Sermon

Found in Christ

St. Paul's Anglican Church Chatswood - Sermons

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  1. Imagine the scenario where you're conversing with a person who has never heard of Christianity.

  2. ! They might be in the hospital and they've got the little form and there's no version of Christianity there.

  3. ! There's no knowledge of it at all.

  4. They've never heard of the fact that their Bible exists.

  5. They've never seen a Bible.

  6. They've never heard of Jesus Christ.

  7. No concept of the church at all.

  8. And in conversing with them, you mentioned that you're a Christian.

  9. And it's a term that they are just not familiar with.

  10. And so they ask you, what do you mean by that?

  11. What is a Christian?

  12. How would you answer that?

  13. What would you say?

  14. How do you answer that question?

  15. Maybe various forms of it might be something like,

  16. well, I believe in Jesus of Nazareth and I follow his teachings.

  17. Maybe you're a person who follows and adheres to Christianity.

  18. Maybe, well, my parents were Christian.

  19. I was born a Christian.

  20. I've been baptized.

  21. That's what makes me a Christian.

  22. Maybe it's a person who lives in a way that's guided by the values of Jesus of Nazareth.

  23. Someone who's a member of the church.

  24. Its potential, particularly if you've been hanging around churches for a bit,

  25. you might use language like, well, I'm someone who's been born again.

  26. I've been saved.

  27. I believe in Jesus.

  28. I have faith in Jesus.

  29. Or I'm a follower of Jesus.

  30. Now, a number of those descriptors are certainly descriptors of the Bible, the Bible uses.

  31. But none of them are the dominant descriptor of what it means to be a Christian.

  32. The New Testament uses a phrase to describe the Christian that is everywhere in the pages of the New Testament,

  33. very dominant in the New Testament, but almost nowhere in our churches,

  34. to the point where I've not had a single Christian,

  35. and I myself have not used it when someone's asked me, what is a Christian?

  36. I've never used the term in Christ.

  37. I'm in Christ.

  38. In our society, a Christian, the term Christian is often open to a broad interpretation.

  39. Broad interpretation.

  40. And anyone can identify themselves as being Christian,

  41. particularly if it helps their political agendas.

  42. But in our society, Christianity is not so much connected to the person of Jesus,

  43. or vaguely so, but it can be connected to things like traditional values and ethics

  44. and conservative politics and institutions.

  45. This is particularly in Western civilization.

  46. And all of those things together kind of blur what it means to be a Christian,

  47. and therefore what it means to live the Christian life.

  48. The term in Christ is entirely different.

  49. Entirely different.

  50. Because the term in Christ demands that we reflect on something that is a dynamic relationship

  51. and a living relationship.

  52. And so what we're doing is, as we launch into term three,

  53. we're spending this term on this issue, on the term in Christ,

  54. on this deep foundational biblical term.

  55. Theologians call this whole topic, the theology, it's called union with Christ.

  56. It's a theology of union.

  57. And the reason we're doing this term is because if we misunderstand the dynamic of what it means to be Christian,

  58. the dynamic of our relationship to Jesus and his relationship to us,

  59. then we entirely misunderstand Christianity,

  60. and we entirely misunderstand what it means to live the Christian life.

  61. And if you've been with us throughout the course of this year,

  62. you might initially think that this topic here is entirely left field.

  63. How do they come up with this one?

  64. Why now?

  65. Why this one?

  66. The reality is, if you've been with us,

  67. you would have hopefully seen that we've touched on it multiple times already.

  68. We started the year in the book of Ephesians,

  69. looking at who is the church.

  70. Not what is the church, but who is the church.

  71. And which is why we've read Ephesians 1 again this morning,

  72. is because what we understand the book of Ephesians is that the church is in Christ.

  73. Wrapped up in him, all that is his is ours.

  74. Everything that the church is and has been called to do is hinge,

  75. is entirely connected and hinges on us being united to Christ.

  76. And last term, we were looking at Ephesians 5 and marriage,

  77. and we were confronted with this startling claim

  78. that when God brought Adam and Eve together in the union of marriage,

  79. right at the very beginning of the Bible,

  80. Ephesians 5 says that right at the beginning of the Bible,

  81. when God did that,

  82. that is a picture of a far greater reality.

  83. The marriage, as the Bible describes it,

  84. points to something much bigger,

  85. the union of a man and a woman in marriage,

  86. where the two become one,

  87. which Ephesians 5 says is a profound mystery,

  88. is a pointer to the greater reality of the union between Christ

  89. and his church, his people.

  90. And so we're going to unpack that reality.

  91. To understand the dynamic of our union with Christ

  92. ultimately leads to a greater confidence

  93. of what Christ has done for us,

  94. a deeper assurance and a hope as Christians,

  95. and particularly confidence in living out the Christian life.

  96. And that really is what we want for you here at St. Paul's,

  97. for you to see not just the truth,

  98. the goodness and the beauty of it,

  99. that your affections and your hearts would grow for Christ.

  100. So that's where we're heading.

  101. And today is really an introductory.

  102. In fact, when you think about it,

  103. the whole term is really going to be an introduction to the topic.

  104. There's a lot of old history stuff written about this.

  105. Ironically, amazingly,

  106. the theology of union with Christ

  107. went unnoticed for,

  108. in recent history,

  109. the last couple of hundred years,

  110. not referred to much.

