Becoming Something New
The spiritual reality of the Christian life, at its very core, in the innermost function of the human spirit, is that the Christian has become a new person with a new identity. Christ is our life (Col. 3:4). In Christ we are perfect and sanctified as righteous, for Christ has become to us wisdom and sanctification (Phil. 3:15; Heb. 10:14; Heb. 12:23; I Cor. 1:24,30).
Jesus Christ becomes the basis of the spiritual identity of the Christian, but we must always understand that this is a derived identity, a derived life, a derived righteousness, a derived holiness, and a derived perfection. These are not characteristics that we possess inherently in and of ourselves apart from Him , but only by His presence within us. We are made righteous only because Christ, the Righteous One (Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14; I John 2:1) dwells and functions in us and as us.
So, the phrase, Christ as us is another way of referring to the Christian's union with Christ. Being partakers of the divine nature (II Pet. 1:4) and partakers of Christ (Heb. 3:14) implies that Christians are participants with Christ and are in spiritual union with Him sharing in His nature. This fellowship with the living Lord Jesus (I Cor. 1:9), with God the Father (I John 1:3,6), and with the Holy Spirit (Phil. 2:1) indicates a spiritual union with the Triune Godhead. It is not an essential union but a relational union, which means we did not become God and He did not become us. We did not lose our humanity and become deity. Our identity in Christ is established as we derive everything from Him. This is Christ as us!
Who we are as Christians is based on who Christ is in us, establishing us as Christ-ones. Therefore, Christ as us expresses our new identity in a way that other explanations cannot properly convey. New birth or spiritual regeneration, which is the indwelling presence of Jesus, effectively makes a person something that he or she was not before - a new creature.
