Chapter Three
The way to get holy endowments and qualifications necessary he path to acquiring the holy qualities and abilities necessary to shape and enable us for the immediate practice of the law is to receive them from the abundance of Christ through fellowship with Him. And in order to have this fellowship, we must be in Christ and have Christ Himself within us through a mystical union with Him.
Here, more than anywhere else, we have ample reason to acknowledge, along with the apostle, that without a doubt, the mystery of godliness is great - so great that it could not have entered into the human heart to conceive it if God had not made it known in the gospel through supernatural revelation. Even though it is clearly revealed in the Holy Scriptures, the natural person lacks the ability to perceive it there, for it appears as foolishness to them. And even if God expresses it plainly and directly, they will still consider it as enigmatic and allegorical. I have no doubt that it still remains a riddle and parable to many truly godly individuals who have received a holy nature through this means. For even the apostles themselves had the saving benefit of it before the Comforter revealed it clearly to them (John 14:20). They walked in Christ as the path to the Father before they fully understood Him to be the way (John 14:5). And the best among us only grasp it partially, anticipating its perfect understanding in the next world.
One significant mystery is that the holy disposition and inner state, which equips and enables our souls for immediate obedience to the law, must be obtained by receiving it from the fullness of Christ. It is already prepared and established for us in Christ, and stored up in Him. Just as we are justified through a righteousness accomplished in Christ and credited to us, we are also sanctified by a holy disposition and qualifications that are first accomplished and perfected in Christ on our behalf, and then imparted to us. Just as our inherent corruption originated in the first Adam and was passed down to us, our new nature and holiness are first brought forth in Christ and derived from Him to us, as if propagated. Therefore, we do not need to work alongside Christ in creating or producing that holy disposition within us, but rather, we are to receive it and utilise it in our pursuit of holiness, for it is already prepared for us. In this way, we have fellowship with Christ, as we receive that holy disposition of spirit that originally resided in Him. Fellowship occurs when several individuals share the same thing in common (1 John 1:1-3). Despite the illumination of the gospel, this mystery is so profound that we often believe we must attain a holy disposition by generating it anew within ourselves, by forming and cultivating it from our own hearts. Therefore, many devout individuals exert great effort to mortify their sinful nature and generate a holy disposition within themselves, striving earnestly to conquer their sinful desires and strongly urging their hearts towards godliness, as if desperately trying to extract good qualities from them, like oil from a flint. They believe that although they are justified by a righteousness accomplished by Christ, they must be sanctified by a holiness achieved by their own efforts. While, out of humility, they may refer to it as infused grace, they still think they must obtain this infusion through the same means of working, as if it were entirely acquired by their own endeavours. Consequently, they acknowledge that embarking on a godly life is difficult and unpleasant because it requires arduous wrestling with their own hearts and affections to reshape them. If only they knew that this path of entry is not only harsh and unpleasant but entirely impossible. The true method of mortifying sin and enlivening themselves to holiness is by receiving a new nature from the fullness of Christ. We do not contribute any more to the production of a new nature than we do to the generation of original sin, although we play a role in receiving it. If they knew this, they could spare themselves from many bitter agonies and cease their toil that is burdensome and futile, instead directing their efforts towards entering through the narrow gate in a way that is more pleasant and fruitful.
Another profound mystery in the process of sanctification is the glorious manner of our fellowship with Christ in receiving a holy disposition of heart from Him. This occurs through our union with Christ and His indwelling presence within us. This union is not merely a general preference of Christ as God, but rather a close and intimate union, where we become one spirit and one flesh with Him. This privilege is exclusive to those who are genuinely sanctified. I aptly describe this as a mystical union, for the apostle also refers to it as a great mystery in an Epistle that is filled with mysteries (Eph. 5:32). This indicates that it is remarkably significant among many other mysteries. It is one of the three primary mystical unions that are paramount in religion. The other two are the union of the Trinity of Persons within the Godhead and the union of the divine and human natures in the one Person of Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. Although we cannot fully grasp the exact nature of these three unions with our limited understanding, as the depth of these mysteries surpasses our comprehension, we have every reason to believe in their reality because they are clearly revealed in Scripture and serve as a necessary foundation for other aspects of Christian doctrine. Specifically, the union between Christ and believers is explicitly stated in various passages of Scripture, affirming that Christ is present in believers and dwells within them, and they in turn dwell in Him (John 6:56; 14:20). They are so closely united that they become one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), and believers are described as "members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones," emphasising the profound oneness between Christ and the church (Eph. 5:30, 31).
