Union

“And yet it is a glorious new message that I am writing to you! You may ask, “How can that which is old, also be new?” Herein is the secret of its newness: whatever is true of Jesus is equally true of you! The days of the dominance of darkness as a reference to human life, are over! The true light surely shines with bold certainty and illuminates your life, as it is unveiled in Christ. – 1 John 2:8 (The Mirror) 

Whatever is true of Jesus is equally true of us. 

Jesus isn’t some impossible standard to live according to. This isn’t like if I wanted to be a quarterback and I try to mimic Peyton Manning in every way possible. Sure I may learn things to up my game, but I’ll never be Manning. I’ll probably fail on every count. The way he sees the game, reads the defense, his intuition, etc. The only way to play like Manning is to BE Manning. 

It would take a hypostatic union of some sort to fuse my soul, (my will, my intuition,) with Manning to where I can play as myself and play as Manning, while maintaining our unique identity. With that union, I would play better. It’s not about playing by the rules of a quarterback better but a union with the One who is essentially THE quarterback. (Let’s not detract from this and make an argument about who’s the GOAT) 

Method actors get this, in a roundabout way. They understand that not only are they mimicking their characters, they are living this character on and off screen. Some take it so far that they have to have a therapist on set, and go through psychological treatment to help them set their minds back. Some will even say after so long playing many characters, they forget who they really were in the first place. They were so focused on being in tune with who they are portraying that they become them. 

But, how do we maintain our uniqueness and individuality while at the same time, living as followers of the Way? Because on one hand, you’ll be trying to live according to a very strict set of rules and thus setting up your own failure and the other hand, become warped in your mind believing that you are The Christ, The Messiah, God, etc… thus creating some kind of a cult. We’ve seen what both can do. Plenty of horrible tales throughout history. Waco on Netflix is one tale of such.

In the context of Manning. I would drive myself mad trying to be exactly like him, or I would be sent to the mental hospital for running around convincing people that I was Manning. And because we’ve seen such extremities on both accounts, it’s no wonder faith is met with strong skepticism. As they should be. 

So why Jesus?

Jesus claimed to have lived in perfect union with the Father. He also claims to have brought us into this very union. In fact, I  believe the crux Gospel of John is union. He starts with union, throughout his ministry we see moments of Jesus pointing to His union with the Father and then just before we enter the climax of His life with the crucifixion, we are given a prayer about our union. 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” John 1:1‭-‬4 

“I only do what I see the Father doing.” – John 5:19

“I only say what I hear the Father saying” – John 12:49

“If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” – John 14:9

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” – John 14:11

“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.   The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:21‭-‬23

What is true of Jesus is equally true of us. 

His union with the Father isn’t some lofty goal that we obtain by some extreme form of asceticism. In fact, it’s already within us. It is a gift. A gift of Grace. It is the very essence of our original design. We were created in His Image.

 

Jesus the man, is the Man that we are. 

That’s why the whole Passion of Christ. The crucifixion, the death, the burial, the resurrection, and the ascension is not just for us. But He did it AS us.

Paul saw Jesus as the Last Adam. Not a 2nd Adam. There are no more Adams. (I’m speaking of a particular race of humanity as a whole, not an individual.) As Adam represented the whole of humanity in our original design but fallen into sin. Jesus represents the whole of humanity in our original design fully restored and made whole. 

Paul then saw his life as united in Christ. Not because of the cross but something that has always been. That’s how Paul was able to say, “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me..”

Galatians 1:15‭-‬16 

Notice he didn’t say on the road to Damascus. Never says anything about inviting Jesus into his heart. 

He became aware of this union taking place within him and he lived it. That’s how he was able to say, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” – (Galatians 2:20) Some translations will say faith in the Son of God. The greek would render it faith of the Son of God. The life Paul lived wasn’t by his faith in Christ. But by the Christ that lives from within. It was Christ’s faith that Paul lived by. He saw his union in Christ.  

What was true of Jesus is equally true of you. 

*of course this isn’t to say that we are God, that’s where we get warped as I mentioned earlier* For we are still created beings. We are created beings that have been made and fashioned in His image. We are his children. “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.'” Paul tells the unbelieving pagan worshippers on Mars Hill. 

In Genesis 1, after God created man and woman in His own image. It says that He blessed them.(v.28) The word blessed in Hebrew is “Barak” which means to kneel. This isn’t to kneel by submission. But to kneel in adoration. The same adoration mothers and fathers do for their newborn child. God is in complete adoration with you. Over the moon about you. He said, “this is where I will make my home”. 

The union Jesus shared with the Father, we have as well 😉

Grace and Peace

*I apologize for the long bit here. But you’ve been given an except to my book that I have no set date to when I’ll be finished*