- Auto Scroll
Part Four: The Doctrine of The Application of The Work of Redemption
IV. The Mystical Union
Before any blessing of salvation can reach us, we must be connected to the one from whom those blessings flow. Think of it this way: a branch does not produce fruit by lying next to a vine. It must be grafted into it. So it is with Christ and the sinner. All the riches of redemption are stored in Him, and the only way to receive them is to be joined to Him.
This is one of the most characteristic differences between the operations of special grace and those of common grace. The blessings of special grace can be received only by those in union with Christ, while common grace extends to those not reckoned in Him. Rain falls on everyone. Regeneration reaches only those grafted into the vine.
The Reformed and Lutheran traditions agree that this union exists, but they describe it differently. The Reformed treat it theologically, encompassing its federal, ideal, objective, and subjective aspects, while Lutherans treat it anthropologically, as something established by the believer's act of faith. This difference matters: it determines whether union is something God initiates from eternity or something that begins when we believe.
- The blessings of special grace can be received only by those in union with Christ, while common grace extends to those not reckoned in Him
- The Reformed treat the mystical union theologically, encompassing its federal, ideal, objective, and subjective aspects, while Lutherans treat it anthropologically as established by faith
Calvin repeatedly expresses the idea that the sinner cannot share in the saving benefits of Christ's redemptive work, unless he be in union with Him, and thus emphasizes a very important truth. As Adam was the representative head of the old humanity, so Christ is the representative head of the new humanity. All the blessings of the covenant of grace flow from Him who is the Mediator of the covenant. Even the very first blessing of the saving grace of God which we receive already presupposes a union with the Person of the Mediator. It is exactly at this point that we find one of the most characteristic differences between the operations and blessings of special and those of common grace. The former can be received and enjoyed only by those who are in union with Christ, while the latter can be and are enjoyed also by those who are not reckoned in Christ, and therefore are not one with Him. Every spiritual blessing which believers receive flows to them out of Christ. Hence Jesus in speaking of the coming Paraklete could say unto His disciples: "He shall glorify me; for He shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you," John 16:14. Subjectively, the union between Christ and believers is effected by the Holy Spirit in a mysterious and supernatural way, and for that reason is generally designated as the unio mystica or mystical union.
The union between Christ and His people has four dimensions, like a building viewed from four angles.
First, the federal union established in the counsel of redemption. Before the world began, Christ voluntarily became Head and Surety of the elect, with their sin imputed to Him and His righteousness imputed to them. This is the foundation on which everything else rests.
Second, the union of life ideally established in that same counsel. Just as Adam stands in organic connection with all his descendants, Christ stands as Head of a new humanity. He does not represent a scattered collection of isolated individuals. He represents a body, the Church, united by spiritual ties forming a living organism. The whole is prior to the parts, the way a tree is prior to its branches.
Third, the union of life objectively realized in Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection. When Christ became flesh, suffered, died, and rose again, the Church was included in Him. We were crucified with Him, buried with Him, raised with Him. The blessings lie ready, like an inheritance deposited in a vault, awaiting subjective application by the Holy Spirit.
Fourth, the union of life subjectively realized by the Spirit. Here is where the inheritance reaches our hands. But even this is not mechanical or atomistic. The Spirit does not save one individual at a time like items on an assembly line. He builds the whole Church as an organism out of Christ as Head, with each member joined to the whole.
And here a crucial point must be made: faith is a gift of God and part of the treasures hidden in Christ, not a human precondition met by natural strength. We do not bring faith to the table as our contribution. God gives it. Faith enables us to appropriate and consciously enjoy the union, but it does not create the union.
The mystical union logically precedes regeneration and justification, yet chronologically the moment of union coincides with both. It is not that one happens, then the other. They are distinguishable movements within a single divine act.
