Embraced

We have come to share in Christ. (Hebrews 3:14)

Christ’s work is not effective for everyone because not everyone is in union with Him. We’re united to Christ by faith—that is, by trusting in Him as our Savior. And the moment we trust in Christ, we become partakers of and beneficiaries of all that He did in both His life and death. We’re united to Christ both legally and vitally. We can distinguish these two aspects in this way: Our legal union with Christ entitles us to all that Christ did for us as He acted in our place, as our substitute. Our vital union with Christ is the means by which He works in us by His Holy Spirit. The legal union refers to His objective work outside of us that is credited to us through faith. The vital union refers to His subjective work in us, which is also realized through faith as we rely on His Spirit to work in and through us. Though our union with Christ has both these aspects, it is one union. We cannot have legal union without also having vital union. If through faith we lay hold of what Christ did for us, we’ll also begin to experience His working in us. Have you ever thought about the wonderful truth that Christ lived His perfect life in your place and on your behalf? Has it yet gripped you that when God looks at you today He sees you clothed in the perfect, sinless obedience of His Son? And that when He says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5), He includes you in that warm embrace? The extent to which we truly understand this is the extent to which we will begin to enjoy those unsearchable riches that are found in Christ.