We all feel the need to know where we are and where we are going at any given time. That is not just true geographically, either. We also need guides for big subjects and doctrines, especially the ones that have been considered and debated for millennia. Fred Sanders has proven to be a helpful guide in the key Christian doctrine of union with Christ. The first time I came into contact with Sanders’ work was while listening to a White Horse Inn episode recorded on a CD (I feel old). He was discussing the doctrine of the Trinity alongside the original hosts of that program, and I remember thinking that this Dr. Sanders seems to know his stuff. My intuition has proven true: He knows his stuff (and he knows a lot). His latest output is Union With Christ and the Life of Faith, part of the Soteriology and Doxology series edited by Kent Eilers and Kyle Strobel. This is a shorter theological book by some standards (147 pages from prelude to postlude), but it is full of helpful insights and big picture views of the doctrine and its importance for the Christian life. Indeed, each chapter could be a book all its own.
Sanders’ Thesis and Plan
Sanders’ thesis is straightforward: “There is one Christian soteriology, and that is, by definition, salvation by union with Christ” (4). One thing this means is that union is not merely part of soteriology, as in a link in the golden chain of the ordo salutis (93); rather it is a summary of what salvation is in its entirety. Nor is union opposed to the idea of redemption accomplished and applied, popularized by John Murray (1898–1975). Instead, union with Christ is able to encompass both an ordo and an accomplished-applied scheme (93). In arguing for this thesis, Sanders’ book follows the flow of all the volumes in the Soteriology and Doxology series: “(1) creed, (2) scriptural range, (3) comparative soteriology, (4) constructive theology, and (5) the Christian life” (Kent Eilers and Kyle Strobel, “Series Preface,” ix). Each chapter is bookended with doxological material, whether a Scripture passage or a creed/prayer/hymn from church history.
Assessment
There is much that is commendable in this book. Sanders’ thesis that soteriology is the domain of union with Christ ought to be favorably received by Reformed Christians. It is reminiscent of Caspar Olevianus’ notion of union with Christ, for one example.1 Sanders’ discussion of the genre of the Gospels (29–39) is excellent and sure to help many readers think through why certain genres appear in Scripture. The discussion of union as the overarching scheme in which the ordo salutis fits is reminiscent of Westminster Larger Catechism 69:
What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
The communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is their partaking of the virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whatever else, in this life, manifests their union with him.
Sanders helpfully challenges the notion that the early Christian creeds were concerned with the Trinity and Christology to the exclusion of soteriology (11–22). Instead, he argues that “in the case of the Apostles’ Creed, union with Christ is more prominent than the doctrine of the Trinity is. So it simply will not do to keep saying that the early church developed a Christology but not a soteriology” (22).
In another helpful section, Sanders draws on the Christian tradition by speaking of the three great theological unions: the union of the persons in the Trinity, the union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ, and the union between Christ and those in him (107–11). These three unions are logically related to each other, and Sanders brings this out in a wonderful way. Sanders also shows how seeing union with Christ in this way keeps our soteriology centered on the Trinity as well as on Christ. His concluding chapter about how union with Christ leads to sanctification, the Christian life, and glorification is also helpful.
One thing that kept coming to my mind as I read Sanders’ book is this: I (and many others like me) am Reformed because I believe it is biblical and because I believe it is the greatest expression of catholicity. Our Reformed forefathers saw themselves as Reformed catholics, but they also shared serious disagreements with others who claimed the same catholicity. All branches of Christianity share a concern for the importance of the doctrine of union with Christ, but the Reformed tradition (and many others) places a great deal of importance on what we confess about that union. Certainly, the details matter, and a more detailed discussion of disagreements between the Christian traditions would be helpful. Of course, Sanders is a Protestant and argues along Protestant lines (even citing a great many Reformed authors, though he is not Reformed). As he says, “There is ample room to air sharp disagreements and no need to deny or conceal differences. But centered on union with Christ, we will be in a better position to be precise about what is at stake” (63). I think that is correct, and this book is not about the disagreements as much as it is about the catholic doctrine. Therefore, I hope this helpful book leads to further inter-tradition discussions in the months and years to come.
Recommendation
I heartily recommend Union with Christ and the Life of Faith to theologians, pastors, seminarians, and interested laypeople. It is a book worth reading, and I am sure it has advanced the conversation surrounding this key doctrine and will lead to further work from others. No one understands union with Christ in its fullness, but Sanders has done an excellent job of showing how this doctrine relates to soteriology as a whole and also how it influences the Christian life. The notion of soteriology being the domain of union with Christ is helpful, and Sanders has done us a service by arguing for it in this concise yet jam-packed volume. Take up and read!
Note
- See “Union With Christ In Caspar Olevianus’ Exposition Of The Apostles’ Creed,” Heidelblog.
©Christopher Smith. All Rights Reserved.
Fred Sanders, Union with Christ and the Life of Faith (Baker Academic, 2025).
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Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith is originally from Bellevue, Nebraska. A graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.Div 2019; MA (Historical Theology) 2020). He is associate pastor of Phoenix URC in the United Reformed Churches of North America. He is currently pursuing a ThM in systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.
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