We're turning to Romans chapter 16. It is the closing chapter of Paul's epistle to the Roman believers, and so Romans chapter 16, and there are names here. And we're going to try and read them. And believe you me, I am no expert in their pronunciation. And so you just follow me as we go through it. And as we read this portion, I want you to remember what we're thinking about tonight. We're thinking about our union with Jesus Christ. And you're going to see a little statement that appears time and time again. that Paul uses concerning these individuals, these named individuals that he refers to as he closes out this letter. So let's read from the verse number 1 of Romans chapter 16. The word of God says, I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at St. Zaria. That ye receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you. For she hath been a succorer of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus. who hath for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. So let my well-beloved Epaniphas, who is the firstfruits of Ikaia, unto Christ. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. Salute Anacrodas and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Amphilius, my beloved, in the Lord. Salute Urban, our helper in Christ. And Celeste, my beloved. Salute Appellus, approved in Christ. Salute them which are of our abolished household. Salute Herodonian, my kinsman. Greet them. that be of the household of Narcius, which are in the Lord. Salute Typhinia and Tryposia, who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which labors much in the Lord. Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, and mine. Salute I trust you have noticed The little word, the little statement that we find so often that Paul uses, he speaks about those who were in Christ Jesus. Verse 3, verse 7, in Christ. Verse 8, in the Lord. Verse 9, in Christ. Verse 10, in Christ. Verse 11, in the Lord. And then verse 13, chosen in the Lord. And here we have this statement before us, bringing to our attention the great truth of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, there is a concerning ignorance among many who profess faith in Jesus Christ as to their true identity, as one who has believed on Christ to the salvation of their soul. In this new series of messages that have been titled, Who am I as a Christian? We want to try and redress that ignorance that sadly exists among many of God's believing people. We began last Wednesday evening by thinking, first of all, about who we were before believing on Christ. We thought about our state, our position, the terms, the titles that are employed with regard to the non-Christian, who we are without Christ. We are afar off. We are strangers. We are aliens. We are those who are without Christ. These are various statements that are employed. But then we came to consider that the Christian is one who is in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. I reminded you that that phrase, in Christ, was the favored statement of the Apostle Paul. He comes to repeatedly use it as he pens his letters and his various epistles. He often refers to himself as being in the Lord and also refers to God's people as those who are in Christ. They are in Christ, they are in the Lord, they are in Christ Jesus. Having once been in Adam, the believer through the new birth has now been brought into union with Jesus Christ and so they are now viewed no longer in Adam with all of his guilt, with all of his original guilt and shame and sin. The believer now is found in Christ, viewed in him Possessing his righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The expression union with Christ, it really refers to the believer's association with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and through faith, by virtue of which believers partake. They partake of the saving benefits. that Christ secured for us when he died upon the cross. The American theologian, Louis Burkhoff, he defined our union with Jesus Christ in this way. He said, union with Jesus Christ is that intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and his people in virtue of which or through which he is the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and salvation. Our union with Jesus Christ is a matter that the Westminster divines address when they came to formulate the larger catechism. Question 66 asks the question, what is that union? What is that union which the elect, it is a word that obviously the Savior uses, Paul uses, Peter, John uses this word elect. What is this union which the elect have with Christ? And they come to answer it in this way. The union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God's grace. And so it's all of grace. We are brought into union, not because we merit it, not because we have attained to it, but because of God's grace. God being gracious to us has brought us into union with his Son. And so the union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God's grace, whereby they are spiritually and mystically yet really and in separately joined to christ as their head and husband which is done in their effectual calling now within that definition there are a number of words that are employed that really speak of our nature or the nature of this union that exists between the lord jesus christ and his people words such as spiritual and mystical and we want to consider those words and then some other words that I trust will give you the sense as to the form that this union takes between us and the Lord Jesus Christ, or the nature of the union that exists between us and Jesus Christ. We thought about the reality of it, we thought about how it's pictured in the vine with the branch, we thought about the husband and the wife, the building, and the superstructure the body and the head this that is pictured for this union that exists we thought about the reality of it we