Moreover, Scripture employs various comparisons to illustrate this union, which would appear very dissimilar to the things they are used to represent.
If there were no genuine and proper union between Christ and believers, these comparisons would only serve to obscure the truth rather than enlighten us. It is compared to the union between God the Father and Christ (John 14:20; 17:21-23), the vine and its branches (John 15:4, 5), the head and the body (Eph. 1:22, 23), and bread and the eater (John 6:51, 53, 54).
Not only is it compared, but it is also sealed in the Lord's Supper, where the doctrines of transubstantiation held by the Catholics, consubstantiation held by the Lutherans, or the spiritual preference of Christ's body and blood by the Protestants cannot stand without it. If we were to imagine that the body and blood of Christ are not truly consumed by believers, either spiritually or physically, we would reduce the bread and wine to mere empty symbols that are more likely to mislead us than to establish us in the truth. There is nothing in this union that is impossible or contradictory to reason, which would compel us to depart from the plain and familiar meaning of the Scriptures that express and illustrate it. Although Christ is in heaven and we are on earth, He can unite our souls and bodies to His without any substantial change to either, through the indwelling of the same infinite
Spirit in both Him and us. Thus, our flesh becomes His when it is enlivened by His Spirit, and His flesh becomes ours just as if we were to partake of His flesh and blood. He will be in us Himself through His Spirit, who is one with Him and can establish a closer union with Christ than any material substance can achieve. The Spirit can bring about a more intimate connection between Christ and us. This does not mean that a believer becomes one person with Christ, just as the great mystical union does not make Christ one person with the Father. Nor does this union make a believer into God, but rather the believer becomes the temple of God, just as Christ's body and soul are. The Spirit acts as a vibrant instrument rather than the principal cause. This union does not necessitate that a believer is perfect in holiness, nor does it make Christ a sinner. Christ knows how to dwell within believers in certain measures and degrees, making them holy only to the extent that He dwells within them. While this union may seem like an exalted position for unworthy creatures such as ourselves, considering the preciousness of God's blood by which we are redeemed, it would be dishonouring to God if we did not expect a miraculous elevation to the highest dignity that creatures can attain through the merits of that blood. There is nothing in this union that contradicts our senses, for the bond of this union, being spiritual, is beyond the scope of sensory judgment.
In recent times, many learned individuals have acknowledged only a union between Christ and believers that can be likened to the relationship between separate persons or things. They interpret the relevant Scripture passages accordingly. When Christ is referred to as the Head of the church, they understand it to mean a political leader or governor. Likewise, when it is said that Christ is in His people and they are in Him, they believe it refers to the presence and acceptance of Christ's law, doctrine, grace, salvation, or godliness within them. Thus, they argue that in these instances, Christ should not be understood as Christ Himself, but rather as something produced in believers by Christ. When it is stated that Christ and believers are one Spirit and one flesh, they interpret it as the agreement of their minds and affections. They consider the profound mystery of this union, as mentioned in Ephesians 5:32, to be a harsh figure of speech or an obscure and improper expression, rather than a profound and complex reality. They suggest that Christ and His apostles used convoluted language when discussing matters that are straightforward and easily understood by the church. Consequently, this profound mystery—the union of believers with Christ Himself—which has historically been esteemed and embraced by ancient fathers, numerous eminent Protestant theologians (especially those writing about the doctrine of the Lord's Supper), and the general consensus of the church throughout the ages, is now rejected in the new theological paradigm. In my charitable judgment, the reason for its rejection is not because the learned theologians who refine divinity consider themselves less capable of defending this union compared to the other two mysterious unions, or of refuting the objections of proud sophists who refuse to believe what they cannot comprehend. Rather, it is because they view it as one of the elements of Antinomianism that went unnoticed in the previous traditional doctrine. They believe that this view leads individuals to become prideful, believing that they are already justified and possess eternal life within them, and that they no longer need to rely on their uncertain performance of sincere obedience as a condition for salvation. They perceive this as undermining the very foundation of a holy life. However, the wisdom of God has established a different foundation for holy living, which contradicts their assumptions. This union, which the theologians reject, is a crucial cornerstone of that foundation, next to the cornerstone itself. In opposition to their corrupted interpretations of the Scriptures supporting this union, I affirm that our union with Christ is the cause of our submission to Christ as a leader in all aspects, and it is the reason for the abiding presence of His law, doctrine, grace, salvation, and all godliness within us. It is also the basis for our alignment with Him in our minds and affections. Therefore, it cannot be entirely equated with their interpretations. This affirmation enhances our understanding of the excellence of this union. It is not a privilege acquired through our sincere obedience and holiness, as some may assume, or a reward of good works reserved for us in the afterlife. Instead, it is a privilege bestowed upon believers from the very beginning of their entrance into a state of holiness.
