When we embrace Christ crucified and risen, then that leaves by the Spirit and in God's providence an imprint on our lives, creates a kind of rhythm of death and resurrection that leads to fruitfulness in our lives. Welcome to the Friday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm Nathan W. Bingham. Sinclair Ferguson has been our featured teacher this week, and he's been leading us in a study of our union with Christ.
That bond is not just the centerpiece of our lives as Christians, it's the entirety of it. Although today's message is the final one you'll hear this week, the full series is actually 12 messages. You can watch or listen to this entire series and gain access to its study guide when you give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org. In addition, we'll send you Dr. Ferguson's brand new book, Union with Christ, The Blessings of Being in Him.
Respond today at renewingyourmind.org as this offer ends at midnight.
Well wrapping up our time in this series, today we're going to focus on an often neglected aspect of our union with Christ, our connection to Christ in His death and resurrection. Here's Dr. Ferguson.
Now we have come to our last study session on this great theme of union with Christ. And I don't know if you feel the same I do. Often when I come to the end of a series of messages on a book of the Bible or on a theme, I feel I think we've warmed up sufficiently now to begin this series. And I want to go back and start all over again and think maybe now that we're ready, we'll really be able to take it in. But we made something of a journey in these studies together from thinking, first of all, About how important union with Christ is in the New Testament, especially in Paul.
There are somewhere over 160 occasions. When he uses the expression in Christ or in the Lord or in Him.
So it's hugely significant. And I think my own hope is that at least as we come to an end. We will never forget that. Um Those in Christ will simply come out of the page to us. And that more and more as we think about what it means to be a Christian, we'll realize the privileges that are ours.
That Christ is a great Saviour. and that he has united himself to us. And as I've said several times now, with the Christian church in the past, we understand that he considers himself to be incomplete without us. It's an amazing. privilege, isn't it?
That Jesus would consider himself to be incomplete without me. Without us as brothers and sisters and the saints in every age. And as we saw in a previous study, What Jesus Christ has done by his work on the cross is to bring together into one family. the family branch in heaven and the family branch on earth.
so that we are united not only with believers in the church today, believers in the church yesterday, those who become believers in the future, but we are united in the same family as that other branch of the family. Angels are called sons. The Old Testament scriptures.
So, that other branch of the family, the angels who did not fall, the cherubim, the seraphim. those creatures that surround the throne. Heaven will be a long game of happy family. And all of this because we are united under the one head, Jesus Christ. Last session, we were thinking about the way in which Jesus taught us about union with Christ.
and not least that notion that he prunes us. That there is an element in the Christian life that is sore for us. And I want to close out our series by thinking about the way in which union with Christ has a double dimension to it. By and large, we think about that union as an inner spiritual reality. And so, because we're united to Christ, we put off sin and we grow in Christ-like graces.
But we are not simply spiritual beings. We are physical beings. Indeed, Paul says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6. that whoever is united to the Lord joins his body. with the Lord.
Because the Spirit comes to indwell us, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. And so I want us in this final session. To think about the external dimensions of what it means for us to be united to Christ. We're united to Christ in his death and resurrection. That works out inwardly and spiritually.
In the mortification of sin and the vivification of life. John Calvin, who emphasized this again and again. also emphasized that there is a double mortification, what he called a mortificatio duplex. and there is a double vivification. Ah, vivificatio duplex.
There is an internal modification and vivification. But there is also in the Christian life an external modification. and vivification. In this world, We will share in all kinds of different ways in the outworking. of our union with Christ in his death and Resurrection.
And I want us to think about this in different ways. Old Testament saints were united to Christ. Yes, in promise, but they were united in that promise to the Christ who would die. And rise. And therefore they, as we look at them in the Old Testament Scriptures, they put away sin and with the help of the Spirit, they put on graces that we recognize as Christlike graces.
But they also share in that in their life story. Joseph is a very obvious illustration of that, isn't he? By faith united in the promise to Jesus Christ. What is the shape of Joseph's life? The shape of Joseph's life is that he shares in The suffering.
of Christ. He shares in the death of Christ. He shares in the humiliation of Christ. Indeed, so much about Joseph's life. It's like a backward echo of Jesus' life.
he is falsely accused. He is despised. And then in the providence of God. He is raised up. and exalted And brings what Genesis calls salvation, physical salvation.
to the whole Mediterranean area. He shares. externally. in the dying and rising of the Lord Jesus. You see the same thing in King David and many of the other Old Testament saints.
And you see it in the lives of believers in the pages of the New Testament. The most obvious illustration is the one with which we began. In whom is it first of all Most clear. That the way of Christian fruitfulness is sharing in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that finds an expression in the whole of our lives.
Hanser, Stephen. Stephen trusts. into believes, into union with Jesus Christ. He puts sin away. He puts on the graces of Christ.
