We were formed for fellowship, designed to live in communion with God and his people. The triune God created us out of the deliberate overflow of his own eternal delighting fellowship and love. Salvation is forgiveness and fellowship, acquittal and adoption, righteousness and relationship.

When I announced I was writing a book on union with Christ, a friend messaged me and said, “I am too!” Two years later, not only have we both released books on the subject (Home with God: Our Union with Christ and One with My Lord), but more are coming out in the year ahead.

This isn’t a new doctrine. It’s deeply biblical, and it’s been showcased by every major theologian in the church’s history. Union with Christ isn’t a new idea; it’s an old idea being rediscovered.

Union with Christ is a believer’s identification with, incorporation into, and participation in all of Christ’s life. In Christ are all the blessings and benefits of salvation. To put it simply, union with Christ is our home with God. Though the doctrine exists throughout Scripture, it shines in the prepositions of the New Testament, especially in Paul’s letters, when he uses language like “in Christ,” “with Christ,” and “through Christ.”

In just the first three chapters of Ephesians, we get more than 30 mentions of union with Christ. Here are examples:

God blessed us in Christ (1:3)

God chose us in him (1:4)

We’re predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ (1:5)

We’re blessed in the Beloved (1:6)

In him we have redemption through his blood (1:7)

In the fullness of time, all things will be united in him (1:10)

We’ve been made alive together with Christ (2:5)

Once you see union with Christ in the New Testament, it’s obvious through Scripture’s whole story. That’s good, because it addresses pressing questions about our identity, our belonging, and our purpose.

Identity: Who Am I?

In Christ, we see ourselves clearly.

We live in an age of identity confusion. But, contrary to what we might think, identity confusion isn’t fundamentally a cultural imposition. It’s a theological reality. Sin fractured our fellowship with God, with self, with one another, and with the created order. Subsequently, we’re born into this world not knowing who we are but with a desperate desire to become something.

Many seem to think the cure for this identity confusion will be of our devising. But we won’t solve the problem of a fractured identity by constructing it on our own. Babel shows us what happens when we try to build a great name for ourselves: We end up exhausted, confused, and scattered.

Union with Christ provides a sure and steady anchor for our identity. Who are we? In Christ, we’re the Father’s righteous and beloved children because we’re in the righteous and beloved Son.

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