It is the foundation upon which all ability to do good works depends, and all sincere obedience to the law follows as the fruit produced by it.
Now that I have explained this principle, I will demonstrate that although the truth contained within it surpasses natural reason, it is clearly revealed to those whose minds are open to discern the supernatural revelation of the mysterious process of sanctification, which God has provided for us in the Holy Scriptures.
1. There are several passages in Scripture that plainly express this truth. Some texts indicate that all things related to our salvation are stored up for us in Christ and encompassed within His fullness, so we must receive them from that source or not at all (Col. 1:19). It pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell in Him. In the same
Epistle, the apostle explains that the holy nature by which we live for God was initially produced in us through Christ's death and resurrection: "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead" (Col. 2:11-13
ESV). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3 ESV). A holy frame of spirit, along with all its necessary qualifications, must be encompassed within these spiritual blessings. They are given to us in Christ's person in heavenly realms, prepared and stored up in Him for us while we are on earth.
Therefore, we must receive our holy endowments from Him or not at all. In this passage, some prefer to read "heavenly things" as in the margin, since neither places nor things are explicitly mentioned in the original text. However, the original textual reading is to be preferred over the marginal reading as it accurately conveys the proper sense of the original Greek phrase, which is rendered the same way in two other places in the same Epistle (Eph. 3:10; 6:12).
Another relevant text is 1 Corinthians 1:30, which states that "Christ
Jesus... became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (ESV). Christ provides us with sanctification, enabling us to live a holy life, just as He provides wisdom for us to be truly wise, righteousness for our justification, and redemption from all misery to enjoy His glory in the heavenly kingdom. Other Scripture passages clearly demonstrate that we receive our holiness from His fullness through fellowship with Him: "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John
1:16 ESV). This refers to grace corresponding to the law given by Moses, which undoubtedly includes the grace of sanctification.
"That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:3, 5-7 ESV). From this, we can deduce that our fellowship with God and Christ specifically includes having light and walking in it with holiness and righteousness. There are other passages that fully support this principle, indicating not only that our holy endowments are prepared for us in Christ and received from Him, but also that we receive them through union with Him: "Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all" (Col. 3:10-11 ESV). "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him" (1 Cor. 6:17 ESV). "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20 ESV). "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John
5:11-12 ESV). Can we desire clearer teachings from God that all the fullness of the new self is in Christ, along with that spiritual nature and life by which we live for God in holiness, and that they are so inseparably fixed in Him that we cannot possess them unless we are joined to Him and He abides in us? Beware that, due to prejudice and hardness of heart, you do not make God out to be a liar by not believing this exceptional testimony that God has given us His Son.
2. God is pleased to illustrate this mysterious process of our sanctification by using various similes and resemblances that leave no doubt as to its truth, which is something of great importance for us to know and believe. I will attempt to summarise the main resemblances and their significance in a concise statement, allowing those who are spiritually inclined to delve deeper into their meditation. We receive from Christ a new holy nature and disposition that enables us to live a holy life through our union and fellowship with Him, in a similar manner to: (i) how Christ lived in our human nature through His union with the Father (John 6:57); (ii) how we inherit original sin and death from the first Adam (Rom.
5:12, 14, 16, 17); (iii) how the natural body receives senses, movement, and nourishment from the head (Col. 2:19); (iv) how the branch receives sap, nutrients, and the ability to bear fruit from the vine (John 15:4, 5); (v) how a wife bears fruit through her marital union with her husband (Rom. 7:4); (vi) how stones become a holy temple when built on the foundation and joined with the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-6); (vii) how we receive nourishment from bread by eating it and from wine by drinking it (John 6:51, 55, 57). This last resemblance is used to confirm our communion with Christ in the Lord's Supper.
