Living in Union with Christ: Paul's Gospel and Christian Moral Identity

by Grant Macaskill

Leading New Testament theologian Grant Macaskill introduces Paul's understanding of the Christian life, which is grounded in the apostle's theology of union with Christ. The author shows that the exegetical foundations for a Christian moral theology emerge from the idea of union with Christ. Macaskill covers various aspects of Christian moral theology, exploring key implications for the Christian life of the New Testament idea of participatory union as they unfold in Paul's Letters.

Genres: Theology, New Testament, Christian, Biblical Studies

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Will Imfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another shift to the paradigm.
Union with Christ changes how we understand our moral identity. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” Gal 2:20.

Christ-in-me/ I-in-Christ live the Christian life, which is NOT about becoming a better version of myself by the Spirit… but rather becoming someone else entirely….Christ whose presence (and therefore goodness) is mediated to us/in us by his Spirit.

A banger if you will.

[Andrew Gates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A must read!

Macaskill argues that we have underestimated the real value of union with Christ. He says that we often insert "in Christ" into sentences but that the phrase really means nothing for us conceptually and so these sentences would make complete sense without the phrase (42-43). As such, it is an essentially meaningless phrase.

A large reason we underestimate union is because we overestimate our own abilities. We may acknowledge that we need help, but this help (often understood as the Spirit) is viewed as a kind of empowerment, a gatorade, for the natural self to get a boost to improve ourselves (viii, 40). Macaskill explains that Paul's view of the natural self, "the flesh," is much more pessimistic. The natural self is radically corrupted and remains such until the resurrection, so we should expect sin and imperfection (65). As such, we are passive recipients in justification and in good works, the latter being Christ's active presence working in us to put on Christ (cf. 41). Thus, we must learn to distrust ourselves more (103-104) and learn to change our cry from "what can I do?" to "who can deliver me?" (111). As such, good works are less about "don't do that" (57), programs (67), command-obedience (88-91), or self-discipline (109) and more about crying out to God as the Spirit powerfully and supernaturally (133-134) realizes Christ's work in our lives through the Word.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬

This book was very helpful for me to learn to distrust myself and to totally entrust myself to Jesus for my salvation and for every good work. Godliness isn't about rules but about Christ acting upon/in me as a passive subject receiving from Him through the Word and prayer.


See Jared Kennedy's review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Erik Spohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic!

[Simon Voth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pastoral als auch theologisch und exegetisch ein Festmahl. Sehr, sehr gut. Geht hervorragend auf gegenwärtige Probleme in der NT-Forschung aber auch dem Evangelikalismus ein und bietet meiner Meinung nach eine überzeugende Darbietung davon wie Paulus das Leben als Christ versteht.

[Joost Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars, not because I always agree with him, but because his questions probably provoked thoughts that will ramble around my head for the next several years. And he certainly deepened my understanding of union with Christ. Worth reading again.

[Ryan Storch · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Macaskill’s “Living in Union with Christ,” the reader is provided with a beautiful picture of a precious topic! He starts by asserting that Union with Christ is the sine qua non of the Christian moral life. (pg. 1). He points out that against the Western evangelical view that the Spirit helps us it’s because we are in Christ. As he reminds us often “it is no longer I who live but Christ in me.” This is the basis for talking about our moral lives. Macaskill then helpfully moves from Paul’s moral theology in light of Union with Christ to the sacraments and how they inform our doctrine of Union with Christ. This book is a great read for pastors/elders, academics, and even lay audiences.

[Alex Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deeply shaped my view of Christian morality and identity. Macaskill shows that our moral identity flows from our union with Christ—not from effort, but from participation. Through this union, we’re adopted as sons to the Father in the Son thorough the Holy Spirit, sharing in His past and future.

“Our sufferings are a participation in his past; our hope is a participation in his future.”