  111. But fortunately,

  112. more recently,

  113. theologians are going,

  114. hang on a bit,

  115. we've left this one behind

  116. and we need to re-engage with it.

  117. So, first of all,

  118. I've got three points on the St. Paul's app.

  119. Ephesians 1 opens with an astonishing claim.

  120. Praise be the God and Father,

  121. our Lord Jesus Christ,

  122. who has blessed us in the heavenly realms

  123. with every spiritual blessing.

  124. See there?

  125. Every spiritual blessing.

  126. He has blessed us.

  127. It's already happened.

  128. Not that he will bless us,

  129. he has blessed us,

  130. and with every spiritual blessing.

  131. And the language here is absolute language.

  132. That is,

  133. that is,

  134. there's nothing held back.

  135. There's nothing overlooked at all.

  136. Nothing is lacking.

  137. The word blessed is a very significant word.

  138. It means,

  139. it's close to the Hebrew word shalom,

  140. which means that every joy and every benefit

  141. that your heart and your soul needs and longs for

  142. has been fulfilled.

  143. That's what it means to be blessed.

  144. And what we see in Ephesians is God's plan for all time and eternity

  145. is to bless,

  146. and that he has blessed.

  147. A Christian is someone who's been already blessed

  148. with every spiritual blessing from God.

  149. And then what Paul does is he goes on

  150. and he writes,

  151. he gives a list for it.

  152. And each one of these lists,

  153. each one of these words could be expanded again,

  154. more and more and more to libraries of books.

  155. We're referred to as being holy,

  156. blameless,

  157. adopted,

  158. redeemed,

  159. forgiven,

  160. we're given knowledge of God.

  161. The blessings go on and on.

  162. The implications of them are huge,

  163. but the key to receiving all of the blessings

  164. in verse 4,

  165. sorry,

  166. 3,

  167. 4,

  168. 5,

  169. 6,

  170. 7,

  171. 9,

  172. and 11

  173. is the term in Christ

  174. and its various forms.

  175. That is how you receive all the blessing.

  176. That is how you get every desire and longing

  177. of your heart and your soul fulfilled.

  178. It's in Christ.

  179. And so the language here in Ephesians,

  180. as is the New Testament,

  181. is that to become a Christian

  182. is not simply to get Jesus as your Lord to obey

  183. or as a model in life to follow

  184. or as a saviour to be grateful for.

  185. A Christian is someone who has been put in Christ,

  186. being put in Christ

  187. so that everything that is his

  188. becomes yours.

  189. That's what it means.

  190. All the blessings and privileges

  191. of the Christian life

  192. is by virtue of being united to Jesus Christ.

  193. Now,

  194. our union with Jesus,

  195. as I said,

  196. is by far

  197. one of the most important theological concepts

  198. in the New Testament.

  199. It's the umbrella theology

  200. that connects

  201. so many of the important truths

  202. and doctrines of the Christian faith.

  203. many scholars agree

  204. that the term in Christ

  205. is the central category

  206. in the Apostle Paul's thinking

  207. and his writing in the New Testament.

  208. He uses the term himself

  209. over 160 times.

  210. But it's not just Paul.

  211. The term in all its various forms

  212. is used over 200 times

  213. in the New Testament

  214. as the default way

  215. of identifying

  216. someone

  217. who is

  218. what we would call

  219. a Christian

  220. or a follower of Jesus.

  221. And the language of union

  222. in the New Testament

  223. is used in two different ways.

  224. First of all,

  225. there's the cosmic level,

  226. the big level,

  227. if you like,

  228. where on the cosmic level,

  229. union with Christ

  230. means that

  231. he is your leader.

  232. And as he goes,

  233. so you go.

  234. His fate

  235. becomes your fate.

  236. Now that may seem odd,

  237. especially for those of us

  238. who would come from

  239. more of a Western

  240. cultural perspective.

  241. But for most

  242. human cultures

  243. throughout

  244. most of human history,

  245. including the Bible times,

  246. this way of thinking

  247. about a leader

  248. and his people

  249. or their people

  250. was actually normal

  251. and natural.

  252. Entirely normal.

  253. The idea

  254. is the idea

  255. of corporate solidarity

  256. or another

  257. theological term

  258. to referring to it

  259. is

  260. a federal headship.

  261. that is

  262. the idea

  263. that

  264. as

  265. the leader goes

  266. so that people go.

  267. I don't want to

  268. delve into it too much

  269. because I'm stealing

  270. too much of John's sermon

  271. for next week

  272. as he takes us

  273. a bit deeper into this.

  274. But the Bible

  275. usually uses it

  276. in a very big

  277. cosmic way.

  278. simply

  279. is

  280. that the idea

  281. is that the one

  282. represents the many

  283. and the many

  284. are represented

  285. by the one.

  286. If the

  287. President

  288. of the United States

  289. declares war

  290. on another country,

  291. the citizens

  292. of that country

  293. are at war

  294. with that country

  295. by the declaration

  296. of the President.

  297. It's that idea.

  298. 2 Corinthians 5.14

  299. speaking of the work

  300. of Christ

  301. and how it connects

  302. to us

  303. says

  304. one has died

  305. for all

  306. and therefore

  307. all have died

  308. because Christ

  309. has died

  310. and those

  311. who are united

  312. to him

  313. share his fate.

  314. Like Jesus,

  315. the Christian too

  316. has died

  317. to their old life.