He becomes Christ-like. But that's not just something internal. That's something external. Stephen becomes fruitful. sharing in Christ's death.
Stephen becomes fruitful. sharing in the fruit of Christ's resurrection. in a young man called Saul of Tarsus. and then in a multitude ultimately that no man can number. And I rather think that as Saul of Tarsus Transitions into the Apostle Paul and reflects on the inner significance of.
His meeting with Christ on the Damascus road and the connection. between what Jesus said to him and what he saw in Stephen. And that seed idea That Jesus and Stephen were united to one another, so that to persecute Stephen was to persecute the Lord Jesus. I think it was out of that womb. That much of Paul's own understanding of his own life and ministry.
emerged. And he began to see. but there is this pattern. Not just internally. But in the whole of our Christian lives, where we see those Christian lives.
through lenses that have been crafted to the prescription of union with Christ. in his death and resurrection. Union with Christ and his sorrow. And joy. Union with Christ in his pain.
and in his fruitfulness. I want us to look at a few verses where Paul brings this out. One of them, of course, is what he says in Colossians chapter 1. I wonder if you're familiar with these words. There, as he's speaking about his own ministry, he makes a rather astonishing statement that some have found difficult to interpret.
He says I rejoice in my sufferings. Verse 24 of chapter 1. I rejoice in my sufferings. For your sake.
Now that's an interesting statement, isn't it? Paul doesn't see himself as suffering. for his own sake. We usually see ourselves as suffering for our own sakes. Nobody else is suffering.
We're the ones who are suffering. But Paul sees all of his suffering. as being part of his ministry for the church. I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is. Latching in Christ's afflictions For the sake of his body, The church.
Now what can he mean by this? I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. for the sake of the church. Perhaps it will be helpful if I change the word order. For the sake of the church, says Paul.
I am filling up. What is lacking of the sufferings of Christ? And me. He is not saying there is anything lacking in the suffering of Christ, is he? He couldn't possibly say that.
If there's something lacking in the sufferings of Christ, Christ has not yet done what needs to be done to save us. There is nothing lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
So what is Paul talking about? He's talking about the fact that in union with Christ, The outworking of that. has not come to its completion in him. There is more. In him is being filled up.
What he is yet to experience. of sharing in the sufferings of Christ, in order that in Christ he may be fruitful in the Church. Actually, we saw that in another passage that we looked at, but didn't mention this in Philippians chapter 3, you remember. He says, I want to know Christ. And I want to share in the fellowship of his sufferings.
And be like him in his death.
so that I may attain to the resurrection from. the dead. Isn't that an interesting thing to say? I want to share, I want to have fellowship in the sufferings of Christ.
Now, why does he say that? Not because he's a masochist, he doesn't enjoy pain. Actually what he enjoys is having Doctor Luke with him. He tells Timothy, don't go on with the stomach pain you're having, Timothy. Take a little wine for your stomach's sick.
He doesn't enjoy suffering and pain. But he does see that that suffering he goes through is something God uses, makes him productive through. Because it's the outworking. of his union and communion. with a crucified Saviour.
Perhaps I can put it this way. You can't live face to face with the Lord Jesus. You can't live in union and communion with the Lord Jesus. without being made like the Lord Jesus. And you can't have just a resurrected Christ.
You've got to have the whole Christ. And so when we embrace Christ crucified and risen, Then that leaves by the Spirit and in God's providence an imprint on our lives, creates a kind of rhythm of death and resurrection. It leads to fruitfulness in our lives.
Now of course, it's important for us to see this is entirely in the Lord's hands. We are not in the business of choosing the amount of this that we're going to experience. We don't need to go out of our way to find it. This is entirely in the sovereign providence of God. But I think Paul is saying that if we're united to Christ, this will.
be our lot. in all different kinds of ways. And we all experience this, don't we? But the point of knowing it is. Ah We go through tough days.
We we do suffer. We experience Affliction in all kinds of ways, but because we're united to Jesus Christ, the Lord means to employ all that to make us useful and fruitful in his kingdom. And that can be everything from the losses that create sorrow in our lives. To the troubles we have because people we work with persecute us or demean us as Christians. Paul doesn't set a kind of narrow limit on what he's talking about here.
But he does want us to see that if we are united to Christ, we will share in his sufferings. But as we share in his sufferings, we will also share in the glorious fruitfulness of his resurrection power. And it's there in Colossians, and it's there in Philippians. And it's also there in Corinthians. And I want us to turn there to the second letter to the Corinthians.
So that we can see together how Powerfully Paul presents this. And if I may do something rather unusual, I'd like to read Corinthians backwards.
So, three places in Corinthians I want us to look at. First of all, right at the very end in 2 Corinthians chapter 13. and verses three and four. Paul says, Since you are seeking proof that Christ is speaking in me, I want to say this to you. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.
