faith having turned from our sin and turned to Christ in faith We are then justified the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to us Just as our sin was imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ his righteousness becomes our righteousness. We're declared Righteous in God's sight. We're justified reconciled to God now peace with God. We have adoption In him as sons and daughters in the kingdom, right? It's union with Christ is not just another and then we're united to him But right it's not just another step in the Ordo Salutus or the order of salvation union with Christ is something that transcends those steps but it also Exists within that order. We'll talk about that in a second. It happens to us in time I happens to us in time so it transcends the order and it's also a part of that order as we'll see, okay, so by virtue of a decreed union with Christ in eternity Then we see the son's work in time Paul praises then the son In his person and work in his life and ministry in the first century to redeem us through his blood shed blood on the cross Verse seven in him Jesus Christ We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins According to the riches of his grace which he made which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence Having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather in other words at the right time right at the right time He might gather together in one all things in Christ the person and work of Jesus Christ made possible or secured the Gathering together in one all things in him right and that's the You see that in the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 17 That is the purpose that we are headed toward God now in Christ by virtue of Christ's work is Gathering together all things in one one right so That happened that gathering happened in the Old Testament by virtue of the new covenant By virtue of Jesus Christ's work on the cross Old Testament believers were saved through faith Sort of a crass or poor Analogy is there saved on credit so to speak Awaiting the future coming of the Messiah and the future work of the Messiah And now he's doing the same thing that same gathering is going on. He is gathering all things together in one Notice it's in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him the gathering takes place in him in Him also we have obtained an inheritance that inheritance was secured or purchased for us by the work of Jesus Christ Being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory Awesome awesome statement. I mean this is just I Don't care who you are No man Comes up with this no man Ever articulates these glories It simply is not a book written by any man a lot of other reasons for it But just the awesome. I want some I think I've mentioned this before of the Koran. They have a an ongoing Challenge that and it comes from the Bible. They stole everything from the Bible everything. They've got is just a corrupted like Co-opting of biblical truth. They have absolutely no understanding of So the Koran there's a challenge that if you can if anyone can write Something as beautiful or as poetic or as wondrous as what is written in the Koran Then they I came with it. What's the standard? It's like a million dollars some surprise a million dollars. What is it? Somebody it's this big prize, right? You get this big prize if you can write something as beautiful and no one's ever won the challenge Why because you've got a bunch of false lying, you know dirtbags that are judging the challenge Unbelievers who are judging that have you ever read the Koran? It's Ridiculous, it's ridiculous, right? somebody could Somebody somebody could sit in a cave by themselves and write that nonsense, right and you know Not the Bible not the Bible, right the intricate weaving together of Glories that are incomprehensible, right and communicating Consistently about incomprehensible realities. I mean it's an impossibility you get two people in a room They can't repeat the same story five minutes apart much less these wondrous real, okay You get where I'm going with that We will spend an eternity in union with the Lord Jesus Christ Paul praises God the Father for his work in redemption that is in by virtue of union with Christ And then Paul praises and worships God the Son for his work in the first century That all comes in by virtue of a union with the Lord Jesus Christ however We personally do not experience salvation We don't experience that salvation that was planned by the Father in eternity We don't experience that salvation that was accomplished by Jesus Christ in the first century Until the spirit applies that salvation to our lives in the present the spirit actually brings us into a That mystical union a practical outworking of union with the Lord Jesus Christ This application of salvation is by the spirit Bringing forgiveness bringing eternal life in him, and it only occurs when we are Joined to Christ we are joined in union with him So among the many things that happen when you are quote-unquote saved one of those is union with Christ in time Look at verse 13 in Him you also trusted After you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed You were sealed with a holy spirit of promise the holy spirit of promise Sealed you was given to you in dwelt you by virtue of you now being in him. Does that make sense? He is the