  318. 1 Corinthians

  319. 15.22

  320. is the whole Bible

  321. in a short summary.

  322. As in Adam

  323. all die,

  324. so also in Christ

  325. shall all

  326. be made

  327. alive.

  328. And so

  329. every human being

  330. alive

  331. or has ever

  332. walked the face

  333. of this earth

  334. is either

  335. in one of those

  336. two categories.

  337. They're either

  338. in Adam

  339. or they are

  340. in Christ

  341. and that is

  342. the absolute

  343. fundamental

  344. defining reality

  345. of all

  346. of humanity.

  347. and the message

  348. of the New Testament

  349. is absolutely

  350. thrilling at this

  351. point.

  352. To be united

  353. to Christ

  354. as your

  355. federal head

  356. is to be

  357. placed in

  358. that new

  359. realm

  360. with him

  361. alive

  362. in his

  363. new creation.

  364. Jesus Christ

  365. plunged

  366. through death

  367. and out

  368. of the

  369. other

  370. side

  371. resurrected

  372. into the

  373. dawning

  374. of a new

  375. creation

  376. and to be

  377. in him

  378. means

  379. that he

  380. has pulled

  381. you

  382. with him

  383. from death

  384. to life.

  385. That's what

  386. it means.

  387. Now,

  388. the other way

  389. that the New Testament

  390. uses the image,

  391. the language

  392. of union

  393. with Christ

  394. is much

  395. more

  396. personal

  397. and intimate,

  398. not just

  399. a federal

  400. headship

  401. sense.

  402. And to

  403. display this,

  404. the authors

  405. of the New

  406. Testament

  407. use vivid

  408. imagery

  409. to communicate

  410. it

  411. so that we

  412. can understand

  413. a bit clearer.

  414. One of the

  415. images

  416. is that

  417. of the vine

  418. and the

  419. branches

  420. in John's

  421. Gospel.

  422. So John

  423. 15, 5,

  424. I'm the vine,

  425. you are the

  426. branches,

  427. if you

  428. remain in me

  429. and I

  430. in you,

  431. you will

  432. bear much

  433. fruit and

  434. apart from

  435. me,

  436. you can

  437. do

  438. nothing.

  439. That's

  440. going to be

  441. unpacked further

  442. down the track

  443. by Ash,

  444. if I remember

  445. correctly.

  446. Jesus says,

  447. he's the vine,

  448. we are the

  449. branches.

  450. And so what

  451. we have here

  452. is a picture

  453. of our

  454. relationship

  455. with Jesus

  456. that is

  457. an organic

  458. connection.

  459. connection.

  460. It's an

  461. organic,

  462. alive

  463. connection.

  464. There's

  465. also the

  466. imagery

  467. that we

  468. saw last

  469. term of

  470. the one

  471. flesh

  472. union

  473. in

  474. Ephesians

  475. 5.

  476. We are

  477. members

  478. of his

  479. body.

  480. For

  481. this

  482. reason,

  483. a man

  484. will leave

  485. his father

  486. and mother

  487. and be

  488. united to

  489. his wife

  490. and the

  491. two

  492. will

  493. become

  494. one

  495. flesh.

  496. This

  497. is a

  498. profound

  499. mystery,

  500. but I'm

  501. talking about

  502. Christ and

  503. the church.

  504. And so

  505. in Ephesians

  506. 5,

  507. as we

  508. looked at

  509. last term,

  510. we have

  511. here a

  512. sexual

  513. imagery and

  514. a very

  515. deeply

  516. intimate

  517. imagery

  518. that

  519. portrays

  520. the

  521. exclusivity,

  522. the

  523. closeness,

  524. the

  525. intimacy

  526. of our

  527. union

  528. with

  529. Jesus.

  530. Just like

  531. a couple

  532. in marriage,

  533. the Christian

  534. is made

  535. one

  536. flesh

  537. with

  538. Jesus.

  539. We are,

  540. as it

  541. says in

  542. Ephesians

  543. 5,

  544. we are

  545. members

  546. of

  547. his

  548. body.

  549. Another

  550. image

  551. of union

  552. is how

  553. the New

  554. Testament

  555. refers to

  556. the church

  557. as the

  558. body of

  559. Christ

  560. with

  561. Christ

  562. as our

  563. head.

  564. 1

  565. Corinthians

  566. 12

  567. 27.

  568. Now

  569. you are

  570. the body

  571. of Christ

  572. and each

  573. one of

  574. you is

  575. a part

  576. of it.

  577. What we

  578. see in

  579. every case

  580. is there's

  581. this organic

  582. intimate

  583. uniting

  584. where we

  585. share in

  586. the properties.

  587. We are

  588. one

  589. with

  590. Christ,

  591. in

  592. Christ.

  593. The vine

  594. gives life

  595. to the

  596. branches,

  597. the head

  598. directs the

  599. body and

  600. the body

  601. parts,

  602. neither can

  603. exist without

  604. the other.

  605. The

  606. husband

  607. nourishes

  608. and cherishes

  609. his wife

  610. as he

  611. does his

  612. own body.

  613. So what

  614. we see

  615. in the

  616. New

  617. Testament

  618. is that

  619. a Christian,

  620. becoming a

  621. Christian,

  622. being a

  623. Christian,

  624. is far

  625. deeper.

