union and communion

When you break it down, the primary benefit of the gospel is union with Christ. And union with Christ means momentary communion with Him.

This is not an exact quote, but it's close. It was made by a Philadelphia pastor who visited my church planting class on Thursday.

I love it!

First up is the notion of our union with Christ. I am pretty sure I will be taking an entire class (or at least half a semester) diving into this. Union with Christ what the gospel boils down to. Reading Ephesians 1:3-14 reveals this reality.

It repeats the phrase "in him" or "in Christ" a total of eight times in those verses. And the following reveal what is involved with being "in Christ:"

• blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (v.3)
• chosen to be blameless and holy (v.4)
• redemption and forgiveness by His blood (v.7)
• knowledge of the mystery of the will of God (v.8)
• the union of all things in heaven and earth (v.10)
• an inheritance (v.11)
• hope which brings God glory (v.12)
• seal of the Holy Spirit (v.13)

That sounds like a concise picture of the gospel.

Next is the notion of momentary communion with God. By communion, we are talking about the language of prayer. Through our union with Christ we have access to God every single moment of every single day. Reading Hebrews 4:14-16 helps us see this.

Christ is our high priest. Reading Hebrews reveals how Christ as high priest means forgiveness (reference back to Ephesians 1). And because we have forgiveness through union with our Great High Priest we can "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

We can pray because we are united to Christ. Our prayers are an expression of that union. It is something we can take advantage daily, and hopefully more. Prayer is not a burden. It is a wonderful blessing of our union with Christ.