Union with Christ: The Blessings of Being in Him by Sinclair Ferguson. Ligonier Ministries. 157 pages. 2025
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In this book, Sinclair Ferguson introduces the reader to the vital theme of the believer’s union with Christ, with the hope that it may act as a catalyst to a lifetime of reflection on it. He explores the theme by reflecting on specific key passages in the New Testament. The book expands on his earlier twelve message Ligonier teaching series of the same name.
The author tells us that in the sixty or so pages in our Bible that contain Paul’s thirteen letters we will find the expression “in Christ” or a variant of it over eighty times. Equivalent expressions “in the Lord” (or sometimes “in the Lord Jesus”) virtually double that number. He writes that if you belong to Christ, this is who you really and truly are, every day of your life—a man or a woman who is “in Christ.”
Ferguson writes that living in union and communion with Him is surely the highest privilege that we could have in this world.
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BOOK CLUB ~ Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
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I read this small book relatively slowly, as I pondered the riches therein. I highly recommend both the book and teaching series to you.
Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
- In Christ, we have everything we need for our salvation. When we are in Jesus Christ, all the blessings of the gospel are ours.
- The love of God in Christ is the foundation for union and communion with Him.
- Baptism is about the significance of our union with Him.
- Since today we are bombarded with issues of personal identity, it is wonderfully helpful to know that baptism serves as an identity bracelet that tells us who we are in Christ.
- In union with Christ, we have been set free from sin’s guilt and from its dominion. But we are not yet set free from sin’s presence.
- To be united to Him is a privilege beyond measure.
- Out of the root of our union, there needs to develop mortification (a putting away of the old sinful characteristics and lifestyle), and fruitfulness, an adorning of our lives with Christlike graces.
- When we are united to Christ, everything begins to change; the old is laid aside, the new is embraced; and Christlikeness begins to develop in our lives.
- What, then, is the ultimate fruit of our union with Christ? It is becoming like Jesus. It is Christlikeness.
- Union with Christ in His death and resurrection serves as the ground plan of the Christian life and shapes the pattern of our lives. It creates a rhythm of sorrow and joy, of loss and gain, of death and resurrection.
- Union with Christ in His death; union with Christ in His resurrection. These are the lenses through which we are to see our Christian life and experience.
- Revive Your Love for the Old Testament. Sinclair Ferguson reviews The Message of the Old Testament by Mark Dever. He writes “What we have in these pages, then, is an illustration and confirmation of this high evangelical view of Scripture and of the importance of its reading and preaching. Approached in dependence on the Spirit, these pages can have that kind of effect on us. The Message of the Old Testamentwill help Christians embrace and hold on to the hope of everlasting life in our Savior Jesus Christ.”
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
Won’t you read along with us?
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt 
Smethurst
Pastor and author Timothy Keller (1950–2023) built a lasting legacy in Christian ministry, planting Redeemer Presbyterian Church and cofounding the Gospel Coalition. With sharp biblical insight that has shaped countless church leaders, along with counsel on the Christian life that has stirred and strengthened audiences worldwide, Keller’s teaching promises to influence generations to come.
Synthesizing Keller’s work topic by topic, each chapter of this book highlights a key aspect of the Christian life—covering his views on prayer, suffering, friendship, vocation, intimacy with God, and more. Written by pastor Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller on the Christian Life draws from Keller’s nearly 50 years of sermons, conference messages, and books to share practical theological insight that will galvanize leaders and laypeople alike.
As we read through this book, we now look at Chapter 3: Three Ways to Live: Why Religion Needs Grace. Here are a few helpful quotes from the chapter:
- You can avoid God through immorality, but you can also avoid God through performative morality. The first option is common sense; the second is cancerous.
- According to the apostle, then, there are three ways to live: one way to be reconciled to God, but two ways to reject him.
- In short, the Sermon on the Mount is a warning against rebellion dressed up as religion.
- An elder-brother mindset can haunt us all.
- So, there are two ways, not one, to be your own Savior and Lord: you can break all the moral rules and chart your own course, or you can try keeping all the external moral rules and seek to earn heaven’s favor. Both are strategies for avoiding God.
- When it comes to pleasing God, both the rebellious path and the religious path are dead ends. But Jesus shows us a more excellent way.
