Francis A. Schaeffer - True Spirituality (p. 34,35)

Here we are told that we are now united with these people, and this of course leads us to the doctrine of the mystical union of the Church (those living now and those who have died) but I am not here thinking of it as a "doctrine." I am thinking of the reality: that God ties us in at the present time to the reality of those who are already in this other situation. They are there, they see Christ face to face, they are dead, and we have the earnest of the Holy Spirit.
With this in mind let us think of Galatians 2:20, which we have already looked at several times in this study: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh" (that is, before I have died) "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
This verse falls into three different portions: "I am crucified with Christ" (a break) "nevertheless I live," (a break) "yet not I, but Christ liveth 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 for me."
Here we are told that Christ really lives in me, if I have accepted Christ as my Savior. In other words, we have the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, "Today thou wilt be with me in paradise." Christ can say "Today thou wilt be with me in paradise," and mean it. To die is to be with the Lord. It is not just an idea, it is a reality. But at the same time, Christ, the same Christ, gives the promise just as definitely that when I have accepted Christ as my Savior, he lives in me. They are equal reality. They are two streams of present reality, both equally promised. The Christian dead are already with Christ now, and Christ really lives in the Christian. Christ lives in me. The Christ who was crucified, the Christ whose work is finished, the Christ who is glorified now, has promised (John 15) to bring forth fruit in the Christian, just as the sap of the vine brings forth the fruit in the branch.

Here is true Christian mysticism. Christian mysticism is not the same as non-Christian mysticism, but I would insist that it is not a lesser mysticism. Indeed, eventually it is a deeper mysticism, for it is not based merely on contentless experience, but on historic, space-time reality-on propositional truth. One is not asked to deny the reason, the intellect, in true Christian mysticism. And there is to be no loss of personality, no loss of the individual man. In Eastern mysticism-for which the West is searching so madly now that it has lost the sense of history, of content, and the truth of biblical facts-there is always finally a loss of the personality. It cannot be otherwise in their framework. You will remember the story of Shiva, who is one of the manifestations of the Everything. He came and loved a mortal woman. Shiva put his arms around this woman in his love, and immediately she disappeared and he became neuter. This is Eastern mysticism. It is mounded in the loss of personality of the individual. Not so Christian mysticism. Christian mysticism is communion with Christ. It is Christ bringing forth fruit through me, the Christian, with no loss of personality and without my being used as a stick or a stone, either.

In many passages in the Bible, the relationship of Christians to Jesus Christ is described in terms of the bride and the bridegroom. Who is this "bridegroom,"-my bridegroom? He is the Christ who has died, whose work is finished, who is raised, who is ascended, who is glorified. It is this Christ. It is not simply an idea. It is the Christ who was seen after the resurrection, the Christ who was seen by Stephen, by Paul, the Christ who was seen by John; it is this Christ who is my bridegroom. It can be properly said that in this sense we are all female. Christ is the bridegroom; we-that is, the Christians-are the bride.

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord"(Romans 6:11).
In this section dealing with sanctification, beginning with Romans 5, these words "through Christ" run throughout like the string on which all the beads are to be placed.
"Therefore being justified" (in the past) "by faith we have peace with God" (in the present) "through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).
"0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24, 25).
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Romans 8:37).

Christ is with those in paradise now. But Christ promises -the same Christ, with the same reality-to the Christian that he will bring forth fruit through us in this life now. The power of the crucified, risen, and glorified Christ will bring forth this fruit through us now.