Ep. 63 - The Mystery of Union

[00:00:00] Speaker A: We are constantly confronted by the illusion of separation. And that is. That is most believers for decades. You can live your whole life. You can live. [00:00:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:12] Speaker A: It's under this illusion that there's a separation. And so therefore, if anything bad is happening in my life, and this was me, sickness comes or financial hardship comes or whatever might be in front of me, I'm thinking I must have done something wrong. God is judging me for my actions. And so there's this constant fear. Not just not fear. It's like I'm afraid of. And it's like that is not where God wants us to live. That's not life. And it's not. It's not the abundant life that he says he came to bring. [00:00:45] Speaker B: Right. [00:00:46] Speaker A: Hello and welcome back. Or welcome to if it's your first time. Thanks for joining us here. And let's talk life. Life is Christ, the finished work of Christ. And that's what we get the joy of talking about. And that intersects with every day of our life, which is awesome and amazing. Today we're talking about the mystery of union. And so, yeah, here we are. Carl, how you doing? [00:01:13] Speaker B: I'm good. I'm good. Anytime we can talk life in Christ, I'm all in. Yeah. [00:01:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So it's good stuff. We've had crazy schedules, technology difficulties, and I lost all my notes. So life goes on winging a prayer. That's right. Well, we're pulling a lot of stuff today, or I guess I'm going to be pulling more stuff out of chapter six of the rest of the Gospel, which is just so good. He starts off talking about mysteries. People love mysteries. So I think, I think one of the questions that I had though, Carl, because he does say this on the first page of the chapter. Without revelation. [00:01:51] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:51] Speaker A: You will never understand mystery. And this is probably the notes that I had in Lost is I was just brainstorming and asking this question. Well, how do you receive revelation? Yeah. How would you. How would you answer that question? Any thoughts on that? [00:02:07] Speaker B: Yeah, well, even sort of, even before that, wanted to share with you a little bit about a ministry is. [00:02:15] Speaker A: Sure. [00:02:15] Speaker B: On Saturday nights, there are times that we meet with students from Liberty University at a friend's house. And it's just so awesome, so good. And one of the students said, prayer is a mystery. I just. Man, it just has stuck with me for a couple days of just prayers. There's something so mysterious about God that we can't understand right here in this. In this sure earth suit, this life that we live, that there's something Mysterious about how God worked. I'm okay with that. There, there are people that aren't that. Because, because we want to know everything or we want to understand everything. And it's like, man, I'm just, I'm so, I'm so okay with God being God and big and amazing and me not understanding everything. And so. Yeah. [00:03:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:12] Speaker B: So that. Wanted to start with that when. Aspect of, of of the mystery, but also about the revelation. Yeah, it's like, you know, you're going back to your favorite verse or one of the first verses that really brought you into a deeper understanding of grace and life in Christ. Was, was open minds, open my eyes. So if, so if God's not opening my eyes, if I'm not, my eyes are blinded. If my ears are, if I'm not listening, if I'm not hearing from God, if I'm not looking, then. Then I'm not going to see it. I'm going to miss it. And so without revelation, we will never understand mystery. I think that's so great because it goes beyond my common sense, my great. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Yes. [00:03:50] Speaker B: My greatest thought or man's intellect. [00:03:53] Speaker A: Right. [00:03:53] Speaker B: So that's, that's what I think about that. What do you, what do you, what do you make of it? [00:03:57] Speaker A: I mean, in, in bold print on the margin of the book. I just, I go back to that, that verse, it's a prayer that Paul was praying out of Ephesians. And ultimately it was just, it was that prayer. So I, I put in bold print. Ask God. Ask God. It's like we, we receive wisdom from him when we, when we ask him for wisdom. And the reality is he wants us to know him. He wants us to live in this abundant life. And so if we're asking him, he's revealing. And I think obviously I can, I can ask while I'm like running 100 miles an hour and not listening. [00:04:41] Speaker B: Right. [00:04:41] Speaker A: I can throw up questions, but even, even trying to answer the question goes, goes to our natural bent, which I really like how he does. He lays all this stuff out like that. You can probe it, you can study it, you can analyze it, you can define it, but all those things don't help you to understand the mystery. [00:05:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:01] Speaker A: So even asking this question, so how do I receive it? It's like, it's another. It's a question that will oftentimes hear is give me what. What am I supposed to do? [00:05:11] Speaker B: Right. [00:05:11] Speaker A: Give me something to do in order to enter into this like man. It's, it's not so much about doing something in order to receive it. It's. There is a doing. I mean, there is a coming to the end of myself. There is a humility, there is a trust. Those are all very difficult things to do. So I think it all goes very well with it. But I like how he. He laid this out and how much that really relates to kind of modern