The doctrine of justification is first and foremost about how we get right with God in union with Christ; and it is also about how we get right with each other in communion with Christ’s church.

God called you into communion with Christ and God chose you in union with Christ by his grace and for his glory.

We ought to think of our baptism into Christ as a formal adoption ceremony into the family of God; and we ought to think of the Holy Spirit coming into our hearts is our birth certificate,

In Christ alone is the wisdom that created the world, the wisdom that holds it together, and the wisdom that redeems the world. In Christ alone are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

As baptized Christians we must think and live on the basis of our union with Christ. We must walk in the rhythm of dying and rising with Christ.

As baptized Christians we are worship-warriors in union with Christ. God commands us to present our members as weapons of righteousness and our bodies as living sacrifices. The Spirit of Christ “weaponizes” our members to fight against sin and death and for righteousness and life. Worship is warfare.

We might be grafted into the Tree of Christ by means of water-baptism, but we will only grab hold of the Tree and grow up in the Tree by the deep work of the Holy Spirit. The faith required to stand fast in the Tree of Christ is a gift of God and fruit of the Spirit.

Everyone in the world is either united to Adam or united to Christ. By nature all people are united to Adam in sin. By grace the many are united to Christ in righteousness. Baptism is the sign and seal of our union with Christ in his crucifixion-resurrection

As we begin our new series on Union with Christ, I feel compelled to share a personal story that is related to the Jesus story. I hope it will help you better understand why we are doing a series on Union with Christ.

We were created, redeemed, and destined for the worship of God through Jesus Christ. We are being built into a sanctuary. That means we are being united to Jesus Christ and united to one another for the purpose of worship. We are stone temple priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.