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Question Thirty-Three of Baptist Catechism [1]

 

Question- How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?

 

Answer- The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us,[2] and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling.[3]

 

The umbilical cord is vital for the baby’s life in the womb. All that the baby needs for life and growth in that place comes through a vital connection with the mother. Life in the womb depends on life through the umbilical cord. It is a vital union between mother and baby, and to sever this union in the womb would be fatal. Similarly, the Spirit vitally connects us to Christ.[4]

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    In our union with Christ by the Spirit, His life is our life, and our life is His life. This is why Christ said that it was to His disciples’ advantage to leave them (Jn. 16:7). Christ must ascend for His Spirit to descend. John 14:19-20, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

   

    While we remain outside of Christ, so too do all His benefits remain outside of us. But the Spirit is the effective bond that unites us to Christ. In this bond, all the benefits of the covenant of grace become ours. His work, death, resurrection, and entrance into glory become ours. This union makes us full participants in every aspect of the finished work of our covenant Mediator. This bond is realized personally by us when the Holy Spirit effectually calls us in the gospel to come to Christ, and we exercise the gift of faith to receive Him (Jn. 6:37, 39; 1 Cor. 1:9; Eph. 2:8). The Spirit binds us to Christ in the effectual call, and we bind ourselves to Christ in faith. This is a double bond that cannot be severed.

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    This union with Christ is the center of the wheel of salvation. All the benefits of salvation- justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification- flow through our union with Christ. Paul over and over describes our union with Christ with the words “in Christ” (Rom. 3:24; 6:11; 8:1; 9:1; 15:7; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:3; 2:6; 2 Tim. 1:9).[5] Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus speaks of His mutual inner dwelling with the Father and His mutual inner dwelling with the disciples (Jn. 14:20, 23; 15:5; 17:23, 26).

Also, the New Testament uses a plethora of metaphors, pictures, and images to portray our union with Christ- sacraments (Jn. 6:53; Rom. 6:3-4), adoption (Gal. 4:6-7), new creation (Gal. 6:15) body (1 Cor. 6:15-17; 10:16-17; 12:27; Eph. 1:23; 4:12; 5:30) branches (Jn. 15:1-11), temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:20-22; 1 Pt. 2:4-7), marriage (Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7-9), and many more. We must see how central union with Christ is in receiving Christ and His benefits. If there is no vital union with Christ by the Spirit, then there is no vital life in us. 

 

    There is also a horizontal reality to union with Christ. Individual Christians are incorporated into the body of Christ, which is made up of many members. God not only calls individuals into fellowship with Himself through the Son, but He calls them into fellowship with Christ’s corporate body which is visibly expressed in local churches (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 1:2). Baptism is a sign from God to the one being baptized that he has been grafted into Christ and made a member of His body.[6]

The doctrine of the church is the consequence of Christology (doctrine of Christ) and soteriology (doctrine of salvation). The church cannot be understood apart from understanding who and how Christ’s redemption is applied to individuals for salvation. The church is Christ’s church because He bought her (Acts 20:28). He rules over her as the head from whom all spiritual growth comes (Eph. 4:15; Col. 2:19). 

 

    The church is the body that Christ loves, cherishes, and nurtures (Eph. 5:29-30). This is the body that is the glory of Christ on earth (Eph. 1:22-23). This body is the context where the “one another” commands of the New Testament are to be obeyed. Christ sanctifies the members of this body through the means of grace in the corporate gathering (Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:15-16). This is why the New Testament does not have a category of a Christian in isolation from a local church. Churchless Christianity is as real as a unicorn. For an individual Christian to sever themselves from the local church is to sever themselves from the primary means of grace that God uses to conform them to the image of Christ. Why, then, would anyone who has partaken of Christ intentionally sever themselves from fellowship in the local church? 

 

    In summary, union with Christ is the believer’s participation in the work of Christ through vital union with Him. In this union, the believer receives all the benefits of the covenant of grace. By the Spirit, we are made one in Him. He is in us, and in the church, we are united into one body. 

 

Work Cited:

 

[1] The following is an exert from Simple Truths for Communion with God: An Experiential Commentary of the Baptist Catechism(Savoring the Savior, 2025). 

[2] Ephesians 1:13–14; John 6:37, 39; Ephesians 2:8. 

[3] Ephesians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 1:9. See also 2LBC 8:6, 8; 26:1-15; 27:1-2; WS 30; and WL 66.

[4] This union with Christ is vital and mystical. It is vital for eternal life and communion with God. It is mystical because we do are not physically united to Christ’s actual body.

[5] Other prepositional phrases are used as well to speak of our union with Christ such as “with Christ” in Ephesians 3:1. 

[6] See 2LBC 29:1. 

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About the Author:  John Sweat Jr. is a pastor of Heritage Reformed Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia and author of Simple Truths for Communion with God: An Experiential Commentary of the Baptist Catechism.