3 Ways We Are United with Each Other When We Are United to Christ

Personal Union

Union with Christ is profoundly personal. When God saved you, he united you to his Son. Your old life in bondage to sin ended. Your new life in service to him began. And he has called you—with all the strength he provides—to run with endurance the race that is set before you, striving for holiness (Heb. 12:1, 14). But God has not called you to run alone because when you are united with Christ, you are also united with his people.

We are saved together, and we are sanctified together. As Sinclair Ferguson writes, “The fellowship of the church is the context in which sanctification matures.”¹ God has called us to grow in Christlikeness alongside Christ’s people. And when we work properly together, we will grow together (Eph. 4:16).

So what will help us work properly together? Let me suggest three answers. We will help each other in the pursuit of holiness when we remember that in Christ, we are united by story, united in purpose, and united forever.

United by Story

Shared stories have a unique way of binding people together. Shared stories foster unity. And in the church, we have a shared story. That’s important because our personal, individual relationship with Jesus is important. As believers, we can each say, “I have been crucified with Christ,” and, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Again, union with Christ is profoundly personal.

And yet union with Christ also brings us into a shared story with all God’s people. Romans 6 makes this abundantly clear. In fact, it’s so obvious that sometimes we read right past it. Look at the first four verses again and notice the pronouns:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:1–4)

Do you see the shared story? We, the church, have died to sin. We, the church, have been baptized into Christ Jesus. We, the church, have been buried with him and have risen with him to walk in newness of life. This is our testimony. Remembering this shared story will help us foster unity. And we surely need help in the pursuit of unity.

Unfortunately, as we live in this divided world, we find that our communities of faith are not immune to division either. This is not a new challenge for churches. Writing to the believers in Corinth, Paul says with a heavy heart, “I hear that there are divisions among you” (1 Cor. 11:18). Our relationships within the church get strained—sometimes even severed—by pride, cruelty, impatience, and hostility. But God calls us to a more excellent way. He urges us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).

How do we foster humility toward our brothers and sisters? One way is by remembering our shared story. We were all once enslaved to sin. We all experienced the same dramatic rescue. None of us has received any less saving than anyone else, because none of us needed any less saving than anyone else. Therefore, there’s no room for pride.

As followers of Christ, we need to remember our shared story. Again, this is why assembling to sing, pray, read, and sit under the preached word of Christ is so essential. This is why coming around the Lord’s Table as a gathered body is so vital. This is why meeting in smaller groups to open the Scriptures and pray for one another is so helpful. As we fix our collective eyes on the Savior who unites us, we will maintain the unity of his Spirit and the bond of peace. And we will spur one another on in the pursuit of our shared purpose.

United in Purpose

In Christ, we are free from sin’s tyranny. But our enemy has a way of creeping in and gaining a foothold in our lives. If we’re not careful, we can begin to believe the lie that we’re helpless to do anything about it. We can resign ourselves to the way things are and cease striving for a holy life.

When that happens, we need someone to wake us up. We need someone who will say, “Wake from sleep. . . . The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness. . . . But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:11–12, 14). We need people who will remind us to fight sin and pursue holiness. And that is why we need the church.

In the church, we all have the same purpose: We are aiming to grow into the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Since we are united with him, we want to live like him. But Jesus never intended for us to do this on our own. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:15–16).

As believers in Christ, we must speak the truth in love. We must remind each other that sin’s reign is over, the King is on the throne, and in union with him, we are dead to sin and alive to God (Rom. 6:11). As we do this, we will build one another up.

Consider three examples of what this can look like in our churches. First, when we see a brother caught in any transgression, we can seek to “restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal. 6:1). We can say, “Friend, I love you, and I’m concerned for you. The way you’re living doesn’t line up with who you are. You are in Christ. You are no longer enslaved to sin. You are a servant of the Lord.”

Second, when someone comes full of shame and remorse and confesses sin, we can comfort her with this same comfort we have received: that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). When we confess our sins, God is “faithful and just to forgive us,” and he will “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We can reassure her that even when our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20). God is our Judge, and since he has pardoned us in Christ, we are justified fully. God is also our Father, and since he has adopted us in Christ, we are eternally loved (Rom. 8:38–39).

Third, as we all strive to make progress in the pursuit of holiness, we can spur one another on (Heb. 10:24). In union with Christ, we have been set apart for God’s glory and God’s good purposes. Yes, we are saints who sin, but we are saints nonetheless. We can remind each other that we’re not just miserable sinners. We are not hopeless. We are new creations. We have put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and with all the strength that he supplies, we can follow him. We can make progress.

United Forever

Having united us to his Son, God conforms us to the likeness of his Son. And with all the strength that he supplies, God calls us to exert real effort in the pursuit of a holy life, which prepares us for the life to come.

One essential purpose of the church is to train us for heaven. J. C. Ryle writes,

Most men hope to go to heaven when they die, but few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there. Heaven is essentially a holy place; its inhabitants are all holy; its occupations are all holy. To be really happy in heaven, it is clear and plain that we must be somewhat trained and made ready for heaven while we are on earth.²

We in the church are to help each other toward that destination. We should feel a real responsibility to assist one another in making progress and to avoid anything that would put a hindrance in someone else’s way. And one day, when we arrive together, we will rejoice together. We will join with the multitude of God’s people and say,

Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
     the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
     and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
     and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
     with fine linen, bright and pure.” (Rev. 19:6–8)

The bride has made herself ready. How? She received a gift. It was “granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” From beginning to end, our holiness is a gift of God’s grace, enabled and empowered by our union with Christ. But she also “[clothed] herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” She accepted it and put it on.

Union with Christ unites the church.

What is this fine linen? It is “the righteous deeds of the saints” (Rev. 19:8). Our righteous deeds could never pardon us from sin. But our righteous deeds do prepare us for heaven. And when we get there, the transformation will be complete. We will see our Savior face-to-face, and we will be like him (1 John 3:2).

Remember this truth the next time you feel discouraged about your own progress. One day, you will shine like the sun in the kingdom of your Father (Matt. 13:43). Also remember this truth the next time you feel frustrated about someone else’s progress. That brother will get there, and that sister will be shining too. So how can you help him and encourage her along the way?

Our Union with Christ

Union with Christ is profoundly personal. And yet union with Christ is not merely personal. Every believer shares the same position, the same story of conversion, the same experience of transforming grace, and the same eternal hope.

Union with Christ unites the church. We are united by story, having all been brought from death to life by the mercy of God. We are united in purpose, having been called to pursue holiness in this life as we prepare for the next. And we are united forever.

We must run this race together. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1–2).

Do you have a strong connection to your local church? Are you there on the Lord’s Day to nourish your soul with the reality of your union with Christ? Are you receiving the strength and encouragement that God’s people provide? Are you offering the same to others? Do you continue this connection and fellowship throughout the rest of the week?

We don’t have to do this alone. In fact, we can’t. But as we strive side by side, we will make progress. In Christ, we will grow together.

This article is adapted from Saved to Sin No More: How Union with Christ Empowers a Life of Holiness by Brad Wetherell.

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