Every person is either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” Those “in Adam” are dead in sin and separated from God because of their relationship to Adam and his rebellion. Those “in Christ” are dead to sin and spiritually alive unto God because of their relationship to Christ and His obedience.

A Forgotten Doctrine
When was the last time you heard a sermon about union with Christ?
Union with Christ might be one of the most neglected, overlooked doctrines of the Christian faith. And yet, as we will see in a moment, this glorious truth is the basis for every blessing and joy we experience as God’s chosen people. Michael Reeves notes, “Union with Christ is not some small, particular blessing that might go alongside the key blessings of the gospel. Union with Christ is the Christian life.” Spurgeon states, “There is no joy in this world like union with Christ. The more we can feel it, the happier we are.”
“In Christ”
While the specific phrase union with Christ is not found in Bible, the doctrine is presented in a number of ways. For example, the phrase in Christ is found over ninety times in the New Testament. Phrases like in him and in whom often refer to this blessed doctrine as well. The Bible also uses a number of metaphors to illustrates this union. For example:

Jesus is the Head, and we are His body (Col. 1:18; Eph.1:22)
Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches (Jn. 15:1-11)
Jesus is the Bridegroom, and we are His bride (Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7-9)
Jesus is the Cornerstone, and we are the living stones built upon Him (I Pet. 2:4-7)

What is Union with Christ?
Union with Christ refers to our vital, inseparable oneness with Him. John Piper defines union with Christ as follows: “The reality of all the ways that the Bible pictures our human connectedness to Christ, in which He is indispensable for every good that we enjoy. No saving good, no eternal good, no God-exalting good, no soul-satisfying good comes to us except as we are connected to Christ.” Every gospel blessing that we have, from eternity past to eternity future, comes to us because of our union with Christ (Eph. 1:3-14).
In his helpful book, The Gospel for Real Life, Jerry Bridges identifies two aspects of our union with Christ. He notes (p. 39), “We can distinguish two aspects of our union with Christ this way: Our legal union with Christ entitles us to all that Christ did for us as He acted in our place, as our substitute. Our vital union with Christ is the means by which He works in us by His Holy Spirit.”

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Throughout the book, when John uses phrases like “after this” or “after these things,” he’s not denoting the historical chronology of the events he describes. Rather, he’s chronicling the order in which he saw a series of visions. The different angles display God’s judgment and ultimate triumph in Jesus Christ—the one great event of his return.
Imagine watching the final play of a football game from several different camera angles.
Angle one from the pylon cam: a player scores a rushing touchdown.
Angle two from behind the goalposts: he scores the touchdown and spikes the ball.
Angle three from the blimp: he scores a touchdown, spikes the ball, and the crowd rushes the field and fills the stadium.
Our understanding of this one event grows in intensity and meaning as it’s shown from multiple angles. In his classes at Reformed Theological Seminary, Michael Kruger uses this helpful metaphor to explain a biblical literary device called recapitulation.
Recapitulation is the act or instance of summarizing and restating a narrative to give a different emphasis or perspective. One biblical book that employs recapitulation with stunning effect is Revelation.
Seeing the World Through 7s
Revelation is notoriously confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Yes, there are dragons, angels, antichrists, and (seemingly) multiple returns of Christ. But if we read this book through the lens of recapitulation, it becomes easier to understand.
It’s widely agreed that Revelation is structured by the repetition of sevens—seven churches, trumpets, bowls, and so on. But questions arise about the sequence and scope of the successive sevens. How do they hold together? When do they occur? How far does each one extend? Recapitulation helps us answer these questions.
Revelation isn’t meant to be read merely as a chronology of fantastic events. It should be seen as one set of events repeated seven times, each with increasing intensity. Revelation is apocalyptic—a genre defined by images, symbols, and references to the Old Testament and John’s ancient world. It’s intended to help the churches to whom it’s written see the world in a different way.
As Richard Bauckham writes, “The effect of John’s visions . . . is to expand his readers’ world, both spatially (into heaven) and temporally (into the eschatological future).” This accords with other ancient Jewish apocalyptic literature (like Daniel and some extracanonical books), but unlike extrabiblical literature, Revelation remains distinctly Christian and Christ-focused.
What Do the 7 Sections Depict?
The seven sections depict the two advents (or arrivals) of Jesus and the time between them. In different ways, they each tell the same story of Jesus returning to save and judge. Read this way, we see John’s clear and repeated emphasis on the final judgment, and we see the one event of Jesus’s return in its all-encompassing beauty.
1. Revelation 1:1–3:22
From the beginning of the book, the number seven holds symbolic weight. Bauckham argues that the seven spirits before the throne (1:4) symbolize the Holy Spirit in the fullness of his power and presence to the churches. Moreover, Jesus addresses seven churches. These churches represent all churches that will exist in the inter-advent period, or the period between Jesus’s first and second comings.
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When we carve out time for attendance in weekly worship as an expression of Sabbath observance, we remind ourselves that God is lord of our life and time. We keep a holy appointment to meet with Him to render to Him the glory due His name and to rehearse His blessings in the gospel. Our Lord Jesus informs us that the Sabbath was made for us. We lead busy, distracted, wearisome lives, prone to wander, to neglect, to forget our God amidst the travails of life. But God has given us the Sabbath, not merely to rest from our ordinary labors but to find refreshment and renewal, a redemptive reset of sorts.

Christmas this year falls on a Sunday. Already the question is circulating as to whether churches should cancel their services so as not to disrupt family celebrations.
The question asked is the answer implied that we might reasonably consider canceling and take a sabbath from the Sabbath. After all, people will be away visiting families or hosting family members who have traveled for the holiday. Plus, kids and grownups will be distracted with visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads.
The question is bigger, however, than what to do this year. It’s a question of what to do with the Sabbath itself. Sure, we continue to include the fourth commandment when we recite the ten, although we may do so in hushed tones or with a hint of suspicion.
But, unlike Pluto, it has not been demoted from its status. It continues as a commandment of God’s moral law, to be obeyed as an expression of love for Him and acknowledgement of His authority in our lives.
In that sense the Sabbath is a sign. That’s how God describes it: “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you’” (Ex. 31:13, NKJV).
God is not addressing the nations around them. He is speaking to His people as their covenant Lord. He is saying that keeping the Sabbath is a reminder whose we are and why that is, a sign of sanctification. Our setting apart one day in seven serves as a sign that God has set us apart from the world as His very own.
While there are aspects of discontinuity with Sabbath observance on this side of the cross, it continues to be part of God’s moral law and remains a sign between our God and us as His people. How does the Sabbath function as a sign? Let me suggest four ways.
A Sign to God
God established the Sabbath in creation. He could have created in one fell swoop but He did so in six days, resting from His labors on the seventh and thus establishing for us a rhythm to our days. When we observe the Sabbath we walk in that rhythm, acknowledging God as the One who ordains our days.
In addition to a creation ordinance, the Sabbath serves as a redemption ordinance given us as the redeemed of the Lord to honor God for delivering us from the bondage of sin. We express our love for Him by keeping His commandments.
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