  626. It is

  627. far more

  628. wondrous

  629. than

  630. walking an

  631. aisle or

  632. praying a

  633. prayer or

  634. raising a

  635. hand or

  636. going forward

  637. in evangelistic

  638. reality.

  639. being a

  640. Christian is

  641. far deeper

  642. than coming

  643. to church

  644. and reading

  645. the Bible

  646. and praying.

  647. To be a

  648. Christian is

  649. to be

  650. united,

  651. one,

  652. with the

  653. living,

  654. reigning,

  655. resurrected

  656. Jesus Christ

  657. so that all

  658. is his,

  659. is ours.

  660. And at

  661. the core

  662. of it,

  663. implication

  664. of it for

  665. us,

  666. is 2

  667. Corinthians

  668. 5.17.

  669. Therefore,

  670. if anyone

  671. is in

  672. Christ,

  673. they are a

  674. new creation.

  675. The old

  676. has passed

  677. away.

  678. Behold,

  679. the new

  680. has come.

  681. Being in

  682. Christ

  683. brings a

  684. absolute

  685. radical

  686. transformation

  687. and

  688. reorientation.

  689. God's

  690. is a

  691. movement

  692. from an

  693. external

  694. attempt to

  695. make myself

  696. right in

  697. God's eyes

  698. to an

  699. inward

  700. righteousness

  701. that

  702. entirely

  703. reorientation

  704. transforms my

  705. life.

  706. That's what it

  707. means to be

  708. in Christ.

  709. Now,

  710. admittedly,

  711. it's an

  712. elusive

  713. concept.

  714. And so,

  715. maybe one

  716. of the

  717. reasons why

  718. we don't

  719. talk about

  720. it much,

  721. it's much

  722. easier to

  723. grasp the

  724. ideas of

  725. being a

  726. follower of

  727. Jesus,

  728. or to

  729. being someone

  730. who,

  731. Jesus,

  732. my Lord,

  733. and I

  734. obey Jesus,

  735. or that

  736. Jesus is my

  737. saviour and

  738. he's forgiven

  739. me for my...

  740. Much easier to

  741. grasp hold of

  742. those concepts

  743. and to explain

  744. those concepts.

  745. Much easier to

  746. grasp the

  747. concept of

  748. Jesus being

  749. my leader,

  750. or my Lord,

  751. or my saviour,

  752. or my inspiration,

  753. or my teacher,

  754. or my ruler.

  755. So,

  756. how does

  757. being in

  758. Christ work?

  759. Maybe this

  760. illustration

  761. might help.

  762. And it's an

  763. illustration I

  764. got from one

  765. of the resources

  766. that I've been

  767. reading in the

  768. past few

  769. weeks.

  770. You book a

  771. trip to

  772. Tasmania,

  773. say,

  774. for instance,

  775. hi to all

  776. the Tasmanians

  777. online.

  778. You're at

  779. the airport,

  780. you're ready

  781. to begin

  782. your trip,

  783. and the

  784. plane going

  785. to Tasmania

  786. is also

  787. at the

  788. airport,

  789. ready for

  790. the trip.

  791. The question

  792. is,

  793. what is your

  794. relationship

  795. to the

  796. plane?

  797. What's your

  798. relationship to

  799. the plane?

  800. would it

  801. help,

  802. for example,

  803. to be

  804. under the

  805. plane?

  806. To submit

  807. yourself to

  808. the plane's

  809. authority,

  810. because it

  811. is a much

  812. more greater

  813. authority you

  814. are on this

  815. whole thing of

  816. aerodynamics and

  817. airline travel,

  818. so just to

  819. submit yourself

  820. and be under

  821. the plane.

  822. would it be

  823. helpful to be

  824. inspired by

  825. the plane?

  826. Stand in the

  827. terminal as you

  828. see the plane

  829. take off and

  830. you go,

  831. my goodness,

  832. look at,

  833. I mean,

  834. how,

  835. you know,

  836. one day I'm

  837. going to do

  838. that.

  839. One day,

  840. a bit more

  841. practice,

  842. I too am going

  843. to run down

  844. this runway,

  845. and I too am

  846. going to flap

  847. my wings,

  848. and I am going

  849. to fly just

  850. like that.

  851. Would that be

  852. helpful?

  853. Is that your

  854. relationship to

  855. the plane?

  856. Would it be

  857. helpful to

  858. follow the

  859. plane?

  860. Open up

  861. flight radar

  862. 24,

  863. push follow,

  864. get,

  865. and as the

  866. plane takes

  867. off,

  868. you run down

  869. the runway,

  870. and you get

  871. after it as

  872. fast as your

  873. little legs can

  874. go,

  875. and you follow

  876. the path on

  877. flight radar,

  878. and eventually,

  879. maybe,

  880. you get to

  881. Tasmania.

  882. Is that your

  883. relationship to

  884. the plane?

  885. You see,

  886. the key

  887. relationship you

  888. need with the

  889. plane is to

  890. get in it.

  891. Is that not

  892. right?

  893. I mean,

  894. it might be,

  895. I might be

  896. pushed out,

  897. but it's to

  898. get in the

  899. plane.

  900. It's not

  901. helpful to be

  902. under it,

  903. not helpful to

  904. be behind it,

  905. not helpful to

  906. be inspired by

  907. it.

  908. You need to

  909. be in it,

  910. and the

  911. reason is

  912. because by

  913. virtue of

  914. being in

  915. the plane,

  916. what happens

  917. to the plane

  918. happens to

  919. you.