A worshipful, clarifying read I’ll keep coming back to.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was essentially an extended discussion of the theological tenet that the NT doesn't compel Christians to become something that they're not, but rather manifest/realize/be who you are in Jesus Christ. Macaskill doesn't examine the dogmatic logic of this idea, but shows how it undergirds Paul's writings in various places (1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, Philippians). With an eye to the pastorate, Macaskill presses this point home by arguing that all Christian moral exhortation should begin and end with Galatians 2:20 "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

His critical appropriation of the New Perspective on Paul was interesting (the overview in Ch. 1 was very helpful). It led him to flesh-out the idea of legalism in terms of social capital rather than salvation by works, a point that I'll be pondering. Macaskill refused to do NT scholarship divorced from classical trinitarian theology, which was utterly refreshing and which made a difference as he disagreed with some of the titans of NT scholarship.

I wonder if Macaskill truly accomplished the task he set for himself. Does he defeat his own points by saying "If I am not careful to remind myself that what the Spirit is doing is manifesting the goodness of Jesus in and through my particularity and not simply energizing me, then I will make the same mistake [of assigning fundamental credit to myself] again."(131)? In other words, at some point we must speak of the empowering, enabling presence of the Spirit. It was funny and more than a little astute for Macaskill to say that this can often lead us to thinking of the Spirit as an energy drink that just empowers MY natural faculties. Thus, Macaskill is quite liberal in his use of participation language, which at times I thought could've been used a bit more judiciously. Perhaps my Webster-informed hesitations of language about participation are over-correcting, but whatever the case, I thought the main thesis of this short book was basically correct, and on the whole it is insightful, pastoral, and thought-provoking.

[Amund Helgaas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Godt skrevet og gjennomarbeidet om å leve i Kristus! Jeg sitter igjen med at det er viktig å ha riktig rekkefølge når det kommer til kristen moral: Jeg er først og fremst forent med Kristus (jeg har min identitet i ham) til å leve med ham. Det handler ikke om at vi skal strebe etter å bli lik Jesus, men at Jesus har tatt bolig i oss og at hans liv blir vårt. Dermed vil vi være både rettferdig og synder, for vi er forent med Kristus samtidig med at det gamle mennesket i oss trekker oss mot synden. Dermed poengterer Paulus at det ikke lenger er jeg som lever, men Kristus i meg (Gal 2:20). Når jeg gjør gode gjerninger, er det Kristus i Amund som gjør de. Jeg har dermed ingen grunn til å skryte av meg selv, men å peke videre på ham som har gitt meg liv og som jeg lever i.

[Patrick Bain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a big systematic guy, but this book changed how I understand Union with Christ. Especially because my favorite verse is Galatians 2:20. Not sure I could recommend a better book on the topic.

Let me hit you with my favorite quote:

“This means that we can never talk about the moral activity of a Christian without always, in the same breath, talking about Jesus, because the goal of our salvation is not that we become morally better versions of ourselves but that we come to inhabit and to manifest his moral identity.” 🔥

[Peter Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent theological treatment of the reality that Christ is as involved in the believer's sanctification as their forgiveness and justification - a reality that is often obscured in evangelical preaching, with damaging effect.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macaskill provides a solidly Reformed reading of Paul’s descriptions of union with Christ that’s in line with Herman Ridderbos and Richard Gaffin. I appreciated (1) Macaskill’s emphasis on Christian ethics flowing from our moral identity—what Ridderbos described as rooting Paul’s imperatives in his indicatives; (2) his “Lutheran” critique of J. K. A. Smith and N. T. Wright’s virtue-driven formation models, (3) his argument that the sacraments have a central place in Christian moral formation; and (4) his recognition that we disciples must learn to distrust ourselves because our old, sinful flesh remains until we’re clothed anew at the resurrection.

