Despair (chapter 2)
In chapter 2 we learn that fallen human beings enter into joy through self despair. From The Bondage of the Will Martin Luther tells us that this self despair makes man realize that everything depends on the will of God and can only wait for God to act. This despair of ourselves is necessary for growth as a Christian, and not just a one time experience for conversion. Ortlund teaches that though we are made in the image of God, we are still also ruined. The result of the actions in the garden of Eden, infect all of our existence. Romans 3:9-18 speaks of sin infecting every part of our physical bodies. This sin itself prevents us from recognizing the seriousness of our condition. Matthew 15:14, 1 John 2:11, John 9:40-41 all speak of this blindness.
We have not been assisted in our affliction, we have been rescued. Ortlund advises us we must feel our sinfulness, be humbled by it, be sobered. We must allow this sense of self-futility to take us down. Not to wallow but to recognize our lack of any ability to change on our own. We cannot skip this step. What do we do? This experience will lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Through repentance we turn from self, through faith we turn to Jesus. We collapse! Seek Christ.
Quotes from Chapter 2
“To the degree that we minimize the evil within [us], we lower the ceiling on how deeply we can grow”. p40
“Let your emptiness humble you. Let it take you down.” p44
Union (chapter 3)
In chapter 3, we discuss the union we have with Christ. It is a doctrine that is referred to over two hundred times in the New Testament. Puritan Jerimiah Burroughs tells us that our sanctification does not come so much from our struggling, vows and resolutions, but from union with Christ. Romans 6:1-5 discusses this union. We can understand that we move forward spiritually by seeing that “God in us” teaches both human responsibility and divine sovereignty. (p54) God is supremely responsible for our growth but does not deny our responsibility. (1 Cor. 15:10, Phil. 2:12-13, Co. 1:29).
So what is it to be united to Christ? We are secure in him, never to be disunited from this amazing union. We were secured in him before we ever heard of him. (2 Tim 1:8-9). Because we are united to Christ, we died because he died. We are bound to him rather than to Adam. Christ’s resurrection assures us that we, too, will be raised. When we sin, we are not acting as who we are. Our salvation is far deeper than just walking down an aisle, praying a prayer or going forward at a meeting. We are being united to the living Christ! We are in, as Henry Scougal in The Life of God in the Soul of Man wrote “a union of the soul with God, a real participation of the divine nature”. In Christ, we recover who we are supposed to be.
On pages 62-63 we see the blessings we receive in this union. If we are in Christ, we have everything we need to grow. We have been united to the divine son through whom all was made (Col.1:16), the one who upholds the universe (Heb.1:3) without whose care all would fall apart (Co. 1:17). THIS is the one in whom we have been united. Meditate on this. Nothing comes to us in this life other than through him. Every pain, every disappointment, no matter how hard, comes from the one to whom we are united. We are to live the rest of our lives mindful our our union with the prince of heaven. Our sins cannot separate us from him. Our ever growing awareness of this can give us the power to resist and overcome sin. We are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). We are not alone (John 14:20).
Quotes from Chapter 3
“God does everything to save me, and then by the Holy spirit…..he unites me spiritually to his Son.” p54
“….we were secured in Christ before we ever heard of Christ”. p57
“The alternative to being in Christ is to be in Adam. One or the other. “p58
Extra from other sources on Union with Christ
It is important to realize that Christ does not come to improve the old self, to guide and redirect it to a better life; he comes to kill us, in order to raise us to newness of life. He is not the friend of the old self, only too happy to be of service. He is its mortal enemy, bent on replacing it with a new self.
All of our righteousness, holiness, redemption, and blessing is found outside of us–in the person and work of Christ. This was the declaration of the Scriptures and, following the sacred text, of the reformers, in the face of a subjective righteousness located in the believer. And yet, as Calvin points out, this “alien righteousness” belonging to someone outside of us would mean nothing if this righteous one remained forever outside of us.
The Christ who has done everything necessary for our salvation in history outside of us now comes to indwell us in the person of his Holy Spirit.
Michael Horton on Union with Christ
This concept of being “in” Christ Jesus has immense practical implications. No matter where you are geographically and physically, what you are spiritually will never change. You may be at work, at play, overseas, under the weather, out of money, but you are always and unchangeably in Christ! You may be down in the dumps, over the hill, or beside yourself, but you are always and unchangeably in Christ! You may be at paradise or in prison, at the movies or in Texas, but you are always and unchangeably in Christ! Your geographical, earthly, physical location has no effect on your spiritual identity.
Sam Storms (Enjoying God Ministries)
What is important about union with Christ for the Christian life? Well, union with Christ is the Christian life. It is not some small, particular blessing that might go alongside the key blessings of the gospel. Union with Christ is the Christian life.
Michael Reeves
Next study read chapters 4 and 5.