spirit is the guarantee of our Inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory All that to say if you and I were to span the ages Into eternity where to stand at the at the the abyss so to speak and peer out into Eternity whether that eternity is past or future which is a weird way to talk about eternity since it's outside of time But we in our time can conceive of it Maybe eternity past and eternity future even though that's sort of wrong to think about it that way if we're to look into eternity We would see that all of the plans and purposes of God Concerning our redemption to be in Christ Jesus our Lord that worked out in time in the person in work of Jesus Christ and then further when the spirit in time unites us vitally to him so from the first councils the first determinations within the councils of the Godhead to final consummation in the assembly of glorified saints all Has been purposed promised directed executed and fulfilled in him Okay, so that's our introduction and we have ten minutes left at this point. What questions Do you have or can I help with? Okay, so we'll keep oh yes, sir Two different so those two different aspects of union with Christ, you know even in in a in Ephesians, you know the the Union that happens at conversion at that vital union being sealed with the spirit now Being a branch connected to the vine and then and there's another aspect of union At the beginning of Ephesians Where he chose us in him before the foundation of the world So there's an aspect of union or there is a a type of union that exists even before our creation and Then there is a type of union that begins to exist or be realized at Conversion in time. Can you? Yeah, like how are we united? To to Christ and there's earlier in the in the lesson you had In your definition of union at the very beginning As you answer this question would you mind reading that definition again because in the definition You were saying it our union with Christ has to do with everything God has decreed. Yeah for Those who are united to Christ. Yeah, so I've often thought about that like yeah The relationship there's not a vital union like before someone is converted There's not a vital union with Christ. There's not a vital union with Christ. They are children of wrath by nature. They are they are not In communion with God per se with in communion with Christ per se Does that Can you kind of like just work work that out yeah flesh that out a little bit that yeah flesh that out a little bit and maybe explain you know Does God's decree or what God has decreed for the elect prior to that vital vital union have some Relationship to that Eternal union. Yeah, and then what's the substance of that eternal union? Yeah being chosen in him Before the foundation of the world. Yeah, that's a really good question brother so I think the in fact of that original definition the the I Like to say that He chose us in him in other words that our election or our predestination as adoption to sons is By virtue of a union with Christ. So if you think about it this way In the mind of God we could say that in eternity that God Began with he began with a Determined will to exalt the Sun to love the Sun and in decreeing a means by which he would Exalt the Sun he conceived of everything to do with redeemed humanity, right? So you could say like in thinking about it that way Why does anything exist? Because Jesus Christ Why were the worlds created Jesus Christ? Why were people created Jesus Christ? Why was anything done Jesus Christ? Right Jesus Christ. So if you think about it in terms of in terms of the eternal decree all was purposed To exalt the Sun to love the Sun to magnify the Sun right so then God in decreeing to Love the Sun in that way Thank You brother appointed The means or decree the means by which that love would be expressed and that is a redeemed not just a humanity Right not just a humanity But a redeemed humanity in other words Angels can't worship him in the way that we worship him. Why because angels are not redeemed They've not been blood bought by the lamb to his glory, right? So God Decreed to exalt the Sun and he chose to decreed to exalt the Sun by virtue of a redeemed by means of a redeemed Humanity so in the mind of God when God determined and we talk about these things I don't know any other way words to sort of express how that went on in eternity, but God determined That the way in which he would most be Loved exalted magnified was for all of that to be by virtue of his own Glory right his own glory so As God decreed then Ephesians chapter 1 It elected us in him predestined us in him Gave us an inheritance in him made us accepted in him as God decreed those things It wasn't that God That there was a vital union established But it was all by virtue of that vital union that would take place and it's not without that that anything happened So God didn't conceive of those things without Conceiving of that vital union so he elected us But the election could only be worked out by virtue of our union With Jesus Christ and there is something to be said that in eternity God decreed those things to be Simultant to be linked together so Our election Is based upon or Founded in or with that has the goal of or the the outworking of a union a vital union with the lord Jesus christ so the the vital union the the Branch is connected to the vine so to speak