  920. The question

  921. of your

  922. arrival to

  923. Tasmania

  924. will be

  925. answered,

  926. that is,

  927. the question

  928. of did I

  929. arrive to

  930. Tasmania,

  931. will be

  932. answered by

  933. a prior

  934. and more

  935. important

  936. question.

  937. Did the

  938. plane

  939. arrive in

  940. Tasmania?

  941. Because if

  942. it did,

  943. I do too.

  944. It's as

  945. simple as

  946. that.

  947. And at

  948. its heart,

  949. that is the

  950. New Testament's

  951. idea of

  952. being in

  953. Christ.

  954. What the

  955. New Testament

  956. is saying

  957. is that

  958. through faith

  959. in Jesus

  960. Christ,

  961. we become

  962. united to

  963. him,

  964. and that

  965. unity with

  966. him means

  967. that anything

  968. that is true

  969. of Jesus

  970. is true

  971. of you.

  972. And you

  973. had as

  974. much to

  975. do with

  976. it as

  977. being someone

  978. who sits

  979. on a

  980. plane waiting

  981. for the

  982. destination

  983. to arrive.

  984. it's

  985. all

  986. him.

  987. The

  988. late

  989. theologian

  990. and

  991. pastor

  992. John

  993. Stott

  994. summed

  995. up really

  996. neatly,

  997. I think.

  998. He said,

  999. the relationship

  1000. is

  1001. the

  1002. relationship

  1003. is

  1004. something

  1005. much more

  1006. than a

  1007. formal

  1008. attachment

  1009. or a

  1010. nodding

  1011. acquaintance,

  1012. something

  1013. more than

  1014. even than

  1015. a personal

  1016. friendship.

  1017. It is

  1018. nothing less

  1019. than a

  1020. vital,

  1021. organic,

  1022. intimate

  1023. union with

  1024. Jesus Christ

  1025. involving a

  1026. shared life

  1027. and love.

  1028. life.

  1029. That's

  1030. what it

  1031. means to

  1032. be in

  1033. Christ,

  1034. a vital

  1035. union,

  1036. a dynamic

  1037. union with

  1038. him.

  1039. Now,

  1040. this,

  1041. of course,

  1042. leads to

  1043. another

  1044. question,

  1045. and this

  1046. again will

  1047. be unpacked

  1048. more and

  1049. more,

  1050. so very

  1051. brief,

  1052. on how

  1053. to get

  1054. in Christ,

  1055. therefore.

  1056. What does it

  1057. mean to be

  1058. in Christ?

  1059. How does

  1060. that happen?

  1061. And this

  1062. is where

  1063. we might be

  1064. confused about

  1065. this,

  1066. because in

  1067. so many

  1068. places,

  1069. in so many

  1070. people's

  1071. thinking,

  1072. the way to

  1073. get in

  1074. Christ is

  1075. to find

  1076. myself

  1077. approved

  1078. of him,

  1079. to live

  1080. in such

  1081. a way

  1082. that he

  1083. will approve

  1084. of me,

  1085. God will

  1086. approve of

  1087. me.

  1088. But the

  1089. key to

  1090. unlock

  1091. every

  1092. spiritual

  1093. blessing

  1094. in

  1095. Ephesians

  1096. 1 is

  1097. verse 7.

  1098. In

  1099. him,

  1100. that's

  1101. Christ,

  1102. we have

  1103. redemption

  1104. through his

  1105. blood,

  1106. the forgiveness

  1107. of sins.

  1108. In

  1109. Christ,

  1110. God has

  1111. redeemed

  1112. us,

  1113. brought us

  1114. back into

  1115. relationship

  1116. with himself

  1117. through the

  1118. blood of

  1119. Jesus.

  1120. And in

  1121. that,

  1122. my sins

  1123. are forgiven.

  1124. And this

  1125. is really

  1126. a summary

  1127. or points

  1128. to the

  1129. deep

  1130. central

  1131. point of

  1132. the Christian

  1133. faith,

  1134. that Jesus

  1135. Christ,

  1136. the Son

  1137. of God,

  1138. came into

  1139. this world.

  1140. Note that,

  1141. the eternal

  1142. God who

  1143. always existed,

  1144. God the

  1145. Son,

  1146. came into

  1147. this world

  1148. made as

  1149. a human.

  1150. God

  1151. took the

  1152. initiative

  1153. to unite

  1154. himself to

  1155. us

  1156. in human

  1157. flesh

  1158. in order

  1159. to

  1160. represent

  1161. humanity

  1162. to God,

  1163. back to

  1164. himself.

  1165. He not

  1166. only became

  1167. like us,

  1168. but he

  1169. came like

  1170. us in

  1171. order to

  1172. deal with

  1173. our deepest

  1174. problem and

  1175. the thing

  1176. that was

  1177. keeping us

  1178. separated from

  1179. God and

  1180. his blessing,

  1181. and that

  1182. is that

  1183. word sin

  1184. in Ephesians 1.

  1185. sin,

  1186. some reform in

  1187. the Bible,

  1188. is a desire to

  1189. live independently

  1190. of our

  1191. creator,

  1192. to not be in

  1193. him at all,

  1194. not even be

  1195. with him.