consider the various portions that we have the statement in christ or some of them But now we're thinking about the nature of this union. What form does it actually take? Well, let's consider a number of these words together and then we'll go to prayer. Firstly, our union with Jesus Christ is a spiritual union. It is a spiritual union. Our union with Jesus Christ is not a physical union. where our physical bodies come to be connected with Christ's physical body, but rather this union is spiritual in its nature. We must not think that our substance or our essence comes to be merged or assimilated or absorbed into Christ's essence or substance in this particular union. There's no confusion, there's no intermingling of substances here in view. Whenever we say our union with Jesus Christ is spiritual, we mean a number of things. First of all, we mean that the bond of this union is spiritual in its origin. and that it was forged by God the Holy Spirit. I did not bring myself into union with Jesus Christ, but rather that is the mysterious work of the Spirit of God, who brings a child of wrath out of Adam and now brings him into union with Jesus Christ. This is something that man cannot do. With all of his efforts, with all of his attempts, he cannot bring himself into union with Jesus Christ. This takes the supernatural working of the Spirit of God, and that has happened in every believer's life. Every believer's life, God worked in your heart and in your soul, brought you to a place of repentance. brought you to faith in Jesus Christ. And at that moment, you were on a personal level, experimentally, you were brought into this union with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Experimentally speaking, I'm saying. And so this union, the Spirit of God is the author of it. It is the work of the Spirit to unite you and I to Jesus Christ. It is He who comes and regenerates the heart and illuminates the mind and He works faith in us and He enables us to rest on Jesus Christ. Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 6 verse 17, he wrote these words, but he that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit. He that is joined unto the Lord. There's a word there that speaks of union. I'm joined unto the Lord and we are one spirit. This is a spiritual union. It's not a materialistic union. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13, for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body. Now this is not speaking about water baptism, this is speaking about the new birth under this imagery of being baptized into one body. By one Spirit, by the Spirit of God, we are baptized into one body, the body of Christ, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free. and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. We are joined to Christ by means of the indwelling of the Spirit of God in us. It is the work of the Spirit to join us to Christ. Just take that home with you tonight. The Spirit of God, join me to Christ. In his book, Great Doctrines of the Faith, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, he noted that although Paul, Paul the apostle, speaks much about our union with Jesus Christ, it is actually the apostle John who seems to emphasize it the most. Jones notes that John, he begins to emphasize this union that I have with Jesus Christ, in john chapter 14 of his gospel in john's gospel chapter 14 this is what dr jones says he says the moment our lord begins to tell his disciples about the holy spirit He begins to tell them about the union. In many ways the classic passage on the whole doctrine of the union of the believer of Christ is found in that section of John's gospel which runs from chapter 14 to the end of chapter 17. What John's noted was that the doctrine of our union with Jesus Christ comes in precisely at the same time as he speaks about the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. And that is not without its insignificance, because as I've already mentioned, it is the work of God the Holy Spirit to unite us to Christ. And so it's obvious, if he's going to deal with the work of the Spirit of God and the person of the Spirit of God, and he's going to emphasize then the ministry of the Spirit of God, he's going to speak about this union that he forges. that he authors, that he brings about in the life of the child of God and that's why we have John 14 and then John 15i and the vine year the branches and so on and so forth. But whenever we say that this union with Christ is spiritual we also mean that there's a spiritual relationship that is in view. John Murray he said It's not the kind of union that we have in the Trinity, three persons and one God. It's not the kind of union that we have in the person of Christ, two natures and one person. It's not the kind of union that we have in man, body and soul, constituting a human being. It's not simply the union of feeling, affection, understanding, mind, heart, will and purpose. Here we have union that we are unable to define specifically, but it is a union of an intensely spiritual character. consistent with the nature and the work of the Holy Spirit, so that in a real way, surpassing our power of analysis, Christ dwells in his people, and his people dwell in him. In a spiritual sense, I am united to Christ. I am at one with Christ. Secondly, our union with Christ is a mystical or a mysterious union, and you're probably thinking, after all you've just said, it is a little bit mysterious to me. But this is the word that is used, it is a mystical union. Whenever we think of the word mystical, and it's used to speak of this union that exists between God and His people, we must not think of mysticism that is at odds with human reasoning. Rather, union with Christ is a mystery. It is presented to us in the New Testament. But it is a mystery in a New Testament sense in that it has been hidden with God in His eternal purposes