Christian thought. Like, most Christians today just think, I need to study the Word more. I just need to know God's Word better. And it's like, well, that's, that's good. That can certainly help you, but it's not necessarily going to bring life. And that's where we go to, you know, John, chapter five. Right. You can search the scriptures so you're blue in the face because in them you think that. That you have life, but you're not going to find life in there if you're not actually seeking Jesus. And so that's, that's the crucial point. I think that oftentimes we just miss. So that's kind of. And that's the mystery. Yeah, but, yeah, I love that. I love that about mystery. I love that about prayer. Like you said, prayer is a mystery that student said, and it truly is. I mean, that's, that's the life of faith and the life of trust. So I might pray something and ask God for guidance in this area, and I might not get an answer. Like, what if he doesn't answer? [00:06:34] Speaker B: Right, right. [00:06:35] Speaker A: So there's kind of this mystery there. Sometimes his answer is not answering. It's, It's. It's wild to think about. So it is. It's very much a mysterious kind of journey. But there are certain things that we can absolutely know. And I think that that's what the revelation is. So I, I like that. It's good stuff. So there's so much in this chapter, actually, but the mystery that. And even in our title, the mystery is union. [00:07:01] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:02] Speaker A: So right in that one. [00:07:04] Speaker B: Right. Talk about union. You know, I think of words that come with union. You know, I think a one like a oneness, you know, living down here in Appomattox, Virginia. This is where, you know, General Lee surrendered to General Grant. [00:07:21] Speaker A: Sure. [00:07:21] Speaker B: Mostly ending the Civil War didn't exactly end it, but that was kind of the, the, the tipping point for, for the south, which is where I'm living. And, and so it's the union. The union, you know, versus the Confederacy and you. Union. I think about a united. That two are one. When you think about marriage, the marriage union. Union of one man and one woman. And so they're not one. In. In essence, that they're. That they're. God has done something to unite them. And then. Anything else that you think of when you think of union, Any words that come to your mind? [00:08:01] Speaker A: Yeah, well, in fact, I just heard it as I was reviewing some of my class content, and the director there, the teacher, her name Teresa. [00:08:10] Speaker B: She. [00:08:11] Speaker A: She wrote the word identification. [00:08:13] Speaker B: Okay. [00:08:14] Speaker A: Down. And then she put the easiest wave, the way that I say she put it in brackets, is. Is union. I thought, well, isn't that interesting? Like, literally we're stepping into even kind of dialogue and talk about this. And I thought, because she wasn't saying it, it's like, it's. It's almost different even than identity. But it is similar, but identification, just like what you're saying about a marriage. And you're unified together as one. And it's the same thing in our. In our relationship with God in Christ. There's this oneness, and that's. That's where it's. It is like this mystery because ultimately he. He puts it up. He says, one plus one equals one. It's like, okay, that doesn't make sense. But it. But it does. So that's what makes it very mysterious. And I mean, it's just like there's this oneness, and you can't really wrap your. Your mind around all of it. But I love First Corinthians 6:17. The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit. [00:09:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:13] Speaker A: But there is this union, and I think it's just. I don't know, it's a fascinating thing to think about. We are. [00:09:21] Speaker B: The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit. And so if you have trusted in Christ as your Savior, then you're joined to the Lord. You are one. You are one. We are one spirit with God. We function as one. Is that something that. That you understood in the past as something that you taught, that you heard? [00:09:41] Speaker A: No. [00:09:42] Speaker B: Zero. [00:09:43] Speaker A: Never. Never. And it's. It's interesting because it's. It's really laid out in the Bible. Like, it's just right there. It's just verse. It just states it as clearly as day. [00:09:55] Speaker B: Right. [00:09:56] Speaker A: And then Jesus prays it in John 17 that, you know, right, Father, may they be one as we are one. There's. There's this talk of you and him. [00:10:08] Speaker B: And he and you. [00:10:09] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like explaining the Trinity, you know, it's like we can't really totally wrap our mind around it, but it doesn't mean that we don't believe. And Trust that it's the truth. And the same thing is there for this for sure. [00:10:21] Speaker B: Right. Because in the context of this verse that you're one with the spirit is on sexual immorality and how there can be union with someone that's not your wife is what he's referring to. And he says that, you know, sexual relationship, you become one together. And we need to honor God with our body. We're bought with a price. And so that, that's the picture Paul uses for the union with the Lord that we've been joined together. We're one spirit. Right. And so fascinating context that he brings us up. But for all my life it was always the sexual morality part and honor God with your body part. Like those are the things that were emphasized and stressed and what I would teach maybe never understanding. So when you talk about a mystery, you know, talk about something that