  1196. It's the sin

  1197. that Adam

  1198. committed with

  1199. Eve at the

  1200. very beginning

  1201. of the very

  1202. beginning of the

  1203. Bible.

  1204. Bible.

  1205. And as

  1206. Jesus came

  1207. into this

  1208. world,

  1209. taking on

  1210. human flesh,

  1211. he lived a

  1212. life of

  1213. perfect

  1214. obedience to

  1215. God,

  1216. the one

  1217. person who

  1218. is the

  1219. only one

  1220. who's ever

  1221. done every

  1222. single thing

  1223. that God's

  1224. always required.

  1225. And that

  1226. included

  1227. obedience,

  1228. dying on a

  1229. Roman cross,

  1230. being rejected

  1231. by God

  1232. so that we

  1233. could be

  1234. brought back

  1235. to God.

  1236. He faced

  1237. expulsion so

  1238. that we

  1239. could be

  1240. brought in.

  1241. He

  1242. willingly

  1243. allowed God's

  1244. justice for

  1245. our sin to

  1246. be poured out

  1247. on him,

  1248. on that cross,

  1249. so that we

  1250. could be

  1251. redeemed,

  1252. we could be

  1253. ransomed,

  1254. we could be

  1255. brought back

  1256. in Christ.

  1257. And when God

  1258. poured out his

  1259. anger on

  1260. Jesus on

  1261. that cross,

  1262. he satisfied

  1263. the just

  1264. demands

  1265. of God's

  1266. justice.

  1267. It's like

  1268. in Australia,

  1269. one of the

  1270. things, in

  1271. fact, in my

  1272. previous life,

  1273. Rob said he

  1274. used to work

  1275. as a nurse,

  1276. I used to

  1277. work in the

  1278. national parks,

  1279. and apart from

  1280. things to do

  1281. with feral

  1282. animals, the

  1283. other things I

  1284. used to do

  1285. was bushfire,

  1286. I used to

  1287. fight bushfires,

  1288. and one of

  1289. the things we

  1290. used to do

  1291. in fighting a

  1292. bushfire is

  1293. a thing called

  1294. control burning.

  1295. And with

  1296. control burning,

  1297. what you do

  1298. is it's a

  1299. defensive

  1300. mechanism,

  1301. and it's

  1302. one of the

  1303. tips for

  1304. those of you

  1305. who have

  1306. never been out

  1307. there in the

  1308. bush and

  1309. you're going to

  1310. be in the

  1311. summer,

  1312. here's a

  1313. little tip for

  1314. you, always

  1315. take a box

  1316. of mattress

  1317. with you.

  1318. If there's a

  1319. bushfire that's

  1320. looming on

  1321. you, one of

  1322. the most,

  1323. the clearest

  1324. ways to be

  1325. safe in a

  1326. bushfire is to

  1327. start a fire.

  1328. That is, as a

  1329. fire's looming on

  1330. you, start a

  1331. fire, and as

  1332. this fire's coming

  1333. and this fire's

  1334. burning, step

  1335. into the fire

  1336. zone.

  1337. Step into

  1338. what's been

  1339. burnt.

  1340. Why?

  1341. Because a

  1342. fire can't

  1343. burn what's

  1344. already been

  1345. burnt.

  1346. It's burnt.

  1347. It's one of

  1348. the safety

  1349. mechanisms.

  1350. So I used to

  1351. go and start

  1352. fires, it was

  1353. fantastic.

  1354. In fact, one

  1355. back burning

  1356. control burn, or

  1357. one control burn

  1358. I started to

  1359. ward off a

  1360. bushfire that

  1361. was coming, was

  1362. so fierce, it

  1363. started another

  1364. fire 10

  1365. kilometres away.

  1366. That was my

  1367. bad.

  1368. anyway, I

  1369. mean, gave

  1370. those people

  1371. something to

  1372. do too.

  1373. Anyway, so

  1374. what the Bible's

  1375. telling us here

  1376. is that God

  1377. has poured

  1378. out his

  1379. justice for

  1380. our sin on

  1381. the person of

  1382. Jesus Christ,

  1383. scorched earth,

  1384. and Jesus

  1385. calls us to

  1386. stand in the

  1387. scorched earth,

  1388. cling to the

  1389. cross, the

  1390. work of

  1391. Christ, because

  1392. when you are

  1393. in Christ, you

  1394. have died with

  1395. him and you

  1396. are safe from

  1397. the justice of

  1398. God.

  1399. The fire can't

  1400. strike there

  1401. again because

  1402. you're safe in

  1403. Christ.

  1404. Christ.

  1405. And so what

  1406. the union of

  1407. God and man in

  1408. the coming of

  1409. Jesus Christ is,

  1410. it is so, so

  1411. affirming, but

  1412. it's not

  1413. flattering.

  1414. His presence in

  1415. flesh, uniting

  1416. himself with us,

  1417. tells us that we

  1418. are on the wrong

  1419. track as

  1420. humanity.

  1421. And we need

  1422. redemption.

  1423. As we didn't

  1424. say it, one of

  1425. the old creeds

  1426. of the church,

  1427. the thing called

  1428. Nicene Creed,

  1429. helps us to

  1430. understand our

  1431. union with

  1432. Christ in

  1433. salvation terms.

  1434. For us and

  1435. for our

  1436. salvation, he

  1437. came down and

  1438. took on human

  1439. flesh.

