Union With Christ
Unity of the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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· 29 viewsFor us to understand the term unity in the church we have to explore our unity with Christ which is what binds us as a church.
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Introduction
Introduction
One of the most difficult things to achieve within a group of people is unity. Everybody comes from different backgrounds, with different experiences and different points of view. There is one thing that bids us and the most important relationships are christians that we have, and that is:
UNITY WITH CHRIST
UNITY WITH CHRIST
Unity With Christ
Unity With Christ
31 For this reason a man will leave
For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.
This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Ephesians
The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5
31 For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh. p
32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
A Covenantal Relationship
A Covenantal Relationship
his father and mother
As we look to be a united church in all aspects it is important that we learn the union with the one who binds us. Without Jesus there is no church, there can be no unity we will be like any other social club that exists on this earth and just like those clubs we will come to a certain end.
The church is different because all “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it..” (Mathew 16:18) The members of the church have something that unites them that is stronger than the bond between a mother and a child, between a husband a wife, between brothers, and that is the UNION with Christ.
Dictionary of Bible Themes 6755 union with Christ, nature of
The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.
and be joined to his wife,
So let us explore this union with Christ that defines the church and that is the ROCK on which we build.
Marriage:
Marriage:
and the two will become one flesh. p
The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.
It is interesting that this is the analogy used by God to describe His union to us. Our view of marriage changes according to the social norms of the times.
A Covenantal Relationship
A Covenantal Relationship
It is
Dictionary of Bible Themes 6755 union with Christ, nature of
The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.
32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
How has marriage changed in the last 20 years?
For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.
This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Paul in our reading gives us a clue of what the process of marriage is like and how strong is the union. ONE FLESH.
Therefore no longer two different people but now one, Christ and us are no longer two but ONE.
Ephesians
The apostle Paul talks about this theme constantly in his epistles, most people see justification by faith as the only main theme but we see that the unity with Christ is as important.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
This union is explained by using a number of central images and the one we are going to explore today is the nature of the convenantal relationship with him.
Specifically the marriage covenant because it is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.
For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.
This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:31
Don’t worry we wont be talking about YOUR marriage today. We will be talking about the union with Christ.
Its interesting that this is one of the images God uses to illustrate his unity with his church, specially because we as humans are not very good at marriage.
We see that since the times of Moses people are looking to get divorced. Making it even more difficult for us is that marriage changes with culture and time.
How has marriage changed in the last 20 years? From you original country to the USA?
Therefore lest explore two aspects of ancient marriages throughout the example of Isaac and Rebekah
Arranged
Arranged
Arranged
Arranged
In our western culture we pick our parters because we are attracted to them physically mentally or emotionally but we see that Abraham tasked Eliezer.
and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Genesis 24
e pick our parters because we are attracted to them physically mentally or emotionally.
In our western culture we look for our own partners depending on out own criteria, be it looks, money, convenience, etc.. But as we can see the father of the groom would choose the bride for his son. In the case of Isaac he was a special son, one of miracle, one of promise all this is even more so true with the Christ. We didn’t chose him He chose us for his son before the foundation of the world.
He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.
For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love
Dowry
Dowry
Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.
The dowry was the payment
The New Manners and Customs of the Bible 29:18 Dowry
If the dowry is paid before the official marriage ceremony, the marriage is still considered to be a legal fact. Many ancient Eastern texts attest to this. Once Abraham’s servant had paid the dowry for Rebekah, she and Isaac were as much married as when she arrived in Hebron several weeks later
The New Manners and Customs of the Bible 24:53 Bridal Presents
the dowry paid to her brother and mother was to secure her financial future in case Isaac should forsake her or he should die. The dowry was actually hers,
The father paid the price for us because He gave His only son, who died in the cross and shed his blood for us.
The father paid the price for us because He gave His only son, who died in the cross and shed his blood for his church.
The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
1 Cor
for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Peter 1:1
Since the father has paid the price the church are as good as married, and that is why we can say that the church and the Christ are one, the church is His body therefore we are “IN CHRIST”
“In Christ” Through Faith
“In Christ” Through Faith
Paul uses this term quite often in more than one sense. We are interested in the sense of “incorporation” This comes through faith in Him and his Sacrifice.
Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus,
Paul uses this term quite often in more than one sense. We are interested in the sense of “incorporation”
“In Christ” is an expression of intimate interrelatedness, analogous to the air that is breathed: it is in the person, yet at the same time, the person is in it. Thus, Paul’s use of the phrase is similar to his concept of being baptized “into Christ”
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
Not only Paul uses this concept but Jesus does as well
Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
Enriched by the Sacraments
Enriched by the Sacraments
Baptism
Baptism
Rom 3:
Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.
This is the importance of baptism it enriches our relationship with Christ because it tells us that we are “IN HIM”
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper
1 cor 10:16
The cup of blessing that we give thanks for, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
His supper reminds us that he died for us and that we have taken part of his body and his blood. It literally reminds us that we are “HE IS IN US”
Affects Every Aspect of Our Lives
Affects Every Aspect of Our Lives
The union between Christ and us affects every aspect of our lives because we are no longer by ourselves but he is one with us.
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
We cannot leave Christ in the closet while we go on about our day, once we are in Him through our confession of faith we take Him everywhere, even when we go sin. It is a reality few of us realize.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we read in our first scripture this is a mystery of how can the Christ pure and holy The Almighty God become one with a human being. The truth is:
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you.
This truth and having understood that we are one with Christ is the first step of unity in the church of Christ because if we are all in him we are all in unity.