...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 the present time to the reality of those who are already in the other situation. They are there, they see Christ face-to-face, they are dead, and we have the earnest of the Holy Spirit...
[Galatians 2:20 -]
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 shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)...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 Saviour, He lives in me. They are equal reality. They are two streams of present reality, both equally promised. The Christian dead are really 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 fruit in the branch.
True Spirituality, p48 & 49
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