Despite these strengths, Macaskill’s book has some weaknesses. I’m thankful he follows Stephen Westerholm in rejecting N.T. Wright’s broad-brush misreading of Luther. But I found Macaskill’s view that evangelical discipleship is broadly moralistic to be unconvincing. His argument would’ve been stronger if he’d simply stated that legalistic self-righteousness is a danger for Christians of all stripes across all cultures and generations. While many evangelicals do push a moralistic WWJD-style ethic, there have been/are many popular voices in evangelicalism—Stott, Sproul, Keller, Jack Miller’s Sonship resources, Paul Tripp, Ray Ortlund and Sam Allberry, Mike Reeves, etc.—whose portraits of Christian moral identity align remarkably well with Macaskill’s. This evangelical heritage shouldn’t be overlooked even if some correctives (e.g. a recovery of classical Trinitarianism) are necessary in our generation.

I was also underwhelmed by Macaskill’s final chapters. I’m not convinced that teaching on “cruciformity” or adopting a corporate prayer life that’s shaped by a more orthodox doctrine of the Trinity will provide sufficient safeguards against moralism. To cultivate self-distrust, the better path is a recovery of the Lutheran doctrine of lex semper acusat and the regular Christian practices of confession and absolution (what Ortlund and Allberry call gospel honesty). Only seeing and owning our sin habitually will guard us against making other important spiritual disciplines an end in themselves.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a helpful and important book. It is technical at times, engaging head on with various viewpoints from the New Perspectives (post-Stendahl) of Sanders, Wright, and Dunn etc. So it’s not going to be for those without an academic background.

Nevertheless this is a must-read for gospel people. It rightly exposes and corrects a rampant thinness, and in places distortion, of what makes the news good. Unwittingly, many are implicitly proclaiming a works-righteousness despite attachment to grace. Our union with Christ is the major gap all too often. But it really changes everything.

[Micah Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better on the second read.

[Daniel Supimpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant Macaskill provides us with a helpful and accessible work dealing with the relevance of union with Christ as the paradigm for Christian formation and discipleship. Methodologically, it is a “practical theological interpretation of Paul's epistles” (p.vii). The argument is presented in short at the outset:

“The core claim of this book is that all talk of the Christian moral life must begin and end with Paul's statement 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20), and must understand the work of the Holy Spirit rightly in relation to Christ's presence. This assertion is the sine qua non of the Christian moral life, which is rendered void in its absence” (p.1).

Starting from this basic statement, Macaskill will bring the fruits of years in his research on the meaning of union with Christ in the New Testament (Union with Christ in the New Testament, [Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2013]), writing from and to an evangelical world that interprets Paul and the Christian moral identity, and in a strong alignment with the Post-NPP movement (like John Barclay, Michael Gorman, Susan Eastman, among others) and the Scottish trinitarian movement (frequently echoing Calvin and James Torrance), searching to retrieve some portions of traditional views of salvation, although open to the historical revisions of legalism and Judaism coming from the NPP.

Having this method in view, Macaskill's argument develops in clear steps. After an introduction, where the main issues for the book are set out (present readings of Paul in evangelicalism, the new interest in union with Christ among NT scholars, the meaning of legalism, and the relationship of one's self to salvation/sanctification), the author works in six chapters and one conclusion. The first chapter presents a quick overview of the understanding of salvation and moral formation with Christ since the reformation, and the principal contemporary movements (NPP, Post-NPP, Virtue Studies, the 'Apocalyptic Paul', and the 'Imitation of Jesus'). Macaskill evaluates them and concludes that a factor common to all of them is “that they do not deal adequately with the radically different concept of moral identity or agency that is at work in Pauls writings” (p.38). Therefore, this is where the author will focus his attention in the following portions.

