Union with Christ: The Foundation of Christian Life
Love is a powerful force in the midst of life—it gives us a sense of self-worth when someone loves us, imparts hope to the hopeless when they receive it, and unites people in what is otherwise a fragmented world. What is love? Love is when we will the good of another and act upon that desire in word, thought, and deed. And yet, we know all too well that the fires of love can become dimly lit embers. Others can douse our love with buckets of cold anger or indifference. But what if our own expressions of love are but a shadow and reflection of a greater, eternal, invincible love? The Scriptures reveal that the eternal fount of love is our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that God’s love overflows in abundant mercy and grace towards those who are in union with Christ. To grasp the nature of God’s love for us, we must first understand the nature of our triune God as love.
The apostle John writes three brief but profound words, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). John does not say that God
has
or that he
feels
love but that he
is
love. If you want to know what love is, look to our triune God. The Scriptures open the veil of the heavens and give us a glimpse of this love when Jesus tells us, “The Father loves the Son” (John 3:35). Conversely, Jesus fully obeyed the Father so that the world would know of his love for the Father (John 14:31). If you want to know what love is, look to our triune God.
The apostle Paul gives further insight when he tells the Romans that the Holy Spirit is the outpoured love of God (Rom. 5:5). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love one another—theirs is an eternal, perfect, and pure love. But in the words of Charles Wesley, “Love divine, all loves excelling // Joy of Heav’n to Earth come down,” the triune God’s love overflows unto miserable sinners.
Some of the most beautiful words in the Bible come to us in a familiar but powerful verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son . . .” (John 3:16 KJV). The triune God of love overflows to the whole creation but especially to those who are in union with Christ. Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except” through him (John 14:6). God shows his general love to all when he “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45), but only Christ’s bride, those in covenantal union with Jesus know the greatest depths of God’s love. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Eph. 5:25-26). When God loves us in Christ through the Spirit, he gives us
Christ
, the incarnation of love. The eternal fountain of love of the triune God overflows to sinners through union with Christ so that we too can know of God’s love. As Paul writes, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5).
When we feel worthless, we know that we have God’s love in Christ. While others may reject us, peace can fill our hearts because nothing can “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our lord” (Rom. 8:39). Our union with Christ is unbreakable. He never leaves or forsakes us. However, we most reflect God’s triune love when we show others the same love of God we have received: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:18). Herein lies the crucial foundation for the Christian life: only through union with Christ can we receive the eternal love of God, that which redeems us from sin and gives us the love by which we can love others. As Solomon reminds us, “Love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the L
ord
” (Song 8:6). Only when we draw upon the eternal flame of God’s triune love can we ensure that our own love will not grow cold and that we can pass on the flame of light and love to others in this sin-darkened world. Through union with Christ we both receive and give God’s love. Look to Christ, therefore, the ever flowing fount of God’s grace and love. As Solomon reminds us, “Love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord” (Song 8:6).
