How the Good Doctrine of Union
with Christ Can Be Abused.
In recent years the phrase union
with Christ has appeared with increasing frequency in evangelical
preaching. The recovery of this language has often been welcomed, particularly
within Reformed circles, because the doctrine occupies a central place in
Scripture and in the theology of the Reformers. Yet the growing use of the
phrase has also revealed a troubling pattern. The doctrine is invoked
regularly, but the theological framework that once gave it meaning is often
missing. The language remains, while the doctrine itself is quietly reshaped.
This essay is concerned with the way
union with Christ is sometimes expressed in modern sermons. A recent sermon on
Matthew 5 at the Darebin Presbyterian Church by Rev Adam Humphries, provides a helpful illustration. In explaining
how Christians are able to live as “salt and light,” the preacher stated that
believers are “connected to Jesus by faith.” From this connection, he
argued, Christians are able to produce “gospel-shaped deeds backed by
gospel-shaped words.”
Both phrases sound impressive. Both appear to affirm orthodox theology. Yet neither expression is biblical language, and both significantly reduce the doctrine they attempt to describe.
Consider first the phrase “connected to Jesus by faith.” The New Testament never describes the believer’s relationship to Christ in those terms. Instead, it uses far stronger and more precise language. Believers are described as being “in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17). They are “united with him in a death like his” and therefore share in his resurrection (Rom. 6:5). Paul declares that he has been “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), and that believers have been “raised with him” (Col. 3:1). These expressions describe participation in Christ’s redemptive work. The believer is not merely linked or connected to Christ; he is incorporated into Christ’s death and resurrection, and shares in what Christ has accomplished.
The Reformers spoke of this union in similarly weighty terms. Calvin (Inst. 3.1.1) wrote that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value to us. Calvin explains this further that Christ must dwell in us and we must be engrafted into Him. Union with Christ is therefore the means by which the believer receives the full saving work of Christ. Through this union the believer receives justification, because Christ’s righteousness becomes his own. Through the same union he receives sanctification, because Christ’s life begins to renew him. Union with Christ answers both aspects of the human problem: our guilt and our corruption.
The language of being “connected to Jesus by faith” does not capture this depth. It reduces a profound covenantal and redemptive reality to something far thinner. Faith becomes the mechanism of a connection rather than the instrument by which sinners receive Christ and all his benefits. The result is a description of Christian life that sounds more like a spiritual relationship than a participation in the saving work of the second Adam.
A similar reduction occurs in the sermon’s repeated reference to “gospel-shaped deeds.” Once again, the phrase has rhetorical appeal, yet it does not reflect the way Scripture speaks. In the New Testament the gospel is not primarily a pattern for human behaviour. It is the announcement of what God has accomplished in Christ for sinners. Paul summarises the gospel with striking clarity: “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day” (1 Cor. 15:3–4). The gospel proclaims redemption accomplished. Good works certainly flow from that message, but they are the fruit of the gospel, not its form.
When these two expressions become the controlling language of a sermon, the doctrine of union with Christ quietly shifts its function. Instead of explaining how sinners receive Christ’s righteousness and reconciliation with God, union with Christ becomes the explanation for how believers can produce beneficial deeds in the world. The centre of gravity moves from the saving work of Christ to the moral activity of Christians.
The irony is that the passage being preached—Matthew 5—presents a far richer theological order. Jesus declares that his disciples are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” Yet these declarations follow immediately after the Beatitudes. The people who become salt and light are first described as “poor in spirit, mourning”, and “hungry for righteousness”. They are not confident moral reformers. They are spiritually bankrupt people who know they depend entirely on God’s mercy. Their influence in the world flows from their repentance and grace already received.
When this order is preserved, the doctrine of union with Christ shines with its proper clarity. Those who are united to Christ share in his death and resurrection. They receive his righteousness and are renewed by his Spirit. From that union flows a transformed life that reflects Christ and inevitably blesses others. Yet the centre of the message flowing from redeemed people remains the saving work of Christ, not the deeds of believers.
The language of being “connected to Jesus by faith” and producing “gospel-shaped deeds” may appear harmless. Yet such expressions subtly reshape the doctrine they attempt to describe. They replace the biblical language of participation in Christ with a thinner vocabulary of connection and ethical influence. In doing so, they risk transforming one of the richest doctrines of the Christian faith into little more than a motivational explanation for Christian activism.
The church does not need less talk of union with Christ. It needs clearer talk of it. When union with Christ is preached within the full framework of the fall, justification, and redemption, its glory becomes unmistakable. Condemned sinners are joined to their Redeemer and receive every blessing of salvation. From that union flows the new life that Christ produces in his people. But the centre of the message remains where Scripture places it: not in the deeds of believers, but in the saving work of Christ.
Here is a transcription of the sermon.