Chapter 2 deals with the moral identity for Paul, especially in the key passage of Galatians 2:20 in parallel with Philippians 3. What does it mean that Paul is in Christ, and Christ in Paul? For Macaskill, this means that union with Christ and the opening to Christ living within me through the Spirit is what the apostle Paul sees as the basis for Christian morality, over against the traditional evangelical view that the Spirit comes to me in order to aid me to be the best version of myself. In the author's words, Christian ethics are realized “not by independent centres of identity, by people who can say ‘with the help of the Spirit, I can obey,’ but by those who collectively say “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (p.41). And that is the crucial point in Paul's critique of the ‘teachers’ in Galatians: legalism, understood as the independent accumulation of symbolic capital within a community, is sub-Christian, for it “involves a way of thinking about moral activity that is functionally separate from the presence of Jesus” (p.41). Moral formation is, therefore, less an interest of individual performance, or of instilling good habits that mark our communities, but “about fostering a person's sense of who Christ is in them and who they are in Christ” (p.57).

From this foundation of Christian moral identity, Macaskill follows to two chapters that reflect on two Christian sacraments—Baptism and the Lord's Supper—and how they are in themselves formative, to the point that good part of Paul’s arguments in Galatians and 1 Corinthians are based upon (not only illustrated by) these two practices. For instance, in Galatians 3:26-28, the new identity and abandonment of social capital (‘There is neither slave nor free…’) is built upon the idea that Christians in Galatia were ‘baptized into Christ [and] have put on Christ.’ So sins and idolatrous accumulation of symbolic capital are to be left behind, “not because they are contrary to the commandments but because they are contrary to our identity in Christ” (p.62). A second example, concerning the Lord’s Supper, presents the question of participation in the body and blood of Christ as inconsistent with participation in idolatry in the argument of 1 Corinthians 10-11. For Macaskill, Paul assumes that the Supper is to be seen in parallel to the Passover meal, where Yhwh’s focal interest in his people is affirmed (Exod 12-13). As a consequence, a believer’s partaking in the Supper “enacts or performs a jealously monotheistic identity,” (p.88) and therefore it is irreconcilable with idolatrous behaviour and sexual immorality. Again, this brings one to the awareness that the Christian unity under the same meal is a performed memory of divine grace: “by grace I have been united to Jesus and therefore share in his holiness, as do others who profess that he is Lord. I cannot boast; cannot claim any moral or intellectual capital that deserves to be respected by others; I can only give thanks” (p.94).

The following chapters (5 and 6) moves beyond present notions of union with Christ and the performative practices of baptism and eucharist, thus exploring the future aspect of Christian moral identity as ‘sons’ of God—where is the Christian moral identity looking towards, and how will it get there? So the fifth chapter reflects on the Abba-cry in Galatians 4, asking how the Spirit of the Son becomes present within Christians, assuring them that they are located between times as ‘sons’ of God. For Macaskill, the gendered language of ‘son’ over against the preference of ‘children’ in many bible translations is important, for believers incorporate Jesus’ sonship in prayers and ethics (it is not only that the Christian cry of Abba is like Christ’s; it is his very cry, uttered by the Spirit in Christians, p.100). In this ‘now and not yet’ situation, Christians might experience the anguish of a non-ideal moral practice in themselves and around them in the world. So, like Jesus, the prayer in the midst of ruins of war “is often not with a triumphant shout but with a pained cry of ‘Abba, Father’ ” (p.113).

In the following chapter, the author presents the meaning of ‘sonship’ and the conformation to the Son with focus on Romans 8. The conformation to Christ has much to do with the latter’s own experience amidst suffering and deep abandonment in trustful obedience to the Father. For Macaskill, “to share in this is often to experience cruciformity not as glad self-sacrifice but as bewildered suffering” (p.121). In terms of shaping the argument of Christian moral identity, this points to the reality that the Abba, Father prayer is an action of the Spirit of the Son in us (not our very prayer), which is what will sustain us in conformation to the character of the one who lives in me. In other words, this means “to have one’s identity not just patterned but actually constituted by a Savior who gave himself for us” (p.123, emphasis in original). On a pastoral take, Macaskill affirms that prayer becomes central to this experience of conformity, and reception of Christ’s identity: “Prayer is the practice in which the elements of our new identity in Christ are asserted against our old self. It is the place where our passive reception of Christ’s righteousness expresses itself with active verbs.” (p.124) Here, like in other portions of the book, the role of prayer is highlighted in process of moral identification with Christ, since in a senes, we pray with an eye in what we will become in Christ—fully-formed ‘sons’ of God.