- In the federal union, Christ voluntarily became Head and Surety of the elect, with their sin imputed to Him and His righteousness imputed to them
- The ideal union parallels Adam's organic union with his descendants: Christ represents a body (the Church) united by spiritual ties as a spiritual organism
- In the objective union, the Church was included in Christ: crucified, died, risen, and seated with Him, with blessings awaiting subjective application by the Spirit
- Faith is a gift of God and part of the treasures hidden in Christ, not a human precondition met by natural strength
- The mystical union logically precedes regeneration and justification, yet chronologically the moment of union coincides with both
A. NATURE OF THE MYSTICAL UNION.
Lutherans generally treat the doctrine of the mystical union anthropologically, and therefore conceive of it as established by faith. Hence they naturally take it up at a later point in their soteriology. But this method fails to do full justice to the idea of our union with Christ, since it loses sight of the eternal basis of the union and of its objective realization in Christ, and deals exclusively with the subjective realization of it in our lives, and even so only with our personal conscious entrance into this union. Reformed theology, on the other hand, deals with the union of believers with Christ theologically, and as such does far greater justice to this important subject. In doing so it employs the term "mystical union" in a broad sense as a designation not only of the subjective union of Christ and believers, but also of the union that lies back of it, that is basic to it, and of which it is only the culminating expression, namely, the federal union of Christ and those who are His in the counsel of redemption, the mystical union ideally established in that eternal counsel, and the union as it is objectively effected in the incarnation and the redemptive work of Christ.
1. THE FEDERAL UNION OF CHRIST WITH THOSE WHOM THE FATHER HAS GIVEN HIM, IN THE COUNSEL OF REDEMPTION. In the counsel of peace Christ voluntarily took upon Himself to be the Head and Surety of the elect, destined to constitute the new humanity, and as such to establish their righteousness before God by paying the penalty for their sin and by rendering perfect obedience to the law and thus securing their title to everlasting life. In that eternal covenant the sin of His people was imputed to Christ, and His righteousness was imputed to them. This imputation of the righteousness of Christ to His people in the counsel of redemption is sometimes represented as a justification from eternity. It is certainly the eternal basis of our justification by faith, and is the ground on which we receive all spiritual blessings and the gift of life eternal. And this being so, it is basic to the whole of soteriology, and even to the first stages in the application of the work of redemption, such as regeneration and internal calling.
2. THE UNION OF LIFE IDEALLY ESTABLISHED IN THE COUNSEL OF REDEMPTION. In the case of the first Adam there was not only a federal, but also a natural and organic union between him and his descendants. There was the tie of a common life between him and all his progeny, and this made it possible that the blessings of the covenant of works, if these had eventuated, could have been passed on to the whole organism of mankind in an organic way. A somewhat similar situation obtained in the case of the last Adam as the representative Head of the covenant of redemption. Like the first Adam, He did not represent a conglomeration of disjointed individuals, but a body of men and women who were to derive their life from Him, to be united by spiritual ties, and thus to form a spiritual organism. Ideally this body, which is the Church, was already formed in the covenant of redemption, and formed in union with Christ, and this union made it possible that all the blessings merited by Christ could be passed on to those whom He represented in an organic way. They were conceived of as a glorious body, a new humanity, sharing the life of Jesus Christ. It was in virtue of that union, as it was realized in the course of history, that Christ could say: "Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me," Heb. 2:13.
3. THE UNION OF LIFE OBJECTIVELY REALIZED IN CHRIST. In virtue of the legal or representative union established in the covenant of redemption Christ became incarnate as the substitute for His people, to merit all the blessings of salvation for them. Since His children were sharers in flesh and blood, "He also in like manner partook of the same; that through death He might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage," Heb. 2:14,15. He could merit salvation for them just because He already stood in relation to them as their Surety and Mediator, their Head and Substitute. The whole Church was included in Him as her Head. In an objective sense she was crucified with Christ, she died with Him, she arose in Him from the dead, and was made to sit with Him in the heavenly places. All the blessings of saving grace lie ready for the Church in Christ; man can add nothing to them; and they now only await their subjective application by the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is also merited by Christ and is sure of progressive realization in the course of history.