happens in time When we're converted right when we are born again And dwelt by his spirit were brought into union with christ But it's by virtue of that union that everything was done before And there is a sense in which those things in the mind of god in eternity are always connected right there There is a union established in eternity Outside of time you could say that we are forever linked and that's why too you go back to The difference between armenianism and the doctrines of grace All these things happening in the mind of god or the will of god decreed god before time began That all of this was done and conceived of as a As a whole Determined as a whole In eternity and all of that in the sun and in the sun only so there was Those things were connected vitally in eternity Brought about in time. That's what makes sense It's um, it's difficult. So there's there's not a vital union that was established in eternity somehow like um in the you know Yeah, yeah, eternal just yeah, no that's the error right so there is an error That people say we were because of union with christ. We were eternally justified that when we were born We were justified then in vital union then when we were born and it just gets worked out in time No Oh, you were an enemy of god by wicked works before you were converted and brought into union with him. So yeah, really good So um, I hope that that helps Everything conceived in him and that connection established in eternity the connection between a redeemed humanity and the lord jesus christ birth you could say in the mind and decree of god in eternity And forever we have been connected to him in that way So if you think about that's that's the one of the wonders of ephesians chapter one is that in eternity We were there In the mind and decree of god Connected to jesus christ in eternity. That's it's like that's mind blowing to me Right before the foundation of the world the reason everything exists is the sun And our connection to him by union with him, right? That that's the the the reason there is a planet Is because god determined to exalt the sun and to do so By means of you in union with him me in union with it, right? It's like A mind blowing mind blowing thoughts all that established in eternity and uh, and then brought about in time. So Yes, sir Yeah Two words i i'm sorry to But there's two words that like keep coming to my mind when i think of that Which are explaining like being chosen in him before the foundation of the world and maybe we haven't emphasized them But the those realities of identification Like union with christ often Emphasizes a point of our identification with christ and christ's identification with us As well as representation christ's Representing us so like it seems like in the mind of god and in the decree Like god's election Or his choosing of the of the elect by virtue of union with christ is Almost seems like by virtue of their identification with christ Yeah, even in the mind of god before the foundation of the earth the elect were identified with christ and and God in the mind of god Christ was representing them and then in time we We we um As that vital union is established We begin to experience The benefits and the blessings and the communion. Yeah that comes through by virtue of that identification and representation Yeah, amen. That's a really good way of yeah, but yeah, yeah when were our names written down in the lambs book of life Before the foundation of the world right identified with him represented by him. It's a good way of describing it. Okay We're out of time. Um much more could be said the brothers are going to say it And we'll work through text by text book by book in the bible And I pray this will be a helpful series for you. If you have questions, let me know It's interesting that today today we get to Visibly of a test to a firm and observe A representation of that union with jesus christ and baptism So, uh, I pray that you'll be at the park with us We're going to try to get that to that as quickly as possible because i'm hoping we can uh, the weather will hold out We don't get rained rained on too late. So, uh after service ends today Let's make it to the park as quickly as possible. Maybe we we can even start no later than 130 Maybe even a little earlier. Let's try to start as quickly as possible Um so that we can beat the weather and then we'll come back here for a service tonight And that's um, I think tyler mentioned earlier romans chapter six and our identification our identification with christ identification With christ in his death and then in his resurrection. You'll see that pictured in baptism this afternoon. So let's pray Father in heaven lord, thank you for how beautifully and helpfully You have revealed these truths to us in scripture I pray lord that you would fill our hearts and minds With the glory of that and with the wonder of that and the majesty of it How we are In union with our lord jesus christ and how you lord will have in him given us eternal life and how we will forever be In communion in union and communion with him And we praise you and thank you for that that wretched Hell deserving sinners like us Could be forgiven of our sin washed clean And be brought into Vital union with the one who died to purchase our redemption We're very grateful to you lord for this beautiful truth and praise you for him in jesus name. Amen