The Whole Counsel

Union with Christ VII: From Glory to Glory

We are back in the studio this week with Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd. Continuing our discussion on the believer’s union with Christ, the duo this time focuses on the doctrine of sanctification. Salvation is a massive reality. It takes a person who was once spiritually dead and makes them alive. It takes a person who was once an enemy of God and brings him or her to adoption. We hate what we once loved and love what we once hated. And all of this is done by the work of our Triune God.
But sanctification is more complex because it involves unpredictable, inconsistent us. We fluctuate from warm to cold-hearted, from completely focused on Christ to distracted by the cares of the world. We sin and repent. To understand this complex reality, we need to look at sanctification in two categories: positional and practical.
On the positional side of things, we see that we have been purchased by Christ and therefore are made holy. That means we are separated to everything in Him and from everything not in Him.
In the practical category, we see a life being progressively transformed to reflect the new family we have been adopted into. This means every day we will see more and more areas taken captive for our Lord and brought to submission of His will.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones offers wonderful help in this part of the conversation through his commentary on Romans 6. We are now dead to sin and therefore cannot have sin reigning in our mortal bodies. We highly recommend that if you have not read through that commentary, make the investment and read through it now.
Show Notes:
Exposition of Chapter 6: The New Man by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/sermons-and-expositions/romans-6/
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A Conversation with Canadian Pastors

A few weeks ago, Dr. John Snyder was in Nova Scotia, Canada, to teach a theological intensive for local pastors. The theme of the seminar was Union with Christ, a familiar topic if you’ve been following the podcast. During a short break in the teaching, John sat down with Dave Story and Hugh Morrison. These two men have been faithful pastors in their areas for years. They have also been instrumental in discipling and training many of the younger pastors at the retreat.
John, Dave, and Hugh take the opportunity to share with you the spiritual needs of Canada, what community evangelism and engagement can look like, and some practices for training young men with an interest in ministry.
Because we were recording with limited equipment, our audio is not up to our normal standard. We have cleaned it up to the best of our ability and apologize for the subpar quality.
 
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The Hymn Project with Jeremy Walker

aul writes in Ephesians commanding us to address one another with “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart (Ephesians 5:19). The Christian faith is a singing faith. We worship, learn, and fellowship in song. We praise, worship, and mourn to timeless melodies.
But not all hymns are created equal. And not all hymns are equally timeless. Even some of today’s most beloved hymns are substantially different from their original versions. In this special episode, Dr. John Snyder has Jeremy Walker on the podcast to discuss a work he has been actively pursuing for over 10 years. He is seeking to recover and update classic hymns for today’s churches.
Make sure you follow Media Gratiae over the coming months as we will work in conjunction with Jeremy to make this project widely available.
Show Notes:
Spurgeon’s Our Own Hymnbook: https://hymnary.org/hymnal/SOHB2019
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Union with Christ VI: The Objective Result, pt 2

The topic of justification, the objective reality of being united to Christ, is so vast that we couldn't cover it in a single episode. To be honest, we could spend several weeks focusing solely on this topic and still only scratch the surface of what could be said.
Last week Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd talked about justification from our side: How can we be made right with God. This week we look at justification from God’s perspective: How can a holy and just God declare the guilty man right?
We start by looking at God’s character and then what He has said throughout Scripture. As theologians of the past have stated, God constitutes sinners to make them right with the law by uniting us to Jesus Christ. His innocence before the law, His perfect obedience to the law are imputed to every Christian. And every sin committed by the Christian is imputed, or placed upon, Jesus Christ on the cross.
Show Notes:
Romans 3:25-26
Romans 5:17
For further reading:
God’s Gospel of Grace - https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/ggog/gods-gospel-of-grace
Ligonier 12-session study on Union with Christ by Sinclair Ferguson - https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/union-with-christ
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Union with Christ V: The Objective Result

God reveals Himself to be perfectly just, perfectly holy, and perfectly wise. So how could this perfect Being unite His perfect Son to fallen humanity? How can man, who has rebelled against God's sovereignty since our first parents, ever have a right standing before this Supreme Judge?
Therein lies the sweet doctrine of justification. That is the focus of this week’s conversation between Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd. They explore God’s plan to justify a fallen people so there can be communion between us and Him, what justification does not do, and what the final, eternal result of justification is.
Show Notes:
Key Scriptures: Job 25
Job 15
Psalm 89:14
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
Deuteronomy 25
Proverbs 17
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Union with Christ IV: United in Death

