What are the benefits and
privileges of being a Christian?
The benefits and privileges of being a
Christian are, principally, union with Christ
,
1.Adoption by God into His family,
2. Christian liberty,
3. a spiritual right to the sacraments of the new covenant,
4. the fellowship of all Christians,
and
5. the resurrection of the
body.
1. UNION WITH CHRIST.
The purpose of all that Christ did was that
Christians might be united with Him and
live together with Him (1 Thessalonians
5:10):
They were crucified with Him (Romans
6:6);
They were buried with Him (Romans 6:4;
Colossians 2:12);
They died with Him (Romans 6:8; 2
Timothy 2:11);
They were made alive with Him (Colossians
2:13);
They were raised with Him (Colossians
2:12; 3:1);
They are made co-heirs with Him (Romans
8:17);
They are to suffer with Christ (Romans
8:17);
They are to share in His glory (Romans
8:17);
They will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12;
Revelation 20:4).
The union is like that of a Head and a Body:
2. ADOPTION BY GOD INTO HIS FAMILY.
Before the creation of the world God chose
Christians in Christ to become His holy and
blameless children, to live within His
constant care (Ephesians 1:4, 5).
God’s love has caused Him to bestow upon
those who receive His Son the right to
become His children (John 1:12, 13; 1 John
3:1).
Christians receive the Spirit of adoption, so
that they are rightly able to cry, ‘Abba,
Father!’ (Romans 8:15-17).
As God’s children, Christians share His
treasures, and all that God gives to His Son
belongs to them as well (Romans 8:17).
Christians wait for the redemption of their
bodies that will mean that at last they have
entered into their full rights as God’s
children in Christ (Romans 8:23).
The whole creation may be described as
waiting in eager expectation to see the
wonderful sight of the children of God
coming into their own (Romans 8:19).
CHRISTIAN LIBERTY.
Christ came to proclaim freedom for
captives, and release from darkness for
prisoners (Isaiah 61:1, 2; Luke 4:18, 19).
When Christ sets us free, we are free
indeed (John 8:32, 34, 36; Galations 5:1).
Christ sets us free from the fear of death (1
Corinthians 15:55-57; Hebrews 2:14, 15).
Christ delivers us from that slavish attitude
of fear that so easily can characterize life
without God (Romans 8:15).
Christ has redeemed believers from the
curse of the law’s condemnation, by
Himself becoming a curse for them when
He was crucified (Galations 3:13): no
condemnation now hangs over the head of
those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
The burden of all the Jewish ceremonial is
removed through Christ (Acts 15:10, 11;
Galations 5:1).
Christ makes us free from slavery to sin
(John 8:32, 34, 36). Though Christians once
used to be slaves to sin, having now
wholeheartedly obeyed the form of
teaching to which they were entrusted,
they have been set free from the service of
sin, and have become the servants of
righteousness (Romans 6:17, 18).
Christians’ freedom, however, is not a
freedom to do evil, but a freedom to serve
God (1 Peter 2:16).
Christians are freed from the bondage of
the law, but it remains a rule for them of
life and holiness: God puts His law within
Christians and writes it upon their hearts
(Jeremiah 31:31-34).
3. A SPIRITUAL RIGHT TO THE SACRAMENTS OF
THE NEW COVENANT.
The first sacrament of the New Covenant is
baptism:
It was appointed by Christ Himself for all
disciples (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15,
16);
It is administered in the name of the Trinity
(Matthew 28:19);
It is a symbol of an individual’s reception
of the gospel (Acts 2:37, 38, 41; 8:12;
16:14, 15);
It symbolizes repentance and faith in the
Lord Jesus (Acts 2:38);
It symbolizes confession of Christ’s
Lordship (Acts 19:5);
It symbolizes admittance into God’s family
(Acts 2:38, 41, 47; 8:12; 9:18; 1 Corinthians
12:13);
It symbolizes entry into all the benefits of
Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans
6:3, 4).
The second sacrament of the New
Covenant is the Lord’s Supper:
The Lord’s Supper is a proclamation of the
Lord’s death by words and symbols (1
Corinthians 11:26);
It was established and commanded by
Christ (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians
11:23);
It continually reminds Christians of Christ’s
sacrifice for them (Luke 22:19, 20; 1
Corinthians 11:23-26);
By means of it Christians acknowledge
their sharing in the benefits of Christ’s
death (1 Corinthians 10:16, 17; 11:23- 26);
In it Christians have fellowship with Christ
and with one another (1 Corinthians 10:16,
17, 21);
In it Christians make their thanksgiving to
God (1 Corinthians 10:16; Romans 12:1);
The Lord’s Supper is to be continued until
Christ returns (1 Corinthians 11:26).
4. THE FELLOWSHIP OF ALL CHRISTIANS.
God gives His people singleness of heart
and action (Jeremiah 32:39).
The people of God are one as the Father
and the Son are one (John 17:22) – and
Jesus’ prayer to His Father had this unity as
a main petition (John 17:11, 21).
Jesus, the Great and Chief Shepherd, has
one flock to which all Christians belong
(John 10:16).
The fellowship of believers – sometimes
called ‘the communion of saints’ – arises
from Christians belonging to one Body, of
which there is one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4).
All Christians are baptized by the Spirit into
one Body, whether Jews, Gentiles, slaves or
free, and they all have experience of the
same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Though many, Christians form one body in
Christ, and each member belongs to all the
others (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12).
The fellowship or communion of believers,
therefore, is the sense of identity and
belonging we have with all Christians
through our common allegiance to the
Lord Jesus, the truth (Ephesians 4:13; 2
John 1).
The fellowship Christians have together
arises from their fellowship with the Father
and the Son (1 John 1:3).
Christians should seek to express their
fellowship and union outwardly by
avoiding all dissensions among themselves,
being perfectly united in mind and thought
(1 Corinthians 1:10, 11; Philippians 2:1, 2; 1
Peter 3:
This fellowship of all Christians is given
practical expression in the fellowship of
the local church according to the pattern
revealed in the New Testament (Acts 11:26;
14:23; 20:17, 28; 1 Corinthians 4:17;
Hebrews 10:25; 13:17).
5. THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.
God does not abandon believers to the
grave, but He has made known to them the
path of life, which leads to joy in His
presence, and eternal pleasures at His right
hand (Psalms 16:9-11).
Believers have the assurance of the
resurrection of the body through their
risen Redeemer (Job 19:25-27; 1
Thessalonians 4:14).
The resurrection of the dead will be the
first consequence of Christ’s second
coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Believers will be made alive through Christ
(1 Corinthians 15:22).
Harvest provides a good illustration of the
kind of thing that will happen. What we
sow is not the body that is to be but only a
seed (1 Corinthians 15:37); just as to every
kind of creature and thing God has given a
particular body, so He has determined the
particular nature of the resurrection body
(1 Corinthians 15:38-44).
The body characterized by decay,
dishonour, weakness, and suited only for
this present life, will be raised an
imperishable, glorious body, full of power,
and perfectly fitted for life in the world to
come (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
The transformation will take place in a
flash, in the twinkling of an eye (1
Corinthians 15:51, 52).
The assurance of the resurrection of the
body is a tremendous comfort and
encouragement to the Christian (1
Corinthians 15:58; 1 Thessalonians 4:18).
And after the glorious event, Christians will
be with Christ forever (1 Thessalonians
4:17).
Written & composed by: AdeWumi Michael
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