These seven resemblances illustrate the mystery in question to varying degrees. All of them indicate that our new life and holy nature first exist in Christ and are then imparted to us through a genuine and proper union and fellowship with Him. If anyone argues that the similitude of Adam and his descendants, as well as that of married couples, suggests a relational rather than a real union between Christ and us, they should consider that all nations are truly descended from one blood, which originated in Adam (Acts 17:26). Furthermore, the first woman was formed from Adam's body and was genuinely bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. Through this first married couple, the mystical union of Christ and His church is particularly exemplified (Gen. 2:22-24; Eph. 5:30-32). This union encompasses both these resemblances in their proximity and fullness, as those joined to the Lord are not only one flesh but also one spirit with Him.
The purpose of Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection was to prepare and establish a holy nature and framework for us within Himself, to be imparted to us through our union and fellowship with Him. It was not intended to enable us to independently generate the initial foundation of such a holy nature through our own efforts.
1. Through His incarnation, a new man was created in a holy state, after the holiness of the first Adam had been tarnished and nullified by the initial transgression. This new state was far more excellent than that of the first Adam because it involved a genuine union of the divine and human nature in one person, Christ. Thus, these natures shared communion and Christ was capable of acting in His human nature through the power inherent in His divine nature, being one with God the Father. The words He spoke during His time on earth were not from His own human power alone, but the Father who dwelled in Him performed the works (John 14:10). Why did Christ establish such a remarkable state of holiness in fallen human nature, causing it to live and act in communion with God who lived and acted within it? One significant purpose was to pass on this excellent state to His offspring, who would be born of Him and in Him through His Spirit, as the last Adam, the life-giving Spirit. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, we would also bear the image of the heavenly man (1 Cor. 15:45, 49), both in holiness in the present and in glory in the future. He was born as Emmanuel, God with us, for the fullness of the divine nature and all holiness resided in Him bodily, even in His human nature, so that we may be filled with that fullness in Him (Matt. 1:23; Col. 2:9, 10). He descended from heaven as the living bread, so that just as He lives by the Father, those who partake of Him may live in Him (John
6:51, 56), sharing the same life of God within them that was originally in Him.
2. Through His death, Christ liberated Himself from the guilt of our sins that were attributed to Him, as well as from all the innocent weaknesses of His human nature that He bore for a time on our behalf. By freeing Himself, He also prepared freedom for us from our entire natural condition, which is both weak like His and tainted with pollution, even without guilt and sinful corruption. Thus, the corrupt state of our natural condition, referred to as the "old man" in Scripture, was crucified together with Christ so that the power of sin might be destroyed. This destruction occurs in us not through any wounds that we can inflict upon it, but through our participation in the freedom from it and death to it that has already been accomplished for us through Christ's death. This is symbolised in our baptism, where we are buried with Christ by His death being applied to us (Rom. 6:2-4, 10, 11). "God, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:3, 4). Notice here that although Christ died so that we might be justified by the righteousness of God and by faith, not by our own righteousness, which comes from the law (Rom. 10:4-6; Phil. 3:9), He also died so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us as we walk according to His Spirit, as those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:4). His death is likened to a grain of wheat that dies in the ground to produce much fruit (John 12:24), to the Passover lamb that was slain so that a feast could be celebrated (1
Cor. 5:7, 8; 11:24), to bread that is broken to nourish those who partake of it (1 Cor. 11:24), and to the rock that was struck to provide water for us to drink (1 Cor. 10:4). He died to make Jew and Gentile into one new man in Himself (Eph. 2:15), and to see His offspring, those who inherit their holy nature from Him (Isa. 53:10).
By carefully considering these Scriptures, it becomes evident that Christ did not die so that we could form a holy nature within ourselves, but rather so that we could receive one that is already prepared and formed in Christ for us through our union and fellowship with Him.
3. Through His resurrection, Christ obtained spiritual life for us, fully procuring it on our behalf and making it our rightful possession through the merit of His death. Thus, we are said to be brought to life together with Christ even when we were dead in sins, and to be raised up together with Him. Moreover, we are made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, our Head, while we continue to live on earth in our own bodies (Eph. 2:5, 6). His resurrection signifies our resurrection to a life of holiness, just as Adam's fall led to our spiritual death. We ourselves are not the creators or formers of our new holy nature any more than we are of our original corruption. Both are already formed and prepared for us to partake in. Through our union with Christ, we participate in the spiritual life that He obtained for us through His resurrection, enabling us to bear its fruits. This is illustrated in Scripture through the analogy of a marriage union (Rom. 7:4). We are united to Him who rose from the dead so that we may bear fruit for God. Baptism represents not only the application of Christ's death but also His resurrection to us. In it, we are raised up with Him to newness of life, and we are taught to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord because He died to sin once and lives to God (Rom. 6:4, 5, 10, 11).
