The struggle of the Christian life can often be traced back to the struggle to live out our identity in Christ. So often our legalistic striving and our sin-laden self-condemnation is driven by a failure to grasp and live in our new identity as God’s children.
As we’ve explored the theme of union with Christ we have seen how our union is deeply covenantal and also incredibly practical in the outworking of our sanctification, particularly in our fight against indwelling sin. In this installment, I’d like to consider the blessings and nature of our identity in Christ.
Unfortunately, there is a temptation to reduce “identity in Christ” to feeling good about ourselves because Jesus loves us. Our identity in Christ becomes a list of positive affirmations that we rehearse to ourselves when we’re down to lift our self-esteem. While there is certainly nothing wrong with strengthening our souls through scriptural affirmations, we want to truly understand what our identity is and what the basis for it is.
Furthermore, it is our identity “in Christ”. That’s union-with-Christ terminology in the New Testament. To explore this identity that is ours in union with our Savior, we will look specifically at Ephesians 1:3-14. This passage is chock full of promises and truths about who we are in union with Christ our Lord.
Every Spiritual Blessing
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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6, ESV
Paul begins his letter to the church in Ephesus by outlining their identity as “saints” (v. 1). He gives thanksgiving to God the Father who initiates the blessings that believers enjoy in their union with God the Son, through God the Holy Spirit. The Father has not withheld any spiritual blessing from His beloved Son and those who are united by faith to Him (v. 3).
This bestowal of blessing has been ordained for all eternity past as God chooses believers before the foundation of the world (v. 4). Revelation 13:8 refers to the unbelieving idolatry of “those who dwell on the earth”, the universal false worship in which all engage except those who have had their names written in the Book of Life “before the foundation of the world”. Before God made creation, He set His love upon us. He purposed to redeem a people, holy and blameless, to enjoy for all eternity. This was motivated by no need of God for anyone or anything. Rather, it was motivated by love as the end of v. 4 makes clear.
It was an eternal Fatherly love that led God to predestine His people for adoption. Sadly, adoption is an oft-overlooked element of our salvation. We are focused on our justification, as we should be. But adoption is the climax of our justification. It is, in the words of J.I. Packer, “the highest privilege that the Gospel offers”¹.
Paul tells the Ephesians that this is accomplished “through Jesus Christ” which is more union-with-Christ language. Our adoption has been purposed and accomplished through our union with Him. Richard Gaffin writes, “As the justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification of [Jesus Christ] take place by and at his resurrection, so the justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification of [the Christian] take place in his having been raised with Christ, that is, in his having been united to Christ as resurrected.”² Gaffin points out that Christ was “begotten” upon His resurrection as Peter’s use of Psalm 2:7 in Acts 13:33 makes explicit. In this sense, the begetting or “adoption” of Christ Jesus as the human Son of God is bestowed to us as well as we have been united with Christ in His resurrection. Remember, being objectively united with Christ in His death and resurrection is expressed as if we were with Him in the tomb and were by His side when He rolled the stone away.
Ephesians 1:6 makes it clear that all the spiritual blessings of salvation, from election to adoption, are ours “in the Beloved”. This is, once again, union-with-Christ language. By our being “in Christ” we are blessed with these glorious gifts of salvation and fellowship with our Father.
Redemption in Him
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Ephesians 1:7-10, ESV
Paul continues to pour out praise for the glorious work of Christ in rescuing His bride. He frames it in v. 7 as “redemption”: a purchase or ransom in blood. The trespasses, ours through inheritance from our union with Adam, have held us in condemnation and slavery. By God’s grace and the precious blood of Jesus, we have been freed through forgiveness. This is all done “in Him” and through our faithful union with Him.
When we are condemned, we need not air ourselves up with self-esteem talk. We must look to Jesus and recognize that we are united to Him and in this union we experience forgiveness of sins and redemption from the trespasses which once held us. Now there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
Our identity is not only the identity of a chosen child of God, it is the identity of a cleansed and forgiven sinner. Christ’s righteousness is ours to claim because it has been freely imputed to our account through our identification with our Savior in His death and resurrection. That is what identity in Christ is all about. It is not about building an identity for ourselves with Jesus language thrown on for good measure. It is about identification with Jesus in His death and resurrection. This is who we are, objectively.
We have much to look forward to as we await the consummation of our salvation:
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14, ESV
Paul concludes this section of his letter by pointing ahead to the inheritance of resurrection glory. He highlights the certainty of this hope by framing it once again as an inheritance we have been predestined to receive by the very power of God’s purpose which cannot be thwarted but always comes to pass. Furthermore, in our union with Christ, we experience the indwelling presence of the Spirit as a guarantee of our future glory. Jesus proclaimed that He was God’s temple (John 2:19-21). John wrote that, in Christ, God “tabernacled” with us (John 1:14). The author of Hebrews declared that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s character in human form (Heb. 1:3). In Jesus, God dwells with humanity. Our Savior’s name says as much: Emmanuel means “God with us”.
When Jesus ascended to His Father to receive all dominion (Dan. 7:13-14), the Spirit descended at Pentecost to fill the church. This was the great fulfillment of the types in the Old Testament of God filling an earthly dwelling place with His transcendent glory. (See Exodus 40 and 1 Kings 8 for example.) The church, in union with Christ, becomes the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19).
There is far more glory in Ephesians 1 than we can adequately cover here but this is just a start. Our identity in Christ ought to draw us into deeper and more meaningful fellowship with our triune God. Christ is the true Son and in union with Him we are blessed with Sonship. He is the true temple of God and in union with Him we are blessed to be the temple of the Spirit. He is the true heir of all things and in union with Him we have become heirs of eternal life, resurrection, and the New Creation. He is the true Justified One who is vindicated by His resurrection and in union with Him we are blessed to partake in His righteous standing and be justified before the Judge of all the earth.
These spiritual blessings, which make up our identity as God’s people, are afforded to us in Christ.
Footnotes
¹J.I. Packer, Knowing God, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 206.
²Richard Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul’s Soteriology, (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 1987), p. 130.
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