4. THE UNION OF LIFE SUBJECTIVELY REALIZED BY THE OPERATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The work of Christ was not finished when He had merited salvation for His people and had obtained actual possession of the blessings of salvation. In the counsel of redemption He took it upon Himself to put all His people in possession of all these blessings, and He does this through the operation of the Holy Spirit, who takes all things out of Christ, and gives them unto us. We should not conceive of the subjective realization of the mystical union in the Church atomistically, as if it were effected by bringing now this and then that individual sinner to Christ. It should be seen from the point of view of Christ. Objectively, the whole Church is in Him, and is born out of Him as the Head. It is not a mechanism, in which the parts precede the whole, but an organism, in which the whole is prior to the parts. The parts come forth out of Christ through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and then continue in living relationship with Him. Jesus calls attention to this organic relationship when He says: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing," John 15:5. In view of what was said, it is quite evident that it is not correct to say that the mystical union is the fruit of man's believing acceptance of Christ, as if faith were not one of the blessings of the covenant which flow unto us from the fulness of Christ, but a condition which man must meet partly or wholly in his own strength, in order to enter into living relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith is first of all a gift of God, and as such a part of the treasures that are hidden in Christ. It enables us to appropriate on our part what is given unto us in Christ, and to enter ever-increasingly into conscious enjoyment of the blessed union with Christ, which is the source of all our spiritual riches.
This union may be defined as
that
intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and His people, in virtue of which He is
the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and
salvation.
That it is a very intimate union appears abundantly from the figures
that are
used in Scripture to describe it. It is a union as of the vine and the
branches, John 15:5,
as of a foundation and the building that is reared on it, I Pet. 2:4,5,
as of husband and
wife, Eph. 5:23-32, and as of the head and the members of the body, Eph. 4:15,16. And
even these figures fail to give full expression to the reality. It is a
union that passes
understanding. Says Dr. Hodge: "The technical designation of this
union in theological
language is
'mystical,' because it so far transcends all the analogies of earthly
relationships, in the intimacy of its connection, in the transforming
power of its
influence, and in the excellence of its consequences."
Six characteristics define this union.
It is organic. Christ and believers form one body in which every part serves and is served by every other part in an indissoluble connection. No member is dispensable. No member is isolated.
It is vital. Christ is not merely a label or a legal designation. He is the vitalizing and dominating principle of the whole body. His life indwells believers and becomes the formative principle of their lives, shaping them from within the way a seed shapes the tree that grows from it.
It is mediated by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was poured out at Pentecost to form the spiritual body of Christ, and through Him Christ dwells in believers and knits them together in holy unity. The Spirit is the bond, the living link, the one who makes the connection real.
It involves reciprocal action. The initial act is Christ's: He unites believers to Himself through regeneration, producing faith in them. Then the believer unites to Christ by a conscious exercise of faith. It is like a hand extended and a hand grasped. Christ reaches first. We respond. But even the response is sustained by the Spirit's ongoing influence.
It is personal. Every believer is directly united to Christ, not mediated through an institution. The view that life flows from the Church into the individual is unscriptural, whether in its sacramental or its pantheistic form. The Bible insists on a direct bond between each person and the living Christ.
It is transforming. Believers are changed into the image of Christ according to His human nature, sharing His suffering, bearing His cross, being crucified, dying, and rising with Him. The experiences of the Lord are reproduced in the lives of His people.
- The union is organic: Christ and believers form one body where every part serves and is served in an indissoluble connection
- The union is vital: Christ is the vitalizing and dominating principle, His life indwelling believers and becoming the formative principle of their lives
- The Spirit was poured out at Pentecost to form the spiritual body, and through Him Christ dwells in believers and knits them together
- The union involves reciprocal action: the initial act is Christ's through regeneration producing faith, then the believer unites by conscious exercise of faith
- The union is personal: the view that life flows from the Church into the individual is unscriptural, whether in Rome's sacramentarian or Schleiermacher's pantheistic form
- The union is transforming: believers are changed into the image of Christ according to His human nature, sharing His suffering, death, and resurrection
B. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MYSTICAL UNION.
