The believers, as partners of Christ sharing His anointing (Heb. 1:9b), have been attached to Him as God’s anointed One by God. Second Corinthians 1:21a speaks of “He who firmly attaches us with you unto Christ.” The Greek word rendered “firmly attaches” literally means establishes. This word can also be rendered “firmly connects with.” God establishes the apostles with the believers in Christ. This means that God attaches the apostles together with the believers unto Christ, connecting the apostles and the believers to Christ, the anointed One. Hence, we share the anointing of Christ, which He has received of God.
In Greek, Christ means the anointed One. Christ, the anointed One, is full of anointing. In the universe there is only One who has been anointed by God, and this One is Christ, the anointed One. Because we have been attached to the universal anointed One, we have been anointed also. We are anointed by being attached by God to Christ, the anointed One.
In 1 Corinthians 6:17 Paul says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” In this verse the word “joined” refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is illustrated by that of the branches with the vine (John 15:4-5). It is a union not only of the divine life but in the divine life. The organic union with the resurrected Christ can only be in our spirit.
The words “one spirit” indicate the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (1 Cor. 6:19) and who is one with our spirit. Through resurrection the Lord became the life-giving Spirit, and as such a Spirit He is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Hence, the one spirit in 1 Corinthians 6:17 is the mingled spirit, our regenerated human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit.
First Peter 1:8, speaking of Christ, says, “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, not seeing at present yet believing, you exult with unspeakable and glorified joy.” It is a wonder and a mystery that the believers love One whom they have not seen. The phrase “in whom” modifies believing. We love Him whom we have not seen because of believing, because of the faith that has been infused into us through hearing the living word (Gal. 3:2). Furthermore, the believers exult with unspeakable and glorified joy. Glorified joy is joy immersed in glory; hence, it is full of glory, that is, full of the Lord expressed.
Regarding the believers being joined to God the Son we have seen eleven matters: God having shined Him into our hearts; our having received Him; having Him revealed in us; having been baptized into Christ; having put on Christ; having been put in Christ by God; identified with Christ in His death, burial, being made alive, resurrection, and ascension; grafted into Christ as the reality of the cultivated olive tree; attached to Christ as God’s anointed One by God; joined to the Lord as one spirit; and loving Him and exulting in Him with unspeakable and glorified joy. As a result of all these matters, we have been joined to God the Son, the embodiment of the divine Trinity, and now we are in Him. Praise the Lord for all the marvelous, divine items included in our being in Christ!