Faith is not a fantasy but ‘the substance of things hoped for.’
Hebrews 11:1
In marriage, a man and woman become one flesh through their union; Christ and true believers become one spirit through this union, as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:17. Just as one soul or spirit animates both the head and the members in a natural body, the one Spirit of God dwells in Christ and the Christian. For “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to him,” Romans 8:9. Earthly unions are formed through contact, like the stones in a building, but this is a union of a different nature. If it were possible for us to physically eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, it would not benefit us, as mentioned in John 6:63. It was not Mary’s physical act of bearing him in her womb but her faith in him that made her a saint, as seen in Luke 11:27-28.
Due to our weaknesses in our current state and our immersion in sin, we tend to create mental images of everything presented to us, and whatever is denied to us, we are inclined to suspect as mere fiction. However, nothing is more real than what is spiritual, as it closely resembles the nature of God, the source of all reality. We cannot see the union between our own soul and body with our eyes, nor can we accurately imagine it as we do with tangible things, but the reality of it is undeniable. Faith is not a fantasy but “the substance of things hoped for,” Hebrews 11:1. The union between Christ and believers, established through faith, is not imaginary but highly real: “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones,” Ephesians 5:30.
Thomas Boston. Union with Christ.