Finally, Macaskill concludes with a synthesis of the findings in the previous chapters. He comes back and connects the dots in the topics of prayer and conformation, the flaws of legalism in its view of self as a moral agent, Christian unity based on the oneness of the Godhead, and the formative power of worship to Christian virtue as eccentric—that is, centred in something outside ourselves.
Notwithstanding the careful argument and theological sensibility in Macaskill work, there are a couple issues with it. I disagree with his reduction of the gendered language of ‘sons’ of God for Christians with the identification with Christ, since there is much reason to associate this language with the idea of adopted and rightful heirs of fathers in the Greco-roman world (a recent defence of this background as Paul’s interest is seen in Michael Peppard, The Son of God in the Roman World: Divine Sonship in Its Social and Political Context [Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011]).

Perhaps the most important question mark was the lack of categories to describe what ‘union’ actually means, besides the vague attempt in the conclusion where it is described as a “profound sense that [Paul] is no longer self-contained and that his hope lies in the other personal reality that now inhabits him” (p.128). Although Macaskill sketches what union with Christ is not—a matter of possession, an absorption of the particularity of Christians in Christ, a mixture of Christ and the believer’s identity in a third identity, a mutual belonging like that of a sound marriage—, he does not bring a philosophical framework to the table, and thus the reader has to bring his own. Here, one has to consider Macaskill previous work on the topic of Union with Christ in order to comprehend more of his own approach, and even his distancing from the current academic movement towards theosis as a means of speaking about union with Christ, and his identification with covenantal relationality and exchange. Still, Macaskill has provided pastors, grad-students and interested Christians with a valuable reflection on union with Christ for Paul and its relationship to Christian morality, which makes Paul’s moral persuasion jump out of the page and lead believers to embrace reality in growing cruciformity, not by their own efforts, but in the Spirit’s work to cultivate Christ within them.

[Erin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has the potential to be a life-changing read, and it should be required reading for church leaders, Bible teachers, and anyone who is concerned with matters of Christian discipleship and spiritual formation.
How incredibly freeing to realize and meditate on the reality that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Grant Macaskill draws out the implications of union and participation with Christ presented in Paul’s epistles in this incredible book. Not only does this book help illuminate the Scripture, but it made me want to spend more time studying and praying through the Bible.
I’ll come back to this book again and again.

[Steve Hemmeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this excellent little book, the author makes three points very well:

1. Union with Christ.
a. Without arguing for any new doctrine, Macaskill pushes this idea into all our living, using Galatians 2:20 as his touchstone: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This means that the good that we do we do as those inhabited by Christ and His Spirit. Even secular self-improvement books often point out that how you identify and see yourself has a huge impact on your behavior. When we keep our “Christ-in-me” identity at the forefront of our thoughts, it radically changes the landscape of the fight against ongoing sin, and our view of our good deeds.
b. Also, Macaskill articulates this union in fresh and provocative ways, like this: “an alien reality [is] being inserted into us with transformational effects” (pg 85). This evokes the sci-fi world, where this is always ominous. Yet this union is not “possession,” where our agency is over-ridden. Christ by His Spirit and Word dwelling in us richly trains, persuades, matures, and aids our will to follow His.
c. Two quotes from the very end of the book sum it up well. We must avoid “seeing the Spirit as an independent energy working to make us into better versions of ourselves… [Rather] we see Him as the one working to realize the identity of the Son within us” (142). The final defining reality of our lives and our church is the potent goodness of Jesus Christ” (145).

