The most significant expression of union with Christ is in the local church.
Yes, there is a personal aspect—a Christian does come to Jesus individually—but it does not stop there. God has given the church to confirm and strengthen that union. Just like a marriage involves witnesses and a community, so does the Christian life.
So, one of the ways in which Jesus’ love is given to Christians is baptism. This is one of the clearest pictures of union and resurrection: going down into the water as a picture of death, and rising out of it as a picture of new life. And it is not just a picture, it is a means of grace—a way God confirms his promises to us.
There is also membership in the family of God, where God becomes your Father.
And there is worship together—week by week, gathering as a church, receiving more of Christ’s love and assurance.
And then there is the Lord’s Supper. We eat bread, remembering Jesus’ body, and drink wine, remembering his blood. And even in doing that, God draws us closer to Jesus—it is another means of grace, another way of deepening that relationship.
So, the whole vision is one of deeper and deeper union with Jesus. And the resurrection is at the centre of that, because as we are drawn closer to him, we become more and more alive.
