Christus in corde, or, The mystical union between Christ and believers considered in its…

5thly. The union between Christ and believers is a very intimate one. The resemblance of food doth notably set forth this; food is very intimately united to the body, and so is Christ to believers. Our Saviour takes notice of this, He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him, Joh. 6.56. The words import a very near union. St. Cyprian speaking of this,¹ saith, Mansio nosira in ipso est manducatio, & potus quasi quaedam incorporatio: Our eating of him is mansion; our drinking a kind of incorporation; we are spiritually incorporated into him.² Our Church calls it a marvellous incorporation wrought by the operation of the Holy Ghost;³ we do as it were pass into his flesh, who was made flesh with us; we dwell in him, and he in us, and what can be nearer? though he be not, as ordinary food inferior to the body is, turned into our substance; yet as spiritual food more excellent than our souls, he turns us into his Divine image. We live by him, Joh. 6.57. He is our life, Col. 3.4. The very fountain and principle of it; therefore ⟨p. 138⟩he must needs be nearly and intimately united to us,⁴ especially seeing he is so our life, that he communicates his own Spirit to us; the same holy Spirit which is upon him, falls down upon us as mystical parts and members of him, to quicken and actuate us in the holy ways of God. And what an union is this! actuation by one spirit is an union much more high and close than that which is only by continuity, or a mere adhesion of parts; a branch, from which the juice retires, rather hangs on, than is properly united to the root; a member, however adhering, if void and desolate of animal spirits, is as if it were not knit unto the Head; the most strict and proper union is from one Spirit. Believers are so joined to Christ as to be one spirit; if they had not his spirit, they were none of his,