UNION WITH CHRIST (PART ONE) – ROMANS 5:12‐17 November 30 & December 1, 2013

These last verses of Romans 5, deal with mankind’s union with Adam on one hand, a union which has led to death and condemnation, and with the believer’s union with Jesus Christ on the other. This union with Christ leads to life and righteousness. Galatians 2:20

Paul will make his point by comparing Jesus with Adam.

 The obedience of Christ is parallel, but vastly superior to the disobedience of Adam.  The righteousness imputed to those who are in Christ is parallel, but vastly superior, to the sin imputed to those who are in Adam because of his disobedience.  The life that comes to us who are in Christ through the is parallel, but vastly superior, to the death that comes to those who are in Adam through that imputed sin.

KID’S MAIN IDEA: The grace of in Christ is God’s gift to all who believe.

THE TEXT: Romans 5:12‐21. This is not an easy passage, but it is very important. Here again, the Lord is building in His people the of . In addition to the great truth of , this union with Christ appears here in Romans. This is a mystical union and not fully understandable at this time but it is important – it is the Word of God to His people concerning the certainty of God’s salvation.

We got a hint of our union with Christ in 5:10. The last phrase, we shall be saved by His life is literally, we shall be saved IN His life. If God saved us through the death of Christ (via in His sacrificial death), He will certainly save us by our being “in His life.”

THREE GREAT UNIONS IN SCRIPTURE:

1) The ‐ the union of the Father, Son, and .

2) The two natures of Christ in one Person. He is both God and man, possessing two natures.

3) The believer’s union with Christ. John 15:1‐5; Matthew 26:26, 28; John 6:35; Ephesians 2:19‐22; 5:32; 1:22‐23

OUR UNION WITH CHRIST. The doctrine can be stated as follows: The believer is united with Christ; he is in Christ and Christ is in him. When we believe God’s gospel, God treats us as if we were as righteous as Jesus is. What Jesus did through His obedience and blood counts for us; “as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ hath accomplished for me.” (Heidelberg Catechism, 1563)

Martin Luther, “By faith you are so cemented to Christ that He and you are as one person, which cannot be separated but remains attached to Him forever. Look now at what grace, life, peace, and righteousness is in me; it is His, and yet it is mine also, by that inseparable union which is through faith, by which Christ and I are made as if one body in spirit.”

Every aspect of God’s relationship to believers is in some way connected to our relationship with Christ. From God’s designs in eternity past before the world was created, to our fellowship with God in heaven in eternity future, and including every aspect of our relationship with God in this life – all has occurred in union with Christ.

1. We are in Christ because of God’s eternal plan. Ephesians 1:3‐6; II Timothy 1:8‐9

2. This is seen in Christ’s life on earth. Jesus lived out His life as our representative. What Jesus did, God counted as being something we did too. Believers were present in Christ only in God’s thoughts – not some weird or mysterious way. Yet God thought of us as going through everything Christ went through because He was our representative.

3. This union with Christ is true in our lives now as believers. At the New Birth, our union with Christ is not just something in God’s mind. Now we are brought into actual relationship with Christ through which the benefits of salvation can be applied to our lives by the Holy Spirit. a. This is seen in the changes brought about in us by the Holy Spirit. We have become good trees and begin to bear good fruit because of our union with Christ.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

1. Adam is the father of every person. This means the damage done by Adam’s sin affects every human being in every place through all of human history.

2. The Bible says your deepest problem is your connection with Adam’s sin and condemnation. Man’s greatest problem is not what he does, but who he is, and that is Adam’s offspring. Our biggest problem is not our sin – as serious as that is – but our connection with Adam’s sin. Romans 5:15‐19

3. The only remedy for this condemnation is the justification that comes by the work of Jesus Christ who was perfectly obedient even unto death. Since all have been identified with Adam in his guilt and condemnation, Someone else must obey for you to make you right with God. Thank God for Jesus!

4. Faith in Christ is the only way to be united to Him and justified and accepted before God.