Thoughts on Union With Christ - H. C. G. Moule

Ridley Hall Chapel

Chapter I.
In Christ.

In the Christian's view and hold of the Truth of Christ, it is his duty and his strength to see and grasp central truths as such. There are suns, planets, and satellites in the system of the blessed Gospel. And as in the ancient astronomy the great error about the soul's relation to our system occasioned manifold other confusion, so it may be in the astronomy of the upper skies. To put a planetary truth into a solar place must be a mistake fruitful of mistakes. To put a solar truth in the centre, and its planetary truths around it, and in connexion with it, will surely be good both for mind and soul; that is to say, if the adjustment is made "in spirit and in truth," not as a matter of mere theory of discussion, but for translation, by the grace of God, into the life of faith.

Assuredly the planets will not lose in lustre, nor their movements in majesty, for such a recognition of the place and function of their sun.

The supreme Sun of the spiritual universe, the ultimate Reason of everything in the world and work of Grace, is the Glory of God. Whole systems of truth move in subordinate relation to this; this is subordinate to nothing. But we are thinking now of one subordinate system, and of its sun, supreme within that circle. The system is the revealed way of fallen Man's salvation. The solar truth of that system, ruling and harmonizing the rest, is the Union of the Lord Christ and His People. It is the truth conveyed in the phrases "in Christ," "in Christ Jesus," "Christ in you," "joined unto the Lord." It is the truth of the Head of the Body, the Limbs of the Body, the Branch and the Root; words which are but shadows of the solid and eternal realities behind them.

And thus all views of Gospel doctrines which take no account of this are inadequate....