I didn't understand. Union with God is up there is one of the top, top ones. Sure. [00:11:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:11:23] Speaker B: And I don't think I'm alone. [00:11:24] Speaker A: Yeah, no, completely, completely. It goes back to religion. It's law based living. We always want a list of things. And so when we read the scripture, we come to verses that say abstain from this or do that or. And we totally neglect what's coming to say that you're one. So trust this reality and then you'll be living out of this truth. And so I don't know, I've done a terrible job of keeping a list of all these verses that are similar to this. All these passages I should say that are similar to this. That it's like I held on to the first half but didn't recognize the second half where the victory was right. Or I skipped over the victory and just got to the doing part. Like, because I always wanted something to do. That's most people, you know, tell me what to do and then I know that I'm succeeding. [00:12:16] Speaker B: So. So it's like, okay, well what's the big deal of union? What's the opposite of union? [00:12:21] Speaker A: Right. [00:12:22] Speaker B: Separation. [00:12:23] Speaker A: Separation, which is. [00:12:24] Speaker B: So how do we view God? [00:12:26] Speaker A: That's. Yeah. [00:12:27] Speaker B: And so that's why this is so important. [00:12:29] Speaker A: Right? [00:12:29] Speaker B: I mean, this is why incredibly important. [00:12:32] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's, that's another one of my favorite statements out of this entire chapter. I think I put it in our notes. Even until we know union, we are constantly confronted by the illusion of separation. And that is, that is most believers for decades, you can live your whole life, you can live not just under this illusion that there's a separation and so therefore, if anything bad is happening in my life, and this was me, sickness comes or financial hardship comes or whatever might be in front of me. And I'm thinking, I must have done something wrong. God is judging me for my actions. And so there's this constant, like, fear. It's like I'm afraid of God. And it's like that is not where God wants us to live. That's not life. It's not. It's not the abundant life that he says he came to bring. [00:13:27] Speaker B: Right. I mean, I'll just read right from the, from the chapter there. [00:13:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:35] Speaker B: Until we know and live out of our union with Christ will never fully manifest the life of God within us. Some of it will shine through now and then despite us, but for the most part, we will manifest our own merely human life. Until we know union, we're constantly confronted by the illusion of separation. God's up there, I'm down here. I mean, that's, that's the half the gospel, that when you die, you'll. You'll meet Jesus in heaven. It's like, no, no, actually, the text says that Christ in me is the hope of glory, that I don't have to wait to heaven to see Jesus or hear from Jesus. [00:14:08] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:08] Speaker B: I can walk with Jesus today, right now. That's my reality, not a position. It's my reality. Right, Right. And so, so this idea that, well, how do I draw close to God? Well, I need a plan. Give me a program. [00:14:21] Speaker A: Right? Yeah. [00:14:22] Speaker B: Read your Bible, pray, study, witness tithe, take communion, hear the plans, hear the programs, and there's still always a separation because we, we view this as saying, oh, well, God's over there and I'm here, and the focus is on self instead of Jesus. Right? [00:14:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:36] Speaker B: And so this idea that all the separation instead of, oh, yeah, Christ, you're in me and you want me to be willing. You want me to allow you to live your life in me and through me, right? [00:14:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:48] Speaker B: Instead of that union. [00:14:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:51] Speaker B: To me, it's a beautiful. [00:14:53] Speaker A: It really is. That's. That's why it's so crucial. And the hard part in journeying with people is that it's. I can't convince them. I can't make them see it. [00:15:05] Speaker B: Right. [00:15:06] Speaker A: It's like they have to journey into this in their own time, in their own space. And so that's what's beautiful about really, what we get to do. Just that journey with others is just meet them where they're at and just. I think that there is certainly this testimony people can say, why, why do you seem so at rest and say, well, let me tell you. But people, I think are really hungering for that. You're hungering for that, that true rest. And I think that's really where it brings us. I mean, we're not in a mode of having to do anything to be close to God. [00:15:40] Speaker B: No, no, that's right. That's right. [00:15:43] Speaker A: And that's so obscure in our minds because we've been so equipped to think that I better stay going to church, I better read my Bible every day and better pray. It's like all those things are fantastic, but that's not where the life is. [00:15:58] Speaker B: That's not the life. [00:16:01] Speaker A: And in fact, the life is already alive inside of you and there's rivers of. [00:16:06] Speaker B: Yes. [00:16:06] Speaker A: Flowing water. It's crazy. Yeah. [00:16:11] Speaker B: And so, so we think about all we're talking about because, because our background, our sphere, our everything was always salvation by grace through faith. It was never, it was never a salvation by works message. But it's so fascinating that, that it's salvation by grace