From the preceding it appears that the term "mystical union" can be, and often is, used in a broad sense, including the various aspects (legal, objective, subjective) of the union between Christ and believers. Most generally, however, it denotes only the crowning aspect of that union, namely, its subjective realization by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and it is this aspect of it that is naturally in the foreground in soteriology. All that is said in the rest of this chapter bears on this subjective union. The following are the main characteristics of this union:
1. IT IS AN ORGANIC UNION. Christ and the believers form one body. The organic character of this union is clearly taught in such passages as John 15:5; I Cor. 6:15-19; Eph. 1:22,23; 4:15,16; 5:29,30. In this organic union Christ ministers to the believers, and the believers minister to Christ. Every part of the body serves and is served by every other part, and together they are subservient to the whole in a union that is indissoluble.
2. IT IS A VITAL UNION. In this union Christ is the vitalizing and dominating principle of the whole body of believers. It is none other than the life of Christ that indwells and animates believers, so that, to speak with Paul, "Christ is formed" in them, Gal. 4:19. By it Christ becomes the formative principle of their life, and leads it in a Godward direction, Rom. 8:10; II Cor. 13:5; Gal. 4:19,20.
3. IT IS A UNION MEDIATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit was in a special capacity a part of the Mediator's reward, and as such was poured out on the day of Pentecost for the formation of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Spirit Christ now dwells in believers, unites them to Himself, and knits them together in a holy unity, I Cor. 6:17; 12:13; II Cor. 3:17,18; Gal. 3:2,3.
4. IT IS A UNION THAT IMPLIES RECIPROCAL ACTION. The initial act is that of Christ, who unites believers to himself by regenerating them and thus producing faith in them. On the other hand, the believer also unites himself to Christ by a conscious act of faith, and continues the union, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, by the constant exercise of faith, John 14:23; 15:4,5; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17.
5. IT IS A PERSONAL UNION. Every believer is personally united directly to Christ. The representation that the life which is in the Church through Christ flows from the Church into the individual believer is decidedly unScriptural, not only in its sacramentarian but also in its pantheistic form (Rome, Schleiermacher, and many modern theologians). Every sinner who is regenerated is directly connected with Christ and receives his life from Him. Consequently the Bible always emphasizes the bond with Christ, John 14:20; 15:1-7; II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17,18.
6. IT IS A TRANSFORMING UNION. By this union believers are changed into the image of Christ according to his human nature. What Christ effects in His people is in a sense a replica or reproduction of what took place with Him. Nor only objectively, but also in a subjective sense they suffer, bear the cross, are crucified, die, and are raised in newness of life, with Christ. They share in a measure the experiences of their Lord, Matt. 16:24; Rom. 6:5; Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:24; 2:12; 3:1; I Pet. 4:13.
Four errors distort the doctrine of the mystical union, each pulling it in a different direction.
The rationalistic error identifies the mystical union with the Logos's general union with all creation, or with God's immanence in human spirits, stripping it of any distinctly saving significance. If Christ is already in everyone by virtue of creation, the union ceases to be a redemptive reality. It becomes a universal fact with no soteriological weight.
The mystical error goes the opposite direction. It treats the union as an identification or fusion in which the personality of one is merged into the other, so that Christ and the believer do not remain distinct persons. Some have pushed this to its extreme, losing the Creator-creature distinction entirely.
The Socinian and Arminian error flattens the union into a mere moral bond of love and sympathy, like that of teacher and pupil or friend and friend. There is no interpenetration of life, no Christ dwelling within. It is admiration and imitation, not organic connection.
The sacramentarian error, found in Roman Catholic theology, some Lutheran circles, and High Church traditions, makes grace something substantial, the Church its depositary, and the sacraments its channel. This has been called perhaps the most dangerous misinterpretation, because it reverses the order: the sacraments presuppose the union rather than effecting it. They are signs and seals of a reality that must already exist, not pipes through which that reality is first pumped in.