4. Our sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit, through whom we live and walk in holiness (Rom. 15:16; Gal. 5:25). The Holy Spirit first descended upon Christ in all His fullness, so that He could be communicated from Christ to us. This was signified to John the Baptist through the likeness of a dove descending from heaven and resting upon Christ at His baptism (John 1:32, 33). When the Holy
Spirit sanctifies us, He baptizes us into Christ and unites us to Him through Himself, serving as the great bond of union (1 Cor. 12:13).
Thus, according to the scriptural language, to have Christ Himself is synonymous with having the Spirit of Christ within us (Rom. 8:9, 10). The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by taking what belongs to Him and revealing it to us (John 16:14, 15). He grants us an experiential understanding of the spiritual blessings that Christ Himself prepared for us through His incarnation, death, and resurrection.
5. The effective causes of the four primary endowments necessary for equipping us for the immediate practice of holiness are encompassed in the fullness of Christ and stored up for us in Him.
These endowments, along with their causes, are richly obtained through our union and fellowship with Christ. When we are joined to Christ, our hearts are no longer left under the dominion of sinful inclinations or a mere indifference towards good and evil. Instead, they are endowed with a powerful inclination and propensity towards the practice of holiness, through the indwelling Spirit of Christ who inclines us to focus on spiritual matters and to resist the desires of the flesh (Rom. 8:1, 4, 5; Gal. 5:17). Moreover, in Christ, we experience full reconciliation with God and a higher favour than Adam had in his state of innocence. This is because the righteousness that Christ achieved for us through His obedience unto death is imputed to us for our justification. It is called the righteousness of God because it is accomplished by One who is both God and man, and thus of infinite value in satisfying God's justice for all our sins and obtaining His forgiveness and highest favour for us (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:19). To assure us of this reconciliation, we receive the Spirit of adoption through Christ, enabling us to cry out, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). Through this Spirit, we are also persuaded of our future enjoyment of eternal happiness and of having sufficient strength to will and perform our duties acceptably until we attain that blessed state. The Spirit of adoption teaches us to conclude that if we are children of God, then we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. It assures us that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death. It assures us that nothing can be against us, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Even in the face of opposition and difficulties, we will ultimately be "more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:17, 23, 35, 37, 39).
Furthermore, this comforting assurance of our justification, future happiness, and all saving privileges does not lead to licentiousness when given through the means of union with Christ. This is because it is inseparably linked with the gift of sanctification by the Spirit of Christ.
Therefore, we cannot have justification or any saving privilege in Christ unless we receive Christ Himself and His holiness along with any other benefit. The Scripture testifies that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and who walk according to the Spirit, not the flesh
1. There may be doubt about whether the saints who lived before Christ's incarnation in the flesh could truly be united with Him as one flesh and receive a new nature through union and fellowship with Him, as prepared for them in His fullness. But we should understand that the same Christ who took on our flesh existed before Abraham and was predestined before the foundation of the world to be sacrificed as a blameless lamb, redeeming us from all iniquity through His precious blood. He possessed the same Spirit then, which later filled His human nature in all its fullness and raised Him from the dead. And He imparted that Spirit to the early church. This Spirit had the power and efficacy to unite those saints with the flesh that Christ would assume in due time, for He was the same in both instances. He bestowed upon them the grace with which He would later fill His own flesh for the salvation of all, including us. Thus, David regarded Christ's flesh as his own and spoke of Christ's death and resurrection as his own, even before their fulfilment: "My flesh also shall rest in hope, for You will not leave my soul in hell; neither will You allow Your holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life" (Psalm 16:9-11). Moreover, saints who preceded
David likewise partook of the same spiritual sustenance and drank from the same spiritual source, that is, Christ Himself. Therefore, they too shared in the privilege of union and fellowship with Christ.
And when Christ was revealed in the flesh at the appointed time, all things in heaven and on earth, along with the departed saints whose spirits had been perfected in heaven, as well as the saints then present or to come on earth, were "gathered together in one" and included in Christ as their Head. He was the "chief cornerstone" in whom the entire building of the church, comprising the prophets of old and the apostles who followed His coming, is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. His incarnation, death, and resurrection are the cause of all the holiness ever given to humanity, from the fall of Adam to the end of the world. This is accomplished through the mighty power of His Spirit, by which all saints, past and future, are joined together as members of His mystical body, with Him as the Head.