Union with Christ is a central doctrine of the Christian faith. Despite the familiarity most Christians have with the concept, there is little understanding of what “Union with Christ” actually means. Paul and John both address the topic, albeit in somewhat different terms. Paul speaks extensively of being “in Christ” while John favors the language “abiding in” Christ, and characteristically speaks of an “in-one-another” relationship. [1] In his gospel, John uses first person tense to speak about union, recounting Jesus’ teaching on the subject. [2] While researching union with Christ in John’s gospel, I was particularly interested in his use of the verb “μένω” (commonly rendered “abide”). The following is a brief observation of how John uses μένω as a literary device to describe various aspects of union with Christ.
Mένω appears 120 times in the New Testament, with more than half of these occurrences in the Johannine writings, and 40 times in the Gospel of John alone.[3] In addition to “abide” the verb can also be translated “to remain,” “stay,” or on some occasions “to wait for.”[4] Christopher Bass rightly points out that in John’s gospel μένω is used to describe both physical dwelling in a given location, as well as the extraphysical or spiritual abiding of the Father, Son, believers, and Spirit.[5] However, even John’s more commonplace use of the verb to describe physical dwelling implicate the gospel’s underlying theme of abiding with Christ in a spiritual sense.
For instance, when Jesus asks the two disciples in John 1:38 “what are you seeking” their reply is “‘Rabbi…where are you staying (μένεις).’” The immediately following verse “…they came and saw where he was staying (μένει), and they stayed (ἔμειναν) with him that day…” makes clear their question referred to the physical abode of the incarnate Jesus. Klyne Snodgrass observes, however, “all three of these expressions – what one seeks, where one remains, and the invitation to come and see – become themes that recur throughout the book.”[6] Snodgrass elaborates that although the disciples have found Jesus’ physical dwelling place in Chapter 1, they learn what it means to truly abide with him as the book continues, and discover where Jesus’ true dwelling place is in Chapters 14-17 “…where Jesus is described as in the Father and the Father as in him (14:10; 17:5, 11–23).”[7]
Similarly, an overlap in physical and spiritual use of the word μένω is found in the narrative of Jesus’ encounter with the Samarian woman. John 4:39-40 tells us many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus, came to him, “asked him to stay (μεῖναι) with them, and he stayed (ἔμεινεν) there two days.” Again, although the verb is used to indicate physical dwelling, it draws a correlation between a person’s belief in Jesus and his abiding with them. It was after they believed that they desired to dwell with him.
A final example is embedded in Chapter 14. Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus tells his disciples “Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (μοναὶ)” (John 14:1b-2a) and indicates he is going to prepare a place for them “…that where I am there you may be also” (John 14:3b). The noun translated as “rooms” (“μοναὶ,” derived from μένω) is used only twice in the entire New Testament.[8] Both instances occur here in Chapter 14, suggesting its use is deliberate. Given Jesus’ impending ascension to the Father, Jesus’ words suggest he will at some point take believers out of this world to dwell with him and the Father in the realm of heaven. However, Moises Silva argues,
… in view of John’s freq. and distinctive use of the cognate vb. μένω, and given the fact that μονήoccurs in no other NT book (only once in the LXX), the question arises whether the allusion might be not to heaven (or at least not exclusively so) but to the dwelling of Christ in the hearts of believers.[9]
This is supported by John’s second use of μονή a few verses later, “…‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home (μονὴν) with him’” (John 14:23). In Chapter 14, Jesus indicates that abiding with God involves both a spatial and spiritual nearness, whereby we are both received by God, and receivers of him.
A full analysis of John’s use of μένω would require a more lengthy examination of his writing, including a discussion on the True Vine metaphor. Already, however, several key conclusions emerge from John’s use of μένω. First, Chapter 1 (and indeed all three of the examples considered) reveal that union with Jesus is relational in nature, involving a nearness of presence. Second, as seen with the Samaritans in Chapter 4, there is a correlation between belief in Jesus and abiding with him. This is further supported by John’s discussion on Jesus as the Bread of Life. Finally, Chapter 14 illustrates the relationship includes not only Christ, but also the Father and Spirit. Furthermore, Christ preparing a place for the believer and coming to make a home with the believer alludes to oneness with Christ involving both a future physical nearness as well as a present spiritual union. In 14:17 Jesus tells his disciples the Spirit “dwells (μένει, present tense) in you and will be (future tense) with you.” The use of both present and future tense reinforces the concept of ongoing union, existing not only in the age to come but commencing in the present.
Oh, let us be content to possess Christ, to dwell in Him, to make Him our life, and only in deeper searching into Him, to search and find the knowledge we desire. Such knowledge is life indeed. –
Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ
[1] Clive Bowsher, Life in the Son: Exploring Participation and Union with Christ in John’s Gospel and Letters (London: Apollos, 2023), Perlego edition, Introduction: Johannine Oneness and participation with Christ; Approach of the Present Study.
[2]Robert A. Peterson, “Union with Christ in the Gospel of John,” Presbyterion 39 (2013): 27.
[3] Moisés Silva, “μένω,” NIDNTTE 3:272-277.
[4] Silva, “μένω,”272-277.
[5] Christopher David Bass, “A Johannine Perspective of the Human Responsibility to Persevere in the Faith through the Use of Μενω and Other Related Motifs,” WTJ 69 (2007): 307.
[6] Klyne R. Snodgrass, You Need a Better Gospel: Reclaiming the Good News of Participation with Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022), 94.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Silva, “μένω,”276.
[9] Ibid., 277.