2. Legalism. Macaskill gives a helpful definition. Legalism is trying to hold and accrue social or spiritual capital with God or others by anything you have done. Legalism isn’t always brazenly thinking you can earn salvation by your deeds, or Pharisaically majoring on minors. The problem is thinking any good we do is “ours” at all. True union with Christ means anything we do that pleases God, Christ has done in us. We can’t use any of it as leverage with God. Union with Christ refutes every shade of legalism completely.

3. New Perspective. This is a good one for the theology wonks. Macaskill interacts a fair bit with NT Wright and Sanders, the main New Perspective (NP) proponents, and I liked his conclusions:
a. NP is right to see that broader themes define the gospel than only forgiveness of sin via imputation of Christ’s righteousness. (The kingdom and victory of God and union with Christ are two of their favorites.)
b. NP is wrong to redefine or reject imputation in favor of those other themes.
c. Union with Christ helps us see the broader themes without losing the classic, orthodox definition of imputation. The latter does not happen without union with Christ, so it need not (SHOULD not) be seen as a cold or impersonal forensic transaction where the contact is momentary – like getting cash out of an ATM to cover your debts.

Although under 150 pages, the writing is quite academic, and light on “street-level,” practical application. There is also one paragraph at the very end where he assumes the LGBT issue is one that should not divide the church, with which I disagreed. But his bigger point is sound, that agreement on everything should not be the basis of Christian unity.

Macaskill exegetes several passages like 1 Cor. 5-6, 10-11, Isa 53, Rom 6-7 very well in light of our union with Christ. Any Christian used to more academic writing would profit from reading this book.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant Macaskill addresses the issue of moralism in modern evangelical churches. His suggestion is that the concept of individualism in the West has led to an over emphasis on what a person does in order to be moral. The overemphasis leads to heroism and trust in the individual instead of in Christ. He also believes that there is a disconnection in Evangelical teaching between justification and sanctification. He points out this disconnection in the teaching of E. P. Sanders who describes Judaism as “covenantal nomism” where a person enters a relationship by grace but then stays in that covenant by living according to the law (16¬–17).
By contrast Macaskill highlights Paul continually fought against works righteousness after justification in the New Testament, see Gal 3:3. The problem is human beings keep looking to themselves. First they look to serve themselves which is the sinful condition. Macaskill quotes Luther’s concept of individualism as sin known as homo incurvatus in se (6), that man is turned inward to himself. Because of this sin, human beings are incapable by their powers of doing good (21–22). Jesus even said that “apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). This is the bigger point. Human beings are incapable of virtue and to not recognize that is to fail to understand the depth of corruption of sin (24).
Macaskill notes that our identity is found in Christ (Gal 2:20). It is not just that we are connected to Jesus but that He lives in and through us to make us righteous and enable us to live in righteousness (21). Scripture teaches that we are connected to Christ into one body and have our identity in Him. He draws on four texts to teach this baptismal reality: Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3–4; 1 Cor. 10:2; 12:13 (60). These show that baptism connects us to Christ’s death, His life, and makes us all one in Him.
It is not only baptism that connects us to Jesus. The Lord’s Supper keeps us connected to Jesus as an ongoing participatory feast. It is through the Lord’s Supper that we continue to share in His holiness (94). It also reminds us that our current state is not yet perfected but continually benefits and is being sanctified by Christ (96).
Those who seek be justified by the law cut themselves off from Christ (Gal 5:4). Those who live according to the flesh are contrary to Christ. Paul does not call us to be moral but to be led by the Spirit (Gal 5:16–26) which is the Spirit of the Son living in us and through us (101). Macaskill contrasts the Spirit of the Son with sin, which is not only a controlling power but like a personified demon trying to have dominion over us (106).
Individualism and legalism lead to heroism, a belief that human beings have the power in themselves to obey the law. This is contrary to Paul’s teaching (136). It all goes back to Gal 2:20, it is not “I” who does anything to accomplish righteousness. It all comes from Christ and Him living in and through us (138).