So far in our series, we've discussed how we are united with Christ in life. His perfect and obedient life is credited to our sinful and rebellious lives. However, Scripture goes further, stating that we are also united with Him in His obedient, yet horrific death because Jesus is our sacrificial Lamb.
This week, Acey Floyd leads the discussion with Dr. John Snyder, exploring Old Testament descriptions of Jesus's death and their New Testament fulfillment. All the scriptures Acey summarizes can be found below.
But what does it mean to be united or baptized into Jesus's death? As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones articulates in his commentary on Romans 6, it means that we are dead to the power of sin. The death of Christ empowers every Christian to overcome sin. While we will never be perfectly sinless, we will ultimately conquer sin to the glorify of God.
Show Notes:
Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
Blog Post: https://www.mediagratiae.org/blog/union-with-christ-ii-the-nature-of-our-union
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Romans 6: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/sermons-and-expositions/romans-6/
Scriptures mentioned:
Deuteronomy 21:22-23
Psalm 22:6-8
Psalm 22:12-21
Isaiah 53:1-3
Isaiah 53:4-6
Isaiah 53:7-9
Isaiah 53:10-12
Mark 10:37-38
Galatians 3:13-14
Romans 6:3-4
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Union with Christ III: The Origin of Our Union

Union with Christ doesn’t begin after we have reached a certain point of spiritual maturity. Jesus doesn’t wait until we know Him “well enough” to unite Himself with us. Our union with Him was decreed by the Father in eternity past and is experienced by every Christian from the moment of conversion, through every scene of life, upon death, and into our eternal rest.
Focusing on Ephesians 1:3-4, Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd put on their thinking caps (make sure to check out the YouTube channel!) to discuss this glorious mystery. Whether you want to use the word foreknowledge, predestination, or election, the reality the duo discusses this week is like a mountain whose peaks are obscured by clouds too high for us to see clearly. We cannot understand every aspect of it. However, God has revealed enough for us to know His choosing is sourced solely in Himself.
This gracious choosing of the Father should drive us to worship Him and tell every person united to Adam to turn to Christ as their only hope.
 
Show Notes:
Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
Blog Post: https://www.mediagratiae.org/blog/union-with-christ-iii-the-origin-of-our-union
Scripture to meditate on after this podcast:
Luke 22:22
Acts 2:23
Acts 4:27-28
1 Peter 1:2
Ephesians 2:8-10
2 Timothy 1:9
John 6:37
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Union with Christ II: The Nature of Our Union

The Scriptures are filled with metaphors and descriptions of the Christian’s union with Christ. Each of them expresses a different reality of that union. But even with all the words dedicated to explaining and describing that union, it still holds a mystery that escapes even the best theologians.
But the existence of the mystery should not stop us from taking our time to study, examine, and meditate on our union with Christ. In fact, it should motivate us. So this week, Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd spent time doing exactly that, discussing what we can know of our union with the second Person of the Trinity.
We pray this episode will lead you to a time of sweet worship and communion with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Show Notes:
Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
Blog Post: https://www.mediagratiae.org/blog/union-with-christ-ii-the-nature-of-our-union

Union with Christ I: The Most Important Word

Dr. John Snyder is joined this week by Acey Floyd, co-elder of Christ Church New Albany and Media Gratiae’s Office Manager, to start a new series discussing the Christian’s union with Christ. This doctrine is central to the letters of Paul in the New Testament and should therefore be central in our lives.
Union with Christ can be seen as the central hub of the wheel that is the Christian life. If we put that hub as anything else, the wheel will become warped and our progress will be slowed.
For this first episode, John and Acey focus on the Who we are united to. We are united to the only Being in history to have two distinct natures. Jesus Christ is truly the Godman. If He is not God, as some have claimed, our union with Him would be worthless. If He is not human, as others have claimed, our union with Him would be impossible.
Show Notes:
Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
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The Hope Project with Jeremy Walker

Jeremy Walker, pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England (a town just south of London) is a long-time friend of Media Gratiae. We turn to him when we have difficult questions and value his wisdom and godliness.
Several months ago, while Jeremy was preaching in Lusaka, Zambia, he was approached by a man who was burdened for the orphans on the streets of Lusaka. This man had been seeking a way to help educate, evangelize, and disciple these children. After a short conversation, Jeremy understood the need and decided he had to become involved in the ministry himself.
Currently, The Hope Project is seeking to provide education so the children can learn to read Scripture for themselves. While meeting their spiritual needs, the team behind The Hope Project is also working to meet their physical needs.
We pray this special episode of our podcast will pique your interest, and you will begin praying for The Hope Project. If the Lord enables you to financially support the ministry, a link to where you can do that is provided below.
 
Show Notes:
Project Hope
Go Fund Me - Help the Hope Project Care for Vulnerable Children
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-hope-project-care-for-vulnerable-children
Learn more about The Hope Project here:
https://hopeprojectzambia.org/the-great-commission/
See more from Jeremy Walker here:
From the Heart of Spurgeon: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts-1/from-the-heart-of-spurgeon
A Word in Season: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts-1/a-word-in-season
Through the Eyes of Spurgeon: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/products/through-the-eyes-of-spurgeon-feature-edition-dvd-package