One of my favourite passages in the Bible is Ephesians chapter 1. It’s a glorious chapter, especially the first fourteen verses. And at the heart of these verses is the wonderful truth of our union with Christ. The apostle repeatedly reminds us that it is “in Christ” that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. The joys of salvation become ours as we’re united to Christ in his life, death, resurrection and glorification.
A lot has been written about union with Christ in Paul’s letters, and his use of the phrases “in Christ” and “in Him”. Far less has been written about this theme in John’s gospel and letters. But thankfully, Clive Bowsher has stepped into this John-shaped hole with his book Life in the Son, published this year in the distinctively-spined New Studies in Biblical Theology series. (You may know Clive from his previous publications, which include the compelling 2012 journal article, “Automated analysis of information processing, kinetic independence and modular architecture in biochemical networks using MIDIA”.)1
In Life in the Son, Clive Bowsher helpfully shows how John’s writings offer a precious description of what it means to be one with Christ. He surveys both John’s Gospel and the epistles (especially 1 John), with a cheeky appendix on Revelation. His approach is careful and methodical, paying close attention to individual passages and the connections between them. If I wanted to offer one criticism, it would be that his approach leads to some unnecessary repetition.2 But this does mean that his conclusions are straightforward to follow even if you read it when you’re quite tired.
I hope this book stimulates more thinking and writing about union with Christ in John’s Gospel, and across the New Testament as a whole. In the meantime, here are a few of the things I found encouraging and helpful from Clive Bowsher’s reflections...
In-one-another
One of the distinctive features of John’s gospel is the use of “in-one-another” language to describe our union with Christ. To take one example, Jesus says in John 6:56, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him”. As Clive Bowsher highlights, this language wonderfully describes our “relational intimacy” with Christ (4). In fact, somewhat astoundingly, it’s the same kind of language used elsewhere to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son (e.g. in John 17). Like any relationship, our union with Christ is not just a status, but involves “mutual, intimate participation, each in the life of the other” (51).
For the believer, this participation involves sharing in the journey of Jesus. Like Jesus, we are “not of this world”, but journey through this world “in human flesh and in in-one-another relationship with God” (99). We follow where Jesus has gone before. As we follow, we share in his death and glorification. And we also share in his mission “to make the Father known and to bring people into God’s family” (115). This mission is carried out in union with Christ, as a “joint undertaking with Jesus” (116).
I found this language of a “joint undertaking”, and the idea of participating in the journey of Jesus, especially encouraging. Earlier this year, I preached on the commission Jesus gives to his disciples in John’s Gospel after rising from the dead: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21).3 That’s quite a daunting task! But we’re not sent out alone. We go into the world in in-one-another relationship with the One who has gone before us. As we prepare for our gospel work, it’s ultimately not our mission; we participate in the mission of the Son.
The age to come
The whole of John’s Gospel was written so that we may have “life in his name” (John 20:31) — eternal life, which we begin enjoying now, and which reaches its climax in the age to come. And what is the essence of this life? Clive Bowsher concludes: “lasting in-one-anotherness with Jesus” (28). In other words, “relationship with Jesus not only is the source and cause of life but also is life itself” (54). This is reflected in Jesus’s words in John 6, where Jesus declares in next-door-but-one verses:
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (6:54)
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (6:56)
This correlation between “in-one-anotherness” and “the life of the age to come” means that union with Christ in John’s writings is “fundamentally eschatological” (152). The in-one-anotherness we experience now is an initial fulfilment of Old Testament hopes, which longed for a new experience of relationship with God. And it’s an anticipation of the final fulfilment that will come when Jesus returns to make all things new. And then we’ll enjoy an even deeper intimacy with Jesus, forever.
In his concluding lines, Clive Bowsher sums up his understanding of union with Christ in John’s writings with two words: it’s relational, and it’s eschatological. But, as Clive would acknowledge, none of his careful summary sentences can do justice to what this really means. Ultimately, we can only wonder at the riches of this intimate, in-one-another relationship. We can only wonder at what it will mean to one day experience the full depth and glory of this eternal life. And as we wait for that day, as Paul put it in Colossians 3, we keep setting our minds on the things that are above:
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Come, Lord Jesus!
Some links
Clive Bowsher’s book can be purchased from all good bookstores, and from the publisher.
You can also read some of his musings on oneness with Christ on the Union Theology website, or watch his presentation from the book’s launch event on YouTube.
To quote the abstract of that article, “Understanding the encoding and propagation of information by biochemical reaction networks and the relationship of such information processing properties to modular network structure is of fundamental importance in the study of cell signalling and regulation. However, a rigorous, automated approach for general biochemical networks has not been available, and high-throughput analysis has therefore been out of reach.” The implications of this for biblical studies are obvious, and therefore need no elaboration here.
There is also some unnecessary repetition.
For the interested, the sermon is on YouTube here.