“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” -Colossians 3:3–4
Introduction
We bring you this week the concluding part of “The Benefits of Our Union with Christ” published last week. In the first part, we considered what it means to be “in Christ” and looked at the blessings we receive through our union with Him, including salvation, new life, peace, assurance, and hope.
For ease of reference, we recap the concluding thought from last week’s article: our union with Christ means that we are set free from sin and death, and through our union with Him we receive all the blessings and promises of God. Please enjoy this concluding part and pass it on!
l In Christ, Our Hope Is Secure
Reading the news is almost always a harrowing experience. Each article seems to alert us to another reason why we should despair. Sometimes, before we have even processed or recovered from one tragedy, another is added.
So, what keeps us going? What keeps us joyful even in the midst of such realities?
The only thing that can possibly outweigh all the bad we see around us is the hope we have as believers, firmly rooted in Jesus.
In Him, we know how the story ends, regardless of how many chapters may seem to end on a foreboding note. This hope is not simply optimism that everything will somehow turn out well. It is a firm reality promised in God’s Word and applied to us in Jesus.
Romans 6:5 says: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
1 Corinthians 15:20–22 further reminds us: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
At the cross, Jesus triumphed over sin, death, and the devil. Although these enemies will continue to harass us for a little while longer, their defeat has already happened.
The day is fast approaching when “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
In Jesus, what unites us is far more powerful than anything that could ever divide us.
l In Christ, We Have Unity with Other Believers
One of the most distressing things we witness today is how angry everyone seems to be with everyone else. There appears to be very little, if anything, that people can all agree on. The vitriol and hate can be alarming and discouraging.
But what is true of the world around us is not true for us as the Church. We are individual people who have been brought together as one body in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 4:4–7 says: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Although we are all different, with different gifts, backgrounds, and opinions, we are united in our Saviour.
The Bible teaches that these differences are intentional. God designed each of us individually and wonderfully so that our unique personhood can serve the mission and purpose of the Church as a whole. Scripture celebrates, rather than discourages, the variety within the body of Christ, as seen in Proverbs 27:17 and Romans 12:4–8.
In Jesus, what unites us is far more powerful than anything that could ever divide us. In Him and through the working of His Spirit, the things that have the potential to divide us have an even greater potential to shape us into His likeness.
l Our Union with Christ Empowers Us to Live Godly Lives
Paul urges us in Ephesians 4:1 to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”
When we consider this command, we may quickly realise how much it demands from us. We are still plagued by sin and often tempted to place our own desires and needs above everything else. So, how can we come anywhere close to the holiness God requires?
On our own, we simply cannot.
But in Jesus, God equips us to obey Him. In fact, He shows us how to live even as He gives us the command.
Philippians 2:4–7 says: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
We are called to treat others in a way that reflects the kindness, grace, and mercy God has shown to us.
And we can do this because the mind of the One who was humble to the point of death on a cross “is ours in Christ Jesus.”
It is ours. We only need to ask God to help us abide in this reality and to empower us by His Spirit to think as Jesus thinks in every situation and every season of our lives.
l Hidden with Christ
It is through our union with Jesus that we are brought from death to life, as Ephesians 2:1–10 teaches us. We are also made altogether new.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 declares: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
While we wait for Him to return for us, when we will see all God’s glorious promises to us fully realised, we press on and strive to live in a way that reflects and honours Jesus. We do this by remaining mindful of where our hope lies.
Colossians 3:1–4 reminds us: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Conclusion
Our union with Christ is one of the most beautiful and powerful truths of the Christian faith. To be in Christ is to know that we are saved by His righteousness, strengthened to live for God, surrounded by His peace, secure in His love, united with other believers, and anchored in a hope that cannot be taken away.
We may face sin, struggles, uncertainty, division, fear, and difficult circumstances in this life. Yet our identity and our hope remain secure because our lives are hidden with Christ in God.
May we therefore continually remind ourselves of what it means to be in Christ. May this truth shape how we think, how we live, how we treat others, and how we face the future. For in Christ, we are no longer who we once were. We have been brought from death to life, made new, given hope, and invited to live each day in the confidence of God’s grace and love.
Stay Blessed!
Please Note: The preaching programme on Sunny 88.7 FM every Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. has been temporarily put on hold. However, please continue to join us on Asempa 94.7 FM every Sunday at 5:30 a.m. and YFM 107.9 every Sunday at 6:30 a.m. for our Radio Bible Study, as well as on Sunny 88.7 FM every Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for Hymns and Their Stories.
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