[Nick Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating - 4.5 Stars

"Jesus Christ is not just the one who brings us hope, he is our hope". In this volume, Macaskill attempts to recenter union with Christ in the Christian walk, and thus Christ himself at the center of Christian ethics and moral identity. He persuasively argues that the Christian life is not about moral self improvement, but rather a complete transformation in identity, in which we embody Christ's own goodness.

While this book is short, much ground is covered. To begin, he approaches "works of the law" in a similar way to John Barclay in the classic "Paul and the gift", which he references several times. Works of the law represent a sort of "social capital" that Paul believes cannot be gained by obedience any longer, but only by union with Christ. Flowing out of this foundation, Paul now sees our moral life as the Spirit realizing Christ's victory in us as we embody Christ's goodness.

This leads him to several other areas. I especially enjoyed his (at times provocative) points on the church's unity being based solely on our union with Christ, and as a participation in the oneness of God Himself. His chapter on the Eucharist also raised several points that should be valuable for the life of the church.

However, This book loses half a star from me for a couple reasons. He attempts to raise a critique of several schools of modern Pauline studies, and while most of these were valid, I found some of them perplexing. In particular, he stated that the New Perspective (and Wright in particular) overlooks the role of the spirit. Having read much of Wright's writing on justification, this was odd to me. Second, he spends much time critiquing the common articulation of the Spirit's work as merely providing greater moral strength to our own will. Instead, he suggests, that the Spirit realizes Christ's presence in, and manifests His goodness through us. However, at several points, I struggled to see how this presents a pastoral difference. For example, on page 109, he states "The process of mortifying the old self continues to devolve upon us as a Christian responsibility, and it is not an easy one".

Overall, I would still highly recommend this book, even if only for the bits on the Eucharist and unity. Macaskill succeeds in making sure that our understanding of the Christian life is not separated from Christ himself, and in doing so, fixates our hope on Him alone.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and challenging book. It’s engagement with Bible texts is always fresh and enlightening and it’s challenges are many faceted and call for much reflection. It is also challenging in the sense that this is a dense book which takes considerable time to read and reread. The central challenge is to view all of life and relationships from the perspective of union with Christ, based on Paul’s statement that he no longer lives but Christ lives in him. It is tough going at points to understand the full implications of that and exactly what misunderstanding it addresses in evangelical theology. What is our agency as human beings and how should we view it in relation to reality of Christ in us by his Spirit? I’d love to sit down with the author and try to outline what I think so that he could say, ‘I think you’ve got it wrong there!’.

Grateful for the challenge to unity that comes through and also the stimulus to discipline only in as much as it derives from our relationship with Christ. Also important to rethink the meaning of legalism as something that we fall into by seeking credit with others through our ‘spiritual’ commitments.

[Elizabeth ‘Andy’ Terrall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Macaskill’s work on identity in Christ focuses solely on select passages from the Pauline letters; it is Paul’s gospel, not the gospel. Macaskill chooses to ignore any other passages that may shed light on the topics and instead elevates Paul’s writings as conclusive. This leads to a bizarre emphasis on any “Spirit” being the “Spirit of his Son” (Gal 4:6); the Holy Spirit must be re-understood as the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He does not flesh out the theological implications on the Trinity regarding this distinction, even while claiming to criticize "binitarianism” (143). His conclusions about what it means to identify with Christ lead to some questionable statements, such as, “In the Spirit, he inhabits us; by the Spirit, we inhabit him" (142). He says what he has been arguing for is not becoming “localized instantiations of Jesus” (127), even though that is a great summary for his arguments.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, but…

Excellent in many places while embodying the disconnection from the practicalities of modern church life that is all too common in academic treatments (admittedly, the author tries to make such connections, but the very disconnections that come bundled in his training and background often leave him shy of the mark). The nuances the author makes are helpful to the interested but all too often plagued with distinctions that would hardly constitute a genuine difference in the lives of grocers, plumbers, software engineers, and stay at home moms. There’s certainly great truths and brilliant analyses here, and for that reason strongly recommended. However, the onion is sliced too thin in certain areas where it matters most—the daily lives of people trying to follow Jesus who lack the theological training, and therefore the skill and will, to process and incorporate the slight shifts in perspective the author argues for here.

