This was the hallowed moment we had been waiting nearly eighteen months for. To a casual observer, it might have seemed like a routine blood transfusion as the red bag was hooked up and attached to the IV. But for my Mom, the contents of this bag were her last hope. Leukemia had ravaged her body, and the subsequent chemotherapy and radiation treatments had almost killed her. She was teetering as close to death as one could when an anonymous donor gave us the most precious gift—his perfectly matched bone marrow.
The bag slowly emptied, and the bone marrow found its way deep into Mom’s very sick bones. Weeks later, those alien cells grafted in and became her own, eventually making new, healthy blood cells. Where death once reigned, our generous donor gave some of his own bone marrow, and new life began. No longer anonymous, “Uncle” Darren is now part of our family. Nearly twenty-two years later, Mom and Darren not only share a miraculous story of healing, but thanks to Darren’s bone marrow, they also share the same DNA—forever uniting them.
New life and union with Christ
That is a picture of a believer’s new life and union with Christ. A spiritual transplant has taken place, and our old, fleshly lives have been exchanged for new life in the Spirit. The test of our belonging is whether we have this new DNA—the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us.
In Romans 8:9-11, Paul says,
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Our union with Christ changes everything; it means we are in Christ and Christ is in us. So far, in Romans 8, we’ve seen that those who are united to Christ are positionally changed. We no longer stand condemned (1), and we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death (2). What the law could not do in making us right with God, Jesus fulfilled perfectly on our behalf (3). And now, we can please God and walk according to the Spirit instead of according to the flesh (5-8). Not only does our union with Christ change us positionally, but it also changes us personally.
The Spirit of God dwells in you
Rankin Wilbourne, author of Union with Christ, explains how complete our transformation is. He writes,
“Union with Christ tells you a new story about who you are. If you are “in Christ,” you too have been given a new identity. God has called you into a new life, rooted in a history that predates you, anchored in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You discover who you are “in Christ,” and you are given the DNA to prove it, the Holy Spirit. You once were lost, but now you are “found in him (Phil 3:9).” (Union with Christ, 21).
Your identity as a Christian is not based on your character, reputation, capabilities, or giftings God has given you. It’s not about your good works, faithfulness, moral uprightness—or your lack thereof. The truest thing about you is that you are “in Christ.” This means your past no longer defines you, and your failures do not have the final word. Your story is now anchored in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, and that changes everything about who you are. And if you are in Christ, then the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, and you no longer live according to the flesh.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t act fleshly sometimes. But since we are no longer in the flesh (positionally), our lives are now defined by the Spirit (by identity). If we are in the Spirit, that means he takes up residence in our hearts, and he makes our hearts his home. Over time, he changes us to be more like Jesus.
Because the Spirit and the flesh are incompatible, the person who has the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them will bear fruit of the Spirit and prove they belong (Gal 5:22-23). But the Spirit’s work not only transforms our present life—moving us from death to life (v. 10) —but also guarantees our future resurrection. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will also one day give eternal life to our mortal bodies.
The Spirit will give life to your mortal bodies
I’m so thankful that God used Darren’s sacrificial gift to give us more time with my Mom! But the writer of Hebrews reminds us of this reality: every person dies and then comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27). That is a sobering truth. Yet, for Christians, our union with Christ means we will also be raised like him.
These mortal bodies are perishing, but one day, we will be raised up and given new, immortal, and imperishable ones (1 Cor. 15:51-57). As surely as the Father raised Christ Jesus from the dead, our indwelling Holy Spirit guarantees that one day, we too, will be raised!
Is there anything more comforting or glorious than that truth? The same Spirit who is transforming you today is also preparing you for future glory. What he has begun will one day be completed (Phil 1:6).”
How transformational is our union with Christ?
Our situation was dire, and we were on death’s door. But because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we’ve been transferred from death to life. Romans 8:9-11 tells us that our transfer comes with new, divine DNA, which is the Holy Spirit. He changes our position before God and our identity in Christ. And because Christ is in us, though our bodies are slowly dying, the Spirit is making us alive—both now, and into eternity.
Your union with Christ changes everything! Because of his blood, you are forever his, and by his grace, you have the DNA to prove it.
Cara
P.S. The discovery of union with Christ will set your soul on fire! Here are 125 Scripture references of what your union entails.
P.P.S. Understanding your union with Christ is foundational to the pursuit of holy leisure. So foundational, in fact, it’s chapter 1 in my book. I invite you to check it out!