He was crucified in weakness. and lives by the power of God.
Now it's the next sentence I want you to focus on. and really to take in what he's saying. For we also are weak. in him But in dealing with you We will live with him. by the power of God.
Ever seen that optical illusion, Paris in the spring? And how people can read that. And yeah. Not read it? There is a kind of optical illusion in this verse.
My guess is that large numbers of Christians, when they read what Paul is saying here, actually read this. We are weak. In ourselves. But in dealing with you We will be Powerful. And of course Paul says to the Philippians.
I am weak in myself, but I can do everything in Christ. But I want you to notice what he's saying here. He's saying In Christ we are weak. Or put it the other way around, we are weak in Christ. You see what he's saying?
He is saying this weakness, remember how he comes to the Corinthians? He says, I came in weakness. and fear and much trembling. And uh People might say, you silly man. You poor man.
Can you see what he's saying here? He's saying that weakness that I experienced was the fruit of my union. with a Christ who was weakened in crucifixion. It's radically different from our ordinary intuition. We need to be in Christ, we need to be strong.
And Paul is saying, actually, if you're in Christ, you're going to experience great weakness. Great weakness. because it's out of great weakness in Christ. that you will experience great fruitfulness in Christ. Turn back a few chapters to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
In Second Corinthians chapter four, and especially verses 10. 11 and 12. He's speaking about the sufferings he goes through. We're persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. And then Think about this description of him and this description of you.
We are always carrying in the body. literally the dying of Jesus. He doesn't use the word death, he uses the words dying. We're always carrying around in our body the dying of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. Where did he get that from? He got that from Stephen. Didn't he? Stephen in his death is Christ-like, carrying in his body.
His union and communion with the crucified Saviour. always carrying in the body the dying of Jesus and the result? the life of Jesus being manifested in His body, for we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So here is the explanation. Death in union with Christ, my sufferings. The persecution I experience, the afflictions I go through, death is at work in us in order that life may be at work in you. He'd learned that through Stephen, hadn't he? And it was the characteristic feature of the whole of his Christian life.
Now, friends. This could be a very discouraging word to us. Do you mean that's what I'm going to experience in the Christian life? Don't you have something more cheerful to say to me?
Well, I have something really cheerful to say to you. As you carry around in your mortal body the dying of Jesus, the life of Jesus will be manifested in you.
Now why does God do it this way? Because this is the way he did it in Jesus, isn't it? It was through his suffering and dying. that he bore fruit. And he's transforming us.
into his likeness. to bear fruit. And so he's going to use the same pattern. He doesn't have a better partner. That's the pattern, if I put it this way, that's the pattern that works.
to transform us into the likeness of Christ. God uses the pattern that he used. with Christ. And so we embrace him. And as we embrace him.
It is as though some of his blood will come upon Our clothing. and the power of the resurrection, will be seen in our lives. And these are lenses. When we view the whole of our Christian lives through these lenses, We will see that pattern working out sometimes in very small ways, very minute ways. We will need well crafted lenses.
to see that pattern. We may not understand fully where and when and why. But if we are united to Christ, This will begin to work out in our lives. And then, continuing to read backwards to the beginning of 2 Corinthians. It's these two passages that help us to understand what he says in chapter 1.
In chapter 1, verse 4. Five, he says.
Well, let's go back to verse four. Or even verse 3, he's praising God who comforts him in all his affliction so that he may comfort others. Without the comfort of God experienced in his affliction, he doesn't have any comfort to comfort others. But you see, he's tasted something in his affliction that he did not taste in his comfort. And then he puts it this way.
as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings.
So through Christ We share abundantly and comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. And if we are comforted, it is for your comfort which you will experience. It's a very Powerful. portrayal comprehensive our union with Christ is.
It's not just that it's something that we experience inwardly and privately and spiritually. It's the reality that we are caught up into. by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it creates this rhythm. in our lives.
that as we share in Christ's death, we also share in His resurrection. and as we share in his sufferings. We will also share. in his fruitfulness. And the reason?
Because ultimately He wants to make us like Jesus. And that's the center point. of our union. with Jesus Christ. That was Sinclair Ferguson from his series Union with Christ.
Thanks for being with us on this Friday edition of Renewing Your Mind. This series on such a rich and often neglected area of theology, Our Union with Christ, now has a companion book. To mark the occasion of this brand new book's release, we'll send you a hardcover copy when you give a donation before midnight tonight, when you call us at 800-435-4343 or online at renewingyourmind.org. Make Union with Christ an area of your Christian study this fall as you read the book and listen to or watch the series. Because in addition to this new book, we'll unlock the 12 Message series and its study guide in the free Ligonier app so you can take this material with you on the go.
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Thank you. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity. That will be RC Sprawl's focus next week, beginning Monday, here on Renewing Your Mind.
