Paul once wrote to a church in a city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) called Colosse. In that letter he said, about I AM and Jesus,

[God] delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:13-20 NET).

In Jesus I AM has brought peace, shalom, back to his creation. Jesus has constituted a kingdom through which I AM returns peace by his death, burial and resurrection. The question that we must ask is how does a human experience this peace that Jesus has secured in his kingdom by his death and resurrection?

There are two ways to answer this question, each way depending upon the perspective one wants to look at it. From the divine perspective and what I AM does to give humans peace again in Jesus Christ it is union with Christ. From the human perspective and what must be done to have shalom is faith. Let us take them one at a time in reverse order.

First, the human side and faith. What is “faith?” This is such an abstract concept for the Christian because one needs to define it in such as way to distinguish it from what the non-Christian world around him/her defines it. Most people would see faith as belief in something that is unseen. “I believe in God.” It is also belief that something is true. “I believe that there is a God.” “I believe that someone must work hard to make their dreams come true.” “I believe that Jesus actually lived and died on a cross.” Yet this is not necessarily Christian faith.

Christian faith not only holds that a particular truth is actually true, or that something exists or happened actually exists or happened, it goes one step further. Christian faith believes that Jesus lived and died and was raised from the dead. Christian faith believes in the doctrines associated with that historical fact, Jesus died as the payment for sin. It also says that Jesus died for “me.” Faith sees that is happened for the believer. Faith understands that Jesus has died for the sins of actual people, and that the one exercising faith knows, is convinced, that Jesus’ death applies to the one believing. “Jesus died for me and my sins!”

Even further, Christian faith understands that because of the truth of these doctrines in the individual believer’s life, the one exercising faith trusts Jesus as king and ruler and master. Christian faith yields to the authority of the one who has purchased the believer. It calls Jesus King and Lord. It willing lays down its own authority and independence and kneels before Christ Jesus. It trusts Jesus to lead them to green pastures and gentle waters and paths of righteousness.

And finally in this post, it looks to Jesus and I AM not as the king of an opposing kingdom but as a loving king. Christian faith adores Jesus and loves him. It sees Jesus as the source of all beauty and majesty. In Jesus is pure joy and shalom. The glory of Jesus is seen, taken in, absorbed, delighted in and expressed to others regardless if the others share the same faith or not.

Now union with Christ cannot be fully discussed ever in a blog post, especially here. This is not to be taken as a full systematic treatment of union with Christ, as the above discussion about “faith” is not a full systematic discussion either. But let us remember what Jesus did with his death. He became the sacrifice that purified the sinner, was consumed by divine wrath, and expressed that all is right with I AM and the covenant member. The member of the covenant that Jesus’ death enacts, ratifies, and purchases is now free to experience the promises I AM gave in the new covenant that Jesus uses to save the members of this covenant fully and eschatologically. In Jesus’ death a kingdom was established where the hearts of its members were changed to no longer hate I AM, fellow members, and/or the world around them. Shalom exists between the members of the covenant because they are not relating to one another as I AM intended. All will be right in this new covenant purchased and put into effect by Jesus death and resurrection. Jesus resurrection signified that I AM accepted his offering on the cross and that Jesus now lives as the first-fruits, first person, of that new covenant community and kingdom.

At the moment of faith I AM unites the believer to Jesus. They become one, a singular entity, a unified body. When this happens, Jesus death becomes the believer’s death. I AM views them as having died. When a believer is united to Jesus, Jesus’ righteousness–his right standing before I AM–becomes the believer’s righteousness. The believer now experiences what Jesus has already purchased for them on the cross. What wasn’t reality for the rebel now becomes reality for that member. They now have that righteousness by which they can commune with the infinitely holy I AM. They now have the inner change of heart. They have experienced the inner transformation that I AM promised them when he promised the coming new covenant. They now have shalom again in Jesus.

They are one with Christ. The old life of rebellion against I AM has died on the cross with Jesus. They have been raised to a new life of obedience. And in this new life with a transformed heart and spirit they now love both I AM and their fellow members of the covenant. Peace is indeed a reality for the believer.

So how does this new covenant community work itself out? What happens to it? That has to wait for a later time.