Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Berkhof on Union With Christ

"In view of what was said, it is quite evident that it is not correct to say that the mystical union is the fruit of man's believing acceptance of Christ, as if faith were not one of the blessings of the covenant which flow unto us from the fulness of Christ, but a condition which man must meet partly or wholly in his own strength, in order to enter into living relationship with Jesus Christ. It enables us to appropriate on our part what is given unto us in Christ, and to enter ever-increasingly into conscious enjoyment of the blessed union with Chris, which is the source of all our spiritual riches.

"This union may be define as that intimate, vital, and spiritual  union between Christ and His people, in virtue of which He is the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and salvation."

Louis Berkhof
Systematic Theology