- The rationalistic error identifies the union with the Logos's union with all creation or God's immanence in human spirits, stripping it of saving significance
- The mystical error treats the union as identification or fusion in which the personality of one is merged into the other
- The Socinian and Arminian error reduces the union to a mere moral bond of love and sympathy like teacher and pupil, with no interpenetration of life
- The sacramentarian error makes grace substantial, the Church its depositary, and the sacraments its channel; sacraments presuppose the union rather than effecting it
C. ERRONEOUS CONCEPTIONS OF THE MYSTICAL UNION.
There are several erroneous conceptions of the mystical union, against which we should be on our guard. Errors on this point should not be regarded as inconsequential and therefore unimportant, for they are fraught with danger for a true understanding of the Christian life.
1. RATIONALISTIC ERROR. We must avoid the error of the Rationalist who would identify the mystical union with the union of Christ as the Logos with the whole creation or with the immanence of God in all human spirits. This is found in the following statement, which A. H. Strong quotes from Campbell, The indwelling Christ: "In the immanence of Christ in nature we find the ground of his immanence in human nature. . . . A man may be out of Christ, but Christ is never out of him. Those who banish him he does not abandon." In this view the mystical union is robbed of its soteriological significance.
2. MYSTICAL ERROR. Another dangerous error is that of the Mystics who understand the mystical union as an identification of the believer with Christ. According to this view there is in it a union of essence, in which the personality of the one is simply merged into that of the other, so that Christ and the believer do not remain two distinct persons. Even some of the Lutherans went to that extreme. One extremist did not hesitate to say, "I am Christ Jesus, the living Word of God; I have redeemed thee by my sinless sufferings."
3. SOCINIAN AND ARMINIAN ERROR. Quite another extreme is found in the teachings of Socinians and Arminians, who represent the mystical union as a mere moral union, or a union of love and sympathy, like that existing between a teacher and his pupils or between friend and friend. Such a union does not involve any interpenetration of the life of Christ and that of believers. It would involve no more than loving adherence to Christ, friendly service freely rendered to him, and ready acceptance of the message of the Kingdom of God. It is a union that does not call for a Christ within us.
4. SACRAMENTARIAN ERROR. Another error to be avoided is that of the sacramentarians, represented by the Roman Catholic Church and by some Lutherans and High Church Episcopalians. Strong speaks of this as "perhaps the most pernicious misinterpretation of the nature of this union." It makes the grace of God something substantial, of which the Church is the depositary, and which can be passed on in the sacraments; and completely loses sight of the fact that the sacraments cannot effect this union, because they already presuppose it.
What does the mystical union accomplish? Several things, carefully distinguished.
First, it must be clearly understood that the subjective union is not the judicial ground for receiving Christ's riches. Justification is a declaration based on gracious imputation, not on the existing spiritual condition of the sinner who receives it. The judicial ground is the free imputation of Christ's righteousness, not our subjective connection to Him. Confusing these two would turn justification into a reward for spiritual achievement rather than a gift of grace.
Second, the union is reflected in consciousness. The sinner must come to feel his need, to recognize that he has no righteousness of his own. This awareness produces a constant felt dependence on Christ, making the believer conscious at every turn that everything comes from outside himself. The union functions as an antidote against self-righteousness, a perpetual reminder that the branch has no life apart from the vine.
Third, the union has transforming power. The soul is gradually renewed in the image of Christ, from one degree to the next. And the body, too, is drawn into this renewal. The body is consecrated as a fit instrument of the renewed soul now, and will be raised in the likeness of Christ's glorified body at the last day.
Fourth, it creates fellowship with Christ. Believers do not merely receive benefits from a distance. They share Christ's experiences: His sufferings are reproduced in their lives; His resurrection power is at work in them; His final triumph becomes theirs.
Fifth, the mystical union is the basis for the communion of the saints. All who share the same life share the same Spirit, the same love, the same warfare, the same goal.
- Justification is a declaration based on gracious imputation, not on the existing spiritual condition of the sinner; the subjective union is not the judicial ground
- The union produces a constant felt dependence on Christ, making the believer aware of having no righteousness of his own; it is an antidote against self-righteousness
- The body is consecrated as a fit instrument of the renewed soul now, and will be raised in the likeness of Christ's glorified body at the last day
D. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MYSTICAL UNION.