until now, but finally it has now been revealed to us in the Scriptures, particularly through and by Christ in His death and His resurrection. This doctrine is one of the great doctrines or the great mysteries of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's how Paul speaks of this. If you think about Ephesians chapter 5, that's the passage that you often hear read at a marriage ceremony. And we often hear the minister speaking about how in a marriage ceremony, it is a picture of the mystical union, that's the phrase he uses, of the mystical union that exists between Christ and his church. It is a picture. It is a picture. When Paul comes to finish off speaking about the husband and wife, he writes in Ephesians 5, 32, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and his church. Whenever two couple or a couple come together, you stand before the minister and they come to the church building as two individuals, two separate individuals. But at the end of the ceremony, the minister pronounces that they are now husband and wife. They are now united. The two have become what? One flesh. They haven't merged into each other with regard to They're now half groom and half bride and vice versa. It doesn't happen, but this is the imagery that's used. They've now become one flesh. That's a mystery, but that's how it is. The property of each individual becomes the property of the other individual. The wonderful thing about our union with Jesus Christ is that our sin and guilt is impure to Christ, and his righteousness is impure to ours, and so what is his is ours, because of now this union that exists between myself and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one from whom My righteousness is derived for I take to myself His righteousness. He has given to me His perfect righteousness. Credit it to me. And certainly this is a mystery. But this is revealed in Scripture. This union, this spiritual union, this identification that I have with Jesus Christ and He has with me is revealed in Scripture. I suppose a classic passage is Acts chapter 9. If you want to turn there, And maybe before we lose ourselves, I want you to see this, how it works itself, this union that I have with Jesus Christ. You'll know that Paul is heading down the road at breakneck speed to get to the city of Damascus in his back pocket. He has letters from the elders and the high priests in order that he might arrest the believers, the Christians. God's people there in the city of Damascus. Let's read from verse 3. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, So soul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Now we all know that Paul was persecuting the church on earth. But here we find Christ's identification with those people. This union that exists between the church and Christ, the people of God and Christ, so much so that there was this union in place that Christ felt Christ identified with the persecution that the church was experiencing on earth. And so he says to Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Paul could have turned around and said, well, Lord, I'm not persecuting you. I'm persecuting the church. But you see, because of this union, Christ felt and understood and identified with that which was occurring on earth. He identified with it in heaven. Saul didn't reach into heaven and persecute Christ, the living Christ, enthroned in glory. He didn't do that. But this identification, this union that existed, what Saul did to the church, God's people on earth, was felt by the Christ, the living Christ in heaven. And that's a wonderful thing, child of God, to think, that tonight your sorrow was felt by your God. And your heartache is known to your God. The difficulty that you're pressing through is known by your God. And the struggles of life, he knows all about it, because he identifies with you in it. He is with you in it all, because you're in union with him. He feels and knows your heartache and sorrow. It's the same there over there in Exodus, whenever the children of Israel, Christ God identified with His people. I know their sorrows. I know their sorrows. And He knows your sorrows. And how does He know it? Because He is in union with you, and you are in union with Him. Thirdly, our union with Jesus Christ is not only spiritual, it's not only mystical. This union, it's a personal union. Never ever think that your union with Jesus Christ is merely on a corporate level. That Christ is in union with his church as a corporate body. Yes, of course he is in union with his church, but he is in union with every single one of his children. Every single child of God is in union with Jesus Christ. Every Christian in this world on a personal level is united, joined to Jesus Christ. And that needs to be emphasized because the church in Rome teaches that an individual can have no direct union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic Church, they teach that a person can only become connected to Christ through the Roman Catholic Church and by her sacraments. They teach that a person can only be in union through that. But this teaching, it does away with the individual aspect. And it really, instead, it emphasizes the corporate aspect. However, every individual, every individual is personally and directly united to Jesus Christ. Every sinner regenerated by the Spirit of God is directly united to Christ and receives their life from Him directly. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 16, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. No Christian is more united to Jesus Christ than another. I am not more united to Christ than you are, and you're not more united to Jesus Christ than I am. There is no varying degrees of union. All are united to Christ in the same way and to the same degree. And because you are in union with Him on a personal level, then you can go directly to Him in prayer and unburden your heart tonight. and tomorrow and the week that lies ahead. You don't need a human intermediary. You don't need a human mediator to help you, but rather you can go directly to God through Christ and be heard because you are in union with Christ. We come to God through him and by him, and we find our acceptance in Christ. And so this is a personal union. You, you, as an individual believer are united to Jesus Christ. You've been grafted and joined onto Christ. Oh, isn't that a wonderful thought? Fourthly, our union with Jesus Christ, it's a present union, a present union. You know, there's some and they believe that the union of the believer with Christ is something that they only ever attain to when they have arrived at some unusual degree of holiness or piety in their lives. I've reached a sort of standard, a sort of level, a sort of benchmark, and now I am in union with Jesus Christ. However, whenever I read the Word of God, I find that tonight, I am in union with Jesus Christ. Today, I'm not waiting to be joined to Christ, I am already joined to Him. Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. That's my position. I am in Christ Jesus. Condemnation of sin is gone, I've been justified by faith, and now there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. We don't evolve into this union with Jesus Christ over a period of time as we mature in our Christian lives. Rather, the moment that we are born again, we are united to Christ or, as some theologians would say it, we are united to Christ and then we are born again. But that is all with regard to order. The moment you're born again, you are united to Christ. You are in union with Him. You are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, in Christ, that's what you are. You're in Christ. This is not some kind of future blessing. It's on down the road in the Christian experience when we've proven ourselves to God but rather this is our present portion. Tonight I am joined to Christ. I am in union with him. Fifthly, our union with Jesus Christ, it's a transforming union. Only through this union can believers be conformed and transformed into the image of God's dear son, Paul. He speaks in Galatians 2 in the verse 20. He says, I am crucified with Christ. This is my union with him. Remember what I said the first week when Christ went to the tree? I went to the tree. Christ died as my representative. And so I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ now lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and he gave himself for me. When Christ lives in us, brethren and sisters, a transformational work takes place. Believers are in Christ, yes, but Christ is also in them. It is the hope of the believer, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Since Christ lives in each and every one of us, such an indwelling by Christ, it's going to be transformational, Christ living in his people. It's going to change how we live. It's going to change how we conduct ourselves. It's going to be transformational. I quote the verse again, if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things become new because I am in Christ. This union that I have with Jesus Christ, it's transformational. And if it's not transformational, if I know nothing of the transformation and the sanctification of my life, then I need to ask myself, am I then in Christ? How can Christ live within His people and them not be changed? We should take on His likeness, and we are conformed more and more to the image of God's blessed and dear Son. And so it is a transformational union. When I am joined to Christ, then all that is his becomes mine. And by that I am changed from glory on to glory as I find myself conformed to the image of his dear son, Jesus Christ. In the sixth place and in the final place, our union with Jesus Christ is an indissoluble union. It is an indissoluble union. Our union with Jesus Christ is a permanent union. Once in Christ, we are forever in Christ. There is no in-out, in-out to our union with Jesus Christ, like some kind of spiritual hokey pokey. I'm not in Christ today and out of Christ tomorrow, Rather, once a believer is joined to Christ, they are permanently joined to Jesus Christ. Let me quote Dr. Jones again for you. He said, it is inconceivable to me that we can be joined to Christ by the Spirit and then go out of that union and then come back and enter into it again, and then go out again, and keep on coming in and going out. He said, rather, this is once and forever. The truth that our union with Jesus Christ, that it is eternal in its duration, is a death kneel to the false notion that a person can be saved today and lost tomorrow. Once joined to Jesus Christ, we cannot be unjoined to Him. The Son of God knows nothing with regard to divorce when it comes to His bride. He is joined eternally to His bride and her to Him. And thus all who make up His bride are joined eternally to Jesus Christ. Let me ask, is there anything or anyone in this world or in any other world that can dissolve this union between me and Christ? Will God dissolve this union? Let's ask that question. Will God dissolve this union? No, because we have his word on it. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Will I dissolve this union? No. Because God declares in Jeremiah 32 verse 40, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. Oh, there's times, yes, we grow cold. But to fully apostatize from Christ, it is impossible for one who is joined to Christ, united to Christ. Will devils dissolve this union, this union that exists between me and Christ? No, unless they're stronger than the Father and the Son. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And none is able, no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Will death dissolve this union? No, because the apostle Paul said, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Paul said that not even death can separate us from the love of Christ. Why? Because of this union that we have with Jesus Christ. The Westminster Confession of faith that states this concerning those who die. The confession states the soul of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory and their bodies still being united to Christ to rest in their graves till the resurrection. The divine saw that even in death The body of the believer, though it lies in the grave, is still one that is united to Christ. Our union with Jesus Christ will see us brought safely to glory. Once united to Christ by the Spirit of God, that bond that exists between the eternal Son and the believer is eternal and indissoluble in its nature. Jesus Christ, he said these words in Mark chapter 10 verse 9, what therefore God hath joined together, Let no man put or let not man put asunder. Well, yes, it's speaking there within marriage, but could we not broaden it out and think about all that God joins together? He says, let not man put asunder. How can one united to Christ? Think about it. Think about one united to Christ by the Spirit of Christ or by the Spirit of God. How can they become ununited to Christ? Such is taught by the Arminians. But such a teaching, it questions the ability, and it questions the competence of God the Holy Spirit to forge, and not only to forge, but to permanently fix the union between God and His child. What God does, folks, He does well. And that includes uniting us to Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 14 is a wonderful verse. It's not a familiar verse, but I've quoted it before. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken away from it, and God doeth it that men should fear before him. When God unites us to Christ, that union shall be forever, because it's God who did it. God united me to Christ. And because he united me to Christ, this union that he forged, that he was the author of, this union will be forever. Because God always does an eternal work. And so rejoice in that child of God. Rest in that child of God. You are united eternally, and you are united permanently to Jesus Christ. I am in him. And that brings us to many wonderful blessings and we'll think about those in the next number of weeks. The blessings that flow out of this union that I have with the Lord Jesus Christ. I suppose one of them is that we will be brought to glory. We cannot expect the head to be in heaven and the body dismembered in some way. But every part of the body that is united with the head will find itself, every member will find itself in glory. The hymn writer put it like this, And this I shall find, for such is his mind. He'll not be in glory and leave me behind. He can't do that because I am one in union with him. I am found in Christ. and thus I will be found someday with Christ. But this union that exists between the child of God and the eternal Son, it's spiritual. It's not physical. It's a spiritual union. It's a mystical union. It's a mystery. Maybe to you in your mind, yes, what has been said, really a lot of it has gone over my head. But know this, it's a personal union. Tonight you're in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. You are seen in Christ. You're accepted in Christ. You are complete in Christ. You are personally on a personal level. This union, it should be transforming. It's present. I'm not waiting to be brought into union. I am in union with him. I am in Christ. Paul spoke about people who were in Christ before him. It was their present portion. Yes, it's transforming, but it's permanent. It's indissoluble. It'll never be broken. This bond, this tie, this uniting, this being joined to Christ, it is one that is forever. And in this we can rejoice. And so rejoice in it, child of God. Ask the Lord to illuminate your heart. Consider it. Think of it. Listen to other men as they've preached upon this subject matter. Let it get into your being. This great truth, this truth from which every other blessing flows, as a believer, that I am joined to Christ. And what is the head's mind? Just as, remember in Psalm 133, whenever the head was anointed, the oil reached down to the garments, to the very borders of the garments. What was the head was part and enjoyed by all within the body. And so that which Christ has secured for us is enjoyed by us, because it all comes to us through this channel, through this, as it were, spiritual viaduct, conduit, through this conduit that I am in Him. And because of that, all that He did for me is mine. And I'm so glad of that, for I would never be in heaven if I find myself without him. But tonight I am in Christ. May this be to the rejoicing of our hearts. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Thank you for listening. Sometimes these matters are as difficult for the preacher to understand at times, but may God work it into our souls and into our beings. And may God help us to understand what we are tonight, what we are tonight. We are those who are found in Christ. Loving Father, Lord take thy word. We understand that at times it can sound a little bit complicated, but we pray that you'll give us light, Lord, and understanding to this matter. Lord, help us to rejoice in this fact. Oh God, that Christ, because I am in union with him, he answers all the charges on my behalf. He stands to my defense. He's in sympathy with his people through this union. What is felt on earth is known in glory. He knows all about my heartache and sorrow and my disappointment. He knows all about it. And Lord, we're so glad of that. O bless thy people, help this truth to be to the rejoicing of their hearts, and bless us as we meet around the throne of heavenly grace. And may we come to understand that we can go to the throne of grace because of this union. We are, as we approach the throne, we are those who come in Christ. We are accepted in Him. Oh, help us, Lord, we pray, for we offer prayer in Jesus' holy name.