  1440. It is for us

  1441. and our

  1442. salvation that

  1443. he united

  1444. himself to

  1445. us.

  1446. And things

  1447. only need

  1448. saving when

  1449. they've gone

  1450. horribly wrong.

  1451. and if God

  1452. is united to

  1453. us in the

  1454. coming of

  1455. his son, in

  1456. the person of

  1457. Jesus Christ,

  1458. then in his

  1459. saving death and

  1460. resurrection, we

  1461. are united to

  1462. him.

  1463. In

  1464. Philippians

  1465. 3, Paul

  1466. uses this

  1467. language.

  1468. He says,

  1469. all the things

  1470. I used to have

  1471. confidence in,

  1472. all the things

  1473. that I put my

  1474. hope and my

  1475. trust in, that

  1476. God would find

  1477. me approved.

  1478. He said, I

  1479. now consider

  1480. them lost.

  1481. I consider

  1482. them garbage,

  1483. refuge,

  1484. sewage.

  1485. In fact, the

  1486. language is even

  1487. stronger than

  1488. that.

  1489. Now that I

  1490. am in

  1491. Christ.

  1492. And the

  1493. language he

  1494. uses is, I

  1495. am found to

  1496. be in

  1497. Christ.

  1498. Not that I

  1499. went finding

  1500. Christ, I am

  1501. found in

  1502. Christ.

  1503. Jesus Christ

  1504. came to

  1505. him, found

  1506. him, initiated

  1507. union with

  1508. him.

  1509. It is what

  1510. he has done

  1511. for us all.

  1512. And

  1513. Ephesians 1

  1514. tells us that

  1515. his whole

  1516. motive, God's

  1517. whole motive,

  1518. was a motive

  1519. of love, of

  1520. his goodwill, of

  1521. his grace.

  1522. And the

  1523. promise is that

  1524. everyone who

  1525. repents and

  1526. believes and

  1527. puts their

  1528. faith in him

  1529. is united to

  1530. him.

  1531. And in being

  1532. united to him,

  1533. everything that

  1534. is his is

  1535. yours.

  1536. The heart of

  1537. the matter is

  1538. not how much

  1539. faith you

  1540. have.

  1541. You know,

  1542. imagine jumping

  1543. in that plane,

  1544. you're heading to

  1545. Tasmania and

  1546. you've done it

  1547. multiple times,

  1548. you don't even

  1549. take any notice

  1550. anymore of the

  1551. safety briefing and

  1552. every time there's

  1553. a bit of a bump

  1554. and stuff like

  1555. that and there's

  1556. a little bit of

  1557. turbulence, you

  1558. go, whatever,

  1559. you know, been

  1560. here before,

  1561. joy.

  1562. But over the

  1563. aisle from you,

  1564. there's someone in

  1565. the safety briefing

  1566. taking notes and

  1567. reflecting on it and

  1568. asking the hostess

  1569. multiple times,

  1570. you know, can you

  1571. please go and

  1572. check on the

  1573. pilots to make

  1574. sure everything's

  1575. as they're

  1576. expecting it to

  1577. be.

  1578. You know,

  1579. they're a nervous

  1580. traveller, every

  1581. time there's a

  1582. bump, we're

  1583. going to die.

  1584. When you get to

  1585. Tasmania, do you

  1586. both get to

  1587. Tasmania?

  1588. The nervous,

  1589. anxious flyer and

  1590. the confident flyer,

  1591. do you both get

  1592. there?

  1593. Yes, you do.

  1594. Because your anxiety

  1595. levels mean absolutely

  1596. nothing to the

  1597. process.

  1598. It's got everything

  1599. to do with the

  1600. plane.

  1601. It's got everything

  1602. plane.

  1603. See, one of the

  1604. many wonderful

  1605. things about being

  1606. in Christ is that

  1607. it causes us to

  1608. take our eyes off

  1609. ourselves and to

  1610. put our eyes

  1611. fiercely focused

  1612. on him.

  1613. When we understand

  1614. the foundation of

  1615. our salvation is to

  1616. be found in him,

  1617. then we know that

  1618. it's not faith in

  1619. the abstract or

  1620. the amount of

  1621. faith that will

  1622. save us, but it's

  1623. the one to whom

  1624. we have our

  1625. faith, that we

  1626. are saved in

  1627. him.

  1628. Which just brings

  1629. me briefly to my

  1630. last point that we

  1631. are secure in

  1632. Christ.

  1633. That's one of the

  1634. big implications

  1635. for this, which is

  1636. why we want to be

  1637. speaking in this

  1638. season.

  1639. The whole point

  1640. for us to

  1641. understand it is

  1642. so that our

  1643. comfort and our

  1644. joy soars,

  1645. soars as we

  1646. melt into the

  1647. calm reassurance

  1648. of who God

  1649. actually is and

  1650. who we are in

  1651. Christ.

  1652. I would be

  1653. encouraging you

  1654. in this series to

  1655. let your mind and

  1656. your heart go deep

  1657. into the reality of

  1658. this truth of

  1659. union with

  1660. Christ.

  1661. You are in

  1662. Christ.

  1663. You have every

  1664. spiritual blessing.

  1665. He is your

  1666. intimate companion

  1667. moment by moment.

  1668. Being in Christ

  1669. means you cannot

  1670. lose.

  1671. You are

  1672. inexhaustibly rich

  1673. for you are

  1674. one with

  1675. Christ and

  1676. he is

  1677. himself

  1678. inexhaustibly

  1679. rich.

