Once I saw the doctrine of union with Christ in the pages of Scripture, I could not unsee it. I saw it in Paul’s usage of “in Christ” or similar phrases over 200 times in his letters. I saw it in Jesus’ metaphor of the branches connected to the life-giving vine. I saw it in Peter’s instruction that Christians are incorporated into a spiritual house built on Christ. I saw it in Jesus’ words to Paul that to persecute the church is to persecute Christ himself. Sinclair Ferguson was right when he said, “The truth to which the New Testament constantly returns is that we are united to Christ.”1 One of my goals as a biblical counselor is to help counselees see and cherish the significance of their union with Christ because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
What Is Union with Christ?
Union with Christ is the spiritual knitting together of Christ and the Christian through which the believer receives all the blessings of salvation. This is seen clearly in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Therefore, union with Christ is not one part of our redemption, but how every aspect of our salvation flows to us. All the different blessings that make up the whole of our salvation such as election, redemption, effectual calling, faith, forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance, and glorification are given to us only because we are united to Christ by faith (Ephesians 1:3-14; Romans 6:4-5; 8:1; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-4.)
How Can I Help Others Understand Their Union with Christ?
The best place to start is with the metaphors provided by the Bible itself. Each of these pictures will have its nuanced implications, but they all point to the solidarity between Christ and his people. Jesus uses a horticultural image, teaching that disciples are like branches joined to the vine (Christ) and are enabled to bear fruit through him. Paul uses a biological metaphor, pointing out that we are members of the body of Christ, incorporated into him by the Holy Spirit. Peter points to the world of building and construction, saying we are stones in a spiritual house, built on Christ the Cornerstone. The point of all these images is to help us understand the necessity and the benefits of being in Christ. In other words, our union with him is not just another metaphor but is the spiritual reality to which the metaphors point. We are not a literal vine or temple, but we are truly and literally in Christ.
Perhaps the most helpful illustration of union with Christ I’ve found in counseling and teaching others is from Rory Shiner, who writes:
Imagine yourself at the airport, about to board a plane. The plane is on its way to sunny Melbourne, and Melbourne is where you want to be. What relationship do you need to have with the plane at this point?
Would it help to be under the plane, to submit yourself to the plane’s eminent authority in the whole flying-to-Melbourne thing? Or would it help to be inspired by the plane? To watch it fly off and whisper “One day, I hope to do that too”. What about following the plane? You know the plane is going to Melbourne, and so it stands to reason that if you take note of the direction it goes and pursue it then you too will end up there.
Of course, the key relationship you need with the plane is not to be under it, behind it, or inspired by it. You need to be in it. Why? Because, by being in the plane, what happens to the plane will also happen to you. The question “Did you get to Melbourne?” will be part of a larger question: “Did the plane get to Melbourne?” If the answer to the second question is yes, and if you were in the plane, then what happened to the plane will also have happened to you.2
If the plane makes it to its destination, then you make it to the destination. If the plane crashes in the ocean, you crash in the ocean. What is true of the plane becomes true of you. Similarly, what is true of Christ, by and large, becomes true of us. We are so closely tied to Christ that his perfect life is credited to us, his death becomes our death to sin, and his resurrection becomes our spiritual resurrection from the dead. In him, we are counted righteous, not because we are righteous in and of ourselves, but because Christ was perfectly righteous and we are in him. In Christ, we become God’s beloved children, not because we are sons or daughters by nature, but because Jesus is the Son of God and we are in him. We have an eternal inheritance, not because we are the rightful heirs, but because we are united to the eternal Heir of all things. We could go on and on but you get the point: to be in Christ means that all the blessings of salvation we enjoy, that should only belong to Christ, are generously shared with us through our union with Him.
What Difference Does Union with Christ Make in Counseling?
The most obvious implication for our counselees is the hope they have to grow in Christ. Specifically, they can expect to grow in Christ because every spiritual blessing is given to us in Christ Jesus. One of those spiritual blessings is sanctification. Union with Christ not only brings the possibility for change but also the expectation of change. Though change is most often slower than we would hope, we can expect to be conformed to Christ as God causes all things to work towards his goal of making us like His Son.
We can expect to change because, in union with Christ, we are free from sin’s slavery. The Apostle Paul affirms that we have died and risen with Christ “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6). Every believer is free to choose not to sin and to walk in righteousness. There is no sinful habit or life-dominating sin that lies outside the realm of Romans 6 and union with Christ. The angry man can present himself as an instrument of righteousness and not be driven about by sinful desires in pressure-filled moments. The one in the habit of viewing pornography can refuse to let sin reign in him and resist obeying the passions of the flesh. The fearful person can grow by no longer being controlled by the opinion of others. Hope for change grows as the glorious truth of our union with Christ is continually appropriated into our hearts. We can expect to be conformed to Christ as we consider ourselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
A second implication for the counselee that brings great hope is that all believers are on equal ground. Counselees may be tempted to think, “Surely, I must be many miles down the road of following Christ before I can have what my counselor has.” However, that is just not true. The moment a person believes in Christ, he is given everything he needs in Christ to be saved and to live in a way that glorifies him. If we are united to Christ, then we are united to him in all that he has done for us.
On the other hand, as long as someone is outside of Christ, all the benefits won by Jesus will be of no value. Union with Christ is all or nothing. It is all spiritual blessings or none. Therefore, we should be as careful as we can to discern that our counselees understand the gospel and are relying on Christ. If true change is rooted in union with Christ, then we should seek to share the gospel with an unbelieving counselee. We can continually remind them that they will not truly benefit from cleaning up their lives if they don’t repent and turn to Christ in faith. This doesn’t mean that we have to ignore the “presenting problem,” but we should keep coming back to the true source of eternal life and true change.
For the counselor, the doctrine of union with Christ means that we must tie our counsel to the person and work of Christ to avoid legalistic rule-giving. We want to avoid counsel that is detached from the life-giving union that we have in Christ. While we seek to speak the truth in love, we must remember that it is from him that the body grows up and matures (Ephesians 4:15-16). Counsel devoid of Christ may sound like wisdom, but it does not truly help people grow up into his image (Colossians 2:23).
Also, by constantly tying our counsel to Christ, we are demonstrating that God is the one who sanctifies his people by the Holy Spirit. Our counselees need to be reminded that their fruit-bearing comes through their attachment to the vine, not their association with us as counselors. We must be humble enough to acknowledge that we are merely those who point the way to the one who truly brings change. It is “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28).
Conclusion
I can remember the first time someone took the time to teach me Romans 6 and union with Christ. I can remember the lights coming on and hope filling my heart. One of the privileges of counseling is that we get to play a small part in the lights coming on as we explain and apply truths, like the very foundation of all our spiritual blessings. May our goal be to help others find in Christ their source of hope, transformation, and assurance.
