Why did God become man?
1 Timothy 1: 15
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
When you watch a really good hero movie, it’s not enough for the good guy to save people from the bad guy. A great hero saves people from evil and to goodness. At the end of the movie, things are not the same as how they started—they’re better than how they started.
In the same way, for Jesus to save sinners, he takes them from alienation from God to union and communion with God.
Union and Communion with the Triune God
Union - oneness with God in Christ
Union is a real thing, not just a feeling.
It’s like marriage, adoption, citizenship, welding metal, nail boards together, a business acquisition, grafting a new branch onto a plant, etc. etc. etc.
Union with Christ is union with God
Colossians 3:3
“Your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
John 17:21
“Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.”
This union is indissoluble.
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Communion - acting like you’re united to God in Christ.
Communion is on the basis of our indissoluble union with Christ in God.
John Owen (paraphrased)
“God’s giving of himself to us,
with our returning unto him that which he requires and accepts,
flowing from the union which in Christ Jesus we have with him.”
Union and communion are the difference between a marriage and a good marriage.
You get married by taking vows before God, but you have a good marriage when each of you (2) gives yourself entirely to the other person; and (2) enjoys the other person giving themselves over to you.
You don’t have to have a good marriage to be married, but you do need to be married to have a good marriage.
You are united to God in Christ, now fellowship with him! That’s communion.
John 15:9-10
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as l have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
Our union with God does not wax and wane, but our communion does.
You can never lose your union with God by sinning, but you can lose your communion with him. When you sin, it makes it harder to enjoy God and serve him, which requires a fresh act of faith and repentance to restore your communion with God.
It’s the same thing in marriage. When you sin against your spouse, you don’t end your marriage, but you do hurt the quality of your marriage. You make it harder for the two of your to enjoy and serve each other. So, you need to repent and lean into your spousal union, restoring your relationship together.
Our communion is with each person of the Trinity distinctly.
Communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Our communion with each person is distinct from our communion with the other persons, but it is not separate.
When we communion with Jesus, he is the primary person in focus, but communion with the Father and Spirit sits in the background of our communion with the Son because everything that the Son did for us he did for the Father through the Spirit.
Communion with the Father: Love
The Father communes with us by giving us his love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” (John 3:16)
“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you.” (John 16:26-27)
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:5)
We communion with the Father by:
Receiving his love in faith; and
Loving him in obedience.
Communion with the Son: Grace
The Son communes with us by giving us his grace.
“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)
Paul even makes “grace be with you” equivalent to “The Lord Jesus be with you.” (2 Thess. 3:17-18)
The grace of Christ is often a marital concept.
A good husband truly and really sees his wife as the most beautiful person in the world—and that’s hor Jesus sees us. It’s literally unmerited favor.
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isa 62:5)
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph 5:25)
We communion with the Son by:
Recognizing that our righteousness is filthy rags;
Recognizing that his righteousness is infinitely excellent; and
Laying our sins at the foot of his cross.
Communion with the Spirit: Fellowship
The Spirit communes with us by giving us his fellowship.
John 14:16-20
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
It is the Spirit that unites us to Christ, giving us the love of the Father and the grace of the Son, providing the foundation for our fellowship with God.
Ever wondered why blaspheme is the unpardonable sin? If you refuse the Spirit, you cannot receive the grace of Jesus or the love of the Father. It’s a rejection of the gospel.
We commune with the Spirit by:
Receiving his teaching.
Which means receiving his conviction of sin and illumination of the gospel.
Receiving his prompts of remembrance.
Which means receiving his testimony in our hearts that we are children of God and joint heirs with Christ.
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