1. The mystical union in the sense in which we are now speaking of it is not the judicial ground, on the basis of which we become partakers of the riches that are in Christ. It is sometimes said that the merits of Christ cannot be imputed to us as long as we are not in Christ, since it is only on the basis of our oneness with Him that such an imputation could be reasonable. But this view fails to distinguish between our legal unity with Christ and our spiritual oneness with Him, and is a falsification of the fundamental element in the doctrine of redemption, namely, of the doctrine of justification. Justification is always a declaration of God, not on the basis of an existing condition, but on that of a gracious imputation, —— a declaration which is not in harmony with the existing condition of the sinner. The judicial ground for all the special grace which we receive lies in the fact that the righteousness of Christ is freely imputed to us.
2. But this state of affairs, namely, that the sinner has nothing in himself and receives everything freely from Christ, must be reflected in the consciousness of the sinner. And this takes place through the mediation of the mystical union. While the union is effected when the sinner is renewed by the operation of the Holy Spirit, he does not become cognizant of it and does not actively cultivate it until the conscious operation of faith begins. Then he becomes aware of the fact that he has no righteousness of his own, and that the righteousness by which he appears just in the sight of God is imputed to him. But even so something additional is required. The sinner must feel his dependence on Christ in the very depths of his being, —— in the sub-conscious life. Hence he is incorporated in Christ, and as a result experiences that all the grace which he receives flows from Christ. The constant feeling of dependence thus engendered, is an antidote against all self-righteousness.
3. The mystical union with Christ also secures for the believer the continuously transforming power of the life of Christ, not only in the soul but also in the body. The soul is gradually renewed in the image of Christ, as Paul expresses it, "from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." II Cor. 3:18. And the body is consecrated in the present to be a fit instrument of the renewed soul, and will at last be raised up in the likeness of Christ's glorified body, Phil. 3:21. Being in Christ, believers share in all the blessings which He merited for his people. He is for them a perennial fountain springing into everlasting life.
4. In virtue of this union believers have fellowship with Christ. Just as Christ shared the labours, the sufferings, and the temptations of His people, they are now made to share His experiences. His sufferings are, in a measure, reproduced and completed in the lives of His followers. They are crucified with Him, and also arise with Him in newness of life The final triumph of Christ also becomes their triumph. Rom. 6:5,8; 8:17; II Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:10; I Pet. 4:13.
5. Finally, the union of believers with Christ furnishes the basis for the spiritual unity of all believers, and consequently for the communion of the saints. They are animated by the same spirit, are filled with the same love, stand in the same faith, are engaged in the same warfare, and are bound for the same goal. Together they are interested in the things of Christ and His Church, of God and His Kingdom. John 17:20,21; Acts 2:42; Rom. 12:15; Eph. 4:2,3; Col. 3:16; I Thess. 4:18; 5:11; Heb. 3:13; 10:24,25; Jas. 5:16; I John 1:3,7.
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY: What is the meaning of the term 'mystical' as applied to the union with Christ? What is the relation between grace in the legal, and that in the moral sphere? How should we answer the contention that the sinner cannot become a participant in the blessings of God's special grace until he is subjectively incorporated in Christ? What can be said in reply to the assertion that faith precedes regeneration, because it effects the union with Christ, while regeneration is the fruit of this union? Does the mystical union suppress or does it preserve the personality of man? Cf. Eph. 4:13. Do all believers derive equal benefits from this union? If this union is indissoluble, how must John 15:1-7 be understood? What is Schleiermacher's conception of the believer's union with Christ?
LITERATURE: Bavinck, Geref. Dogm. III, pp. 594 f.; IV, pp. 114, 226 f., 268 f.; Kuyper, Het Werk van den Heiligen Geest II, pp. 163-182; Dabney, Syst. and Polem. Theol., pp. 612-617; Strong, Syst. Theol., pp. 795-808; Dick, Theol., pp. 36-365; Hodge, Outlines, pp. 482-486; ibid., The Atonement, pp. 198-211; McPherson, Chr. Theol., pp. 402-404; Valentine, Chr. Theol. II, pp. 275-277; Schmid, Doct. Theol., pp. 485-491; Litton, Introd. to Dogm. Theol., pp. 321-322.