  1680. He is the

  1681. heir of the

  1682. universe.

  1683. And through

  1684. no activity

  1685. of your own

  1686. or my own,

  1687. but by the

  1688. sheer and

  1689. mighty grace

  1690. of God,

  1691. you have been

  1692. folded in,

  1693. brought in,

  1694. the triumphant

  1695. and tender

  1696. ruler of the

  1697. cosmos,

  1698. Jesus Christ.

  1699. That means

  1700. nothing can

  1701. touch you

  1702. that does not

  1703. touch him.

  1704. Nothing can

  1705. touch you

  1706. that does not

  1707. touch him.

  1708. That's what it

  1709. means.

  1710. anything to

  1711. get to you,

  1712. every pain,

  1713. every assault,

  1714. every disappointment

  1715. has to go

  1716. through him

  1717. first because

  1718. you are in

  1719. him.

  1720. And when you

  1721. are in the

  1722. midst of that

  1723. moment of pain

  1724. and suffering

  1725. and doubting

  1726. and confusion

  1727. and disillusionment,

  1728. he's not out

  1729. there, you are

  1730. still in him.

  1731. and it has

  1732. to go through

  1733. him to get

  1734. to you,

  1735. to get to

  1736. me.

  1737. You are

  1738. shielded by

  1739. his invincible

  1740. love.

  1741. Everything that

  1742. comes into

  1743. your life,

  1744. no matter how

  1745. hard it is,

  1746. comes from

  1747. and through

  1748. the tender

  1749. care of

  1750. Christ.

  1751. he himself

  1752. feels your

  1753. anguish

  1754. even more

  1755. deeply than

  1756. you do.

  1757. He feels

  1758. it even more

  1759. deeply than

  1760. you do

  1761. because you're

  1762. one with

  1763. him.

  1764. You're united

  1765. to him.

  1766. Amid the

  1767. storms of

  1768. your and

  1769. my little

  1770. existences,

  1771. sins,

  1772. the sins

  1773. that we

  1774. know we

  1775. struggle with,

  1776. the sufferings,

  1777. the failures,

  1778. the faltering,

  1779. the waywardness,

  1780. the wandering,

  1781. the lack of

  1782. following.

  1783. In all

  1784. those things,

  1785. he will

  1786. walk you

  1787. into his

  1788. eternal

  1789. presence.

  1790. He will

  1791. do it.

  1792. not just

  1793. with you,

  1794. he is

  1795. in you

  1796. and you

  1797. are in

  1798. him.

  1799. His

  1800. destiny

  1801. falls on,

  1802. sorry,

  1803. his destiny

  1804. now falls

  1805. on you.

  1806. Everything

  1807. that is

  1808. his is

  1809. yours

  1810. in Christ.

  1811. His union

  1812. with you

  1813. at both

  1814. the macro

  1815. and the

  1816. micro levels

  1817. guarantees

  1818. that he

  1819. will walk

  1820. you into

  1821. heaven,

  1822. into

  1823. everything

  1824. that he's

  1825. promised.

  1826. How do

  1827. I know?

  1828. Because

  1829. he's

  1830. achieved it

  1831. all already.

  1832. How do

  1833. I know

  1834. that he's

  1835. not going

  1836. to reverse

  1837. his plans?

  1838. He won't

  1839. reverse his

  1840. plans.

  1841. He can't

  1842. undo

  1843. his union

  1844. with you

  1845. any more

  1846. than he

  1847. can be

  1848. de-incarnated

  1849. in human

  1850. flesh

  1851. any more

  1852. than he

  1853. can be

  1854. de-crucified,

  1855. any more

  1856. than he

  1857. can be

  1858. de-resurrected,

  1859. any more

  1860. than he

  1861. can de-ascend.

  1862. And if

  1863. he was

  1864. to do

  1865. any of

  1866. that,

  1867. union

  1868. stops.

  1869. But it

  1870. won't.

  1871. It

  1872. won't.

  1873. you

  1874. were in

  1875. Christ.

  1876. And so

  1877. as we

  1878. go through

  1879. this

  1880. series,

  1881. draw strength

  1882. from your

  1883. oneness

  1884. with Jesus.

  1885. You are

  1886. no longer

  1887. alone.

  1888. You are

  1889. not isolated.

  1890. And when

  1891. you sin,

  1892. don't give

  1893. up.

  1894. he

  1895. hasn't

  1896. turned

  1897. his

  1898. back

  1899. on you

  1900. in any

  1901. way,

  1902. shape,

  1903. or form.

  1904. In fact,

  1905. in that

  1906. moment,

  1907. he draws

  1908. close to

  1909. you,

  1910. even closer

  1911. than you

  1912. thought he

  1913. was.

  1914. In that

  1915. moment,

  1916. he draws

  1917. close and

  1918. he lifts

  1919. your chin

  1920. and he

  1921. looks you

  1922. in the

  1923. eye

  1924. and he

  1925. says,

  1926. I am

  1927. your

  1928. existence,

  1929. not your

  1930. sin,

  1931. I am

  1932. your

  1933. existence

  1934. and your

  1935. existence

  1936. is this,

  1937. I am

  1938. in the

  1939. Father

  1940. and you

  1941. are in

  1942. me

  1943. and I

  1944. am in

  1945. you.