through faith, but that gets the end. But everything else is up to you. Self reliance, self sufficiency, living out of yourself, your. Your greatest resources. And so then the, the idea is like, well, I have to prove, I have to prove I'm worthy of his love or I have to somehow compensate God. I got to give back to him because of, because of all he's done for me. We got to give. I mean, that's the churchy, you know, deacon Elder message. You know, all he's done for us, we got to give back to Him. And it's like, what are we doing here? Like, can I just, can, can I just rest in the sufficiency of Christ and allow that to be every day my life, my sustenance. [00:17:05] Speaker A: Well, that's the thing that's going to compel us. It is his love that the more that we know and trust that he loves me, the more I'm just compelled to love him and love others and just let that love flow right through me into other people. Wow. [00:17:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Paul says, Paul says we live and move and have our being. [00:17:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:30] Speaker B: You know, he says God's our life, we're saved by his life. He is our life. Right. That. And, and this is, this is what's so great. And I just really want to stress this too, because I think, you know, my version is that, you know, chapter seven, yours is chapter six. This is so important for us and especially for you, listener. Christ lives out his life in us. You and me. And we have different shapes, forms, fashions, all kinds of interests. Diversity, all kinds. Uniqueness. Praise the Lord. He says we don't have to look like, act like, talk like, or be like anyone else. [00:18:01] Speaker A: Right. [00:18:01] Speaker B: We are free to be ourselves. [00:18:03] Speaker A: Yes. [00:18:04] Speaker B: You know, in the exchange life, I don't have to try and be, you know, Andrew Farley or John lynch or. I don't. [00:18:09] Speaker A: Right. [00:18:10] Speaker B: I don't have to be, you know, outside of that sphere. I don't have to be Steven Fritic or, or John MacArthur. Like, I can, I can be myself. Listener. You can be yourself in Christ. In you. With all the uniqueness and giftings and personality of who you are. Is Christ in you? I don't know if that resonate with you. [00:18:29] Speaker A: To Zach, it totally does. I mean, just. Just going back to that was always the thinking was, there's a model out there and I want to follow and be like that person. And then there's this failure to do so. So then there's I'm self condemning and I feel miserable about myself. I think I'm a failure. And that's where we're going to continue. If that's our, if that's our mentality, if the model mentality is it. And it's just, it's. It's so amazing, I think that there's, there's this reality that if we know that we're in union, if we know we have this closeness and this connection, you can't get any closer than being united. It is our identification. [00:19:10] Speaker B: Right. [00:19:11] Speaker A: You won't live then once you know this, you won't live in separation. And, and he says this, we may visit there occasionally, but that's not going to be home to us. [00:19:23] Speaker B: No. [00:19:23] Speaker A: It's actually going to feel really unnatural. [00:19:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:27] Speaker A: Because that's not truly who we are. And so why do you have guilt? It's because. Well, you just did something that was unnatural. And it's like this signal to say that doesn't feel right. [00:19:37] Speaker B: Right. [00:19:38] Speaker A: Well, because it's not who I am. And it just sends you into a place of, of remembering. Yeah. That's not. That's not who I am. [00:19:46] Speaker B: That's right. [00:19:47] Speaker A: I don't find joy in that. And it's so, so good. That's. That's where you go into what you already shared. We live and move and have our being in God. He is our life. It's amazing. It's so amazing. It's so amazing. I mean, we can, we can live and we can go back to principles from this book. Like the line and, and it's such a good illustration. But above the line is the spirit, the world that we can't totally comprehend. It's the unseen. Below the line is what we do. See, it's the physical. And the reality is in our spirit, we are in the eternal. That's what I love. Like some of the stuff you shared earlier. Scripture teaches and tells us you have eternal life. But eternal life, in my previous thinking was always future, past, and. [00:20:35] Speaker B: Yep, something future. [00:20:37] Speaker A: Yeah. But the reality is, what Scripture really teaches is that you have eternal life. That means it's a present reality. [00:20:48] Speaker B: It's Christ life. [00:20:49] Speaker A: It's right now, eternal life is Christ's life. And so many people can't grab on to that. They want to just not believe that about themselves. [00:20:57] Speaker B: It might. I mean, it really is. Am I going to believe what the text says about me? [00:21:04] Speaker A: Right. [00:21:05] Speaker B: And will I believe it? Because that's what it really comes down to. Because it says, jesus is in you, Christ in you. The hope of glory, that you're complete in Christ. You know, will I believe it? So listen, will I. Will you believe? Will you accept it as your reality that we are joined with the Lord? [00:21:23] Speaker A: So good. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Union. [00:21:24] Speaker A: So good. [00:21:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Amen. It's such an amazing reality, the mystery of union. But it's not a mystery anymore. God wants to reveal and for us to know him and to know that we're united with Him. Thank you, God. [00:21:39] Speaker B: Amen.