What Is Union with Christ? Hidden with Christ in God

Dying While Still Living

How can someone die and still live forever? Christianity has an answer for that question. Christianity is unique. We don't just participate in our faith; we become one with the God of the universe through His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit.

You find this unity with the Creator in no other religion. This unity wasn't available to the world until the death and resurrection of Jesus. Now we are one body—the body of Christ. This event opened the way, through grace, for us to live forever with Him, to be united with Christ. This union however, comes with a cost. A cost Jesus says we must count (Luke 14:28).

Every day we make hundreds of decisions that reveal what we truly believe. And that brings us to another unique belief in Christianity. To become a Christian you must die first, not physically, but spiritually. This is the cost Jesus was talking about. That old sinful self must be crucified with Christ. We have to take up our cross. What we want must be transformed into what He wants. Our needs and desires must always come second to the will of God. And it is this death and transformation which brings us joy.

What does dying to self look like in your life today? It may mean submitting to someone when you really don't want to, choosing humility instead of insisting on your own way, or placing someone else's needs before your own. When you did the right thing and no one acknowledged you, were you okay because you knew that God knew? These moments show us if we are living for ourselves or for Christ.

What Is Union with Christ?

Paul says something quite profound in Colossians 3:3,

"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

Why would Paul describe our lives as "hidden"? Because our old life has been crucified with Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. We have quite literally been set free. Our new life is no longer in this world, it is in Christ. The world around us can't always see this transformation because our life is "hidden with Christ in God." In Galatians 2:20 Paul tells us,

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

We are dead but it is Christ who is alive. Colossians 3:4 echoes this when it says Christ literally is our life and this life is now lived by faith. But this new life often takes time to mature.

As young Christians, we often begin by learning to die to the obvious sins in our lives. We gradually die more and more to our old life. The things that once tempted us start to fade away. Gossiping doesn't seem as much fun as it once did. Flirting with someone we aren't married to doesn't seem so harmless. Everything we do is filtered through the question, "How can I be more like Christ?"

Paul frequently uses expressions like, "in Christ," "with Christ," and "Christ in you." All of these point to an essential truth in our faith, that we are united with Christ. We died with Him and now we live with Him, eternally. This explains why Christians think about eternal life so differently from the rest of the world.

How Union with Christ Gives Eternal Life

Humanity has always searched for a way to escape death. Today scientists and technology leaders are investing billions of dollars trying to extend human life. Some even dream of preserving the mind digitally or overcoming death altogether. Christians believe this problem has already been solved through Christ's death and resurrection.

As Christians we already have eternal life. We do not need to preserve this body or transfer our minds into another form, because God has promised something far greater: a resurrected body made perfect through Christ's sacrifice. Christianity says eternal life begins now because our lives are already found in Christ. This changes everything about sin and our relationship to God.

God cannot look on sin with favor (Habakkuk 1:13). Now that we are Christians, when God looks at us, He no longer sees us as defined by our imperfections and failures. He sees us through His Son, and His Holy Spirit lives in us. Doesn't that fact fill you with hope? In a very real way we are also becoming transformed more and more into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).

How Union with Christ Changes Our Lives

But know that there can be no "putting on of Christ" or transforming of your life until you have spiritually died to your old self. The good that we do in the world needs to find its anchor in a life in Christ. And how and why we act should reflect the reality of our new life.

We are part of a whole, the body of Christ, and our mission is the same, to reflect His love to the world through our lives. We become, like Christ Himself, strangers in the earth. We live in it still but are not really part of it. And what our transformation is really like is hidden from the world.

What Does It Mean to Be Hidden with Christ?

Our union with Christ causes us to be hidden in Him like a treasure stowed away in a vault. No one but the owner can open it. Only the owner knows its true value. Only the owner knows exactly where the vault is. It is located in Christ!

But in the future, in Heaven, we will see what the righteousness of Christ has produced in us. We are secure because our security does not rest on ourselves but on Him. This sense of belonging and protection would have been alien to pagans living in Paul's age. Our security comes from knowing that our life is safely held in Christ.

If our life is truly in Christ, then everything about us will find its source and purpose in God. As Paul reminds us, "in Him we live and move and have our being." God is the source of our life, and He is the One who gave it purpose and promised it. This union with Christ can be difficult to understand for those who are not Christians. They only see a physical world with physical limitations. It is a mystery, even for us as Christians, in which we joyfully participate.

Living in Union with Christ Every Day

But knowing that we are truly united with Him, how should that change the way we live? Certainly our priorities will change. We can disregard the opinion of the world, and become more concerned about what God thinks of us. The good things we do don't have to be acknowledged and seen by people, only God. Because God is in control and wants our good, we don't need to worry.

Being in Christ helps us to guard against temptations. Doesn't it make you stop and think, "I am literally carrying Christ with me wherever I go and whatever I do"? Not only that, but it is Christ in me through the Holy Spirit that guides me and helps me control my tongue. When I get angry, who responds; the Holy Spirit in me or the old me?

When I was a child my pastor would remind us that as Christians the hidden things we did were never really hidden because the Holy Spirit was always with us. What I did was never secret and that realization stopped me many times from going down a path I might have regretted. Like Paul, my pastor was reminding us that because our lives are hidden with Christ in God, we never walk alone.

And since I am united with Him my focus should be on eternity. I don't have to worry about what's on the news because they just want to sell me fear. Perfect love casts out fear Scripture reminds us. Staying grounded in God's Word reveals real truth and replaces fear with confidence.

I can be thankful for what I have instead of focusing on what I don't have. I can serve others because their life in eternity is what really matters. I can realize that possessions will decay and rot away but the true treasure is to have the Holy Spirit living in me. Remember also that we live in community, so how can I support others and encourage them to live their life in Christ?

How Union with Christ Changes Our Relationships

Because we are one body in Christ, listening to people when they want to share a burden is one way to practically encourage others. These days it is difficult to find people who will really listen when you are worried. Then pray for them and let them know that you are. Remind them of the things they are doing for Jesus that you notice. And don't let them think you are problem free.

Share your own weaknesses and struggles. Share also the blessings and answered prayers that you have experienced. Everyone needs positivity in their lives. Provide it, but anchor it in the oneness we have in Jesus.

Finding Hope in Union with Christ

Being hidden with Christ in God provides us a safe haven, an anchor for our soul. When the storms come we don't have to doubt Who stands with us. It is Jesus. When things are falling apart God still sees you and cares for you. He hasn't abandoned you and He never will.

This is a mystery, our union with Christ. To realize that Christ now lives in us must change the way we live. This fact has to influence us every day of our lives. We serve a God who asks us to die to self to be able to serve Him. Have you experienced this death? Have you experienced this new life? If not, seek Him while He may be found.

This is the great mystery of the Christian faith. When we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we die with Christ so that His life may become our life. Hidden with Him today, we will one day appear with Him in glory.