[Evan Þ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this thin but dense book, Macaskill expounds the Apostle Paul's description of our life in Christ, to emphasize how we are not just called to a more moral life, but - in some real sense - to take part in Christ's life; that the Holy Spirit is not just helping us live our own life but building Christ's life within us.

This's the same message I got a year and a half ago from Watchman Nee, but from a different angle - Nee was writing in the more exhortational sense; Macaskill is giving a more step-by-step exposition of Scripture to explain how this must be what Paul is writing.

I'd recommend both, because I at least needed this reminder. In the days since I've finished this book, I've tried to remember to see things from this very Biblical perspective.

[Brad Sarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book on Union with Christ. Grant Macaskill does a great job explaining how the gospel is usually offered to people without their awareness that Christ is the end goal. We talk about forgiveness or salvation or heaven, but the the heart of the gospel is that we get to be united with Christ. He does a deep dive through Galatians 2:20, unpacking the meaning of Union with Christ, and helping us see that if our understanding of salvation isn't in line with Paul's cry of Gal. 2:20, we are off. He also offers some fresh insights on the Lord's Supper and baptism, and how they are vital for the life of the church.

[Ryan Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some beautiful insights regarding the centrality of Christ’s indwelling and transformation of our natures to Paul’s teaching, and how this casts both ordinances, Christian moral identity, and church community in a new, hopeful light. For me, however, the usefulness is compromised by the Calvinist view of human nature as abjectly sinful, depraved, wretched, and unable to do anything of goodness or value. I know this is a typical view, but I find it too limited and regressive and it undercuts the power and beauty of Macaskill’s insights and message.

[Dena McGoldrick Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the most challenging book I read this year, I had to slow down and re-read sections to fully digest. I will be thinking on this one for awhile and would welcome discussion with others who have read. At first, it seemed that the author's ultra focus was just a matter of semantics and I simplistically thought the point was obvious. However, by the end, I was convinced of the utmost importance of his focus on the cruciformity and union with Christ and why it does matter that we dissect and fully understand.

[James Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Macaskill contrasts the contemporary understanding of Christian moral character/identity as one in which the Holy Spirit makes us a better version of our self with one that is dependent upon the believer's real union with Christ. While the book addresses theological concepts that may be difficult for some readers (because we just don't talk about them!!!), his perspective is well argued and based on close examination of a number of key Pauline texts. A must read!

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful treatment of the believer's union with Christ: "The core claim of this book is that all talk of the Christian moral life must begin and end with Paul's statement 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20), and must understand the work of the Holy Spirit rightly in relation to Christ's presence. This assertion is the sine qua non of the Christian moral life, which is rendered void in its absence” (p. 1).

[Camden Garrett]

Much to commend in this work. Probably a great initiation into the discussion on union with Christ and "in Christ" language in Pauline studies. One of the biggest emphases in the book is that the Holy Spirit is not a dash of energy to heighten our moral strivings but the very Spirit of Christ inside us to give us entirely new desires and to unite us to Christ. I appreciated his discussion on legalism and gentle critique of Pauline scholars like James Dunn and N.T. Wright.

[Jenny Hietbrink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macaskill’s writing style is very heady so this was a slow read for me. But this book helped me understand union with Christ truly and completely (or as completely as one can understand such a mystery) for the first time in my Christian life. It’s had a big impact on me and I’m grateful to have read it.