We have different kinds of relationships in our lives.

I have relationship with my dad and with my wife and with my son and with my colleagues.

They're all relationships.

But to say the least, they all don't have the same kind of intimacy.

They can all be intimate but in very different ways.

So the question isn't really, do we have a relationship with Jesus? Of course we did. That's precious.

The question is, what kind of relationship is this?

As Christians, we're very familiar with terms like salvation, forgiveness, justification, and redemption. Words that get to the heart of what God

has done for us as his people. And yet, an equally important and yet often overlooked concept in the

Bible is that of our union with Christ, a profound and beautiful doctrine well attested in church

history, but often misunderstood today.

What does it mean to be united with Jesus?

Does that union apply to our physical bodies?

And how does union with Christ relate to other facets of salvation, like justification?

In our interview today, I'm talking with Marcus Johnson,

assistant professor of theology at the Moody Bible Institute, and the author of One with Christ

and Evangelical Theology of Salvation from Crossway. Let's get started.

Well, Marcus, thank you so much for joining me today on the Crossway podcast.

Glad to be here.

Thanks for the invite.

So, Union with Christ is, I think it's one of those doctrines that's probably less often taught

and therefore less well understood and maybe even less accepted

...